In the mid 1950s, Manfred Schwartz created a limited edition series of hand-pulled stone lithographs depicting performers of the Medrano Cirque. He created the lithographs at the famed Mourlot Studios in Paris, France. The performers included opera singers dressed in elaborate clown costumes, acrobats engaged in daring feats, and jugglers deftly tossing balls into the air. A realistic photograph could carry no more truth than Manfred’s semi-abstract figures. One gets a sense of the delightful joy that Manfred must have felt as he watched the circus and made sketches which he would later turn into paintings and lithographs.

About Hand-Pulled Stone Lithographs
A hand-pulled lithograph is made by drawing on a flat surface with wax-based crayons or greasy ink. The design is set with a solution of acid and gum arabic. The flat surface is then wetted with water and rolled with ink, which adheres only to the drawing. A paper is then pressed to the flat surface and carefully removed by hand. A separate drawing, wetting, inking and pressing is necessary for each color.