Full Idea
Learning that a work is a copy of an earlier work, or is done in the style of some other artist, is relevant to an evaluation of what its creator has achieved.
Gist of Idea
We must know what the work is meant to be, to evaluate the artist's achievement
Source
Stephen Davies (The Philosophy of Art (2nd ed) [2016], 3.6)
Book Reference
Davies,Stephen: 'The Philosophy of Art (2nd ed)' [Wiley Blackwell 2016], p.71
A Reaction
A simple but powerful point. We evaluate a forgery as an achievement, and the original plate of a great print as the focus of the achievement. We can assess the achievement of a poem in any printed copy. But what about perfect painting replicas?