The painter will produce pictures of little merit if he takes the works of others as his standard: but if he will apply himself to learn from the obj… - Leonardo da Vinci

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The painter will produce pictures of little merit if he takes the works of others as his standard: but if he will apply himself to learn from the objects of nature he will produce good results. This we see was the case with the painters who came after the time of the Romans, for they continually imitated each other, and from age to age their art steadily declined.