What is reproducibility? Does the original matter? Is a “reproduced” reproduction just as valuable? Why do museums care if their art objects were really made by famous artists or are copies? The Cleveland Museum of Art spent time and resources restoring a painting that they claim was painted by Caravaggio. The museum even displayed their “real” painting next to a “fake” painting of the same composition to show how real their painting was. 1
Black-Vega Crucifixion of St Andrew, identified as a copy after Caravaggio. Canvas, 198 x 149.5 cm. Spier Collection, London.
The Crucifixion of Saint Andrew, 1606–7. Caravaggio (Italian, 1571–1610). Oil on canvas; framed: 233.5 x 184 x 12 cm (91 15/16 x 72 7/16 x 4 3/4 in.); unframed: 202.5 x 152.7 cm (79 3/4 x 60 1/8 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Leonard C. Hanna Jr. Fund 1976.2
Installation view of Seeing Double at the CMA: Caravaggio’s Crucifixion of Saint Andrew and the “Back-Vega” Copy at the Cleveland Museum of Art . Photo by Jimmy Kuehnle.
Which is the Original?
Printmaking is another way of making multiples. Which is the original, the block or plate? The first print? The best print? Does it matter?
Andy Warhol used printmaking to examine concepts of originality and media in pop culture.
Reproduction and Appropriation Legal or Illegal?
Sometimes the choice of media of a work can be a source of originality but not always. Jeff Koons made a 3D sculpture of a postcaard of two people holding a group of puppies. The original postcard was a 3D photograph and Koon’s sculpture was a false color 3D object but the artist did not acquire right to the image. US courts decided that the artist violated the copyright of the postcard author regardless of the media used to create or transform the work into a new form.
References
Osorio, Luiz Camillo. Shifts in Reproducibility in Art: More on Duchamp PIPA Institute. July 13, 2022. [(Web Archive)] text
Spear, Richard E. Caravaggio’s ‘Crucifixion of St Andrew’ and the problem of autograph replicas. The Burlington Magazine 160, June 2018.