Oleographies

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A collection of prints or images rendered from a painting or artwork, often produced using a specific printing technique to capture color details
2. Artworks created through the process of lithography, involving the reproduction of painted works onto paper or other materials
3. Reproductions of original art pieces typically showcasing vibrant colors through a method that prints from a flat surface to convey artistic texture and detail

Etymology: "Oleographies" is the plural of "oleograph," and the word is easy to misread. Its first half comes from Greek "elaion," meaning olive oil, which suggests real oil paintings, but these prints were not painted at all. The "oleo" refers to the oil-based inks used in chromolithography, the colour printing process that made them, and the word appeared in English in the 1860s to name these cheap imitations of oil paintings.