A print is not a copy when it is an original work of art created by an artist working directly in a printmaking medium (like a woodcut, etching, or lithograph) where no prior master painting exists, making the printed impression the primary and authentic artwork itself.
An original print has no “original” painting it duplicates; a copy always duplicates a prior piece.
If the print is made from an existing painting, it is classified as a reproduction (a copy), not an original print, because the primary artwork already exists in another medium.
However, there are major exceptions where a print from a painting is still highly valued.
The Authorized Reproduction
- Mechanical Copy: A digital print (giclée) or poster made by scanning the painting and printing it. This is a copy.
- Limited Edition Reproduction: The artist authorizes a high-quality print run of their painting. They hand-sign and number each print (e.g., 5/100). While it is technically still a copy of the painting, it holds market value because of the artist’s direct endorsement and the scarcity of the edition.
The Fine Art Exception is ‘interpretive prints’. The most famous historical and modern artists who utilized this technique to translate paintings into fine art prints include: Peter Paul Rubens, Raphael, Matisse, Picasso and Dali. Throughout art history, the creation of interpretive prints (historically called reproductive prints) involved highly skilled collaborations between legendary painters and master engravers, or master artists translating their own paintings into completely new print mediums. An interpretive and collaborative print can hold massive financial and historical value because it is treated as a co-authored masterpiece of craftsmanship, rather than a mechanical photocopy. When a master artist and an elite printmaker team up, they are not just duplicating a painting—they are completely translating it into an entirely new artistic language. There a several other logical reasons as well.
First the Art of “Translation” requires elite skills. Second, the Art has Direct Validation by the Master Artist. Also, the material used is of better quality, and it’s likely the only way for the public and other artists to own a piece of that master’s genius making it highly collectible.
The Interpretive Prints
- Collaborative Printmaking: In art history, a master printmaker sometimes looked at an artist’s painting and hand-carved a brand-new woodblock or copper plate to replicate that image.
- Why it’s not a mere copy: Because the printmaker had to completely translate paint strokes into carved lines by hand, the resulting print is considered an “interpretive original print” or a historic fine art engraving, rather than a cheap duplicate.
But what about Afters? An artwork officially becomes an “After” (or d’après in French) when a printmaker or artist creates a piece that is visually based on a pre-existing artwork by a different master, and explicitly credits that original creator in the documentation or on the print itself.
For example, in the art market, labeling a print as “After Salvador Dalí” or “After Pablo Picasso” is a legal and ethical way to say: “This image belongs to the master, but the physical plate, stone, or matrix was created by someone else.”
During the Artist’s Life (Authorized Interpretive Print): If the master artist is alive, oversees the printmaker, approves the colors, and hand-signs the final edition, the work is a collaborative fine art print. It is generally not called an “After” because the master directly participated.
After the Artist’s Death (The “After”): If the master artist dies, and their estate or a publisher hires a master engraver to translate an iconic painting into a print edition, it legally and historically becomes an “After [Artist Name]”
So, what is The Value Difference
- Original Prints / Autographic Prints (Highest Value): The master artist personally carved, etched, or drew the image onto the matrix and hand-signed the paper. No pre-existing painting exists.
- Collaborative Printmaking (High Value): Created during the artist’s lifetime. A master artisan translates the artist’s pre-existing painting onto a printing plate, but the living artist directly collaborates, oversees the proofs, and applies a live pencil signature.
- “After” Prints / Posthumous Estate Reproductions (Moderate Value): Created after the artist’s death. A master printmaker (like Salinas) hand-recreates the painting on a stone or plate. It is authorized by the estate, features an estate stamp, and is often hand-signed by an heir (like Marina Picasso) rather than the artist.
- Limited Edition Reproductions (Collectable / Lower-Moderate Value): Commercial, machine-made prints (like digital giclées or offset lithographs) of an existing painting. The artist did not make a hand-carved plate, but they authorized, hand-signed, and numbered the commercial run to create artificial scarcity.
- Mechanical Copies (No Fine Art Value): Standard, mass-produced posters, laser prints, or open-edition digital prints made by scanning a painting and hitting print. They feature no hand-craftsmanship, no live signatures, and no edition limits; an “Open Issue”.