Estimation Lithograph Valuations

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Lithograph Valuations

Lithography is a printing technique invented by Aloïs Senefelder in 1796. Nevertheless, it would take twenty years before its technical quality and artistic context became widely recognised. The technique experienced a wave of popularity in the early nineteenth century with the publication of various collections illustrating travel stories. Nevertheless, the first artistic lithographs only appear from 1816-1817 in the workshops Engelmann and Lasteyrie.

Towards the end of the nineteenth century, lithographs became a mainstay in the advertising industry, producing collectible images, calendars, and all kinds of Chromolithography. Subsequently, many artists became fascinated by this printing technique. Masters of Modern Art such as Picasso, Matisse, Chagall or Miro used this medium to product brilliant pieces and so the twentieth century would go on to become the golden age of lithography.

For many collectors, a new market is emerging: the lithography market and the artist’s book. Pioneering artists and editors would number their prints to cultivate the impression of scarcity and therefore increase the value of each individual print. In the middle of the twentieth century, industrial lithography gave way to modern techniques such as the four-colour process produced via an offset press. It owes its survival to the artistic prints produced during these periods and still present all over the world.

Nowadays, lithography suffers from a lack of interest among artists, collectors, galleries and the general public, especially since the scandals regarding the prints of great artists that occurred between the 60s and 80s which reinforced this disinterest. Nevertheless, the original lithographs of the great Master of Art still sell very well in the modern art market.

If you wish to obtain a valuation of a lithograph, our experts in lithography will provide you with one within 48 hours.

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