Travelling exhibition of prints from the Calouste Gulbenkian Collection, now the Calouste Gulbenkian Museum Founder's Collection, organised at twelve Portuguese institutions and museums. Alongside this, printmaking workshops were organised, run by Rui Humberto Marçal, printmaker and restoration assistant at the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation (FCG).
The collection of prints included pieces from the 17th-20th centuries from the Flemish, French, English and Italian Schools, a selection left by collector Calouste Sarkis Gulbenkian (Üsküdar, Istambul, 1869 - Lisboa, Portugal, 1955) to the Foundation, which was set up in Lisbon a year after his death.
The idea to hold the exhibition was suggested by the head of the Museum Department, Maria Teresa Gomes Ferreira, with the help of the deputy head, Maria Helena Soares Costa. The planning for the exhibition was entrusted to the FCG Prints Department, coordinated by the then conservator of the graphic arts section, Manuela Fidalgo. The organisation of travelling exhibitions was provided for in the FCG Museum programme, and they had been held since the 1970s (see Tecidos e Rendas da Colecção Calouste Gulbenkian - [Fabric and Lace from the Gulbenkian Collection], 1978), guided by attempts to decentralise art and cooperate with other art institutions also carried out by other FCG departments, specifically the Fine Arts Department (see Arte Portuguesa Contemporânea. Pintura, Desenho e Gravura da Coleção C. Gulbenkian [Contemporary Portuguese Art. Painting, Drawing and Prints from the C. Gulbenkian Collection], 1962; A Talha em Portugal [ Wood Carving in Portugal], 1963; Arquitectura Romana em Portugal [Roman Architecture in Portugal], 1976; Aspectos da Arte em Portugal no Século XVIII [Aspects of Art in Portugal in the 18th Century], 1973; Imagens da Arte em Portugal [Images of Art in Portugal], 1979; Alguns Reflexos da Arte da China em Portugal [Some Reflections of the Art of China in Portugal], 1982, ...).
As in previous initiatives organised by the Museum Department, this travelling exhibition aimed to show aspects and sections of the Collection that were not as well known and were less accessible to the public because they were in the museum's reserves or due to management of the collection and conservation of the pieces (Gravuras da Colecção Calouste Gulbenkian, 1987, p. 8).
In an internal document written by curator Manuel Fidalgo to the head of the Museum Department, three main goals were set out for the exhibition, the reach of which would also depend on educational activities running alongside the exhibition. 1) Displaying a section of the collection (...) that is usually kept in reserve, and is not therefore part of the Museum's permanent exhibition; 2) Providing a path through the evolution of printmaking with a chronological and geographic presentation of the pieces (...) through different schools; 3) Comparing different printmaking techniques (Note by the Museum Department, 31 Mar. 1992, Gulbenkian Archives, MCG 03012).
The founder's collection print section is formed of roughly 250 prints from a period stretching from the 17th century to the 20th century. It also comprises prints from art books of the 18th and 19th centuries which were not included in the plans for this travelling exhibition (apart from when it was held in Lisbon). Of this set, 60 prints were selected, representing several art schools, from the Flemish to the German and Dutch schools, also touching on the Italian, French and English schools. The latter two are excellent in terms of quality and quantity, as proven in works by Jean François Janinet (Paris, 1752-1814), Carl Guttemberg (Nuremberg, 1743-1790), Jean-Michel Moreau, Le Jeune (Paris, 1741-1814), Antoine-Jean Duclos (Paris, 1742-1795), Valentine Green (Salford Priors, 1739-1813) and John Raphael Smith (Derby, 1752-1812).
Two possibilities were initially presented to José de Azeredo Perdigão, the FCG president: one more directed towards works from the French school, understood as being of higher quality according to reports by Jean Adhémar, a specialist who carried out studies when the Museum's programme was being drawn up; and another broader option that would include all the schools represented in the collection (Note by the Museum Department, 2 Apr. 1987, Gulbenkian Archives, MCG 03016). According to Manuela Fidalgo, this selection did not correspond to a homogeneous group or a systematic collection of reproductions or original prints, nor one created based on one or more common themes. They were, in fact, simply a few pieces from a taste-based collection gathered by Calouste Gulbenkian over his lifetime in line with the opportunities that presented themselves to him (Gravuras da Colecção Calouste Gulbenkian, 1987, p. 12).
The exhibition's first journey, which lasted roughly two years (1987-1989) began in the north of the country, in Bragança (Museu do Abade de Baçal), after which it spent time in Porto (Museu Nacional de Soares dos Reis), Aveiro (Museu de Aveiro), Braga (Museu Nogueira da Silva), Lamego (Museu de Lamego), Coimbra (Museu Machado de Castro), Caldas da Rainha (Museu de José Malhoa), Castelo Branco (Museu de Francisco Tavares Proença Júnior), Évora (Museu de Évora) and Beja (Museu Rainha D. Leonor). While it was initially planned to go to only seven Portuguese towns and cities, this idea was quickly rethought and the possibility of its travelling to other towns was considered as the FCG received requests from several institutions. In 1992, to close the exhibition, and after overcoming the scheduling obstacles that led it to be repeatedly postponed, it opened in Lisbon at the Calouste Gulbenkian Museum's Temporary Exhibitions Gallery, complemented by a section containing around 20 French art books from the 18th and 19th centuries, which also belong to the collection. A dialogue was therefore established between standalone prints and illustration prints (A Gravura na Arte do Livro, 1992). Some materials were also loaned by the Bank of Portugal print workshops (chisels, roulettes and a steel matrix belonging to engraver Paes Ferreira), which were included for educational reasons.
After this first run, Manuela Fidalgo wrote a thorough report for the Museum Department on the different aspects related to the organisation of the exhibition. In it, she explained the exhibition script, the selection process, the organisation of the series of exhibitions in different places, transport, assembly, dissemination and critical reception, using photographs, press cuttings and graphic material (Report on Travelling Exhibition, 19 May 1989, Gulbenkian Archives, MCG 03015).
As requested by the organisers of the IV Bienal de Gravura da Amadora [4th Printmaking Biennial of Amadora], the exhibition was included at the event in 1994, which meant it was easier to understand printmaking techniques and their evolution to the present day.
In 1995, the FCG agreed to a request by Estremoz municipal council to allow the exhibition to be held there, to coincide with the 250th anniversary of the birth of composer João de Sousa Carvalho (1745-c.1798). Its journey was planned and calculated according to the efficiency of travel and transport, avoiding wasted time or human and material resources (Note by the Museum Department, 7 Jan. 1988, Gulbenkian Archives, MCG 03016).
The schedule for the exhibition was also subject to criteria such as local weather conditions and adjustment to the academic calendar so it could be included in educational activities and visited by a greater number of school groups. The successive museum plans were the responsibility of the FCG Exhibitions and Museography Department by way of Américo Silva, the member of technical staff appointed for that purpose. The prints were mounted on panels suspended on metal wire that allowed them to be easily adapted to each museum and institution (see Model of the exhibition plan, Gulbenkian Archives, MCG 03015).
The exhibition also included a cultural outreach programme, including printmaking workshops, audiovisual projects that demonstrated the different printmaking techniques and tours with commentary, planned by the Museum department and enacted by local initiatives, the managements of the different museums and institutions where the exhibition was held.
The exhibition further included a range of photographs documenting the Calouste Gulbenkian Museum and some prints by contemporary artists (João Navarro Hogan, Cabé, Lourdes Leite, Manuel Cargaleiro, Mariana Quito and Nikias Skapinakis) that served as examples to explain and inspire people taking part in the printmaking workshops. They also allowed participants to see more recent works, since the pieces in the exhibition represented a period that came to an end at the start of the 20th century. The printmaking workshop, as well as working materials, included cabinets containing instruments and materials used, which aided the practical side. Assistance and guidance in these workshops were provided by Rui Humberto Marçal (1933) in the first two weeks. The FCG restoration technician also trained technical staff at the different museums so they could run the workshops later, in his absence.
The exhibition, printmaking workshops and activities to complement the exhibition saw good numbers of visitors and participants. The high attendance of school groups and people taking part in the activities to complement the exhibition meant more assistants had to be hired. From the data collected, we can see that there was a significant number of visitors to the exhibition (in Braga, 3,143 visitors, at the Museu de Aveiro, around 1,500, at the Museu de Évora, around 7,900, in Castelo Branco, roughly 3,200, in Caldas da Rainha, roughly 8,400, in Beja, around 2,600, in Lisbon, around 8,550 and in Estremoz, approximately 2,030 visitors). The initiative's warm welcome by the public is also reflected in the large number of letters of thanks sent to the FCG.
The main advantages that were frequently pointed out in that correspondence were the cultural decentralisation encouraged by the FCG, which made it possible for people to have contact with works in the founder's collection; knowledge about the history of an artistic technique that was as yet little known by the public; and participation in printmaking workshops, highlighting the educational and participatory nature of the initiative (see Letter from visitors, Gulbenkian Archives, MCG 03016). The exhibition's critical reception in the press was also largely congratulatory. In the Público newspaper, art critic Luísa Soares de Oliveira highlighted the decentralising and educational mission of the exhibition organised by the FCG: Furthermore, [these exhibitions] have educational intentions, with a travelling component that will take them all over the country. The Gulbenkian therefore continues to perform an educational role that regional museums cannot, due to lack of resources and various raw materials (Oliveira, Público, 21 Jul. 1992, p. 22). In that same article, Luísa Soares Oliveira also made some criticisms of the lack of references in the labels for the works, particularly the date on which each print was taken (ibid.).
The workshop Contactos com a Gravura [Contacts with Printmaking] was widely praised in the local press. In Évora, it even became a way for people to start actively making prints, helping lead to the setting up of the Évora Printmakers' Association, founded on 7 July 1989 (Letter no. 562 of the Museu de Évora, 5 Apr. 1989, Gulbenkian Archives, MCG 03018). Three months after the exhibition was held at the Museu de Évora, its director, António Pestana de Vasconcellos organised an exhibition of prints based on the work produced by local artists, teachers and other enthusiasts related to this workshop (Humberto Marçal e Oficina de Gravura de Évora, 1989).