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Paul Gauguin, Self Portrait With Hat, c.1893-94; © RMN-Grand Palais (Musée d'Orsay / Hervé Lewandowski.   It's a little hard to tell whether the altered version below is a recently painted copy of Gauguin's Self Portrait With Hat, or if it's just a highly processed photo. In either case, it's lost a lot of detail, removed some of the more naturalistic qualities of the original, added a yellowish tone to the overall picture, and in general fails to convey the essence of the authentic painting. The photo of the painting in its frame is from a framing professional's blog, and presumably shows the work on display at the Musée d'Orsay (unconfirmed).  Altered version of a painting by Paul Gauguin.
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Natalie Goncharova, "The Orange Vendor," 1916; © VIG Bild-Kunst, Bonn; photo: Rheinisches Bildarchiv Köln; Museum Ludwig, Cologne.  Although the reproduction shown below of The Orange Vendor by Natalie Goncharova (Natalja Gontscharowa) is clearly altered in significant ways, it's often seen online without any indication that it's a modern, revised copy. The color changes seem to be fairly random, with only passing reference to the original. There's also been excessive digital processing that has resulted in significant loss of detail. Modern copyists often trade accuracy for brightness and intensity, but efforts to appeal to modern tastes don't necessarily produce a more appealing picture.  Altered version of a painting by Natalie Goncharova.  Corrections or suggestions?
Frederick McCubbin, Autumn Memories, 1899; National Gallery of Victoria.  This is a beautifully naturalistic painting by lesser-known artist Frederick McCubbin, and meticulously depicts the fading greenery, bare trees and near-wintry glow of the autumn sky and landscape. The extreme yellow glare of the altered version below should be a clue that it's been retouched digitally, but even so, this wrongly colorized image often is mistakenly shared as the real thing. The more accurate photo above is easily available at the website of the National Gallery of Victoria, where the authentic work is located.  Altered version of a painting by Frederick McCubbin. Joaquín Sorolla y Bastida, Strolling Along the Seashore, 1909; Museo Sorolla, Madrid.  The reproduction below has been painted in a modern style that's very typical of recently created copies — with falsely smoothed edges, lack of precise detail, blurred elements with little differentiation, and an overall sense of a quickly executed work lacking emotion and substance. The original of this famous Sorolla painting, sometimes called Walking On the Beach, is much more expressive, communicating in wonderfully thoughtful brushstrokes the beautiful qualities of light, life, wind, beach and sea. There's a real sense of movement in the authentic painting, and only artificiality in the copy. Also note the company logo lower right — a sure sign that it would be wise to look elsewhere for a more accurate photo.  Altered, modern reproduction of a painting by Joaquin Sorolla. Carl Larsson, Interior of the Fürstenberg Gallery, 1885; Göteborgs Konstmuseum (Gothenburg Museum of Art).  The modern, colorized version shown below is probably the result of a digital edit, since it's more precisely detailed than might be expected from a recently painted reproduction. However, the original is much more naturalistic, and more beautifully presented than the modern interpretation — almost making you feel as though you're in the gallery yourself, participating in this richly composed Belle Époque scene. In addition, the lifelike quality of the authentic piece is more in keeping with Larsson's other work. The museum points out that many of the artworks and individuals in the painting can be identified: To the right stands Ernst Josephson, stooping, wholly focused on painting Göthilda Fürstenberg's portrait (which was never completed). Seated with his back to them, her husband Pontus is studying what is probably a print. [...] The background is filled by Raphaël Collin's vast painting, Summer (1884). In the middle of the room stands Per Hasselberg's sculpture The Snowdrop (1885).  Altered version of a painting by Carl Larsson.  THE ART DETECTIVE Bloopers, Fakes & Mistakes
Edvard Munch, Friedrich Nietzsche, 1906; Munch Museum, Oslo.  The brightly painted reproduction below clearly has taken many liberties with the coloring, brushwork and overall appearance of this Munch classic. Although this modern version has been accepted in many places as a fair copy, it lacks the detail, the typically subdued tones, the facial subtleties, and the dynamic flow that characterize the original. Whereas the authentic photo, from the Munch Museum in Oslo, can be quickly identified as a Munch work, the modern interpretation seems as though it could have been painted by almost any contemporary copyist. Note that Munch created two versions of this Friedrich Nietzsche portrait in 1906. The other, also at the Munch Museum and shown here below the reproduction, is taller, with different elements in the sky and background.  Altered version of a painting by Edvard Munch.  Edvard Munch, Friedrich Nietzsche, 1906; Munch Museum, Oslo.  Corrections or suggestions?
Henri Matisse, Le Rêve (Figure Dormant, Fond Bleu), 1935; © Succession H. Matisse; photo credit: © Bertrand Prévost - Centre Pompidou, MNAM-CCI/Dist. RMN-GP.  There are relatively few elements in this Matisse painting, which makes it a good candidate for a modern reproduction. Even so, if the sketchy version below is a recently created copy, the contemporary artist clearly wasn't able to capture the essential quality of the original. The newer version might also be the result of an extreme photo edit, but in any case, the authentic work glows with a soft, dreamlike quality — so fitting to the subject — that the modern version lacks. Usually called Le Rêve (The Dream), this piece is also known as Figure Dormant, Fond Bleu (Sleeping Figure With a Blue Background).  Altered version of a painting by Henri Matisse. Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Two Sisters (On the Terrace), 1881; Art Institute of Chicago.  There's something special about an original Renoir — the sophisticated execution, the exquisite flesh tones, the quality of color, the emotion and sense of place. Sadly, the recently spotted reproduction below obscures all of these elements. The way that Two Sisters (On the Terrace) is intended to be seen and felt is expressed by notes from the Art Institute of Chicago, where the work is located: Technically, the painting is a tour de force: Renoir juxtaposed solid, almost life-size figures against a landscape that — like a stage set — seems a realm of pure vision and fantasy. The sewing basket in the left foreground evokes a palette, holding the bright, pure pigments that the artist mixed, diluted, and altered to create the rest of the painting. Although the girls were not actually sisters, Renoir's dealer showed the work with this title, [along with others] at the seventh Impressionist exhibition in 1882.  Altered version of a painting by Auguste Renoir. 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?
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?
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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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