Hemellichamen 1830 - 1845

This image of celestial bodies was made by Henricus Wilhelmus Couwenberg, likely in the early 1840s, using the printmaking technique of lithography. The lithographic process begins with a smooth stone, on which the artist draws with a greasy crayon. The stone is then treated with acid, which fixes the drawing. Next, the surface is wetted, and greasy ink adheres only to the drawn areas. Finally, paper is applied and run through a press, transferring the image. The real beauty of lithography is that it is direct and allows for a wide variety of marks, which we can see in the contrasting textures of this print. The blurry atmosphere of the night sky is achieved through washes, whereas the planets and stars are rendered with precision. While lithography had been used commercially for decades at this point, Couwenberg is clearly more interested in the artistic potential of the process, rather than mass production. It is this combination of technical skill and artistic vision that makes this print so compelling, reminding us of the power of craft to elevate even the most mundane materials into works of art.