Introduction 11 –→ Table of Contents This book focuses primarily on the porcelain lithophane: a work of art molded in intaglio with photorealistic quality when backlit. It is often compared with the effect of an image created using the chiaroscuro technique. Lithophanes have been produced from biscuit porcelain since the first half of the 19th century. Later, manufacturers began using other translucent materials as well, such as glass, paper, ivory, horn, wax, soap, and plastic. Lithophanes followed in the tradition of earlier light-shielding products, which had primarily been made from opaque materials. As diaphanous, visual media, lithophanes can be categorized as “transparencies,” which also played a role in the prehistory of photography and film. The neologism “lithophane” was derived from ancient Greek. It is a combination of the noun lithos meaning “stone” and the infinitive phainein meaning “to shine” or “to (cause to) appear” and can be freely translated as “shining stone.” Other terms that have been used to describe this art form include porcelain transparency, bisque picture, Parian picture, translucent embossment, and, in reference to the products exported by the Königliche Porzellan-Manufaktur Berlin (KPM), Berlin transparency and Berlin night screen. They are also sometimes referred to incorrectly as “lithopanes.” The German translation for lithophane is Lithophanie, but several other terms can be found in German literature, including Porzellanlichtbild, Porzellantransparenz, Lichtschirmbild, Biskuitreliefbild, Porzellandiaphanie, and Photophanie. Other countries use similar terminology: in France, they are referred to as lithophanies, in Belgium and the Netherlands as lithophanie, transparentjes, or dia in biscuit, in Denmark as lithofanier or diafanplader, in Italy as litofanie, in Norway and Sweden as litofanier, in Portugal and Spain as litofanias, and in Hungary as litofánok. The Russian term can be translated literally as “biscuit light screen.” The first use of the term “lithophane” in any form was in the French patent granted on January 12, 1827, to the Frenchman who has been incorrectly credited with the invention of lithophanes, Paul Charles Amable de Bourgoing (1791–1864). We can therefore infer that Bourgoing was the inventor of this term. In the German-speaking world, lithophane products were initially sold under other names: the Königliche PorzellanManufaktur Berlin called them porzellane transparente Lichtschirmplatten (porcelain transparent light-screen plaques), the Porzellan Manufaktur Nymphenburg sold them as Lichtbilder (light pictures), and the Porzellanmanufactur Schierholz Plaue in Thuringia referred to them as transparente Lichtschirme (transparent light screens). The only German company that used the term Lithophanie—or lithophanische Lichtschirmplatten (lithophanic light-screen plaques)—from the very beginning was the Meissen manufactory in Saxony. The most likely explanation for Meissen’s use of the French term is that the company had had access to early French price lists and sample plaques. In some English and French publications, the terms “intaglio” and “socalled lithophanes” are used in reference to lithophanes that were not produced using the highly sophisticated and artistically demanding waxmodel process. In this case, the image is introduced directly to the plaster mold, sometimes using a model. However, the production method is not of primary importance. Bourgoing was already using a simplified technique that differed from the KPM process. In his first patent, he described an additional step involving cutout figures, which he pressed into the wax, and “the use of a great number of different materials.” The frequently cited argument that the term “lithophane” should only be used in reference to porcelain castings created from an original wax model is neither accurate nor substantiated by the text of Bourgoing’s patent. Therefore, this book also deals with lithophanes made from other materials, as well as related lithophanic objects and so-called “pseudo-lithophanes.” Glass lithophanes, which were also produced in the 19th century, are relatively rare. Here, the image is engraved by hand at varying depths into one or more layers (overlays) of colored glass. The German term for this technique is Lithophanieschnitt (lithophane engraving). Monochrome, deep-cut, or pressed glass works, on the other hand, are not considered lithophanes. The first paper lithophanes appeared on the market around the mid19th century. This term can refer to paper transparencies made using one of two different techniques: papyrophany or papyrography. In papyrophany, a relief image of varying thicknesses is embossed in papier-mâché. With papyrography, the image is formed by layering translucent paper cutouts. Lithoponie, a “further development of the lithophane,” is based on historical production processes. It is also known as émail ombrant, émail de Rubelles or faience de Rubelles after the place where it was first proIntroduction Fig. 1 Lithophane framed in stained glass · KPM 268 L’Algerienne · plaque c. 27.2×36.0 cm (10 3⁄4 × 14 1⁄8 in.) · FE 1842 (Collection “S” Wuppertal) –→ Object description p. 106
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MTMyNjA1