old master
Pre-modern art giant
An old master is a distinguished European painter from roughly the 16th through 18th centuries—artists like Rembrandt, Titian, or Vermeer.
The term also refers to a painting by such an artist: The museum acquired an old master at auction.
Old master carries connotations of canonical status and technical mastery, distinguishing these works from modern art.
Heavy woven cloth
- oilSlippery viscous fluid
- brushworkPainter's stroke method
- chiaroscuroContrast technique in painting
- patinaSurface film from aging
varnish · pigment · palette · composition · perspective · gilding · tempera · fresco
Assigning origin or cause
- provenanceRecord of ownership
- authenticationConfirming genuine identity
- auctionCompetitive public sale
- collectorOne who gathers items
appraisal · forgery · expert · Sotheby's · Christie's · dealer · acquisition · restitution
European cultural reawakening
- BaroqueOrnate artistic period
- MediciFlorentine banking dynasty
- patronageSupporter's financial backing
- FlorenceTuscan capital city
Venice · Rome · guild · apprentice · commission · humanism · anatomy · proportion
Unaffected by eras
- venerableDeserving honor for dignity
- canonicalAccepted as standard
- virtuosityExceptional technical skill
- luminosityIntrinsic brightness of source
depth · technique · draftsmanship · modeling · glazing · impasto · underdrawing · pentimento
canvas
Heavy woven cloth
- oilSlippery viscous fluid
- brushworkPainter's stroke method
- chiaroscuroContrast technique in painting
patina · varnish · pigment · palette · composition · perspective · gilding · tempera · fresco · altarpiece
attribution
Assigning origin or cause
- provenanceRecord of ownership
- authenticationConfirming genuine identity
- auctionCompetitive public sale
collector · appraisal · forgery · expert · Sotheby's · Christie's · dealer · acquisition · restitution · scholarly
Renaissance
European cultural reawakening
Florence · Venice · Rome · guild · apprentice · commission · humanism · anatomy · proportion · symmetry
timeless
Unaffected by eras
- venerableDeserving honor for dignity
- canonicalAccepted as standard
- virtuosityExceptional technical skill
luminosity · depth · technique · draftsmanship · modeling · glazing · impasto · underdrawing · pentimento
- wise elderssage, patriarch, matriarch, mentor, guru
- sagessage, wise man, wise woman, seer, oracle
- mastersgrandmaster, sifu, choirmaster, postmaster, webmaster
- drawingpencil drawing, drawing, sketch, sketches, pencil sketch
old masterunknown artist
Unidentified maker of work
emerging artist · hobbyist · Sunday painter · outsider artist · undiscovered talent
old masteravant-garde artist
Creator pushing artistic boundaries
conceptual artist · abstract expressionist · performance artist · installation artist · Dadaist
old, master, elder, mastery, older, elderly, oldest, masterpiece, masterful