Original painting vs print: what is the difference and why does it matter?

Most people buying art for the first time ask this question at some point, and it is a valid one. An original painting and a print of the same image can look identical on a screen. But in person, in a room, they are not the same thing at all.

‍

What an original painting actually is

An original painting is a unique physical object made by an artist at a specific point in time. It exists once. Like that saying "you don't step into the same river twice", there are no duplicates for original paintings. Even if the artist were to recreate it, it would not be a duplicate of the first one. When you acquire an original you are buying something that is a true one-of-one, and something that an artist exchanged a chunk of their life to bring it to life.

The quality of the surface is lost in most common reproductions, like giclée prints. The texture, the depth of layers, the way gold leaf behaves in changing light, the physical evidence of the process - these are properties of an original painting. A very good photograph of a painting is still just a photograph.

‍

What a print is

A print is a reproduction of an image, made in quantity from a source. That source might be a painting, a drawing, a photograph or a digital artwork. What distinguishes a fine art print from a mass-produced poster is usually the use pf archival printing methods, like giclée printing, edition size and the artist's direct involvement: limited numbers, signed and numbered by hand. These qualities give a fine art print value as a collected object. But it is a different experience from an original.

The key difference is scarcity. An original is owned by only one person at a time, and the full value is contained in one item. For prints, the value is distributed across the edition size. That is not a bad thing, as it allows for more people to enjoy an artist's work, but it's an essential thing to understand as a collector.

‍

Which is right for you

Both have a legitimate place in a collection. Prints are a more accessible way to live with work by artists whose originals sit outside your budget, and a well-made limited edition from a serious practice is a meaningful acquisition. But if you are choosing between a print and an original at comparable price points, the original is almost always the more defensible collecting decision. More scarce, directly connected to the artist's hand, more likely to hold significance over time.

Roman's paintings explore the intersection between matter and consciousness, at a moment when what it means to be human is being steadily reduced to data and productivity. His work is available directly from the studio, across a range of formats and price points, each piece certified and documented by the artist.