Why Museum Quality Reproduction Oil Paintings Are Better Than Factory Reproduced Paintings

By Author: Maile Wood Mailewood
Total Articles: 1
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With the upsurge of demand for oil paintings in the recent past, pseudo-makers of art have come up in the veil of painting reproduction factories. Offering tempting prices, they often trick art-lovers into buying low quality and embarrassing poor copies of historic and classical western paintings. While the factory reproduced paintings may appear identical to originals in the first look, there are huge differences you may find if compared to a museum quality reproduction oil painting. For an aficionado having an excellent eye for details and quality of art, it becomes really important to know why the museum quality reproduction oil paintings have an edge over factory reproduced art.

Quality of Canvas: As a general rule, any painting that promises to be of museum quality means that the materials used are of top quality and are more expensive than average. This majorly tells about the quality of the base of the painting- the canvas. Factory reproduced art usually have a cheaper canvas as they are designed to be sold in bulk, at cheap prices to fasten up sales. They print an image onto canvas like an inkjet computer printer ...
... and lack the vibrant oils and richness in canvas that makes a museum quality art. In the end what you get instead of a real painting is just a printed picture which can be easily destroyed with the slightest attack of moisture let alone any other liquid!

Durability of the Painting: Every canvas has to be treated well before painting to help the oils stick and make the painting last long. A museum quality oil painting has a significant edge over the factory reproduced piece when accidently exposed to water. In its case normally the canvas dries up and the oils are not affected at all. The problem with factory reproduced paintings is, the image is made of ink for faster printing and lacks the durability that oils provide to a real painting. To avoid getting tricked into buying a factory reproduction, hold the painting up to light. If the artist has used a print it will show up like a water-mark. Alternatively you can apply a wet sponge to the edges of the art to soak a small area. The oils would remain undeterred, but if there is a print under the paint, it will show up in bloats.

Minute Details of the Painting: There is more to reproduction of art by machine than just increasing numbers. Painting a reproduction involves lot more than merely copying a picture. The artist needs to understand all the elements of color, composition etc. In case of museum quality reproduction oil paintings, artists are painstakingly involved using the highest quality of oils to attain the closest match of colors and elements of the original. You can touch, feel and smell the rich texture of oils and brush-strokes. However, a cheap quality factory reproduced painting will miss the minute details resembling nothing less than a half-hearted attempt with different colors and features even to an untrained eye. For someone who wants to cough out less on art, factory reproductions are fine, but if you want to experience the painting- it has to be museum quality for you!

Size Variances: A finished painting needs to achieve two distinct aims. Firstly, it should convey the passion, as it is your own masterpiece at home. It should invoke the same sensation you feel when you stand before the original in a museum gallery. Secondly, it should look like the original not only in the color and tones but also in its size and dimension. Run a search for the original painting and its dimensions to avoid picking low-priced retail quality factory reproductions.

Maile Wood is an art enthusiast who has interested in the masterpieces stores in various museums across the worlds. He has written articles on museum quality reproduction oil paintings and hand painted oil painting reproductions to assist other art lovers in decorating their residential or business premises.