Prints as propaganda: Krannert Art Museum builds world-class collection of Dutch political prints
(Artdaily.org)

When evoking the Dutch Golden Age, paintings by Rembrandt and Vermeer may come to mind, but the Golden Age was also a time when the Dutch were at the vanguard of political printmaking. Krannert Art Museum has amassed the largest museum collection of early modern Dutch prints outside of Europe, thanks to strategic acquisitions guided by Maureen Warren, KAM’s curator of European and American art. Dutch society in the early modern period (1500-1800) was a time of great political strife, and printmakers used images to fuel political divides and shape public opinion. Prints were a unique medium in Europe at that time because they could be weapons to criticize government and powerful politicians, Warren said. “The Netherlands was a republic in a sea of monarchies. It’s why they have this really radical printmaking and image-making a full century before most