The Windmill (after Rembrandt), by Lucy Brightwell. 1835. Source: Blaker 36, by kind permission. Such copies of Rembrandt and others seem to have redounded more to Brightwell's credit than her own works, since fellow-etchers were astonished by how easily they could be mistaken for the genuine originals. Copying has always been a way to learn the required techniques, but some artists were so adept at it that their reputations were based on it. Another example is Christiana Herringham, whose copyist work in tempera garnered much praise. — Jacqueline Banerjee
Related Material
Bibliography
Blaker, Michael. "Lucy Brightwell — Copyist Extraordinary." The Journal of the Royal Society of Painter-Etchers & Engravers, No. 7: 36.
Lucy Brightwell, in the British Museum Collections. Web. 14 June 2020.
Watt, Norma. "Brightwell, (Cecilia) Lucy (1811–1875), etcher and author." Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. Online ed. 14 June 2020.
Created 13 June 2020