Any skilled painter who worked in Europe before 1800
In
art history, "Old Master" (or "old master")[1][2] refers to any
painter of
skill who worked in Europe before about 1800, or a painting by such an artist. An "
old master print" is an original
print (for example an
engraving,
woodcut, or
etching) made by an artist in the same period. The term "old master
drawing" is used in the same way.
In theory, "Old Master" applies only to artists who were fully trained, were
Masters of their local
artists' guild, and worked independently, but in practice, paintings produced by pupils or workshops are often 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.
Period covered
In the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, the term was often understood as having a starting date of perhaps 1450 or 1470; paintings made before that were "primitives", but this distinction is no longer made. The Oxford English Dictionary defines the term as "A pre-eminent artist of the period before the modern; esp. a pre-eminent western European painter of the 13th to 18th centuries." The first quotation given is from 1696, in the diary of
John Evelyn: "My L: Pembroke..shewed me divers rare Pictures of very many of the old & best Masters, especially that of M: Angelo..,& a large booke of the best drawings of the old Masters."[3] The term is also used to refer to a painting or sculpture made by an Old Master, a usage datable to 1824.[3] There are comparable terms in Dutch, French, and German; the Dutch may have been the first to make use of such a term, in the 18th century, when oude meester 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.
The end date is necessarily vague – for example,
Goya (1746–1828) is certainly an Old Master,[2] though he was still painting and
printmaking at his death in 1828. The term might also be used for
John Constable[2] (1776–1837) or
Eugène Delacroix (1798–1868), but usually is not.
Edward Lucie-Smith gives an end date of 1800, noting "formerly used of paintings earlier than 1700".[4]
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 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 defined the term as ranging "from the 14th to the early 19th century".[5]
Rachel Ruysch (Dutch, 1664–1750), important female flower painter from Amsterdam
Jan Roos (Flemish, 1591–1638), painter influencing the
genoese school, known for his still life paintings of flowers and vegetables, mythological and religious scenes and portraits
François-Hubert Drouais (French, 1727– 1775) French portraitist to the royal family, King Louis XV and Queen Marie Leczinska, and members of the nobility
^The term is spelled either way in the literature. Major UK and US dictionaries, incl. the
Oxford Online Dictionaries,
American Heritage Dictionary, Macmillan, Cambridge, and Random House dictionaries use lowercase; Oxford English Dictionary, Collins, and Merriam-Webster dictionaries also mention the uppercase spelling.
Why do we still pay attention to Old Masters paintings? a conversation between Keith Christiansen is the John Pope-Hennessy Chairman of the Department of European Paintings at New York's Metropolitan Museum and The Easel's Morgan Meis, Contributing Editor of The Easel.
Any skilled painter who worked in Europe before 1800
In
art history, "Old Master" (or "old master")[1][2] refers to any
painter of
skill who worked in Europe before about 1800, or a painting by such an artist. An "
old master print" is an original
print (for example an
engraving,
woodcut, or
etching) made by an artist in the same period. The term "old master
drawing" is used in the same way.
In theory, "Old Master" applies only to artists who were fully trained, were
Masters of their local
artists' guild, and worked independently, but in practice, paintings produced by pupils or workshops are often 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.
Period covered
In the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, the term was often understood as having a starting date of perhaps 1450 or 1470; paintings made before that were "primitives", but this distinction is no longer made. The Oxford English Dictionary defines the term as "A pre-eminent artist of the period before the modern; esp. a pre-eminent western European painter of the 13th to 18th centuries." The first quotation given is from 1696, in the diary of
John Evelyn: "My L: Pembroke..shewed me divers rare Pictures of very many of the old & best Masters, especially that of M: Angelo..,& a large booke of the best drawings of the old Masters."[3] The term is also used to refer to a painting or sculpture made by an Old Master, a usage datable to 1824.[3] There are comparable terms in Dutch, French, and German; the Dutch may have been the first to make use of such a term, in the 18th century, when oude meester 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.
The end date is necessarily vague – for example,
Goya (1746–1828) is certainly an Old Master,[2] though he was still painting and
printmaking at his death in 1828. The term might also be used for
John Constable[2] (1776–1837) or
Eugène Delacroix (1798–1868), but usually is not.
Edward Lucie-Smith gives an end date of 1800, noting "formerly used of paintings earlier than 1700".[4]
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 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 defined the term as ranging "from the 14th to the early 19th century".[5]
Rachel Ruysch (Dutch, 1664–1750), important female flower painter from Amsterdam
Jan Roos (Flemish, 1591–1638), painter influencing the
genoese school, known for his still life paintings of flowers and vegetables, mythological and religious scenes and portraits
François-Hubert Drouais (French, 1727– 1775) French portraitist to the royal family, King Louis XV and Queen Marie Leczinska, and members of the nobility
^The term is spelled either way in the literature. Major UK and US dictionaries, incl. the
Oxford Online Dictionaries,
American Heritage Dictionary, Macmillan, Cambridge, and Random House dictionaries use lowercase; Oxford English Dictionary, Collins, and Merriam-Webster dictionaries also mention the uppercase spelling.
Why do we still pay attention to Old Masters paintings? a conversation between Keith Christiansen is the John Pope-Hennessy Chairman of the Department of European Paintings at New York's Metropolitan Museum and The Easel's Morgan Meis, Contributing Editor of The Easel.