Lewis Gruner

Ancient Car or Biga, from the Vatican

Lewis Gruner’s original color lithograph, "Ancient Car or Biga, from the Vatican", is an original color lithograph created in England in 1850. Lewis Gruner was an important pioneer of early color printmaking techniques in both England and Germany. In his native Germany he was known by his given name, Ludwig Gruner.

This large and impressive color lithograph (chromolithograph) was published by Thomas McLean for the series, "Specimens of Ornamental Art Selected from the Best Models of the Classical Epochs". A ‘Biga’ (Bigae) is Latin for ‘chariot’.

Original Color Lithograph (Chromolithograph) by the German artist, Lewis Gruner 'Ludwig Gruner'.

Ancient Car or Biga, from the Vatican

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Title:	Ancient Car or Biga, from the Vatican
Artist:	Gruner, Wilhelm Heinrich Ludwig 'Lewis Gruner' (Dresden, Germany, 1801 - 1882)
Date:	1850
Medium:	Original Color Lithograph (Chromolithograph)
Publisher:	Thomas McLean, London
Note:	Wilhelm Heinrich Ludwig Gruner 'Lewis Gruner': Although he was born and died in Dresden, Lewis, or Ludwig, Gruner is equally important to nineteenth century British and German art and design. A painter, engraver, lithographic designer and decorator, Lewis Gruner was a pupil under Ephraim Gottlieb Kruger in his native city. From 1826 to 1836 he resided in Milan and studied art techniques there under Longhi and Anderloni. In 1837 Lewis Gruner moved to Rome and remained in that city until 1841, when he came to England.
	In 1846 Lewis Gruner was commissioned to decorate the garden pavilion at Buckingham Palace. He also became a primary advisor to Prince Albert on art and design. Gruner was selected to work upon architectural designs for the construction of the Crystal Palace and was an acquisitions advisor for the newly created South Kensington Museum, which is now known as the Victoria and Albert Museum. During his time in England, Lewis Gruner served as a mentor to Owen Jones (1809-1874). Jones, of course, later created such masterworks of color lithography as "The Grammar of Ornament" (1856) and "The Victorian Psalter" (1861).
	In 1856 Lewis Gruner returned to Dresden and assumed the post of Director of the Royal Museum of Prints and Drawings. Besides his individually published engravings and lithographs he was responsible for such influential portfolios and sets as "Fresco Decorations of Churches in Italy" (1844), "Specimens of Ornamental Art" (1850), "Ornamental Designs for Decoration and Das grune Gewolbe zu Dresden" (1862).
	Lewis Gruner’s "Ancient Car or Biga, from the Vatican" originates from a most important experiment in early color lithography (chromolithography). "Specimens of Ornamental Art" was published in London in 1850. It consisted of over sixty very large, original lithographs printed in colors. Color lithographs had, of course, been produced before this date, but none rivaled the complexity of this series. In a chromolithograph such as, "Ancient Car or Biga, from the Vatican", printers utilized up to twenty separate stones to capture all the subtle hues and tones.
	The New York Public Library Digital Gallery list an impression of "Ancient Car or Biga, from the Vatican" in its on line collection. It may be found under the following number; ID 99639.
Source:	Specimens of Ornamental Art Selected from the Best Models of the Classical Epochs
	UnMatted
Size:	17 X 20 1/4 (Sizes in inches are approximate, height preceding width of plate-mark or image.)
Buy Now	Price: $485.00 US
Condition:	Printed on mid nineteenth century wove paper and with full margins as published in London in 1850. Bearing the full title and publisher’s address along the lower margin. Containing one small scrape within the image and a minor, restored tear within the lower margin, but not intruding into the actual image. Else it is a fine impression with full, unfaded coloration and in very good condition throughout. "Ancient Car or Biga, from the Vatican" represents a superb, original example of the influential lithographic art of Lewis (Ludwig) Gruner.
Subject:	Lewis Gruner, Ludwig Gruner, Wilhelm Heinrich Ludwig Gruner, "Ancient Car or Biga, from the Vatican", Original Color Lithograph (Chromolithograph), pioneer of early color printmaking techniques, "Specimens of Ornamental Art Selected from the Best Models of the Classical Epochs", Director of the Royal Museum of Prints and Drawings, Dresden, "The Grammar of Ornament", Victoria and Albert Museum.
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