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Daniel Garber, Shadows, 1922; private collection. Photo © Freeman's Auctions.  One of Daniel Garber's greatest assets was his ability to manipulate shadow and light, and to communicate in an almost visceral way the feel of the outdoors, the weather, the seasons, and the effect of the air itself on the figures and objects in his paintings. Shadows is a wonderful example, The image above is from Freeman's Auctions, where the painting sold in June 2015 for $209,000. Clearly, the modern reproduction shown below has entirely missed the point of the work, and has introduced radical colors that have nothing to do with the artist's original intentions. Furthermore, the high contrast and flat coloring reduce the depth, space and lifelike atmosphere seen in the authentic painting.  Highly altered version of a painting by Daniel Garber.
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Vincent van Gogh, Vase With Gladioli and Chinese Asters," 1886; Van Gogh Museum, Netherlands.  The modern reproduction seen below isn't much different from the original Van Gogh seen above, but it's interesting due to the fact that it can be traced back to the company that first produced it. The contemporary artist took some liberties with the coloring, brightened it up here and there, and seems to have made a good attempt at mimicking the brushwork. Although the copy of Vase With Gladioli and Chinese Asters does look similar to the real painting, it seem to me that it should be identified as a reproduction regardless. Unfortunately, that hasn't been the case. The last image below was spotted during the research for this post. Same reproduction, but the photo has been reversed.  Modern reproduction of a painting by Vincent van Gogh.  Modern reproduction, reversed, of a painting by VIncent van Gogh.  Corrections or suggestions?
Édouard Manet, Le Bon Bock, 1873; The Philadelphia Museum of Art.  Such gorgeous, realistic detail in the original Manet painting, very engaging and impressive. Not so with the first version below, which is literally a pale imitation — possibly an overexposed photo. The second image below adds an unnatural, yellow tinge, removing the wonderful flesh tones of the original and changing the coloration of the composition as a whole. In addition, excess contrast has erased a lot of the small, superb touches that bring Le Bon Bock to life in the authentic work.  Poor photo or reproduction of a painting by Edouard Manet.  Altered version of a painting by Edouard Manet.  Corrections or suggestions?
Odilon Redon (1840-1916), The Road to Peyrelebade, [nd]; © RMN-Grand Palais (Musée d'Orsay) / Christian Jean.  This beautiful Redon painting is definitely misrepresented by the altered version below. The modern copy, probably an overly edited digital image, has introduced a lot of artificial color, along with excessive contrast that has blotted out much of the original detail. Natural scenes of this period usually retain some aspects of real life — including natural hues, earth tones, greenery, and so on — even if the composition is somewhat abstract. Dark blotches and false colors are good indications that the image might not be entirely accurate.  Altered version of a painting by Odilon Redon.  THE ART DETECTIVE Bloopers, Fakes & Mistakes
Frank Weston Benson, Eleanor, 1907; Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.  This is Frank Weston Benson's portrait of his daughter Eleanor. The photo above is from the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, where the work is located. The museum's photo really doesn't need any improvements, but sadly, altered versions such as the one below have been seen in circulation. The digitally revised image clearly suffers from too much contrast and sharpening. Everything looks sketchy, there are blotches where there used to be detail, and changes have flattened rather than enhanced the sense of open space and distance. Excessive editing has also reduced the beautiful naturalism of the work, obscuring much of the artist's handling of light, color and detail. The museum notes that the artist "used a small brush to define Eleanor's features, painting her realistically with an authentic sense of weight and volume."  Altered version of a painting by Frank Weston Benson  Corrections or suggestions?
Camille Pissarro, Entrance to the Village of Voisins, 1872; © Musée d'Orsay.  The original of this Pissarro painting is beautifully naturalistic, full of subtlety and life. Its carefully composed view — titled in French "Entrée du Village de Voisins" — gives you a sort of "you are there" sensation, as though you can almost smell the earth, and feel the coolness of the air. Sadly, the oddly colored, quickly executed reproduction shown below lacks all of these qualities, and fails to capture the depth, emotion, and seasonal details of the authentic work.  Altered reproduction of a painting by Camille Pissarro.  Corrections or suggestions?
Paul Klee, Black Prince, 1927; Kunstsammlung Nordrhein-Westfalen.  This is a dark and unusual Klee painting that isn't seen very often. The original is at the Kunstsammlung Nordrhein-Westfalen in Düsseldorf. There aren't that many elements to change, and yet the low-resolution photo below has managed it. For example, the crown in the museum image is purple, while the altered version has turned it orange. Since there are few examples of this painting for art lovers online to choose from, the yellowish version, despite its poor quality, has become more accepted than the authentic photo. Note that the modern reproduction also is being called "Black Knight," which doesn't communicate the full meaning of the original title, which is "Schwarzer Furst" (Black Ruler/Sovereign) or sometimes "Schwarzer Prinz" (Black Prince). Furthermore, the use of the word "knight" seems to ignore the figure's crown.  Altered version of a painting by Paul Klee. Vincent van Gogh, Houses and Figure, 1890; The Barnes Foundation.  This vibrant Van Gogh painting, with so much color, forcefulness and dynamic flow, as been reduced to a flat, yellowish sketch in the modern reproduction shown below. The pink sky is very unusual in Van Gogh's work, so it would seem important to retain at least that element of this particular painting. But it's missing in the revised copy. Some of the posts that include the pale reproduction also have added the long and incorrect title, "Thatched Cottages in the Sunshine Reminiscence [sic] of the North." This appears to be a summary of notes about the painting rather than the actual name of the piece. Here's a blurb from the Barnes listing, which includes the information in narrative form: Van Gogh painted this landscape during the last year of his life, when he was a patient at the asylum in Saint-Rémy, near Arles, in the South of France. With limited access to the outdoors, Van Gogh had to paint what could be seen out the window — or, as is the case here, what he could picture in his mind. This painting is a remembrance of his native Netherlands, showing the thatched cottages that dotted the Dutch landscape.  Altered version of a painting by Vincent van Gogh. Constantin Hansen, The Artist's Sisters Signe and Henriette Reading a Book, 1826; Statens Museum for Kunst (SMK), Copenhagen.  The altered, overly yellow image shown below doesn't look right even to people unfamiliar with the original, but even so, it's been circulating widely as a fair representation of this Hansen painting. My guess is that it's a poor-quality photo, possibly taken in low light, producing unnatural orange tones and glare. It might even be a photo of a modern reproduction, but with the loss of detail, it's hard to tell. The image above is from the Statens Museum for Kunst in Copenhagen, where the painting is located.  Altered version of a painting by Constantin Hansen.  Corrections or suggestions?
Édouard Manet, "The Folkestone Boat, Boulogne," c.1868-72; The Philadelphia Museum of Art.  At first glance, the reproduction below (possibly a digitally altered image) doesn't look much different from the original. But a closer examination reveals that excessive contrast has erased a lot of beautiful detail. It's a shame, because the first-hand photo seen above is easily available at the website of the Philadelphia Museum of Art, where the painting is located. No need to make changes; the authentic painting is bright, colorful, compelling, and full of movement "as is."  Altered version of a painting by Edouard Manet. |
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Disclaimer: This blog is intended for entertainment purposes only. Although every effort has been made to verify the accuracy of the information provided, the material included here should in no way be considered the final authority on any issues discussed in the text.
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