Old Master

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.

The Oxford English Dictionary defines the term as "A pre-eminent artist of the period before the modern; esp.

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 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.

[5] The relevant part of the large and important collection of the Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium in their main building in Brussels was renamed in recent years as the Oldmasters Museum in Dutch and English, and Musée Oldmasters in French.