One of my earliest attempts to paint a replica of great masters of the past.
I didn’t actually copy the original face of the woman in this painting because I thought why I should paint an unknown face in our time, I might as well paint the face of Marlyn Monroe instead of hers. I painted two copies of this at the same time. One is long gone and the other I used to beautify my home.
It’s such a challenge to paint a replica rather than coming up with an original work. In painting replicas, you need to focus on copying nanometer by nanometer, otherwise you will not get it and the critics are on you trying to bully you that it doesn’t look the same as the original. However, I accept the challenge, but I need a much longer time to produce a high quality replica. It’s only a matter of time, and interest, and demand, and I can already do it, but is it worth my time? Maybe for you it’s not, but for me, it helps me to develop my skill in painting and going beyond my capabilities as an artist is such a challenge and I love it!
The original artist of this painting was Frédéric Soulacroix (1858 - 1933), who was a French-Italian painter and was born to well-know fresco painters and sculptors. Charles Soulacroix and Giacinta Diofebo. By the age of 15 years, in 1873, Frédéric entered the Accademia di Belle Arti of Florence, and, in October 1876, he was admitted to its School of Painting. He remained in Florence for many years painting often romantic genre pieces in costume of the 18th or early 19th centuries. Among his works were Diritto di pedaggio; A declaration of Love; A Goodbye; Il brindisi; Per le scale; The message; L'ultimo sguardo; Una confidenza flìrtation; Une incroyable; Buone nuove; Cattive nuove; Leaving for the War; La leggitrìce; and Il regalo dell'amante nel giorno natalizio.
His works can be seen at the Museum of Arts of Philadelphia and at the Lord Mayor collection Mansion House in London. (From Wikipedia)