History of Press Graphics. 1819-1921

The golden era of the illustrated press

In today’s world of instant snapshots, 24-hour news, and round-the-clock connectivity, an illustrated press where the images are as important as the text has become an increasingly rare art form. This far-reaching compendium celebrates the golden age of graphic journalism as a distinct and unique genre and a laboratory for developing avant-garde aesthetics.

Spanning from 1819 to 1921, the collection covers a broad range of news graphics and political and satirical cartoons. Alongside the works of renowned artists such as Jean Cocteau, Juan Gris, and Käthe Kollwitz, the most famous illustrators of the time are also well represented. Thomas Nast, Honoré Daumier, Gustave Doré, and the numerous relatively unknown press graphic artists, the so-called “special artists,” whose work is rediscovered here.