Lithography

What is lithography?

Lithography is a printmaking technique — a way of transferring a drawing from a support onto paper. It works on a simple but ingenious principle: the mutual repulsion of grease and water. It emerged at the end of the eighteenth century and artists still use it today for its ability to capture even the finest details of a drawing.

How is a lithograph made?

The artist first draws on a smooth surface, usually a stone plate, with greasy crayon or ink. Etching fixes the drawing; the surface is then dampened and printing ink applied, which adheres only to the greasy areas and is repelled by the dampened ones. Finally paper is laid on the plate and the drawing is transferred under great pressure in a lithographic press, so that a whole series of impressions can be made from a single original.

Who used lithography?

Lithography has been a favourite of many famous names; internationally, Toulouse-Lautrec and Picasso both took it up. It has a long tradition here too, where its masters include Adolf Born and Oldřich Kulhánek, and from an earlier period Max Švabinský. It is no technical footnote, then, but a fully fledged artistic discipline with a rich history.

Is it worth collecting prints, and what determines their price?

Prints, and lithographs in particular, have always been more affordable than, say, a unique painting, which has made them a welcome entry-level collecting category. Today they are prized above all when by well-known artists, with the size of the run — the edition — playing a crucial role, since the smaller the series, the rarer the sheet. That this is no marginal area is shown by the fact that limited print series, from Warhol to Dalí, account for a surprisingly large share of sales volumes.

Why is the edition number so important with prints?

Each sheet in a limited series is usually numbered, so you will find on it a fraction telling you which impression you are holding and how many were made in total. This figure, together with the artist's name, is what most determines the price. A smaller run means greater rarity, so with prints it pays to look not only at who made the work, but at how many copies of it exist.

— Anna Pulkertová, founder of Art Part Club