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Chinese Copies Cause Controversy
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http://www.artnewsonline.com/issues/article.asp?art_id=2760
Submitted by
c_judson
1 month, 4 days, 6 hours agoAs American art museums are accepting copies of paintings made in China on glass, people are debating whether that is okay. Specifically, portraits of George Washington by Gilbert Stuart are causing this debate. 200 years ago, when Stuart's original painting was created, Chinese artists were using a process of making reverse painting on glass to recreate that piece. This was an issue that Stuart attempted to fight but was not very successful at, since today there are still a number of these copies floating around. The quality of these pieces are debated, as well as the idea that each piece has different "nuances" other than those intended in the original. Some portray him more accurately, as a middle aged man, while others tend to edge on a more idealized version of Washington (fewer wrinkles, ect.) A copy of a Stuart painting has recently been donated to the New Britain Museum of American Art (the oldest museum of American art in the U.S.), which they have accepted. This also raises the question, if a foreign copy of an American painting is created, does that copy belong in an American art museum?
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