Royal Copyists
Explore royal copies of Great Masters in the Royal Collection
A young girl filling a pitcher from a spring
c. 1831Watercolour over pencil | 20.4 x 15.7 cm (sheet of paper) | RCIN 925132
Artist Richard Westall was employed for eight years as drawing teacher to Queen Victoria when she was a child. She started by copying Westall’s drawings of horses, hands and eyes, and later copied some of his finished studies, all produced for this purpose and kept in two albums. At the age of 12, Victoria worked on this composition of a young girl filling a pitcher from a spring. Although already competent, she struggled with the proportions of the girl’s features.