#art, What is Art, part 2: «The Painter»…

The painter… Now it is the «artist»…

Back in the time of the great Renaissance masters, painters like Michelangelo, Botticelli, Leonardo and the rest of the gang, did not call themselves artists. They thought of themselves as trained artisans. Highly skilled craftsmen that had studied and mastered the craft of painting. And paintings also were not regarded as art. During those times artists did not walk into their studios, picked up a canvas and thought of what they were going to paint on it. In those times painters painted what was commissioned from them. Their greatest patrons were the Church and the nobility, along with some rich merchants as well. They did not choose their topics, they were told what to paint.

Of course that sounds quite unlike our modern concept of art. We think of an artist as someone who creates. And his creations come from so deep within his knowledge, his creativity, his innermost mind that some might even believe it came from his very profound, immortal soul. I call bollocks on that one…

Art is still a business. Paintings are mostly for decorative purposes. And artists should still be trained, skilled and dedicated professionals with good taste and a rounded off and complete education. Art does not necessarily have to be that esoteric, mystical form of expression that rises from the spirit to convey a transcendental message of intense and extraordinary beauty and importance. Art is the result of the work of a craftsman who paints/sculpts (etcetera) in his quest to make a living. In other words a painter/artist works for money, just like Michelangelo and Leonardo did.

There is nothing mystical or phenomenal in the work of the artist. Art has many functions and they are all in need of art and the artist is in need of making a living. Art is not done for the love of art. An artist is not a romantic dreamer standing in front of a muse who directs him to paint an extraordinary work called a masterpiece. No, an artist gets up, and using only his well-learned disciplinary habits, enters his studio and begins to work. He does not have to be original as there is nothing original under the sun. An artist only has to be true to himself in the knowledge that he is creating something using his learned abilities and guided by his good taste.

Stay tuned for part 3 coming soon and I will continue with these chapters if you let me know, in the comments below, that you are interested and want to participate in this dialogue.