Painatuksissa

Painatuksissa is a Finnish term used in art history, bibliographies and museum labeling to indicate that a work is known or preserved only in printed form, rather than as an original painting, sculpture or manuscript. The term combines painatus, meaning printing or impression, with the inessive suffix -issa, yielding “in the prints.” It is a specialized usage and not a generic description of all printed media.

In practice, painatuksissa is applied to works that exist primarily as prints—such as lithographs, etchings, woodcuts, or illustrated book plates—or to catalog entries for editions that were issued in a limited number of impressions. It may also be used when the original master is lost or undocumented, and the record rests on printed copies rather than on an autograph original. In catalogues raisonnés, museum labels and auction descriptions, the phrase helps distinguish between objects that are originals in other media and their print-based survivals, clarifying provenance and authentication.

Because the phrase is context-dependent, its exact meaning can vary with period, genre and national tradition. It should be interpreted alongside other information about medium, edition size and dating. Related terms include painatus, vedos (an individual impression), and kopio (copy). In many cases, clarifying notes or a full description are necessary to avoid ambiguity.