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GUIDE

Original, print or reproduction

An original is a one-off with brushmarks and real paint thickness, a print a mechanical copy with a flat surface.

Raking light settles the question in two seconds. An original has relief, a print is flat. Every work on this site is an original.

Original, print or reproduction – overview as a diagram

The key points from this guide at a glance.

The raking light test

Seen from the side, an original casts shadows.

Impasto paint stands up off the canvas. A print stays flat, even when the source was impasto.

What a giclée is

A high-quality inkjet print on canvas.

Good giclées look convincing head-on. They still have no relief and no material value.

Edition and one-off

An edition exists many times over, a one-off only once.

Editions carry a number, 12 of 50 for instance. Without a number and without a signature there is nothing to identify it by.

What belongs on the invoice

Title, technique, format, year and the note that it is a one-off.

If the technique is missing, there is no later proof of what was bought. That matters for insurance and resale.

Why the difference is money

An original cannot be repeated.

A print can be produced again at any time. That is the whole difference in price.

In short

Raking light shows it. Every work here is an original.

Prices from CHF 300, directly from the artist.

More: Buying art in Switzerland · What is gold leaf painting · Caring for oil paintings · Guide

Sparse gold leaves on a heavily textured dark wood panel, an example of visible relief

LAGUN ART studio, Schindellegi (Switzerland)
contact e-mail: artel@elenalagun.com

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© 2026 created by Elena Lagun

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