MODERN PAINTERS, OLD MASTERS

With the rise of museums in the 19th century, including the formation in 1824 of the National Gallery in London, as well as the prol iferation of widely available published reproductions, the art of the past became visible and accessible in Victorian England as nev er before. Inspired by the work of Sandro Botticelli, Jan van Eyck, Diego Velazquez, and others, British artists elevated contempora ry art to new heights through a creative process that emphasized imitation and emulation.