Hendrik Goltzius: (1558 - 1617) Dutch

Master Copyist.

Hendrik Goltzius was a Dutch master printmaker a draftsman and painter, in fact a great master craftsman who produced copies of the works of other legendary artists and proved his talent. 

According to Hollstein, he credits 388 reproductions of great works of art to the process of engraving to Golzius.

Pieter Brueghel the Younger: (1564-1627) Flemish

Copyist of Pieter Brueghel the Elder

Pieter Brueghel followed in his father´s footsteps and became best known at first as a copyist of several his father's rare works, particularly high quality copies of his father´s scenes of peasant life.

One particular landscape painting, now in the Delporte Collection in Brussels, is a copy of one which his father painted in 1565. This was one of the most popular paintings by Pieter Breugel the Elder and was to be reproduced by many artists, especially by his son who copied it several times.

His winter landscape with skaters was repeated at least 20 times.

Breueghel Self portrait

Peter Paul Reubens: (1577-1640) Flemish

Reubens was a pre-eminent artist of the 17th century and his position in history is sealed forever. However, lesser known is the fact that he actually resorted to copying and reworking many compositions and works of art created by others.

Known copied works include those originally executed by Giulio Romano - 1499 to 1546.

Before the Renaissance, copying paintings created by others was a requisite part of any artists apprenticeship. It certainly did not constitute forgery and in no way is that implied. BUT, on the other hand:

Reubens Self portrait

uez  (1817 - 1

Eugenio Lucas Velasquez: (1817 - 1870)  Spanish

870)  Spanish

A 19th century copyist, some call faker, principally of Goya.  

Of note, his Maja vestida, d'après Goya (right) and he is believed to be the likely hand to City on a Rock which was Long attributed to Goya himself .

It is known that he painted at least two copies of Goyas Majas on a Balcony and created over 700 oils in his style.

Paul Désiré Trouillebert: (1829-1900) French

Was a fine Barbizon painter in his own right but he also was a copyist and imitator of Corot as you will see from the image on the right.
When he was first exposed to Corot’s work, Trouillebert took a very keen interest in it and immersed himself in emulating his techniques. He was so similar to Corot that if his signatures were erased and Corots forged signature added, enormous value was added to the work.

All in all, the Corot fakes issue was compounded by Camile Corot himself, as he signed many reproduced works by other artists when asked simply because he felt honoured to be copied! 

A Trouillebert Corot

Giovanni Bastianini: (1830-1868) Italian

Giovanni Bastianini, produced numerous neo-Renaissance works, especially busts and bas-reliefs in the style of Donatello, Verrocchio, Mino de Fiesole and other Italian Old Masters. Most of which were sold as genuine pieces to such noted museums as the Victoria and Albert Museum in London and the Louvre.

Faker or just a copyist?  You decide.

Right: Giovanni Bastianini: Buste de femme"Aloysa Strozi"

Bastianini

Eugène Henri Paul Gauguin  (1848 -1903)

Was so inspired by Manet's famous 'Olympia' he subsequently made copies of it.  As was his fellow countryman:

Gauguin

Paul Cézanne  (French) (1839-1906)

Who did exactly the same.

Paul Cezanne

Gustav Klimt: (1862 - 1918)  Austrian

Copied Japanese artists and textile designers in his facade for the Palais Stoclet in Brussels and as the background for many of his paintings.

Gustav Klimt

Miguel Canals:  1925- 1995 Spanish 

Legitimate Commercial copyist

Commercial paintings produced by the Barcelona based studio of Miguel Canals have been successfully offered for sale by top Auctioneers Bonhams for many years, giving the works an air of social respectability.

The Spanish studio claims no anonymity as all the paintings produced there carry clear and definitive studio stamps on the back.

The studio to this day, specialise in producing outstanding reproductions and or variations of works in the manner of many artists, styles and sizes and cover every subject imaginable; from a Parisian Street Scene to a romantic Victorian portrait to a still-life with birds, fruit and flowers.

Miguel Canals was responsible for founding one of the first and most highly successful studios to mass produce high-quality fakes that are neither designed to confound nor defraud the buyer. They're sold for their decorative merits only. Today, the manufacture of these works is continued by his family at the studio in Barcelona, which is staffed by 14 master copyists. Each has a specialist period, style or painter as their expertise. It's true to say that many of their copies carry a facsimile signature of the original painter they are reproducing but only if the work is out of copyright (70 years) and it was signed by the artist in the first place.

This makes it legal.

Christophe D. Petyt: (20 C) French 

Legitimate Copyist

Christophe Petyt runs a very successful Paris-based art company formed in 1992, L'Art du Faux and employs more than 80 highly talented artists.

All are specialists in copying particular styles, periods and specific artists such as Degas, Renoir, Cezanne and so on and all of his originators ingeniously create individually commissioned copies of great master works.

The company's decorative fakes are clearly labelled and as an additional security measure, a piece of gold leaf is worked into each picture.

L'Art du Faux can boast galleries in the United Arab Emirates and Palm Beach Florida.

Christophe D. Petyt

The Posin Brothers. (20C) Russian

Legitimate Copyists

Mikhail, Eugeni and Semjon Posin are three Russian brothers working in Germany who make a living by copying famous works of art such as Van Gogh, Renoir. Bernardo Strozzi , Pissarro and so on. All are brilliantly reproduced. from their studio the Kunstsalon Posin, Berlin

They have achieved dramatic commercial success and some notoriety in that country.

Eugen Posin  B. 1947 -  Semjon Posin B 1944 -   Michael Posin B 1948

Leo Stevenson:  (20 C) British

Legitimate Copyist

Artist, historian and broadcaster.

This brilliant copyists view is that the easiest paintings in the world to forge are modern British masters. 

However, he protects his own works from being mistaken for the genuine article by placing invisible inscriptions beneath his paintings which can be picked up by X-ray.

He was quoted as saying: "a forger's main task is always the creation of relevant documents. This is often far harder to do convincingly than the creation of the artwork." They call the art of copying the masters 'Pastiching'

Leo Stevenson

Other copyists; NICK PACE copyist of George Stubbs / [More info required]  - JANE HART copyist of Salvador Dali. [More info required]

Professor Daniele Ermes Donde:  20C Italian -

Faux artist.

Claims to be the most collected Italian artist in the world.

Donde who specializes in Monet, van Gogh and Picasso, is a former art dealer who started the Faux-Art business with two forgers who had attempted to pass fake Modiglianis off on him. He now makes commercial replications of master works of art,  re - painted by himself and a team of 40 artists.

Titles  such as:  Picasso's "Boy With a Pipe." The real one sold in New York for $104 million. Donde's variation retails for just $2,500 and he calls 'an interpretation.'

Wickedly amusing, Dondes' version includes a Certificate of INAUTHENTICITY

Daniele Donde

ArtsStudio St Petersburg

ArtsStudio is a team of artist conservators working at the Art Conservation Department of the State Russian Museum in St. Petersburg who commercially replicate works of art from their collections including; Landscapes, Portraits, Genre, Still Life and Russian Imperial Portraits.