Kind Reminder about the Lithography
Please note that a litho is not a poster or just another art reproduction. When designing a litho, strict technical and artistic standard requirements should be fulfilled.
However, a lot of basic and common reproductions are suddenly becoming lithographs without having the relevant quality. Adapted to fit any case, the word « lithograph » is nowadays used in an attempt to justify, to give credit and therefore to deceive a not well-informed buyer.
Invented at the end of the 18th Century, this technique is indeed a good means of reproduction but above all, it is a creation work.
To take a colourful example, this technique means quite a lot to the reproduction of drawings or paintings as much as the Roll-Royce company means to the car industry or Louis VUITTON to the fine leatherwork.
This is not a matter a chance if all the world’s greatest painters have adopted this technique.
The lithograph is fully hand-made such as a drawing or a painting (lines, shades and colours are drawn in the stone before being hand-printed on the lithographic hand-press).
By this way, the artistic process is preserved whereas it is upset when using the modern printing means that are eventually a simple “copy/paste” without feeling.
You must have understood by now …the lithograph is infinitely more than just a reproduction. Its exceptional design is a masterpiece in its own right.
© François de l'An / France Art Diffusion