Roger Fry, Virginia Woolf, c.1911-12. The authentic image above comes from a 2014 article in Country Life magazine about an exhibit at the National Gallery, London. The exhibit, which featured works inspired by Virginia Woolf, was very popular at the time, and attracted a lot of public interest and press coverage. Most copies of the painting are fairly close to the original, but some take more liberties than others, as in the example below. The updated version is overly blue, which could be the result of a photo edit, but also might also indicate that it's a recently painted reproduction. Altered version of a painting by Roger Fry. As a side note, the painting shown below, by Woolf's sister, artist Vanessa Bell, also appeared in the National Gallery exhibit. It looks oddly similar to the Fry painting, and was painted around the same time; in fact, Woolf seems to be wearing the same outfit. So far, I personally haven't seen any evidence of someone confusing the two works, but a mix-up certainly is possible. The photo comes from an article in the Independent about the Virigina Woolf exhibit. Vanessa Bell, Virginia Woolf, c.1912; ©Estate of Vanessa Bell, Courtesy Henrietta Garnett. Corrections or suggestions?
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Paul Gauguin, Breton Fishermen, 1888; Private Collection (Onyx Art Collection). One of the main reasons there are so many false art images in circulation is that a large percentage of authentic artworks are in private collections, and therefore are rarely seen or photographed. With few verified photos available, art lovers end up selecting modern reproductions instead, thinking that they're probably fairly accurate (not true, unfortunately). Based on available evidence, the above photo is very likely an accurate depiction of this Gauguin painting, which is evidently on view at a high-end resort hotel in Bahía. Few direct photos exist. The two reproductions below (possibly digitally manipulated photos) are a couple examples of ways in which users have altered the original coloring at random, in one case making everything blue and in the other obscuring detail with a yellow overlay. Note that one popular post has mistakenly titled the work "English Fishermen." Altered version of a painting by Paul Gauguin. Altered version of a painting by Paul Gauguin. Copywriting & Consultations
Pablo Picasso, Olga Pensive, 1923; ©Succession Picasso; Musée Picasso Paris. Photo: Mathieu Rabeau/Etablissement public de La Réunion des musées nationaux et du Grand Palais des Champs-Elysées. There are a lot of Picasso reproductions around, and for some reason many are altered in color, with randomly selected hues not necessarily reminiscent of the originals. In this portrait of Picasso's first wife, Olga, her dress — formerly in blue pastel — has been replaced with purple using an unknown medium. And compare the backgrounds in the two versions. The qualities of the backdrops are very different, indicating that the altered update is probably a modern painting or possibly even a digital recreation, rather than an authentic photo that's been digitally manipulated. Altered version of a pastel work by Pablo Picasso. Copywriting & Consultations
Gaston La Touche (1854-1913), Le Bal (The Ball), n.d. Gaston La Touche (Gaston de la Touche) is known for his often shadowy, dark scenes, with plays of light here and there, figures not always completely defined, almost dreamlike. The Ball, shown above in an image from Schiller & Bodo, New York, is one of those paintings. The altered version below has been wrongly enhanced in an attempt to create a scene that is brightly lit, which is the opposite of the artist's intention. It's also clear that the digital changes themselves have been overdone; the yellow and orange glare tells us that the use of "brightness" has gone too far. HIghly altered version of a painting by Gaston La Touche. Jean-Étienne Liotard, The Chocolate Girl (La Chocolatière), c.1744; Dresden State Art Museums. This famous portrait by Jean-Etienne Liotard was once called, "The most beautiful pastel ever seen." One of the main reasons for its popularity was its exquisite, life-like realism, the beautifully rendered folds of cloth, and flesh tones almost like porcelain. In the modern reproduction below, these qualities are no longer present. In fact, the contemporary version may very well have been produced in a medium other than pastel. The colors are different, and it lacks the depth, refinement and subtlety of the original. Altered version of a work by Jean-Étienne Liotard. Mary Cassatt, The Banjo Lesson, 1894; The Virginia Museum of Fine Arts. The unnaturally brightened reproduction below seems to have introduced new colors at random, obscured much of the original detail, and altered the warm, human appearance of the work as a whole. This piece is a good example of Cassatt's pastel artistry, and the modern version removes all the subtleties and the care taken in presenting the subjects as delicately and with as much emotion as possible. Altered version of a pastel work by Mary Cassatt. Note that a beautiful study for the authentic painting has also been preserved, and is located at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. As shown below, it's a close-up view, and has sometimes been confused with the full piece that Cassatt created afterward. Mary Cassatt, Study for The Banjo Lesson, c.1894; Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. Corrections or suggestions?
© David Hockney, My Parents, 1977; Tate, London. Whoever painted the reproduction below evidently decided to use tones tending more to green than to Hockney's signature blue. It could be a digitally manipulated photo, but that wouldn't explain why the dress has maintained its original color while everything else has been given a hefty dose of yellow. A fun note from the Tate: Hockney completed this work after two failed attempts at painting his parents, Kenneth and Laura Hockney. They were frustrated when Hockney gave up on previous versions, having spent hours posing for him. However, speaking about their reaction to My Parents, Hockney's sister Margaret said, "Mum and Dad were very proud of it, and felt all the sittings had been worthwhile." Altered version of a painting by David Hockney. Copywriting & Consultations
Pablo Picasso, La Madrilèna (Portrait of a Young Woman), c.1901; Kröller-Müller Museum. Someone took a lot of liberties with the coloring in the reproduction below, adding an orange tinge to the entire painting. It's possible that the changes could have been achieved with a photo editing app, but it might be a recently painted reproduction. The image above is from the museum where the painting is located. As a side note, a 2017-18 exhibit called Picasso/Lautrec at the Thyssen-Bornemisza Museo Nacional revealed much about Lautrec's influence on Picasso during this period (and even later in his career), as well as the two artists' different approaches to their shared cultural and social environment in Paris in the early 1900s. Altered version of a painting by Picasso. THE ART DETECTIVEBloopers, Fakes & Mistakes
Louise Abbema, Game of Croquet, 1872; Private Collection. The yellowish reproduction below is seen fairly often online, but all the croquet sites and higher-end art dealers are unanimous in selecting the more naturalistic version. In addition, the trail of the real-life painting leads back to a croquet gallery that has used the natural-looking image in several online articles. Since I wasn't able to locate a first-hand image attributed to its current location (unknown), this information can't be fully confirmed. However, I'm confident, based on all other evidence — including comparisons with Abbéma's other work — that the version above is more accurate and a better choice for this particular painting. Altered version of a painting by Louise Abbéma. Corrections or suggestions?
Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Irène Cahen d'Anvers (Little Irene), 1880; Emil Bührle Collection, Zurich. What a beauty! Such a magnificent painting, and very well known. Yet various reproductions and extreme digital alterations — like the one below — are still making the rounds on social media, and have been widely accepted as fair copies of the original. Altered version of a painting by Auguste Renoir. Copywriting & Consulting
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