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Milner Library

Special Collections Prints

Print showing a landscape with a castle on top of a hill in the distance. Trees in the foreground flank a road with a horse-drawn carriage and figures walking.

This collection is comprised of prints dating primarily from 1400 to 1700 that were created using a range of printmaking techniques, such as woodcut, engraving, and etching. A variety of subjects are represented, including religious figures and scenes, mythology, allegories, portraits, travel scenes and maps, sea creatures and botanical specimens, architecture and gardens, and ornamental motifs. A few of the artists and printmakers represented in the collection include Matthaeus Merian, Carel van Bockel, Maarten de Vos, Hans Weiditz, Abraham Genoels, Crispijn van de Passe, the elder, Hans Holbein, the younger, Wenceslaus Hollar, and Maria Sibylla Merian.

Collection Highlights

  • Print showing a portrait of Agatha Scholiers seated in a chair with hands clasped and a closed book on the table in front of her. She is wearing a ruff and a striped dress trimmed with fur. Buildings are visible in the distance.

    Portraits

    Portraits record the likeness of the sitter, but they also convey aspects of identity such as power or importance, wealth, innocence, virtue, and many other qualities.

  • Print showing a female figure with her head slightly lowered and her hands clasped in prayer. A lamb sits at her feet and her skirt and hair appear to be blowing in a breeze. The Crucifixion is pictured on the right side of the frame.

    Religion

    Saints, martyrs, and scenes of worship appeared frequently in early prints.

How to Access

View the Collection

Special Collections
Milner Library, Floor 6

Collection Contact

Rebecca Fitzsimmons
Special Collections Librarian
rlfitzs@IllinoisState.edu

Additional Links