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This was especially the case with official portraits of monarchs and politicians, which in the Early Modern period were often ordered in large numbers of versions from the court artist as diplomatic gifts.

The French painter Charles Landelle recorded no fewer than 32 versions of his Femme Fellah, an Orientalist hit at the Paris Salon of 1866.

Especially in the 19th century, carved marble sculptures were very often made mechanically using pointing machines following a clay or plaster modello by the artist, and further versions were produced as commissions came in.

An example of a work now only known from a replica (in the Galleria Borghese in Rome) and studies is Aeneas and his Family Fleeing Troy, the only secular history painting by Federico Barocci.

It was taken to Rome by Queen Christina of Sweden, passed to the Orleans collection in Paris, and finally sold at auction in London for 14 guineas in 1800 (the price probably reflecting the poor condition some sources mention), since when its whereabouts are unknown.