Masterpiece
From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia
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Originally, the term masterpiece (or chef d'œuvre) referred to a piece of handcrafted art produced by a journeyman aspiring to become a master craftsman in the old European guild system, which is partially retained today in Germany and France. These were (or are) typically perfect pieces of handicraft art, admired for their beauty and elegance.
Nowadays this term mostly refers to any work of art that is considered extraordinary. In a stronger sense, it can refer to what is considered an artist's best piece of work.
Examples include: Leonardo Da Vinci's Mona Lisa, Pablo Picasso's Guernica, Michelangelo's David, Ludwig van Beethoven's Ninth Symphony, Richard Wagner's Der Ring des Nibelungen, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's Don Giovanni, William Shakespeare's Hamlet, The Odyssey of Homer, Luís de Camões Os Lusíadas, Geoffrey Chaucer's "Canterbury Tales", Dante Alighieri's Divine Comedy and John Milton's Paradise Lost.
See also
