Masterpiece

The form masterstik is recorded in English or Scots in a set of Aberdeen guild regulations dated to 1579, whereas masterpiece is first found in 1605, already outside a guild context, in a Ben Jonson play.OED:"Masterpiece". See also: [http://encarta.msn.com/dictionary_1861628683/masterpiece.html Encarta]. [https://web.archive.org/web/20091107141731/http://encarta.msn.com/dictionary_1861628683/masterpiece.html Archived] 2009-11-01. Masterprize was another early variant in English.OED:"Masterprize"

File:Things Fall Apart signed.jpg by Igbo author Chinua Achebe is often considered a literary masterpiece, and one of the greatest works of Nigerian literature.{{Cite web |title=Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe: 9780385474542 {{!}} PenguinRandomHouse.com: Books |url=https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/565351/things-fall-apart-by-chinua-achebe/9780385474542 |access-date=2023-09-11 |website=PenguinRandomhouse.com |language=en-US}}{{Cite news |last=Obioma |first=Chigozie |date=2022-10-05 |title=Top 10 books about Nigeria |language=en-GB |work=The Guardian |url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2022/oct/05/top-10-books-about-nigeria |access-date=2023-09-11 |issn=0261-3077}}{{Cite web |last=Hardison |first=Erika |date=2022-04-25 |title=15 Of The Best Nigerian Books By Nigerian Authors |url=https://bookriot.com/best-nigerian-books/ |access-date=2023-09-11 |website=BOOK RIOT |language=en-US}}]]

In English, the term rapidly became used in a variety of contexts for an exceptionally good piece of creative work, and was "in early use, often applied to man as the 'masterpiece' of God or Nature".OED, and examples

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File:Zuccari Two painter's apprentices.jpg, Two Painter's Apprentices, 1609. They would have to produce a masterpiece to become masters at the end of their apprenticeships.]]

Originally, the term masterpiece referred to a piece of work produced by an apprentice or journeyman aspiring to become a master craftsman in the old European guild system. His fitness to qualify for guild membership was judged partly by the masterpiece, and if he was successful, the piece was retained by the guild. Great care was therefore taken to produce a fine piece in whatever the craft was, whether confectionery, painting, goldsmithing, knifemaking, leatherworking, or many other trades.

In London, in the 17th century, the Worshipful Company of Goldsmiths, for instance, required an apprentice to produce a masterpiece under their supervision at a "workhouse" in Goldsmiths' Hall. The workhouse had been set up as part of a tightening of standards after the company became concerned that the level of skill of goldsmithing was being diluted. The wardens of the company had complained in 1607 that the "true practise of the Art & Mystery of Goldsmithry is not only grown into great decays but also dispersed into many parts, so as now very few workmen are able to finish & perfect a piece of plate singularly with all the garnishings & parts thereof without the help of many & several hands...". The same goldsmithing organization still requires the production of a masterpiece but it is no longer produced under supervision.[http://www.thegoldsmiths.co.uk/library/archives/a-history-of-the-goldsmiths%27-company/ A History of the Goldsmiths' Company.] The Goldsmiths' Company. Retrieved 30 December 2014.[http://www.goldsmiths-centre.org/professional-training/goldsmiths-company-apprenticeship-programme/ Goldsmiths' Company Apprenticeship Programme.] {{webarchive|url=https://archive.today/20141230121155/http://www.goldsmiths-centre.org/professional-training/goldsmiths-company-apprenticeship-programme/ |date=2014-12-30 }} The Goldsmiths' Centre. Retrieved 30 December 2014.

In Nuremberg, Germany, between 1531 and 1572, apprentices who wished to become master goldsmith were required to produce columbine cups, dies for a steel seal, and gold rings set with precious stones before they could be admitted to the goldsmiths' guild. If they failed to be admitted, then they could continue to work for other goldsmiths but not as a master themselves. In some guilds, apprentices were not allowed to marry until they had obtained full membership.[https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O91876/cup-jamnitzer-wenzel/ Cup, Silver, room 69, case 25.] Victoria & Albert Museum. Retrieved 30 December 2014.

In its original meaning, the term was generally restricted to tangible objects, but in some cases, where guilds covered the creators of intangible products, the same system was used. The best-known example today is Richard Wagner's opera Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg (1868), where much of the plot is concerned with the hero's composition and performance of a "masterpiece" song, to allow him to become a meistersinger in the (non-commercial) Nuremberg guild. This follows the surviving rulebook of the guild.

The practice of producing a masterpiece has continued in some modern academies of art, where the general term for such works is now reception piece. The Royal Academy in London uses the term "diploma work" and it has acquired a fine collection of diploma works received as a condition of membership.

In modern use, a masterpiece is a creation in any area of the arts that has been given much critical praise, especially one that is considered the greatest work of a person's career or to a work of outstanding creativity, skill, profundity, or workmanship. For example, the novel David Copperfield by Charles Dickens is generally considered a literary masterpiece.{{cite book |last=Forster |first=John |title=Life of Charles Dickens |location=London |publisher=Everyman's Library |year=1976 |page=[https://archive.org/details/lifeofcharlesdic00john/page/6 6] |chapter=VII |isbn=0460007823 |chapter-url-access=registration |chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/lifeofcharlesdic00john |url=https://archive.org/details/lifeofcharlesdic00john/page/6 }}{{cite web |url=http://classiclit.about.com/library/bl-etexts/jforster/bl-jforster-cdickens-6.htm |work=Classic Literature |title=John Forster, The Life of Charles Dickens |access-date=26 June 2012}}{{cite book |first=Sylvère |last=Monod |title=Dickens the Novelist |url=https://archive.org/details/lish00sylv |url-access=registration |publisher=University of Oklahoma Press |year=1968 |isbn=978-0806107684}} The term is often used loosely, and some critics, such as Edward Douglas of The Tracking Board, feel it is overused in describing recent films.{{Cite web|url=https://www.tracking-board.com/can-we-please-stop-overusing-the-word-masterpiece-opinion/|title=Can We Please Stop Overusing the Word "Masterpiece"? (Opinion)|date=February 17, 2018}}

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• Artistic merit
• Classic
• Great books
• Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity
• Painting the Century: 101 Portrait Masterpieces 1900–2000
• Virtual Collection of Asian Masterpieces
• Western canon

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{{Wiktionary|masterpiece}}

• [http://www.louvre.fr/en/selections/masterpieces Masterpieces at the Louvre.]

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Category:Aesthetics

Category:Guilds

Category:Semiotics

Category:Visual arts

Category:Visual arts terminology

Category:Western art

Category:Works of art