"The difference between a bad artist and a good one is: the bad artist seems to copy a great deal; the good one really does"
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Blake overturns the lazy myth that originality means inventing from nothing. The striking paradox is that the bad artist only appears to imitate, while the good artist actually undertakes the hard labor of copying. That reversal exposes the difference between superficial borrowing and disciplined apprenticeship. The bad artist mimics surfaces and mannerisms, collects tics and trends, and assembles a pastiche that advertises its influences. Because the study is shallow, the dependence shows. The good artist studies more deeply and copies more faithfully, tracing structures, proportions, energies, and principles until they become second nature. Having internalized the language, they can speak it as if it were their own; the imitation disappears into fresh creation.
Blake knew what copying meant at the level of craft. Trained as an engraver, he spent years reproducing the works of others line by meticulous line. Copying the old masters taught him anatomy, movement, and the expressive force of contour. Yet he also railed against lifeless generalization and mere slickness in his attacks on academic taste. The reconciliation lies here: copying is not ceding imagination to a model, but refining vision through study so the imagination can act with precision. True originality, for Blake, arises from fidelity to enduring forms grasped by the imagination and honed by practice.
There is also a moral charge. The bad artist hides behind the appearance of novelty while pilfering the obvious. The good artist acknowledges debt, submits to tradition, and transforms it. That is why mature work often looks more original, not less: the sources have been absorbed so completely that only their living spirit remains. Later critics echoed this insight, from Renaissance theories of imitatio to Eliot’s quip about mature poets stealing. Blake’s formulation is both stricter and kinder. Real influence is not a shortcut but a discipline, and copying, done honestly, is the path by which an artist becomes singular.
Blake knew what copying meant at the level of craft. Trained as an engraver, he spent years reproducing the works of others line by meticulous line. Copying the old masters taught him anatomy, movement, and the expressive force of contour. Yet he also railed against lifeless generalization and mere slickness in his attacks on academic taste. The reconciliation lies here: copying is not ceding imagination to a model, but refining vision through study so the imagination can act with precision. True originality, for Blake, arises from fidelity to enduring forms grasped by the imagination and honed by practice.
There is also a moral charge. The bad artist hides behind the appearance of novelty while pilfering the obvious. The good artist acknowledges debt, submits to tradition, and transforms it. That is why mature work often looks more original, not less: the sources have been absorbed so completely that only their living spirit remains. Later critics echoed this insight, from Renaissance theories of imitatio to Eliot’s quip about mature poets stealing. Blake’s formulation is both stricter and kinder. Real influence is not a shortcut but a discipline, and copying, done honestly, is the path by which an artist becomes singular.
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| Topic | Art |
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