Comparing a Lithograph and Giclee

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Beneath the horizontal line are two prints of iiwis by Marian Berger:

As I examine my entire collection, I see little color difference between the lithographs and the Giclees in general. Yes, the lithographs are somewhat brighter and have a slightly greater color gamut, but no significant difference to my eye. In this case, however, The lithograph 'I'iwi below has a more orange tone, while the Giclee 'I'iwi has a more cherry tone. An internet search of 'I'iwi photographs shows the color of the lithograph to be somewhat truer to life.

The lithograph 'I'iwi consumes a slightly greater portion of the image than the Giclee 'I'iwi. This is just a decision made on composition when I scanned and cropped the images for my website, and is not a valid difference between the images themselves.

The 1985 lithograph has much more feather detail than the 2010 Giclee. You will see the same difference between most of Marian's lithographs and Giclees for most species, though perhaps not always on such a marked scale. After perusing the internet for actual photos of three different species for which I have both a lithograph and a Giclee, I observed two things. First the actual "feather fluffiness" of live birds lies somewhere between what is portrayed in Marian's lithographs and Giclees. Secondly, the fluffiness is definitely somewhat closer to what is portrayed in the lithographs than in the Giclees. There certainly are counter-examples, as some of Marian's Giclees show more feather detail than others.

It is worth noting that, in general, the work of John James Audubon is more similar to Marian Berger's Giclees than to her earlier lithographs. Here is another link to the Berger-Audubon comparison.

I love both images. But the lithograph was a gift to me from my wife in 1985. That it is a very detailed image makes it all the more appealing to me.

I'iwi - Fringillidae Vestiaria coccinea Iiwi in Vetch, lithograph, 1985

I'iwi - Fringillidae Vestiaria coccinea Iiwi in Koa, Giclee, 2010