lineography

{{Short description|Art of drawing without lifting the pen}}

File:Lineographic Dauphin Coat of Arms.jpg of the Dauphin of France]]

Lineography is the art of drawing without lifting the pen, pencil, or paintbrush that is being used.{{ citation | last = Davis | first = Ken | title = Thinking Inside the Box | journal = Unitrin Specialty Update | date = 2007-01-02 | page = 10 | url = http://leannmaloney.com/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderfiles/unitrinspecialtyupdatev2_jan07.pdf }}{{dead link|date=December 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}

The practice originated in France in the seventeenth century. It fell into disuse by the early nineteenth century.{{ cite book | last = Hanton | first = George | title = French Lineography | publisher = Gregory Kline Books | location = New York | year = 1927 | page = 2 }} Lineography experienced a resurgence in 1960 with the release of the Etch A Sketch.

In some instances, entire landscapes and still lifes have been drawn or painted using this lineographic technique.{{ cite book | last = Hanton | first = George | title = French Lineography | publisher = Gregory Kline Books | location = New York | year = 1927 | page = 27 }} Famous works of art, such as the Mona Lisa, have been reproduced using the Etch A Sketch.{{ cite web | url = http://news.speeple.com/neatorama.com/2007/09/14/mona-lisa-in-etch-a-sketch.htm | title = Mona Lisa in Etch A Sketch | access-date = 2008-02-01 | date = 2007-09-14 | publisher = Speeple News }}

Pablo Picasso also drew in the lineography style. In his later career, after the surrealism period, he created a collection of over fifty drawings using the lineographic technique and a variety of media. The drawings mostly depict animals.{{ cite web | url = https://www.bada.org/object/set-6-picasso-line-drawings | title = Set of 6 Picasso Line Drawings | access-date = 2023-02-23 | publisher = The British Antique Dealers' Association }}

The television show How It's Made used Lineography in the short segments at the beginnings of many episodes giving a summary of the history of the episode's subject.{{cn|date=February 2018}}