Dating back to 1798, stone lithography was one of the earliest methods of colour poster printing. While there are many forms of lithography, the first fine art posters were almost always created on a limestone block or onto a zinc plate. Artists drew directly onto meticulously prepared limestone using a greasy crayon, a slow, exacting process that preserved every nuance of the hand. Many quickly recognised lithography as a way to reach a wider audience than the gallery alone, and dedicated hours of creative energy to their exhibition posters.

After the drawing is complete, the limestone block is dampened so that water settles into its porous surface while the greasy marks repel it. Ink is then rolled across the stone by a master printer, clinging only to the drawn areas and lifting each line, wash and gesture with extraordinary fidelity. For colour lithographs, the process becomes even more exacting: each hue is drawn on a separate stone or plate, then printed one by one, perfectly aligned, to build the final image in layers. It’s this blend of chemistry, precision and artistry that gives lithographs their unmistakable depth and softness – a quality many artists found irresistible.

Founded in Paris in 1852, Atelier Mourlot became the beating heart of 20th-century art lithography. Under Fernand Mourlot, artists including Georges Braque, Marc Chagall, Henri Matisse, Joan Miró and Pablo Picasso worked side by side with Mourlot’s artisan printers to produce the limited-edition, handcrafted lithographs in our collection today.