Old Master: Difference between revisions
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[[Image:Venus dormida.jpg|270 px|right|thumb|Giorgione's ''[[Sleeping Venus (Giorgione)|Sleeping Venus]]'' (c. 1510), Dresden, [[Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister]].]] |
[[Image:Venus dormida.jpg|270 px|right|thumb|Giorgione's ''[[Sleeping Venus (Giorgione)|Sleeping Venus]]'' (c. 1510), Dresden, [[Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister]].]] |
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"'''Old Master'''" (or "'''old master'''") is a term for a European [[painting|painter]] of skill who worked before about 1800, or a painting by such an artist. An "[[old master print]]" is an original [[printmaking|print]] (for example an [[engraving]] or [[etching]]) made by an artist in the same period. Likewise an "old master [[drawing]]". |
"'''Old Master'''" (or "'''old master'''") is a term for a European [[painting|painter]] of skill who worked before about 1800, or a painting by such an artist. An "[[old master print]]" is an original [[printmaking|print]] (for example an [[engraving]] or [[etching]]) made by an artist in the same period. Likewise an "old master [[drawing]]". |
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==The scope of the term== |
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In theory an Old Master should be an artist who was fully trained, was a Master of his local [[Guild of Saint Luke|artists' guild]], and worked independently, but in practice paintings considered to be produced by pupils or workshops will be included in the scope of the term. Therefore, beyond a certain level of competence, date rather than quality is the criterion for using the term. |
In theory an Old Master should be an artist who was fully trained, was a Master of his local [[Guild of Saint Luke|artists' guild]], and worked independently, but in practice paintings considered to be produced by pupils or workshops will be included in the scope of the term. Therefore, beyond a certain level of competence, date rather than quality is the criterion for using the term. |
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==Start date== |
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In the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries the term often had a starting date of perhaps 1450 or 1470; paintings made before that were "primitives"; but this distinction is no longer made. The original [[OED]] from the beginning of the 20th century, defines the term as "a 'master' who lived before the period accounted 'modern', chiefly applied to painters from the 13th to the 16th or 17th century." Rather surprisingly, the first quotation they give is from a popular encyclopedia of 1840: "As a painter of animals, [[Edwin Landseer]] far surpasses any of the old masters". There are comparable terms in Dutch, French and German; the Dutch may have been the first to make use of the term, in the 18th century, when it mostly meant [[Dutch Golden Age painting|painters of the Dutch Golden Age]] of the previous century. ''Les Maitres d'autrefois'' of 1876 by [[Eugene Fromentin]] may have helped to popularize the concept, although "vieux maitres" is also used in French. The famous collection in [[Dresden]] at the [[Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister]] is one of the few museums to include the term in its actual name, although many more use it in the title of departments or sections. The collection in the Dresden museum essentially stops at the [[Baroque]] period. |
In the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries the term often had a starting date of perhaps 1450 or 1470; paintings made before that were "primitives"; but this distinction is no longer made. The original [[OED]] from the beginning of the 20th century, defines the term as "a 'master' who lived before the period accounted 'modern', chiefly applied to painters from the 13th to the 16th or 17th century." Rather surprisingly, the first quotation they give is from a popular encyclopedia of 1840: "As a painter of animals, [[Edwin Landseer]] far surpasses any of the old masters". There are comparable terms in Dutch, French and German; the Dutch may have been the first to make use of the term, in the 18th century, when it mostly meant [[Dutch Golden Age painting|painters of the Dutch Golden Age]] of the previous century. ''Les Maitres d'autrefois'' of 1876 by [[Eugene Fromentin]] may have helped to popularize the concept, although "vieux maitres" is also used in French. The famous collection in [[Dresden]] at the [[Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister]] is one of the few museums to include the term in its actual name, although many more use it in the title of departments or sections. The collection in the Dresden museum essentially stops at the [[Baroque]] period. |
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==End date== |
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The end-date is necessarily vague—[[Goya]] (1746–1828) is certainly an Old Master, and he was still painting and [[printmaking]] at his death in 1828. For example the term might be used, but usually is not, about [[John Constable]] (1776–1837) or [[Eugène Delacroix]] (1798–1868). |
The end-date is necessarily vague—[[Goya]] (1746–1828) is certainly an Old Master, and he was still painting and [[printmaking]] at his death in 1828. For example the term might be used, but usually is not, about [[John Constable]] (1776–1837) or [[Eugène Delacroix]] (1798–1868). |
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The term tends to be avoided by [[Art historian]]s as too vague, especially when discussing paintings, although the terms Old Master Prints and Old Master drawings are still used. It remains more current in the art trade. Auction houses still usually divide their sales between, for example: "Old Master Paintings", "Nineteenth-century paintings" and "Modern paintings". [[Christie's]] defines the term as ranging "from the 14th to the early 19th century". |
The term tends to be avoided by [[Art historian]]s as too vague, especially when discussing paintings, although the terms Old Master Prints and Old Master drawings are still used. It remains more current in the art trade. Auction houses still usually divide their sales between, for example: "Old Master Paintings", "Nineteenth-century paintings" and "Modern paintings". [[Christie's]] defines the term as ranging "from the 14th to the early 19th century". |
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==varied titles== |
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Artists, most often from early periods, whose hand has been identified by art historians, but to whom no identity can be confidently attached, are often given names by art historians such as ''[[Master E.S.]]'' (from his monogram), ''[[Master of Flémalle]]'' (from a previous location of a work), ''Master of [[Mary of Burgundy]]'' (from a patron), ''Master of Latin 757'' (from the shelf mark of a manuscript he illuminated), ''Master of the Brunswick Diptych'' (from a work in a museum in [[Braunschweig|Brunswick]]), and so on. Other works may be described as being by an "Unknown Master". |
Artists, most often from early periods, whose hand has been identified by art historians, but to whom no identity can be confidently attached, are often given names by art historians such as ''[[Master E.S.]]'' (from his monogram), ''[[Master of Flémalle]]'' (from a previous location of a work), ''Master of [[Mary of Burgundy]]'' (from a patron), ''Master of Latin 757'' (from the shelf mark of a manuscript he illuminated), ''Master of the Brunswick Diptych'' (from a work in a museum in [[Braunschweig|Brunswick]]), and so on. Other works may be described as being by an "Unknown Master". |
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A very short and by no means complete list of the most important Old Masters |
==A very short and by no means complete list of the most important Old Masters== |
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[[Image:Heda Still Life.jpg|right|thumb|320px|''Still Life with Pie, Silver Ewer and Crab'' by [[Willem Claeszoon Heda]] (1658) Oil on canvas [[Frans Hals Museum]], Haarlem]] |
[[Image:Heda Still Life.jpg|right|thumb|320px|''Still Life with Pie, Silver Ewer and Crab'' by [[Willem Claeszoon Heda]] (1658) Oil on canvas [[Frans Hals Museum]], Haarlem]] |
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Revision as of 17:11, 5 October 2010
"Old Master" (or "old master") is a term for a European painter of skill who worked before about 1800, or a painting by such an artist. An "old master print" is an original print (for example an engraving or etching) made by an artist in the same period. Likewise an "old master drawing".
The scope of the term
In theory an Old Master should be an artist who was fully trained, was a Master of his local artists' guild, and worked independently, but in practice paintings considered to be produced by pupils or workshops will be included in the scope of the term. Therefore, beyond a certain level of competence, date rather than quality is the criterion for using the term.
Start date
In the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries the term often had a starting date of perhaps 1450 or 1470; paintings made before that were "primitives"; but this distinction is no longer made. The original OED from the beginning of the 20th century, defines the term as "a 'master' who lived before the period accounted 'modern', chiefly applied to painters from the 13th to the 16th or 17th century." Rather surprisingly, the first quotation they give is from a popular encyclopedia of 1840: "As a painter of animals, Edwin Landseer far surpasses any of the old masters". There are comparable terms in Dutch, French and German; the Dutch may have been the first to make use of the term, in the 18th century, when it mostly meant painters of the Dutch Golden Age of the previous century. Les Maitres d'autrefois of 1876 by Eugene Fromentin may have helped to popularize the concept, although "vieux maitres" is also used in French. The famous collection in Dresden at the Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister is one of the few museums to include the term in its actual name, although many more use it in the title of departments or sections. The collection in the Dresden museum essentially stops at the Baroque period.
End date
The end-date is necessarily vague—Goya (1746–1828) is certainly an Old Master, and he was still painting and printmaking at his death in 1828. For example the term might be used, but usually is not, about John Constable (1776–1837) or Eugène Delacroix (1798–1868).
The term tends to be avoided by Art historians as too vague, especially when discussing paintings, although the terms Old Master Prints and Old Master drawings are still used. It remains more current in the art trade. Auction houses still usually divide their sales between, for example: "Old Master Paintings", "Nineteenth-century paintings" and "Modern paintings". Christie's defines the term as ranging "from the 14th to the early 19th century".
varied titles
Artists, most often from early periods, whose hand has been identified by art historians, but to whom no identity can be confidently attached, are often given names by art historians such as Master E.S. (from his monogram), Master of Flémalle (from a previous location of a work), Master of Mary of Burgundy (from a patron), Master of Latin 757 (from the shelf mark of a manuscript he illuminated), Master of the Brunswick Diptych (from a work in a museum in Brunswick), and so on. Other works may be described as being by an "Unknown Master".
A very short and by no means complete list of the most important Old Masters
- Giotto di Bondone (Italian, 1267–1337)
- Leonardo da Vinci (Italian, 1452–1519)
- Albrecht Dürer (German, 1471–1528)
- Michelangelo (Italian, 1475–1564)
- Titian (Italian, c.1477–1576)
- Sandro Botticelli (Italian, 1445–1510)
- Raphael (Italian, 1483–1520)
- Hans Holbein the Younger (German, 1497–1543)
- Jacopo Tintoretto (Italian, 1518–1594)
- Pieter Bruegel the Elder (Flemish, c.1525–1569)
- Paolo Veronese (Italian, c.1528–1588)
- El Greco (Greek-born Spanish, 1541–1614)
- Frans Hals (Dutch, 1580–1666)
- Caravaggio (Italian, 1573–1610)
- Peter Paul Rubens (Flemish, 1577–1640)
- Nicolas Poussin (French, 1594–1665)
- Diego Velázquez (Spanish, 1599–1660)
- Jan Havickszoon Steen (Dutch, 1625-1626–1679)
- Rembrandt van Rijn (Dutch, 1606–1669)
- Johannes Vermeer (Dutch, 1632–1675)
- Giovanni Battista Tiepolo (Italian, 1691–1770)
- Joshua Reynolds (English, 1723–1792)
- Francisco Goya (Spanish, 1746–1828)
See also
- Maestro — the musical equivalent
References
- Christie's
- Whitfield Fine Art, London
- CINOA.org Directory of dealers in old masters