Famous Copies

Below you will find a selection of copies and works inspired by other artists. For centuries it has been a common practice for artists to make copies of existing works as a way to practice. Some of the examples are more faithful to the original. Others take certain artistic liberties in their replication.

  • Jean-François Millet, Noonday Rest, 1866.
  • Vincent van Gogh, Noonday Rest (after Millet), 1890–91.
  • Émile Bernard, Women in the Meadow, 1888.
  • Vincent van Gogh, Women in the Meadow (after Bernard), 1888.
  • Titian, Venus of Urbino, 1534.
  • Édouard Manet, Olympia, 1863.
  • Hans Holbein the Younger, Anne of Cleves, 1539.
  • Edgar Degas, Anne of Cleves (after Hans Holbein the Younger), c.1860.
  • Philippe de Champaigne, Cardinal Richelieu, c.1640.
  • Edgar Degas, Cardinal Richelieu (after Philippe de Champaigne), c.1860.
  • Raphael, Portrait of Count Baldassare Castiglione, 1514–15.
  • Rubens, Portrait of Count Baldassare Castiglione (after Raphael), 1630.
  • Eugène Delacroix, The Good Samaritan, 1849.
  • Vincent van Gogh, The Good Samaritan (after Delacroix), 1890.
  • Follower of Diego Velázquez, Dwarf with a Dog, c. 1645.
  • John Singer Sargent, Dwarf with a Dog (after Follower of Velázquez), 1879.
  • Jean-Honoré Fragonard, The Swing, 1767.
  • Nicolas de Launay, The Swing (after Fragonard), 1782.
  • Michelangelo Buonarotti, Ezekiel (from the Sistine Chapel), 1508–12.
  • Adamo Scultori, Ezekiel (after Michelangelo), 1547–87.
  • Johannes Vermeer, Woman with a Water Jug. Oil on canvas, 1660–1662.
  • Henry Wolf, Wood Engraving (after Vermeer), 1907
  • Martin Schongauer, The Temptation of St. Anthony, c. 1470–75.
  • Attributed to Michelangelo, The Temptation of St. Anthony, c. 1487–88.
  • Titian, Rape of Europa, c. 1560–62.
  • Peter Paul Rubens, Rape of Europa (after Titian), c. 1628–29.

Full Captions and Sources:

Adamo Scultori, Ezekiel (after Michelangelo), 1547–87. Engraving. London: The British Museum [The British Museum]

Attributed to Michelangelo, The Temptation of St. Anthony, c. 1487–88. Oil and tempera on panel. Fort Worth: Kimbell Art Museum. [Kimbell Art Museum]

Edgar Degas, Copy after Holbein’s Anne of Cleves, c.1860. Oil on canvas. Private Collection. [Private Collection]

Edgar Degas, Copy of Philippe de Champagne’s Cardinal Richelieu. Pencil drawing, Paris: Bibliotheque Nationale. [Reff, 243]

Édouard Manet, Olympia, 1863. Oil on canvas. Paris: Musée d’Orsay. [Musée d’Orsay]

Émile Bernard, Women in the Meadow, 1888. Oil on canvas. Paris: Musée d’Orsay. [Musée d’Orsay]

Eugène Delacroix, The Good Samaritan, 1849. Oil canvas. Private Collection. [Private Collection]

Follower of Diego Velázquez, Dwarf with a Dog, c. 1645. Oil on canvas. Florence: The Uffizi Gallery. [The Uffizi Gallery]

Henry Wolf, Wood Engraving after Jan Vermeer Woman at the Window, 1907. Wood engraving. Minneapolis: Minneapolis Institute of Art. [MIA]

Jean-François Millet, Noonday Rest, 1866. Wood engraving. Boston: Museum of Fine Arts. [Museum of Fine Arts Boston]

Jean-Honoré Fragonard, The Swing, 1767. Oil on canvas. London: Wallace Collection. [Wallace Collection]

Johannes Vermeer, Woman with a Water Jug. 1660–62. Oil on canvas. New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art. [The MET]

John Singer Sargent, Dwarf with a Dog, 1879. Oil on canvas. New York City: The Hispanic Society of America. [The Hispanic Society of America]

Hans Holbein the Younger, Anne of Cleves, 1539. Oil on canvas. Paris: Musée du Louvre. [Musée du Louvre]

Martin Schongauer, The Temptation of St. Anthony, c.1470–75. Engraving. Cleveland: Cleveland Museum of Art [Cleveland Museum of Art]

Michelangelo Buonarotti, Ezekiel (from the Sistine Chapel), 1508–12. Fresco. Vatical City: Sistine Chapel [Wikipedia]

Nicolas de Launay, The Swing (after Fragonard), 1782. Etching and engraving. London: The British Museum. [The British Museum

Peter Paul Rubens, Portrait of Count Baldassare Castiglione (After Raphael), 1630, London: The Courtauld Gallery. [The Courtauld Gallery]

Peter Paul Rubens, Rape of Europa (after Titian), c. 1628–29, Oil on canvas. Madrid: Museo Nacional del Prado. [Museo Nacional del Prado]

Philippe de Champaigne, Cardinal Richelieu, c.1640. Oil on canvas. London: The National Gallery. [National Gallery]

Raphael, Portrait of Count Baldassare Castiglione, 1514–15, Oil on canvas. Paris: Musée du Louvre. [Musée du Louvre]

Titian, Rape of Europa, c. 1560–62. Oil on canvas. Boston: Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum. [Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum]

Titian, Venus of Urbino, 1534. Oil on canvas. Florence: The Uffizi Gallery. [The Uffizi Gallery]

Vincent van Gogh, Noonday Rest (after Millet), 1890–91. Oil on canvas. Paris: Musée d’Orsay. [Musée d’Orsay]

Vincent van Gogh, The Good Samaritan (after Delacroix), 1890. Oil on canvas. Otterlo: Kröller-Müller Museum. [Kröller-Müller Museum]

Vincent van Gogh, Women in the Meadow (after Bernard), 1888. Oil on canvas. Milan: Galleria d’Arte Moderna. [Galleria d’Arte Moderna]

By Elliot Penn