Lithography is a printing proces in which the design is drawn on a flat stone or a metal plate and glazed with a gum. This substance creates a chemical reaction with the stone plate and binds the image. It also makes sure that blank areas will reject ink and instead absorb water. It is one of the more comprehensive printing techniques, as it involves many steps and requires a lithographic press. The technique was invented in 1798 by the German playwright Alois Senefelder.

Lithographic printmaking

The basic idea of this technique is that the chosen design is chemically fixed, while the negative areas of the design are made repellent to ink. When creating a lithograph, an oil-based ink is rolled onto a stone or metal plate, whereafter the stone is damped with water, to repel ink from the negative spaces. This proces in repeated until the entire image is inked properly. A sheet of damp paper is then laid on top of the stone, with the image facing upwards, and pressed in a flatbed lithographic press.

Artists working with lithography

Limited Works present litographs by artists such as Anne Torpe, Husk Mit Navn, Peter Larsen, Mikkel Ørsted, Sune Christiansen and Nicky Sparre-Ulrich.

Click here to see other printing techniques and all other types of artworks.