Press Release

Grease, Ink, Water, and Stone Created Lithography

Experimental Prints and Artistic Masterpieces are featured in The Romance of the Stone: Lithography, 1796-1825 at The New York Public Library

An important exhibition at The New York Public Library examines the early commercial and fine art history of lithography, from modest beginnings to its establishment as a significant artistic medium by the most important artists of the Romantic period. The Romance of the Stone: Lithography, 1796-1825 displays over 200 lithographs selected from the Library's outstanding print collections, and will be on view September 16, 1996 to January 11, 1997 in the third floor galleries of the Center for the Humanities, Fifth Avenue and 42nd Street.

Lithography, or "stone printing," was invented two hundred years ago by an unsuccessful writer and actor named Alois Senefelder in Munich. Senefelder's discovery was based on the principle that grease and water don't mix, and the lithographic process was the result of drawing with greasy ink or crayon on polished limestone block that was then inked and used to produce multiple copies more efficiently than any of the previously existing printing methods. Its initial impact was similar to that of the photocopy machine during this century, and lithography was first used for many of the same purposes: making copies of documents and multiplying images. Artists would soon adopt it for making reproductions of paintings and imitating works in other mediums; gradually they discovered its unique potential for creating original works of art.

The Romance of the Stone embraces a wide range of early lithographs, which reflect the excitement of artists learning to use a new medium. Amateur artists, including many women, eagerly adopted the new, easy method of producing copies of their drawings; professional artists and printers experimented with increasingly sophisticated and difficult means of conveying ever more subtle and dramatic effects.

Among the objects on view are many rare and fascinating milestones of early lithography: sheet music printed before 1800 by Senefelder himself; the first portfolio of artists' lithographs, published in London beginning in 1803; technically innovative prints by Goya and Delacroix; and the first book illustrated unsuccessfully with a lithograph. Later books, including a wide selection of instructional manuals in German, French, English, and Italian, suggest the widespread interest in the new medium. Among the finest early books illustrated by lithography are a copy of Albert Dürer's Designs for the Prayer Book, published by Rudolf Ackermann in London in 1817, and the first volumes of the Picturesque and Romantic Journeys in Old France, published in Paris, beginning in 1820. Beside these masterful achievements, the earliest known American lithograph is displayed ­ Bass Otis's 1819 A House and Trees at Waterside, revealing American lithography in its infancy.

The Romance of the Stone includes prints on classical themes, such as Friedrich Bolt's lithograph, The Origin of Painting, which shows the daughter of Butades, a potter of Sykion, tracing her lover's shadow on a wall, and Pierre Nolasque Bergeret's reproduction of a picture by Giulio Romano, Venus and Mars Arming Cupids. The British landscape tradition is especially well represented with important works by Samuel Prout, James Duffield Harding and the printer Charles Joseph Hullmandel. Numerous depictions of Napoleon and his soldiers reflect the era's fascination with the dramatic events of his meteoric career. Lithographs by other artists explore the unique capacity of lithography to suggest atmospheric qualities, such as the swirling smoke and mist which surround the moody figure in Eugène Delacroix's 1825 print Macbeth Consulting the Witches.

Organized by Nancy Finlay, Print Specialist, and Roberta Waddell, Curator of Prints, to celebrate the 200th anniversary of lithography's invention, The Romance of the Stone: Lithography, 1796-1825 provides a rare opportunity to view some of the most significant prints from the medium's early years. Some of the prints and books on view have not been seen since two major exhibitions celebrated the centenary of lithography in 1896. Both lithography collections that made up the centenary exhibitions are now part of the Library's collections in the Print Room; many of which are now shown for the first time since their acquisition by the Library. Although some of these works may be unfamiliar to the exhibition visitors, their experimental and highly personal quality should have great appeal for 20th-century viewers.

All material exhibited in The Romance of the Stone is from the Library's Miriam and Ira D. Wallach Division of Art, Prints and Photography and from the Berg, Stuart, and Arents Collections. For those interested in the later history of American lithography, the Library has strong holdings in its I.N. Phelps Stokes Collection. The Romance of the Stone: Lithography, 1796-1825 is made possible by the generosity of Miriam and Ira D. Wallach.

The mission of The New York Public Library's exhibition program is to increase public access to the collections through the display of materials and to provide a forum for public education through the presentation of thematic exhibitions. Library exhibitions explicate the relationship between the arts, sciences and history in interpreting a historical movement, genre or enduring idea by placing objects in their cultural context. By heightening public awareness of the strengths of the collections, exhibitions serve to garner further support for the Library in the realization of its central mission ­ a repository of materials on every subject available to every citizen.

The New York Public Library Center for the Humanities, Fifth Avenue and 42nd Street, is open Mondays, Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays 10 a.m. ­ 6 p.m., and Tuesdays and Wednesdays 11 a.m. ­ 6 p.m. Admission is free. For a recorded schedule of exhibitions at the Library, call (212) 869-8089.

For press information, please call Rebecca Churchill, Public Relations Office, at (212) 221-7676, or via e-mail: rchurchill@nypl.org

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thoerenz 10/8/96