Historically, a "masterpiece" was a work of a very high standard produced to obtain membership of a guild or academy in various areas of the visual arts and crafts.
[5] 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".
[9] 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.
[12] 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.
[13][14][15] 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.