The creation of a work by master Emilio Isgrò, eight copper plates, and months of work in the printing press: the workshop for students of the two-year specialist program in Graphic Art for the Visual Arts at the Academy of Fine Arts of Urbino, held in collaboration with the International Center for Graphic Art 2RCABAU, has reached its final stage.

The activity is part of the two-year curriculum, which aims to put students in direct contact with high-level professionals in the field of contemporary graphic art. This is the context for the second workshop developed in collaboration with 2RC, dedicated to the creation of a graphic work by the master Emilio Isgrò.

During the workshop, the students participated in the various stages of the graphic work, assisted by Simona Rossi and Lino Tortosa of 2RC in the preparation of the eight copper plates that comprise the project, until the final printing was achieved. The work began with a copy of Baldassarre Castiglione's “Libro del Cortegiano” (1544), a XNUMXth-century work kindly provided by Fondo Antico, and developed through techniques such as aquatint, etching, and photoengraving, allowing the students to directly engage with the entire technical and professional process of fine art printing.

After months of testing and experimentation, the project is now entering its final phase, offering young engravers the opportunity to experience the delicate final stages of producing an intaglio print run.

The project dedicated to Emilio Isgrò was led by Professor Marco Bazzini, a longtime collaborator of the master and the Scientific Director of the Emilio Isgrò Archive. As part of the two-year training program, the workshop provided an important opportunity to closely observe the dialogue between conceptual experimentation and artisanal precision that characterizes contemporary graphic art.

The collaboration between the Academy of Fine Arts of Urbino and 2RC confirms the desire to integrate academic training with direct experiences in historic locations of fine art printing, exposing students to the methods and practices that have shaped some of the most significant chapters in Italian graphic design in the second half of the twentieth century.