The A to Z of Art
A comprehensive guide to the terminology and artists you need to know by Amane Zerradi
September 23rd
A
Artist’s Proof (A.P.)
Proofs produced especially for the artist used to check the progress of prints during their production.Typically, they are kept for the artist or used for exhibition purposes. Although they are not generally sold straight away, however, some collectors prefer to purchase APs, due to their rarity and to the fact that they belonged to the artist’s personal collections.
Quatuor by André Brasilier, 1986
Oirginal Lithograph on Japan Paper, A.P.,
Signed & Annotated "Pour Jacques et Liliane Mourlot"
B
B.A.T. (Bon à Tirer)
French for ‘good to pull’, indicates that the artist is satisfied with the print and authorises multiple edition runs. All following prints are judged against the BAT print for quality & comparison.
La Lionne Eucuyere by André Brasilier
Original Lithograph, 1980 B.A.T., SIgned
C
Cocteau
Jean Cocteau (1889-1963) was a playwright, a novelist, artist, poet, designer, and filmmaker. Associated with both Dada and Surrealism, he was one of the most influential creative figures in Paris. A true renaissance man living in Paris through the city’s great artistic heyday. Cocteau famously said of his artwork, “Poets don't draw. They unravel their handwriting and then tie it up again, but differently.”
Cocteau was very fond of the Atelier Mourlot. In 1955, he wrote a poem dedicated to the famous printers; 'Walls have ears, they even have mouths, Mourlot posters, present to you one of their songs, one of their cries.'
Galerie Pont des Arts Poteries by Jean Cocteau, 1965
Original Lithograph, 1965
E
Etching
An intaglio process in which a plate is treated with an acid-resistant ground. The artist then draws through the ground exposing the metal below. Then immersed in an acid bath the acid completely dissolves the exposed lines. The resist is then removed and ink is then applied to the sunken lines. The plate is then placed against paper and passed through the printing press to transfer the ink from the recessed lines.
Le Faun by Pablo Picasso, 1958
Etching & Aquatint on Japan Paper, Limited Edition of 300, - SIGNED IN PENCIL
F
Fassianos
Alekos Fassianos was a Greek painter who used vibrant colors and a simplistic style to create a brilliant mix of modernism and ancient art. Fassianos’ works focused around Mediterranean characters, using living elements such as the sun, earth, sea, and fire, as inspiration. Fassianos is considered one of the greatest Greek painters today and continues to live and work in Athens, although he always refers to France as his second home.
Blue Woman, Green Man by Alekos Fassianos, 1977
Original Lithograph, Signed & Dated, 1977
I
Impressionism
Impressionism developed in France in the 19th century and is the practice of painting outdoors and spontaneously rather than in a studio from sketches. Usually impressionist subjects were landscapes and scenes of everyday life.
La Lionne Eucuyere, by André Brasilier 1980
Original Lithograph, B.A.T. Signed, Dated & Annotated, 1980
J
José Luis Cuevas
José Luis Cuevas is considered as the leading artist of the Generación de la Ruptura as he was an early and very outspoken critic of the social-realist aesthetics of the Mexican muralist tradition. His main critiques focused on the "Muralists" and their depiction of the Mexican social composition and lifestyle, claiming their works were influenced by government patronage. His opposition to the status quo and his aggressive art style caused extreme reactions towards his work, including violent public outcries, written insults, personal threats and a machine-gun attack to his home.
This has earned him the nickname of "l'enfant terrible" of Mexican fine art. Cuevas is a worked primarily with etchings, illustrations, sculptures, and paintings, though he is perhaps best known for his drawings.
Borgia by Jose Luis Cuevas, 1968
Original Lithograph, 1968
L
Lithography
Invented in 1796, involves drawing directly onto a prepared surface, usually a limestone, with a grease or wax crayon. The drawing is then chemically bonded so that the drawn parts of the surface become water repellent. When dampened with water and rolled with oily ink, the ink sticks only to these drawn areas. The matrix is then covered with a sheet of paper and run through a lithographic press.
Joan Miro in the Atelier Mourlot, Paris
M
Mourlot
For more than half a century Fernand Mourlot was synonymous with the resurgence of lithography, a process which would attract the greatest artistic masters of our times. Under the direction of Fernand Mourlot, artists such as Picasso, Matisse, Chagall, Miró, Braque, Dubuffet, Léger, and Giacometti enriched their own works, in general with this new medium of expression..
Fine art lithographs offered a new realm of experimental possibilities for the printing of their masterpieces. Thanks to Fernand Mourlot, modern lithography took on a personality and found a future.
Pablo Picasso and Fernand Mourlot in Atelier Mourlot, Paris in 1952.
O
Offset lithograph
A printing technique where an image is transferred from an inked plate to an intermediate surface before printing it onto the final sheet, (rather than printing the image directly from plate onto paper. The term refers to the fact that the plate and sheet never make contact.
Israel Judaica Horses by Reuven Rubin, 1960
Offset Lithograph, on Arches deckle edged paper
Limited edition of 250. Hand Signed in pencil
S
Serigraph/ Silkscreen/ Screenprint
A process in which ink is forced onto a sheet through the open sections. Only one colour can be printed at a time. The non-printing areas on the fabric are blocked out by a stencil.
Ebu by Hunt Slonem, 1980
Original Serigraph, 1981 - Edition of 200
Signed & Numbered in pencil
W
Watermark
A colourless design impressed into paper during its production, it becomes particularly visible when held to the light. The image usually represents the papermaker’s trademark design or logo, sometimes with a name, initials or date.
W
Wove Paper
A type of paper invented in the 18th century that produced a flat surface — artists use both handmade and machine made paper, although handmade is often used for printmaking.
Modulor by Le Corbusier
Original Lithograph, 1956
Signed in the stone with a intriguing annotation by the artist, ‘Friend of Modular, search by yourself, invent, discover… Bring your inventions, they will be useful. Thank you friend, Le Corbusier.’
Z
Zuniga
Francisco Zuniga was a Costa-Rican born Mexican artist known for his painting and his sculpture, earning the title of “perhaps the best sculptor” of the Mexican political modern style by the Encyclopedia Britannica.
Chamulas Rojo by Francisco Zuniga,
Original Lithograph, Signed & Dated, 1982