Main contrast set: 真迹 (authentic) vs 摹本 (copy), 仿品 (imitation), 赝品 (forgery). Used most in calligraphy and painting, where master works are routinely copied, so authenticity matters. 真迹 almost always implies 'of a famous artist'.
memory
真 (true/genuine) + 迹 (trace/mark) = 'genuine traces'. In the original character 跡, it means 'footprint' or 'brush trace', preserving the sense of 'the original hand's mark'.