Authentic art is juxtaposed with fakes, forgeries, and copies.
Instead of focusing on one artist, she was examining works done by many artists throughout history. Copies have been produced for a variety of motives and intentions, and in some instances are the only remaining record of a lost or destroyed work. Imitation of classical masterpieces was the backbone of academic training. The more sought-after or expensive an artist's works become, the more likely they will be copied. Forgeries falsify and corrupt our vision of an artist's work, offer no significant data, and distort historical art scholarship.