lithography

Printmaking technique invented in 1798 by Aloys Senefelder, based on the mutual repulsion of grease and water. A drawing is made with greasy crayon on an absorbent stone, which is then wetted. The wet stone repels ink (which is greasy) applied to the surface and the crayon absorbs it, so that the drawing can be printed. Lithographic printing is used in book production, posters, and prints, and this basic principle has developed into complex processes.

Many artists have made brilliant use of the process since the early 19th century, including Delacroix, Goya, Isabey, Bonington, Daumier, Gavarni, Whistler, Toulouse-Lautrec (who devised colour effects of the most striking and original kind), Bonnard, and Vuillard.