Neptune Calming the Tempest which Aeolus Raised against Aeneas' Fleet.The Hunterian has been awarded over £27,000 from Museums Galleries Scotland (Recognition Fund) for a new project which will make its major collection of Renaissance engravings fully accessible for the first time.

The project is titled Raphael and the Printed Image and focuses on 175 engravings produced between 1510 and 1530. The works are part of The Hunterian’s Recognised Collection of National Significance and will be conserved, catalogued and made available online.

The Hunterian has one the largest and most important print collections in the UK. It includes exceptional holdings of 16th to 18th century Italian prints by many artists including Marcantonio Raimondi (c. 1480 – 1527), assistant to the greatest Renaissance painter, Raphael.

The project focuses on two albums of works by Marcantonio, whose work is central to the history of printmaking. Access to this internationally important collection is currently highly restricted because the prints are fragile and preserved in the condition they were bequeathed in 1940. Only basic listings exist and very few have been photographed.

The award will enable a full programme of conservation and documentation that will inspire new opportunities for public engagement with this important legacy. The works will be available to view online via The Hunterian online catalogue and a selection will be displayed in the Hunterian Art Gallery in the Summer of 2016.

Hunterian Director Professor David Gaimster said:

‘We are delighted to receive funding from Museums Galleries Scotland for this important project which will make this outstanding collection of Renaissance prints fully accessible to our visitors and a worldwide audience for the first time.’

Further Information

  • The total amount awarded was £27,112.
  • Museums Galleries Scotland is the National Development Body for museums and galleries in Scotland and offers strategic development support to the sector.
  • MGS’s work supports and enables sector delivery in line with the National Strategy, brokering partnerships and providing the development opportunities, support, skills and funding museums need to work towards becoming more sustainable and resilient. 
  • To support the development of a sustainable museum sector and increase its public value, MGS produced Going Further: The National Strategy for Scotland’s Museums and Galleries in 2012.
  • In July 2015 MGS published Realising the Vision: Delivering Public Value through Scotland’s Museums and Galleries 2015 -2019. 

First published: 3 August 2015

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