NOTRE DAME, IN.- The Snite Museum highlights prints by Henri Matisse, Pablo Picasso, Robert Rauschenberg, and Jasper Johns, among others in the conclusion of its two-part series exploring the print medium of lithography with the presentation of Rock-Paper . . . Lithographs from the Permanent Collection, Part II from August 23 through November 22, 2015.

This exhibition charts lithography’s continued evolution from 1900 through today. The course of the medium’s development reflects shifts in styles from expressionism, regionalism, abstract expressionism, pop art, and more recently a return to the figure. Lithography’s popularity waxed and waned throughout the twentieth century as new technologies, such as silkscreen and color photography, eclipsed it.

But the 1960s saw a renaissance of sorts for lithography as abstract expressionism became more fashionable. Prices for unique examples of the bold style increased exponentially, creating a market for more affordable contemporary multiples. New publishing workshops, such as Gemini G.E.L., Tamarind Institute, and Universal Limited Arts Editions (ULAE) emerged to fill the growing demand.

Lithographs are prints made from a stone with a design drawn onto it with a greasy crayon. Unlike etchings and engravings, which are made from metal plates with the design incised into the surface, lithographs are more fluid and can look like drawings or paintings. The autographic spontaneity characteristic of lithography first discovered in the early 1800s found its full expression by the 1960s with works by Grace Hartigan, for example.

“The artists on view here are genius at demonstrating lithography’s versatility and expressive potential,” said Cheryl Snay, curator of European art at the Snite Museum. “Juxtapositions of key works, such as Thomas Hart Benton’s Plowing It Under (ca. 1934), Gerhardt Richter’s Queen Elizabeth I (1966), and Renée Stout’s Marie Laveau (2009), allow visitors to think about not only lithography’s mechanics, but its—often provocative—content as well,” she continued.