We create each "original reproduction" true to the original masterpiece.

(A photo of the original)		(A photo of our reproduction)
Attersee I, by Gustav Klimt, size 110 x 110 cm.

"The biggest challenge in reproducing the abstract painters, is to catch their mood.” Bui Duc Hai, artist

There is only one original

There will always only be one original painting. It was made, maybe more than 100 years ago. Therefore, the oils and canvases used were different from what we have available today. Furthermore, the wear of time will show on the original. We do not try to reproduce this wear of time or make the painting look old. Rather, we reproduce the painting, so it reasembles the original when it was new.


A balance of techniques and “soul”

“I have to become Van Gogh to reproduce his style and feeling – and then I have to become the best detail oriented reproduction artist to match the details of his paintings. Reproducing a painting is a constant shift back and forth between the two modes.” Nam Phuong, artist.

Imagine a painting by Vincent van Gogh. When van Gogh originally painted this artwork, he could not do anything wrong. He was inventing the painting for the first time, and there were no rules. However, He also had a certain technique, which has separated him from other painters. This technique has been studied by our professional artists. They will reproduce the brushstrokes so it matches the technique van Gogh would use. It is, however, very difficult to match the exact strokes. Therefore it is a great balance to find the “soul” in the strokes and at the same time be exact about the details. It is this balance that our artists are constantly striving to find.


Time to paint

In order to make high quality reproductions our artists need time to nurse the details and time to find the soul of each painting. We insist that our artists take their time. Normally a painting can be created in approximately 30 days depending on the size and details.


The limitations of printed material

If you do go to visit a museum and see an original artwork, try comparing it to any print of the same artwork. See how much detail is lost. The “blue” colour on the print probably consists of many different colours. And the “white” might be a combination of white, blue, pink and yellow. Often these details will not show on a print, but they are what gives the original painting its own unique expression.

Or try looking in two different artbooks depicting the same artwork. The colours in two artbooks can sometimes be so different that you do not even recognise it as the same original piece of work. An example is Monet’s “Impression, Sunrise”:

(Example 1)		(Example 2)

As our artists can not sit next to the original to reproduce it, we use great efforts to obtain good printed material to reproduce from. We have visited many museums worldwide and sought out the best posters and artbooks we have been able to find. Furthermore, we always take care to note details from the original artworks we study in museums, which will be used in the reproduction phase. Of course we do not have this detailed information on every piece of artwork we reproduce, but our general knowledge of the original artists is constantly being developed. Our goal is to have the best material available to reproduce from.

A bad versus a good reproduction

Look at the two details from van Gogh’s “Yellow House” above. Two different artists have reproduced from the same printed material. Here it is clear to see what a difference focus on details, using extra time and having an understanding of the original artist’s work, can do. Need we say more? The process of a reproduction Most of the paintings ordered can be created within a month. However, some paintings take longer. Consider for example this huge project of “Sankthansbaalet” after the Danish artist P.S. Kroyer. 42 faces – famous people in Danish history. Standing around a fire on the beach. It is a process consisting of many layers:

The poster used to reproduce from standing below the artwork in progress:

The next step of this outline is to have details of the faces and clothes applied:

Quality control

When one of our artists has finished a reproduction our quality controller will check the details and compare it to the printed materials and the notes we may have available from studies of the originals. One of the great advantages with an oil painting is that details can be corrected and readjusted. If you study many of the original artworks you will also see that the artist has scratched out, repainted and adjusted the artwork many times before he considered it as finished. Actually many of the paintings we consider as masterpieces were not even considered finished by the original artist himself.

Almost none of our reproduced paintings pass their first quality control inspection. Most require several inspections before they pass our quality control.


In the end...

We do not pretend to offer you a reproduction which is 99% close to the original. This would only be possible if the artist was actually sitting next to the original artwork – and able to study the colours and the strokes on sight – in daylight. We do, however, offer you to get as close to the feeling of the original artwork as is possible from the best material available to reproduce from.

We capture the mood and spirit of the original painting - not just shapes and colours. Our artists are not permitted to add their own “interpretation” to a painting.

“The most difficult part is getting the right look in their eyes” Pham van Dai, artist.