14 December 2006

  

Digital imaging innovation is not being driven by technology alone but by the users of the technology and the creative ways they are experimenting with the digital imaging tools.

We have seen rapid changes in the way fine art and photography has been produced over the past 20 years. We’ve seen the adoption of digital printing as an alternative to the more traditional methods of lithography and significant leaps from the earlier techniques such as etching and screenprinting. Epson UltraChrome™ K3 technology has established itself as the quality benchmark for professional photographers across the world and the launch of Digigraphie®  in Europe is set to become an established symbol of quality.

Epson customers are also being more creative than ever before in the ways they are using their printers. We are in the midst of a creative evolution and its being driven by the users of digital imaging technology and the creative ways they are using the Epson Stylus Pro range of large format printers to make new world firsts. The Rembrandt exhibition at Beurs de Berlage, Amsterdam is just one unique example.

Rembrandt a unique exhibition

In 2006 we celebrated the 400th birthday of Rembrandt and another world first. For the first time in history the complete collection of private and public works of art by Rembrandt were all displayed in one public place. The idea came from the Dutch Agency ‘Local World’ and was inspired and made possible by digital imaging technology.

The UltraChrome K3 range of large format printers including the Stylus Pro 9800 and Stylus Pro 7800 were used to print copies of Rembrandts original works. Christiane Bosman of Local World said “The Epson printers were chosen because of their ability to produce precisely the contrast between the dark and light tones of black, one of the most important characteristics of the paintings of Rembrandt.”

Museums all over the world were contacted for digital scans and permission to print the images. The Epson Premium Luster Photo Paper was used to recreate the glossy shine comparable with the varnish layer that Rembrandt used for his paintings. Amongst the collection a married couple was reunited for the first time since 1640. The original portraits reside many miles apart with one in a private collection in Russia and the other in a museum in New York. The digital prints allowed the couple to be hung side by side the way Rembrandt intended it.

A new era

The Rembrandt project marks a new era for museums and art galleries. There are many masterpieces in museums across the world that can be enjoyed by more people by creating digital reproductions. It has never been easier to share the talents of earlier generations of artists. The viewing experience is as fascinating and inspiring whether it is an original or a digital production.  With the advances in Micro Piezo technology and UltraChrome K3 ink, the brush strokes, the skin tones and the textures of a painting are all replicated to the finest detail in a digital print. In fact out of the 63,000 visitors to the Rembrandt exhibition 63% said they were happy to view reproductions and 92% said they had learned a great deal about the painter. 

Visitors also had the opportunity to purchase a print for their homes. An Epson Stylus Pro 9800 and software from Live-Print from din-ax was printing real-size prints on demand as souvenirs. Visitors simply chose the piece they wanted from the thumbnails on screen and pressed print.  Christiane Bosman says, “Many of the visitors found it incredible that they could own a real size Rembrandt print in their own home that was just like the original.”

But would Rembrandt have approved? Christiane believes he would. “Rembrandt was a painter of the people. It was his desire that many people could enjoy his work.” She is supported by Professor Ernst van de Wetering, Head of the Rembrandt Research project, “The exhibition was a most enriching experience and we should continue to make such exhibitions possible by producing high-quality reproductions, worthy of the critical eye of the old masters themselves.” It does seem highly likely that Rembrandt would be pleased. It is widely known that he encouraged his students to copy his own work, sometimes with enough retouching so he could sell them as originals, and sometimes simply to sell as authorized copies. Imagine what he would have achieved if he had access to today’s technologies such as the Stylus Pro range of printers and UltraChrome K3 ink?

The artist, photographer and the printer

We are living in one of the most exciting times in the history of art and photography. The relationship between the artist, the photographer and the printer is as unique and important as that between the artist and the paintbrush or the photographer and the camera. Underlying everything is the individual creativity and innovation to produce works of art that will be enjoyed for generations to come. Epson will continue to pioneer new innovations that further assist and inspire such talents.

  Back  |