Certain ill-disposed people will see a contradiction in this association of “art” and “reproduction”. Because in fact if one follows the dictates of a XXth Century which celebrates if not excellence, at least welcomes initiative and novelty, the concept of art owes less to the expert mastery of a discipline and to a degree of learning, than to the capacity of the artist to invent to the exclusion of all else. But with time itself coming into play, the odds are that eventually the high quality reproductions produced in Revel will continue to be shown in museums, whilst certain originals will only be referred to as talking points. However, such considerations are far from the preoccupations of the cabinet maker who, when first encountering a work of Jacob, Oeben, or some other great master, will have first and foremost a feeling of humility. To reproduce in the finest detail such a piece of furniture is a challenge which in the long term might feed his pride. And to do this the first problem of the master craftsman is to re-transpose the piece in the spirit of its time. It is necessary for him to try to access the original piece, which itself often poses problems since museum pieces and private collections are all jealously guarded. But generally speaking the best pieces of furniture are indexed and referenced to the extent that one can make sketches from these documents to give sufficient details. The ideal is nevertheless to be able to visit the places where they are kept with photographic equipment and there to take pictures from all angles and to fill in the details of sketches already drawn.

For marquetry one works from a tracing made with Indian ink on tracing paper, noting all the different woods of the veneering used.

The copying of bronzes is judged to be often the most difficult. If it is allowed, an impression is made from the original bronzes using modelling clay into which plaster is then poured. If all else fails it is up to the sculptor to reproduce the piece with the help of photographs taken from each and every angle.