Beauty in Abundance

This exhibition showcases highlights from the print collection of the Van Gogh Museum, marking the publication of the first major study of that collection: Printmaking in Paris. The Rage for Prints at the fin de siècle.

Print craze

Beauty in Abundance shows approximately 100 prints from the permanent collection, by artists including Bonnard, Gauguin, and Toulouse-Lautrec. In the years between 1890 and 1905, a craze for the art of prints swept Paris. Almost all French artists of the time experimented with lithography, etching or woodcuts. Marvellous, often very colourful works of art were the result. The Van Gogh Museum holds a significant collection of more than 1,300 prints that illustrate the printmaking of this period in its full glory.

Masterpieces on paper

Both exhibition and publication display the highlights of this print collection. Artists such as Bonnard, Vuillard, Denis, Steinlen and Toulouse-Lautrec are represented by limited-edition prints, as well as mass-produced illustrated theatrical programmes, sheet music, books and, of course, the world-famous posters. Many of these masterpieces have rarely been exhibited in the past, on account of their fragility; the exhibition offers a unique opportunity to discover these hidden treasures.