epigon
/ˈɛpɪɡɑn/
noun
- A person who imitates or follows the work, ideas, or style of an earlier, more original artist, writer, or thinker; an inferior follower or copyist.
- In the history of philosophy, many are epigons who refine the ideas of a great thinker rather than creating their own system.
- Critics accused the novelist of being an epigon of Hemingway, borrowing his terse style but lacking his emotional depth.
- The young painter was dismissed as an epigon, merely copying the techniques of the Impressionists without adding anything new.