Suit Yourself™ International, Inc. - INFORMATION - Art. Antiques, Brocantes, Vielle, Papiers, Restoration

HOME

~ WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN AN ORIGINAL, A COPY, A REPLICA, AN IMPROVEMENT, AND A FAKE ? ~

THIS FAQ ANSWERS THIS QUESTION:

What is the difference between a new interpretation of an old idea, an improvement to an old idea, a re-interpretation of an old idea, a deliberate copy or replica, an original and a fake?

There is an important distinction to make between something ORIGINAL, something that is an improvement or an INVENTION, something that is deliberate COPY or replica of something else, and something which is an INTERPRETATION, or RE-INTERPRETATION of something else.

Artists copy themselves, and each other; this is a vital, necessary and frequent part of the creative process. Designers copy and reinterpret older designs, engineers improve older designs, and manufacturers reproduce reinterpretations of older designs.

Artists and engineers are inherently inventive; both frequently produce alternate versions of previous ideas and things.

When you have a new interpretation of an old idea, and are the first person to have this new interpretation, the new interpretation of the old idea is ORIGINAL to you.

You might decide to manufacture a physical prototype of that idea, with the intent to create multiple physical COPIES of that physical form in order to sell the copies. In this case, you might want to register your idea with the United States PATENT office in the form of a description and a blueprint for a working functional PROTOTYPE, and obtain a PATENT number for your INVENTION. Having a patent number demonstrates the fact that you are the ORIGINAL or FIRST person to register the idea, and a patent number helps you to assert this fact should somebody else create a COPY of your INVENTION and sell their copies without your permission.

In the above example, your ORIGINAL idea is an INVENTION and the items manufactured from this idea are a DELIBERATE COPY of the original idea, a REPLICA of the ORIGINAL.

The difference between a reinterpretation, a legitimate copy, and a FAKE is INTENT: a fake is a copy deliberately produced with the intent to deceive. A FAKE is a copy created deliberately with the intent to deceive you into thinking the copy isn't a copy, but is instead the original, which of course, it is not. Something intended to deceive is deliberate trickery intended to gain an advantage; the word for this is FRAUD. Something is considered FRAUDULENT when it is deliberately false or misleading and a FAKE is something that is a counterfeit; it is not what it seems to be.

There is a word for "a new interpretation of an old idea" and "an improvement to an old idea" ; this is called an INVENTION. An invention does not have to be something entirely new never seen before; a genuine invention can be an improvement of an older invention, an older idea.

LET'S EXAMINE THE CREATIVE PROCESS AND HOW AN ARTIST CREATES SOMETHING.

Below is an example of how an artist creates a final work. This example illustrates (pun intended) how an artist may redo one scene many times, creating multiple versions of it, before they finalize it. Our example uses Toulouse-Lautrec's famous image of Suzanne Valdon titled "The Hangover", first exhibited in 1889 and first sketched in 1887. Yes, 2 years passed between his conception of the image and his final or last execution of it.

Photos #1 and #2 are student copies of the original work drawn around 1920. Photos #3, #4, and #5 are Toulouse-Lautrec's own various renderings of this same scene. Photo #6 is a recent version that appeared in print as the front cover of the book by Emile Zola titled L'Assommoir (The Dram Shop). Photo #7 is joke version that appeared in print as a postcard in the 1960's and depicts the drawn image of Valdon pouring absinthe into a glass held by Lautrec as he is drawing the image of Valdon.

Photos #1 and #2 below are student copies of the original work. These copies were drawn around 1920.

Photos #3, #4, and #5 below are Toulouse-Lautrec's own various renderings of this same scene: on the left, in colored pencil with charcoal, in the center in graphite pencil and finally on the right, again using colored pencils.

Photo #6, below, is the version that appeared in print as the front cover of the book by Emile Zola titled L'Assommoir (The Dram Shop).

Photo #7 below is joke version. It appeared in print as a postcard in the 1960's and depicts the drawn image of Valdon pouring absinthe into a glass held by Lautrec as he is drawing the image of Valdon.

THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN AN ORIGINAL, A REINTERPRETATION, AN IMPROVEMENT, A COPY, A REPLICA, AND A FAKE is INTENT.

The difference between an original, a reinterpretation, an improvement, a legitimate copy, a replica and a fake is INTENT.

A FAKE is a copy deliberately produced with the intent to deceive. A FAKE is a copy created deliberately with the intent to deceive you into thinking the copy isn't a copy, but is instead the original, which of course, it is not. Something intended to deceive is deliberate trickery intended to gain an advantage; the word for this is FRAUD.
Something is considered FRAUDULENT when it is deliberately false or misleading and a FAKE is something that is a counterfeit; it is not what it seems to be.

The following example demonstrates this point. Below are photos of Beaux Arts Lye Clermont Ferrand Teacher's INTERPRETATION of La Pie, The Magpie, a famous painting by Monet that currently resides in the Musée d'Orsay in Paris, France. This INTERPRETATION is NOT a copy from China, and it is NOT a replica of the original.

This fine HOMAGE to Monet's La Pie (The Magpie) was purchased in a lot of antique paintings from the school (L'Ecole des Beaux Arts Lye Clermont Ferrand). It was created using oil paint on canvas that is tacked to a wood chassis. The size measures 24 inches x 19.75 inches, and this is signed F.C. at the lower right corner.

Claude Monet (1840-1926) is well known as the leader of the Impressionist movement that began by the end of the 19th century in Paris.

Below is yet another INTERPRETATION of this same image, called La Pie (a.k.a. The Magpie) that was issued by Monaco as a postage stamp on the occasion of the 150th anniversary of Monet's birth. In the Monaco postage stamp, the magpie is located on the left, at the top of the footbridge across the water, in the same place as in the original.

No matter how many versions there are, the above painting is NOT a COPY or a replica, but an ORIGINAL INTERPRETATION in the same way as the Monaco Postage Stamp is not a copy or replica of the original image,
but rather an original re-interpretation of the popular image in homage to the painter Monet.

Andy Warhol replicated Campbell's Soup can labels with his famous paintings of Campbell's Soup Cans. The movie Lord of The Rings is an original re-interpretation of an original novel. These are 2 more examples of ORIGINAL INTERPRETATION.

There are so many INTERPRETATIONS of La Pie (a.k.a. The Magpie), this famous and popular image by Monet, that we cannot possibly reproduce them all here. REMEMBER: The difference between an original, a reinterpretation, an improvement, a legitimate copy, a replica and a fake is INTENT. A FAKE is a copy deliberately produced with the intent to deceive. A FAKE is a copy created deliberately with the intent to deceive you into thinking the copy isn't a copy, but is instead the original, which of course, it is not. Something intended to deceive is deliberate trickery intended to gain an advantage; the word for this is FRAUD. Something is considered FRAUDULENT when it is deliberately false or misleading and a FAKE is something that is a counterfeit; it is not what it seems to be.

The format of Monet's ORIGINAL La Pie (a.k.a. The Magpie) painting is 130 cm x 89 cm ( 51.25 inches x 35 inches) and we hope you will go see it the next time you are in Paris.

Yes, we do share our expertise; we have a limited amount of time available to assist others with evaluating pieces. We do, however, charge for our services; our expertise took us a lifetime to acquire, cost us a fortune and it's very rare.

Please click here for information on our APPRAISAL SERVICES.