Chromolithography is a method of
printmaking using multiple colours, stemming from the process of
lithography. It became the most successful of several methods of
colour printing developed by the 19th century. This image is a chromolithograph of
Love or Duty by
Gabriele Castagnola, printed by Hangard-Mangué of Paris. The blocks on the lower right-hand side show the nineteen colours of ink used. The image depicts, like many of Castagnola's works,
Lucrezia Buti and
Filippo Lippi. Lippi, a painter, was in 1458 working in the city of
Prato, Italy, where he set about painting a picture for the monastery chapel of Saint Margherita in that city. There he met Lucrezia, a beautiful
novice of the order. Lippi asked that she
model for the figure of the
Virgin Mary, or perhaps
Margaret the Virgin. The two began a sexual relationship, and Buti moved into Lippi's home. This relationship resulted in a son,
Filippino Lippi, who became a famous painter, and a daughter, Alessandra.
Illustration credit: Gabriele Castagnola; chromolithography by Jehenné; restored by Adam Cuerden
