Gustav Klimt, Italian landscape, collotype on paper, 30x32 cm, 1931, based on book "Gustav Klimt. An Aftermath" by G. Klimt and M. Eisler

The artwork is based on book "Gustav Klimt. Eine Nachlese", that presents 30 heliogravure reproductions of oil paintings with an introductory text by text by Max Eisler, published by Österreichische Staatsdruckerei, Vienna, 1931, in an edition of 500 numbered copies. The technique of collotype is a dichromate-based photographic process invented by Alphonse Poitevin in 1856 and used for large volume mechanical printing before the existence of cheaper offset lithography. The collotype plate is made by coating a plate of glass or metal with a substrate composed of gelatin or other colloid and hardening it. Then it is coated with a thick coat of dichromated gelatin and dried carefully at a controlled temperature, so it 'reticulates' or breaks up into a finely grained pattern when washed later in approximately 16 °C water. It's then exposed in contact with the negative using an ultraviolet source which changes the ability of the exposed gelatin to absorb water later. The plate is developed by carefully washing out the dichromate salt and dried without heat. It's left in a cool dry place to cure for 24 hours before using it to print. The artwork is certificated by a document of autentiicity.