Fine art reproductions and prints are a great way to acquire quality works of art for a fair price. Art enthusiasts will be impressed by you art collection and wonder how you came by your Picasso or Monet.

There are several different types of fine art reproductions available, and usually the quality and type is reflected in the price. There is now the Giclee, as well as the timeless methods of Lithographs and Serigraphs. Each one of these methods makes high quality reproductions of fine artwork.

A Giclee is a relatively new process that came about in the 1980s with the access to digital images, and subsequently digital prints. These print reproductions were created either on canvas or specialty paper. The word Giclee was recruited because of its French origin, which similarly mimics how an inkjet printer spits ink onto the paper to create the Giclee. It could be argued that the term was coined for marketing purposes, in order to set this process apart in a more favorable way.

Prior to the evolution of the Giclee, the lithograph was the method chosen to produce art reproductions and prints. The lithography, although officially invented in 1796 as a low cost alternative to printing text or subsequently artwork to paper, was a chemical process. The principle is to take an image, and through a chemical process, transfer the image to the paper.

In the 1860s there was a few failed attempts to sell portfolios produced though lithographs, even including several high quality fine art reproductions of Monet. By the 1870s, the color lithograph regained its popularity within the art community, and artists like Degas used the lithograph to produce much of their works. By the 1890s, artists including Picasso started using the lithography as an art form and a way to reproduce art. The artists in this time period took what was primarily a text base reproduction and moved it into fine art.

In the modern era, M.C Escher stands out as an artist who used lithography to create his prints. The lithography continues to gain popularity and use, despite the growth of the giclee form.

The Serigraph is another method of fine art reproduction, and dates back to the Ancient Chinese. This is more informally, but better known as a silkscreen. This method uses a mesh screen and special etching techniques to transfer the ink to the cloth or canvas.

Although this method of fine art reproduction has ancient roots, the 1960s saw an awakening of the process. The 1962 Marilyn Monroe Serigraph by Andy Warhol is often linked to the rebirth of the method. The Serigraph is used to create everything from canvas, to posters, to t-shirts. Often the serigraph is chosen over the ink jet to reproduce art. It is lower in cost and often more flexible.

Silk screening or Serigraphs are now being used to mass-produce art on large sheets of canvas. Often much of this art is produced in China and uses the serigraph process to produce a low cost fine art reproduction.

These three methods of fine art reproductions continue to evolve, making affordable inroads to allowing the public to purchase high quality, lower cost art.

Author Bio: Betz Gallery is an expert in Giclee and abstract paintings and prints and reproductions

Category: Arts and Crafts
Keywords: reproductions, abstract painting, giclee, fine art, impressionist