Fake art

HOW TO TELL WHICH OF REDD’S ARTWORKS ARE REAL AND WHICH ARE FAKE

All of Redd’s artworks are based off of real world paintings and sculptures. But the tricky fox may try to sell you a forgery that looks very similar to the genuine article. Each fake will have a visible difference from the real version.

Redd has really stepped up his game this time around and his art is pretty hard to differentiate from the real versions. Keep in mind that the differences between the real and fakes are not the same as they were in Animal Crossing: New Leaf and are much harder to spot.

In the list below, we’ll include descriptions of how you can tell the difference between a real piece of art and a forgery. We’ll keep updating as we find more.

Update (Apr. 23): While we used the painting textures from the game to list the paintings below, it appears that there have been reports of multiple types of fake paintings that were not in the textures we used. That being said, make sure to inspect the paintings carefully and compare them to the real paintings below before you make any purchases. We will continue investigating and update this guide as we find more information.

SERENE PAINTING

(LADY WITH AN ERMINE BY LEONARDO DA VINCI)

Image: Julia Lee/Polygon | Source images: Nintendo EPD/Nintendo

The real version will have a woman holding an all-white ermine. In the fake version, the ermine will have raccoon-like circles around its eyes.

WARM PAINTING

(THE CLOTHED MAJA BY FRANCISCO DE GOYA)

Image: Julia Lee/Polygon | Source images: Nintendo EPD/Nintendo

The real version has a pearl earring (shocker). The fake version has a star-shaped earring. There is another fake version with the subject’s eyes closed, which also has a star-shaped earring.

ACADEMIC PAINTING

(VITRUVIAN MAN BY LEONARDO DA VINCI)

Image: Julia Lee/Polygon | Source images: Nintendo EPD/Nintendo

The real version has a white tag near her hair. The fake version does not have the tag. The woman in the fake painting is also larger. Another version of a fake Graceful Painting has her looking to the left, instead of to the right.

CALM PAINTING

(A SUNDAY AFTERNOON ON THE ISLAND OF LA GRANDE JATTE BY GEORGES SEURAT)

Image: Julia Lee/Polygon | Source images: Nintendo EPD/Nintendo

The fake Scary Painting will have sad-looking eyebrows. The real one looks more angry. An additional fake version may have him smiling, though his eyebrows will still be sad-looking.

DYNAMIC PAINTING

(THIRTY-SIX VIEWS OF MOUNT FUJI THE GREAT WAVE OFF KANAGAWA BY KATSUSHIKA HOKUSAI)

Image: Julia Lee/Polygon | Source images: Nintendo EPD/Nintendo

The fake version of the Scenic Painting will be missing a hunter and some dogs.

MOVING PAINTING

(THE BIRTH OF VENUS BY SANDRO BOTTICELLI)

Image: Julia Lee/Polygon | Source images: Nintendo EPD/Nintendo

The fake version of the Moving Painting will be missing trees in the top right corner.

AMAZING PAINTING

(THE NIGHT WATCH BY REMBRANDT VAN RIJN)

Image: Julia Lee/Polygon | Source images: Nintendo EPD/Nintendo

In the fake version, the woman in the Quaint Painting is pouring out much more milk than she is in the real version.

SOLEMN PAINTING

(LAS MENINAS BY DIEGO VELÁZQUEZ)

Image: Julia Lee/Polygon | Source images: Nintendo EPD/Nintendo

The man in the background of the fake Solemn Painting is raising his arm more than he is in the real version.

BASIC PAINTING

(THE BLUE BOY BY THOMAS GAINSBOROUGH)

Image: Julia Lee/Polygon | Source images: Nintendo EPD/Nintendo

In the fake version of the Wild Painting Left Half, the beast is green. It should be white.

WILD PAINTING RIGHT HALF

(FOLDING SCREEN OF FŪJIN AND RAIJIN BY TAWARAYA SŌTATSU)

Image: Julia Lee/Polygon | Source images: Nintendo EPD/Nintendo

In the fake version of the Wild Painting Right Half, the beast is white. It should be green.

DETAILED PAINTING

(AJISAI SŌKEIZU BY ITŌ JAKUCHŪ)

Image: Julia Lee/Polygon | Source images: Nintendo EPD/Nintendo

The fake Detailed Painting has purple foliage instead of blue. It’s also missing a signature on the left.

WARRIOR STATUE

(TERRACOTTA WARRIOR BY UNKNOWN)

Image: Julia Lee/Polygon | Source images: Nintendo EPD/Nintendo

The fake version of the Motherly Statue will have a tongue sticking out of the wolf’s mouth.

BEAUTIFUL STATUE

(VENUS DE MILO BY ALEXANDROS OF ANTIOCH)

Image: Julia Lee/Polygon | Source images: Nintendo EPD/Nintendo

The fake Informative Statue will be blue, but the real one is black.

ANCIENT STATUE

(JŌMON PERIOD “DOGŪ” FIGURINE SHAKŌKI-DOGŪ BY UNKNOWN)

Image: Julia Lee/Polygon | Source images: Nintendo EPD/Nintendo

The fake Ancient Statue has two antennas coming out of the side of its head.

The fake statue may also have blue glowing eyes.

TREMENDOUS STATUE

(HOUMUWU DING BY UNKNOWN)

Image: Julia Lee/Polygon | Source images: Nintendo EPD/Nintendo

The fake Mystic Statue will have an earring on the subject’s right ear. Facing the statue directly, the earring will be on the viewer’s left.

ROCK-HEAD STATUE

(OLMEC COLOSSAL HEAD BY UNKNOWN)

The fake statue will be smiling.

VALIANT STATUE

(NIKE OF SAMOTHRACE BY UNKNOWN)

The fake version of this statue will have Nike’s left leg forward. The real version has her right leg forward.

GREAT STATUE

(KING KAMEHAMEHA I BY THOMAS RIDGEWAY GOULD)

This statue will always be real.

FAMILIAR STATUE

(THE THINKER BY AUGUSTE RODIN)

This statue will always be real.