Albert de Belleroche was born in Swansea, Wales to a wealthy French family. In 1882 he moved to Paris and later shared a studio with John Singer Sargent. Although he trained as a painter, it is as a printmaker that de Belleroche excelled. His chosen medium was lithography, which he took beyond its commercial confines. De Belleroche made over 500 prints that were drawn directly on the stone and printed by the artist. He is best known for his portraiture in a belle époque style.

Glossary

  • Lithography

    Lithography means, literally, stone drawing. In addition to fine grain lithographic stones, metal plates can also be used for lithography. The method relies on the fact that grease repels water. An image is drawn in a greasy medium onto the stone or plate, which is then dampened with water. Greasy printing ink rolled onto that surface will adhere to the design but be repelled by the damp area. The inked image is transferred to the paper via a press. For large editions, the grease is chemically fixed to the stone, and gum arabic, which repels any further grease marks but does not repel water, is applied to the rest of the surface. For colour lithography the artist uses a separate stone or plate for each colour required.

  • Medium

    Refers to either the material used to create a work of art, craft or design, i.e. oil, bronze, earthenware, silk; or the technique employed i.e. collage, etching, carving. In painting the medium refers to the binder for the pigment, e.g. oil, egg, acrylic dispersion. The plural form is media.