The old masters, hand-painted in oil

Why old masters

Reproductions live or die on the darks, not on the likeness

The shadows in a Rembrandt are built from layered oil, and that depth is exactly what a flat printed copy cannot give you.

Most people judge a reproduction by whether the face looks right. Look at the dark areas instead. In the originals the shadows are warm and full of buried colour, not black holes, and that is where a hand-painted version earns its keep. Oil laid on in layers keeps that transparency. It also means the painting changes through the day as the light moves across the surface, which no flat print does.

Old master work is usually darker than people expect, so it needs light on it. Hang one where a lamp or a window rakes across the canvas, not flat against a bright white wall in full sun. Go bigger than feels safe: a portrait under about 70cm reads as a curiosity rather than a presence. Warm walls, timber and deep greens suit them. Cool grey and stark white tend to flatten the whole thing.

How your painting is made

1. Choose the size and finishSeven standard sizes from 60 × 50cm to 200 × 135cm. Stretched ready to hang, rolled, or one of our frames. The size guide on every painting shows it to scale.
2. Painted to order, by handA university-trained artist paints your piece in oils on canvas, working from the original. Two to three weeks at the easel, then drying time.
3. Stretched, framed, checkedGallery-wrapped or framed in our workshop, then photographed and checked before it leaves.
4. Delivered free, Australia-wideMade to order in 21 to 28 days, then tracked to your door. Thirty-day money-back guarantee if it isn't what you hoped.