Art in Reproduction

Works of art have always been reproduced: not necessarily cleverly, not necessarily cleanly, and often with an eye toward profit.  Those concerned with this important aspect of the art world have often paid attention to how these reproductions have helped to form the reputations of artists and their works, while the reproductions themselves remain relatively unexamined.

In the nineteenth century new graphic techniques, the legal development of copyright, and the rise of the art market and art publishing resulted in a wide distribution of printed reproductions to the general public.  Art in Reproduction examines the cultural meaning of artistic reproduction in a refreshingly new context through its consideration of how three nineteenth-century artists—Ary Scheffer, Jozef Israëls, and Lawrence Alma-Tadema—managed the reproduction of their own work.  In addition to careful attention to the quality of their printed proofs, these artists shared a burgeoning interest in copyright procedure and a keen interest in profit—writing the next chapter in this changing artistic culture of replication, authenticity, and commodity.