This special exhibition of selected artworks focuses on the development from monochrome black-and-white printing to polychrome colour prints that took place in the 18th century.

Early examples convey the different modes of expression that are possible with just two colours and underline the significance of the invention of polychrome colour printing in the second half of the 18th century. Colour printing not only offered viewers a new visual experience but also opened up a whole new world for artists that enabled individualised aesthetic expression. In this context, specific works from the second half of the 18th century serve as examples of the worlds of colour that were created by well-known artists such as Torii Kiyonaga, Katsukawa Shunshô, Kitagawa Utamaro, Tôshûsai Sharaku and others.