KNOXVILLE, TN.- The Knoxville Museum of Art presents 35 rare prints in Sordid and Sacred: The Beggars in Rembrandt’s Etchings from June 8 through August 5, 2007. Widely recognized as the greatest practitioner of the etching technique in the history of art, Rembrandt created 300 prints that constitute a body of work unparalleled in richness and beauty. The Sordid and Sacred exhibition is dedicated to images of beggars, which Rembrandt portrays sympathetically.

The exhibition includes prints made from copper plate etchings, which date between 1629 and 1654, when Rembrandt was most actively involved with the medium. With 35 works on display, museum visitors will have the opportunity to see how Rembrandt experimented with inks, paper, and the reworking of the copper plates to enhance the visual impact of the imagery.

Sordid and Sacred: The Beggars in Rembrandt’s Etchings is drawn from the John Villarino Collection in Los Angeles , California , and organized by Landau Traveling Exhibitions. The exhibition will be supplemented by a selection of master etchings from Knoxville collections illustrating Rembrandt’s legacy as a printmaker.

Sponsors for this exhibition include Regions, and Sandra and Monroe Trout. Media sponsors include WBIR, Real Yellow Pages, Method Bureau and Digital Media Graphix.