Often in many magazines and catalogs produced by museums, reproductions of famous paintings by artists can be seen. It seems that it’s not difficult to make them, just have a camera and minimal equipment. However, this is not at all the case in order to make a high-quality reproduction; it requires a lot of special equipment, as well as some knowledge and skills. It is worth examining in more detail the question of how copies of paintings are made and what is needed for this.
What is a reproduction?
First you need to understand what the concept of "reproduction" is. Reproduction is the reproduction of the original artwork in various ways. These include photography, copying or manual playback. The main goal of such an activity is to maximize the transfer of information about an object of art and its appearance, as well as maintaining the authenticity of the object.
Most often reproductions of paintings are created. However, in such an activity there are many nuances, for example, you need to use a certain lighting adjustment technique so that the light falls on the picture evenly. Only in this way all colors and shades will be most accurately transmitted to reproductions. It is also important to be able to correctly adjust the white balance . In addition, a specialist who creates reproductions of famous paintings by artists should know some of the nuances of such sciences as lighting engineering, physics and exposure metering.
There is also facsimile reproduction - this is one that accurately reproduces not only the content of the object, but also all its characteristic features.
How is reproduction done?
Of course, making a copy is not an easy job, where it is important to consider many factors. In order to create reproductions of well-known paintings of artists in a quality manner, it is necessary to master some techniques and observe a certain sequence of this process.
The creation process itself can be divided into 3 main stages:
- Analysis of the original.
- Correction of the received information.
- Synthesis of reproduction.
The main objective of each stage of the process is to transform the input information so that it is suitable for use in the next stage. If the synthesis can be carried out on the basis of the initial data obtained during the analysis, then the stage of correction may be completely absent. It is of particular interest in that at this stage the information is not always presented in a pictorial form. Here it can be described by mathematical models, functions, and in other ways. At the output, that is, at the synthesis stage, the image is again obtained. The result of these three stages is to obtain high-quality reproductions.
Modern reproduction techniques
Now it’s worth talking about how exactly reproductions of famous paintings by artists are made. This is a very interesting technology that uses special equipment. Of course, sometimes reproduction is done manually by the artist, but in most cases an interior printer is used to print large-format materials. Most often, copies are made in museum collections, since the originals of the paintings are stored there.
Printing on canvas has its own characteristics, it is noticeably different from the usual. Using this technology, experts make surprisingly accurate copies of works of art. The main difference of a canvas is its special texture, therefore reproductions created on it convey the original features much more accurately. They can please art lovers for a long period of time, since pigment ink manufacturers give a guarantee of color prints for 75-100 years.
Many masters still make copies of paintings by hand, this is really a very time-consuming process. Such reproduction can be much more expensive than the printed version.
Are reproductions popular now?
So, the process of making copies, as well as the techniques for their implementation, was considered. Now it’s worth talking about whether reproductions are popular in our time and where they are used. First of all, they are created by museums and galleries, this is required for the formation of catalogs of exhibits, as well as for the release of various printed materials.
Secondly, reproductions have always been popular among ordinary people. Many connoisseurs like to look at certain paintings, and they even want to have some of them at home. In this case, reproductions come to the rescue, because the acquisition of the original is often impossible, and most importantly, too expensive. Especially popular are reproductions of Russian artists. Most of the orders for the production of copies of artwork are precisely on them. Interestingly, most often people order paintings by the famous Russian artist I. I. Shishkin, and in particular, “Morning in a Pine Forest”. Of course, such a fame picture is easy to justify, because it is often used for advertising purposes.
Most Acquired Reproductions
As it turned out, a reproduction of the painting “Morning in a Pine Forest” is far from the only leader among the purchased copies. Popular paintings are not only Russian artists, but also foreign ones. For example, one of the most popular paintings is a reproduction of Mona Lisa by the famous Italian artist Leonardo da Vinci. This painting has attracted the views of art lovers for many centuries. A well-made reproduction also allows you to enjoy the unique beauty of the picture.
Also, in addition to Shishkin, many want to purchase reproductions of Serov, especially after the exhibition dedicated to the 150th anniversary of the artist last fall.
When and how did the reproduction of the paintings appear?
The need for copying paintings appeared along with the birth of painting and fine art. People always wanted to buy their favorite canvas, but this possibility did not always exist, because there were many who wanted it, and there was only one original piece of art. For a long time, until the end of the XIX century, there was the only way to create reproductions - manually. When creating high-quality copies, various print techniques were most often used. Then the resulting paintings were finalized with various colors to almost complete resemblance to the original work.