DEVELOPMENT OF IMITATION METHODS IN THE PAINTING PRACTICE OF THE 16th-17th CENTURY ITALIAN MASTERS

The article explores the imitation methods in Italian Renaissance and Baroque painting, which were widespread in the forms of copying, replication, compilation and imitation. Italian art inherited the practice of imitation from the era of Antiquity and the Middle Ages. It was the basis of apprenticeship and organization of work in art studios. Model imitation and, at the same time, search for stylistic originality from the second half of the 15th century led to the spreading of replication, compilation, imitation and emulation techniques. The practice of imitation was continued by the 17th century Italian masters in the form of self-copying. Thus, the processes of imitation in the form of copying, replication, and compilation during the Renaissance and Baroque were a major component of everyday artistic practice and produced a significant impact on its theoretical comprehension and continuation at the subsequent stages of development.