Gustav Klimt | Lithographs

(1862 - 1918)

AN OUTSTANDING LITHOGRAPH | Lovers, 1904/1905 (Upper bodies of an embracing couple)

Handsigned & numbered edition at 60 ex.
From the original drawing of Gustav Klimt.
For the first time in the world in lithograph.
Drawn on the stone, hand-printing color by color on lithographic Hand Press of 19th century.
Enhanced in pencil

From the drawing to its printing, this lithograph has been entirely realized by hand.
With the same technical and artistic constraints, the same moves are made on the very same period machines.
Drawing on stone, printing colour by colour on lithographic hand-press of 19th century.

Title : LOVERS - 1904/1905
(Upper bodies of an embracing couple)

Technique : Lithograph from an original drawing in Pencil

Date of the lithograph : 2018

Publisher : FRANCE ART DIFFUSION

Provenance : Wien Museum, Vienna (Austria).

Lithography workshop : Atelier Stamp

Lithographer : Clément Lalande

Size : 65x50 cm / 25,6x19,6 in

Paper : Velin d'arches

Justification : Handsigned & numbered in pencil by the lithographer
Note in pencil : Gustav Klimt 1904/1905, Wien Museum
Dry stamp of the publisher & the lithography workshop

CERTIFICATE OF AUTHENTICITY

The lithograph : a good turn for an exceptional drawings

The lithographs made while Gustav Klimt were alive are practically nonexistent; some very rare copies can be found in different museums and in the most prestigious private collections. (As a matter of fact,Gustav Klimt only made one single serie in 1914).

Nowadays the art-work from Klimt has been reproduced to excess: in all the shapes, all the colours, and by using all the modern printing processes.

It is just a kind of “copy/paste” without feeling, and showing no consideration for the artist and his work.

Gustav Klim deserved better, much better.

Turning to the lithograph is a way to reconcile the original art work and its reproduction so that Klimt would have liked it ; it is a way to go to the heart of his inspiration with the same requirement, the same moves and with the very same period machines.

It is to see to it that this lithograph belongs to him, so that it may be a link between him and us.

Please bear in mind that the price of original art-works from GUSTAV KLIMT have amounted up to several hundreds of thousands Euros. Nowadays it is quite common to see on some web-sites some drawings, supposed to be original ones at prices ranging from 10 or 100 Euros…

Kind Reminder about the Lithography

Please note that a litho is not a poster or just another art reproduction. When designing a litho, strict technical and artistic standard requirements should be fulfilled.

However, a lot of basic and common reproductions are suddenly becoming lithographs without having the relevant quality. Adapted to fit any case, the word « lithograph » is nowadays used in an attempt to justify, to give credit and therefore to deceive a not well-informed buyer.

Invented at the end of the 18th Century, this technique is indeed a good means of reproduction but above all, it is a creation work.

To take a colourful example, this technique means quite a lot to the reproduction of drawings or paintings as much as the Roll-Royce company means to the car industry or Louis VUITTON to the fine leatherwork.

This is not a matter a chance if all the world’s greatest painters have adopted this technique.

The lithograph is fully hand-made such as a drawing or a painting (lines, shades and colours are drawn in the stone before being hand-printed on the lithographic hand-press).

By this way, the artistic process is preserved whereas it is upset when using the modern printing means that are eventually a simple “copy/paste” without feeling.

You must have understood by now …the lithograph is infinitely more than just a reproduction. Its exceptional design is a masterpiece in its own right.