LITHOGRAPHY. - From the Greek λίθος ("stone") and γραφία ("writing"). It generically denotes any engraving (writing, drawing, figure, etc.) made on stone prepared for the purpose; it further denotes the process by which, through chemical or mechanical action, the engraving can be reproduced in multiple copies on paper or other materials, and finally the particular sector of the graphic arts that attends to the printing of these engravings.
The artistic execution of the lithographic engraving differs from all others in that it is obtained without chemical or mechanical means, by means of a special pencil, called "lithographic," composed of greasy substances. The beginnings of this art form, typical of the early nineteenth century, date back to 1796 through the work of Aloys Senefelder (1771-1834), who is regarded as the true inventor, after the sporadic and uncertain attempts of Abbot Simon Schmidt. Lithography marked its golden age in the first half of the 19th century, and distinguished artists devoted themselves to it, particularly in Austria and Germany, among whom should be mentioned Franz Hanffstängl, Franz Krüger, Oswald Achenbach, Adolph Menzel and many others.
In Italy lithography, as a graphic industry, was introduced by two men from Trentino: Giuseppe de Werz de Sprengenstein (c. 1764-1827), who began his activity in Milan in 1807, lasting until 1813, and Giovanni Dall'Armi (d. 1829) in Rome, from 1805 until his death. Among the Italian artists who devoted themselves to lithography, one may recall Bartolomeo Pinelli (1787-1835), Francesco Hayez (1791-1882) and, later, Casimiro Teja (1830-97), particularly in the genre of caricature.
Lithography greatly interested the artists of the time and expressed itself first through reproductions of paintings, then gradually became more original, producing portraits, landscapes, views, caricatures, creating around it graphic establishments and specialized publishing houses. It also played a part, though not a preeminent one, in book illustration, particularly in France, where it benefited from the art of great lithographers such as Honoré Daumier and Paul Gavarni. In Italy, the use of lithography for the purpose of book illustration had only scant applications and was used above all in works of a popular and didactic type; it found greater affirmation instead as an autonomous art, especially for portraits.
The historical cycle of lithography does not exceed the half century straddling the first and second fifty-year periods of the nineteenth century. Then it rapidly declined, also because this particular art form did not much interest private collecting. Today, after a long period of complete decline, lithography has shown fortunate signs of revival, with an original production of notable artistic importance, also because it is entrusted to new and faster technical processes (v. PHOTOMECHANICAL, ARTS). - See plate XCVII.
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Giannetto Avanzi