One cannot get far in any museum or archive before encountering a lithograph print. In the case of the Catholic University of America’s Special Collections, you need not look further than our office walls in Aquinas Hall to see examples of such a familiar, kitschy, art style. From the unknown artists behind recognizable Catholic images (like the Sacred Heart of Mary pictured here) to Salvador Dali’s “The Biblia Sacra” 1963 series, lithographs have been ubiquitous in religious households since the turn of the century. Even though many of us have seen these prints, we may not be able to recognize or know, truly: What is a lithograph?
The word “Lithograph” marries two classical Greek words: λίθος (lithos) or “stone” + γράφω (grapho) – the word “[to] write”. Simply put, lithography is a print-making process where a design is drawn onto a stone and transferred to paper by means of a chemical reaction. Accidentally invented in 1796 by German playwright Johann Alois Senefelder, lithography quickly became a success among contemporaries as it generated a new, more affordable, method for print production. Senefelder’s invention spurred from his realization that he could make copies of his scripts by writing his words on limestone with greasy wax crayons, then imprinting the words on a piece of paper. Limestone retains ink quite well; and, as a result, it makes an excellent medium for creating numerous prints from a single image. The playwright’s invention was originally associated with printing theater scripts, then music, maps, until finally establishing its mass adoption in the art world. Famous artists like Pablo Picasso and Andy Warhol later incorporated this technique into what became perhaps some of the most recognized lithographs in the world.
Lithography dominated as a printmaking medium between 1820 and 1860. Replacing the
copper engraving machine, Lithography was quickly adopted by the changing American economy during the later part of the Industrial Revolution. The dissemination of these affordable images supplied the still slow-crawl of a literate public with an opportunity to engage with and experience their religiosity outside of church alone. Now, artwork was available to the lower-class families to adorn their homes with Mary’s sacred heart, powerful biblical images, Jesus’ sacred heart, and so on. The eventual globalization of Catholic art “flourished in its many lithographic prints” creating “images that could at once teach, persuade, and inspire devotion”(1).
These black and white or hand-colored prints are not to be confused with chromolithography which was developed in 1837— forty years after Alois’ patent. Although Alois had introduced the subject of coloured lithography in his 1818 “Vollstaendiges Lehrbuch der Steindruckerey” (A Complete Course of Lithography), printmakers in other regions were eager to do the same. Ultimately, Godefroy Engelmann was credited as the inventor of Chromolithography in July of 1837; although, there is room for debate (2). A type of lithography, Chromolithography dramatically improved upon the original black and white artistic limitations of its predecessor. Strictly speaking, a chromolithograph is a colored image printed by many applications of lithographic stones, each using a different color ink (if only one or two tint stones are used, the print is called a “tinted lithograph”) (3). The chromolithographic layering process (done well) can cheaply create images resembling lavishly expensive oil paintings.
The Catholic University of America’s lithograph collection has both classic devotional images as well as some rarer lithographs depicting historic and hallowed figures such as: Daniel O’Connell, The Most Rev. M. J. Spalding D. D. / Archbishop of Baltimore, The Apostle of Ireland, St. Patrick, Pope Pius IX, Pope Leo XIII, and St. Jean / Sn. Juan. We encourage you to look through the gallery below to see selected lithographs held here in our special collections.
Click here to see a step-by-step “how to create a lithograph” courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Sources:
- https://smarthistory.org/reframing-art-history/sacred-baroque-catholic-world/
- Ferry, Kathryn. “Printing the Alhambra: Owen Jones and Chromolithography.” Architectural History 46(2003): 175–188.
- https://antiqueprintsblog.blogspot.com/2009/06/chromolithography.html
- http://dixieartcolony.org/2021/02/11/doris-alexander-thompson-press-2/
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chromolithography