Editing Artist

{{Short description|Person creating art or practicing the arts}}
{{About|the person who is engaged in arts|the person that is also known as an artist|Singing{{!}}Singer}}
{{Other uses}}
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{{Original research|date=October 2024}}
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{{Globalize|date=April 2021}}
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{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2015}}

[[File:Artist at Porthstinian, Penmaen Dewi, Sir Benfro (Pembrokeshire), Cymru 06.jpg|250px|thumb|A [[painter]] at work at [[St Justinian]], [[Wales]], 2021]]

An '''artist''' is a person engaged in an activity related to creating [[art]], practicing [[arts|the arts]], or demonstrating an art. The most common usage (in both everyday speech and academic discourse) refers to a practitioner in the [[visual art]]s only.

However, the term is also often used in the [[show business|entertainment business]] to refer to [[musician]]s and other [[Performing arts#Performers|performers]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=2025-03-16 |title=Definition of ARTIST |url=https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/artist |access-date=2025-03-18 |website=www.merriam-webster.com |language=en}}</ref> '''''Artiste''''' (French) is a variant used in English in this context, but this use has become rare. The use of the term "artist" to describe [[writer]]s is valid, but less common, and mostly restricted to contexts such as critics' reviews;<ref>{{Cite web |title=Meaning of artist in English |url=https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/artist}}</ref> "[[author]]" is generally used instead.

==Dictionary definitions==
The ''[[Oxford English Dictionary]]'' defines the older, broader meanings of the word "artist":

* A learned person or [[Master of Arts]]
* One who pursues a practical science, traditionally [[medicine]], [[astrology]], [[alchemy]], [[chemistry]]
* A follower of a pursuit in which [[skill]] comes by study or practice
* A follower of a manual art, such as a [[mechanic]]
* One who makes their [[craft]] a fine art
* One who cultivates one of the [[fine arts]] – traditionally the arts presided over by the [[muses]]

==History of the term==
[[File:Johann Heinrich Wilhelm Tischbein - Goethe in the Roman Campagna - Google Art Project.jpg|thumb|250px|[[Johann Heinrich Wilhelm Tischbein]], ''[[Goethe in the Roman Campagna]]'', 1787 – portrait of [[Johann Wolfgang von Goethe]], a German author known for his works of poetry, drama, and prose, on philosophy, the visual arts, and science]]
The Greek word {{Lang|el-latn|techně}}, often translated as "art", implies mastery of any sort of craft. The adjectival Latin form of the word, {{Lang|la|technicus}},<ref>
[[Oxford English Dictionary]] s.v. ''technic''
</ref> became the source of the English words [[wikt:technique|technique]], technology, and [[wikt:technical|technical]].

In Greek culture, each of the nine [[Muse]]s oversaw a different field of human creation:
* [[Calliope]] (the 'beautiful of speech'): chief of the muses and muse of [[epic poetry|epic or heroic poetry]]
* [[Clio]] (the 'glorious one'): muse of [[history]]
* [[Erato]] (the 'amorous one'): muse of [[love poetry|love or erotic poetry]], [[lyrics]], and marriage songs
* [[Euterpe]] (the 'well-pleasing'): muse of [[music]] and [[lyric poetry]]
* [[Melpomene]] (the 'chanting one'): muse of [[tragedy]]
* [[Polyhymnia]] or Polymnia (the '[singer] of many [[hymn]]s'): muse of [[sacred|sacred song]], [[Public speaking|oratory]], lyric, [[singing]], and [[rhetoric]]
* [[Terpsichore]] (the '[one who] delights in dance'): muse of [[choral]] song and dance
* [[Thalia (Muse)|Thalia]] (the 'blossoming one'): muse of [[comedy]] and [[bucolic poetry]]
* [[Urania]] (the 'celestial one'): muse of [[astronomy]]

No muse was identified with the visual arts of [[painting]] and [[sculpture]]. In ancient Greece, sculptors and painters were held in low regard, the work often performed by slaves and mostly regarded as mere manual labour.<ref>''In Our Time: The Artist'' [[BBC Radio 4]], TX 28 March 2002</ref>

The word ''art'' derives from the Latin "{{Lang|la|ars}}" (stem ''art-''), which, although literally defined means "skill method" or "technique", also conveys a connotation of beauty.

During the Middle Ages the word ''artist'' already existed in some countries such as Italy, but the meaning was something resembling ''craftsman'', while the word ''artisan'' was still unknown. An artist was someone able to do a work better than others, so the skilled excellency was underlined, rather than the activity field. In this period, some "artisanal" products (such as [[textiles]]) were much more precious and expensive than paintings or sculptures.

The first division into major and minor arts dates back at least to the works of [[Leon Battista Alberti]] (1404–1472): ''[[De re aedificatoria]], [[De statua]], [[De pictura]]'', which focused on the importance of the intellectual skills of the artist rather than the manual skills (even if in other forms of art there was a [[project]] behind).<ref>
P.Galloni, ''Il sacro artefice. Mitologie degli artigiani medievali'', Laterza, [[Bari]], 1998</ref>

With the [[Academy|academies]] in Europe (second half of 16th century) the gap between fine and applied arts was definitely set.

Many contemporary definitions of "artist" and "art" are highly contingent on culture, resisting aesthetic prescription; in the same way, the features constituting beauty and the beautiful cannot be standardized easily without moving into [[kitsch]].

== Training and employment ==
The [[US Bureau of Labor Statistics]] classifies many visual artists as either ''craft artists'' or ''fine artists''.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|url=https://www.bls.gov/ooh/arts-and-design/craft-and-fine-artists.htm|title=Craft and Fine Artists|date=17 December 2015|series=Occupational Outlook Handbook|publisher=U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics|language=en-us|access-date=2017-10-21|edition=2016–17}}</ref>  A craft artist makes handmade functional works of art, such as [[pottery]] or [[clothing]].  A fine artist makes paintings, [[illustrations]] (such as [[book illustration]]s or [[medical illustration]]s), sculptures, or similar artistic works primarily for their aesthetic value.

The main source of skill for both craft artists and fine artists is long-term repetition and practice.<ref name=":0" />  Many fine artists have studied their art form at university, and some have a master's degree in fine arts.  Artists may also study on their own or receive on-the-job training from an experienced artist.

The number of available jobs as an artist is increasing more slowly than in other fields.<ref name=":0" />  About half of US artists are self-employed.  Others work in a variety of industries.  For example, a pottery manufacturer will employ craft artists, and book publishers will hire illustrators.

In the US, fine artists have a median income of approximately US$50,000 per year, and craft artists have a median income of approximately US$33,000 per year.<ref name=":0" />  This compares to US$61,000 for all art-related fields, including related jobs such as [[graphic designer]]s, [[multimedia artist]]s, [[animator]]s, and [[fashion designers]].<ref name=":0" />  Many artists work part-time as artists and hold a second job.<ref name=":0" />

==See also==
{{portal|Arts}}
{{Div col|colwidth=25em}}

* [[Art history]]
* [[Arts by region]]
* [[Artist in Residence]]
* [[Humanities]]
* [[List of painters by name]]
* [[List of painters]]
* [[List of photographers]]
* [[List of composers]]
* [[List of sculptors]]
* [[Mathematics and art]]
* [[Starving artist]]
* [[Tattoo artist]]
* [[Tortured artist]]
{{colend}}

==References==
{{reflist}}

===Works cited===
{{stack|{{Wikiquote}}}}
* P.Galloni, Il sacro artefice. Mitologie degli artigiani medievali, Laterza, Bari, 1998
* C. T. Onions (1991). ''The Shorter Oxford English Dictionary''. Clarendon Press Oxford. {{ISBN|0-19-861126-9}}

==External links==
{{Wiktionary|artist}}
{{Sister project links|collapsible=collapsed|Arts|voy=no}}
* {{In Our Time|The Artist|p00548cd|The_Artist}}

{{Art world |state=autocollapse}}

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Artists| ]]
[[Category:Aesthetics]]
[[Category:Art occupations]]
[[Category:Artisans]]
[[Category:Arts-related lists]]
[[Category:Humanities occupations]]