heliogravure, paper; 23.5 x 19 cm (inside the mat), 36.5 x 31 cm (frame, mat); signed on the plate, lower right: Antonio Kamieński; inscribed below the composition in the center: KAMIONKA / (“LUX IN TENEBRIS LUCET”); lower right: Meisenbach Riffarth & Co.
Georg Meisenbach was a German engraver and the inventor of the autotype. In 1883, Meisenbach & Co. merged with Heinrich Riffarth & Co. to form Meisenbach Riffarth & Company, a well-known European printmaking firm.
Heliogravure (Greek helio + gravure) — a type of intaglio printing technique, similar to aquatint, involving the photographic transfer of an image onto a metal plate (usually copper) and etching it using a photosensitive emulsion so that the brightest areas create the shallowest recesses. Invented in 1879, printing is done on a special hand press. Heliogravure, which was widespread in the 19th century, was later supplanted by rotogravure, as heliogravure is an expensive and very time-consuming method. Heliogravure is used only when it is necessary to produce a small number of very high-quality copies.
