Lolo & Galago

Interview with Muse Art - What makes a Master Piece?

We all know the World-famous paintings and art work, but have you ever wondered why some pieces are considered ‘masterpieces’ when there are plenty of seemingly similar works out there? What differentiates some pieces apart from others? And who exactly decides this? In our quest to deeper understand the qualities behind design, Lolo and Galago set to find out the answers. 

Jess Cummings, the manager of Muse Art- a private art company which sources artwork for private collections and manages placements for international properties talks to us about ‘What Makes a piece of Art a Master Piece’. Below, she answers our questions and brings to life all the different levels of art.

What do you think of as a Masterpiece?

When one hears  ‘Masterpiece’ one may think of the Mona Lisa by Da Vinci,  Starry Night by Van Gogh, Sistine Chapel frescos by Michelangelo, the Birth of Venus by Botticelli, Water lilies by Monet, the Venus de Milo  C. 100 B.C, Les Demoiselles d’Avignon by Picasso or  possibly Duchamp’s ‘Fountain’.  These are widely acclaimed as ‘Masterpieces’ but the saying ‘One man’s trash is another man’s treasure’ comes to mind because like all art, a masterpiece is very much a subjective term.

They may all be all different but what do you think makes each one a masterpiece?

The general understanding of what makes a masterpiece is usually a work of art that for that era has technically or conceptually challenged everything that has preceded it.  i.e. The Impressionist movement moved away from depicting a setting in the real, ‘as is situation’ and chose to use visible thick brush strokes or dots, a radical idea at the time violating the rules of academic painting. 

What do scholars/professors of art tend to look for in a 'masterpiece'?

I believe that they tend to look for something that technically or conceptually unique for the era- a piece of work that challenges the norm.  However, a masterpiece may not be considered a masterpiece at the time it is made but in later years. An example of this is Duchamp’s scandalous work which was a porcelain urinal on the wall, signed "R.Mutt" and titled ‘ Fountain’.  It was a piece of art that at the time caused massive controversy, but it was an idea that changed art history forever. It is now seen as the 20^th century’s most influential modern art work of all time.  Moving art history to the conceptual nature is more in tune with why he is known to be the father of conceptualism. 

Do you believe that there are any specific qualities/styles that are exhibited in all famous pieces of art?

Sometimes what makes a piece of art famous is the story behind the artwork, or even the artist themselves. For example, Da Vinci – is a symbol of the Renaissance for his many talents in Art and Science, but due to his mysterious character at that time many people did not understand him or his works, so they were not interesting. His paintings are technically exceptional and exhibit complex symbolism i.e. Madonna on the rocks. This over the eras, always caused controversy and there was a lot of speculation of what they meant.  Another example is the Mona Lisa. Not only did it revolutionize painting, the sitter pose broke tradition as the portrait was painted from the waist up with extraordinary  vividness  and the lady in the painting was an unknown sitter. The Mystique of Leonardo, the early mystery, publicity and artistic revolution all contribute to the Mona Lisa’s fame.

Is there ever disagreement in the art community about what makes a Masterpiece?

Of course- all the time and like the Louvre director Henri Loyrette says ‘It is extremely difficult, if not impossible, to articulate a definition of masterpiece that could be accepted universally’. Art Historians, critics, scholars, curators and collectors don’t always agree.

What makes some artists like Picasso stand out when there are many similar styled artists?

Picasso, like all master’s, was the first to do something great in art history. He was a genius at using mass media to further his name making him very famous during his lifetime. He had exceptional business skills, like the Damien Hirst of our time, but most importantly, as an artist, he was responsible for influencing and inventing some of the greatest art movements of the 20^th century; namely fragmenting the Renaissance painters space/perspective, innovating and rendering of collage & assemblage, found-object art, had a constructionist approach to sculpture and his impact upon the developments of modernism and eventually abstraction are of major importance.  Most expert’s opinion of Picasso's work is highly regarded and many agree that after Picasso through the 1950s, many artists were aware of Picasso's work and a good many were challenged by it in one way or another. Some were clearly inspired by it and others rebelled against it... but in either way, he was not to be ignored.

What features are present in a 'masterpiece'?

A masterpiece is highly subjective in art so there really there isn’t one recipe. When I studied Art History, I remember the finishing day of my classes after 4 years of studying art history which included many topics- the canons, styles, movements, artists, controversies and conceptual debates. My professor turned to our class and boldly said ‘Ok, so, WHAT IS ART?’.  It could literally be anything to one person from the next and the more information you have the more you can argue what makes Art, Art. The same goes for a Masterpiece I think really. If I had to choose, I think some of the greatest masterpieces are either from our ancient civilisations, such as ancient Roman sculpture of the Hellenistic period where the bodies became almost life like. The artist’s rendering veins and musculature of the human body to an extraordinary level when they didn’t have the technology we do today. Or early medieval 13^th century paintings by Giott. This is when artists are just figuring out how to render space and light for the first time. These fascinate me.

Is there a shift in what is considered masterpiece art over time?

I stick to what I said above… but I do think things have changed. I think Renaissance masters would look at Damien Hirst’s formaldehyde animals and certainly wouldn’t call them a master piece, but art is more conceptual and about challenging an audience.  Technical ability is still important of course, but just in a different way, maybe not in paintings but how a large scale installation is designed and project managed.

Any particular artistic medium that is favoured? For example, why are there more world renowned paintings than pencil sketches?

This is not necessarily true, but painting is probably the most renowned because of some of the famous artists the general public know about i.e. Da Vinci, Michelangelo, Picasso, Pollock etc.  Painting is the finished product for a lot of exquisite sketches that aren’t necessarily known about. The National Gallery exhibited many of Da Vinci’s unfinished sketches for studies he did on the human form and these are considered great works because of the artist and the extraordinary technique and understanding of not only the human form but pen to paper. 

What do we think at Lolo and Galago?

We would agree that producing a truly beautiful and great piece of art is as much about the concept, meaning and design behind it as the technical achievement of the piece.
As Jess mentions, there are many talented artists that are able to reproduce techniques, styles and forms, but a piece really stands out when it is at the forefront of design and challenges traditional norms. It takes true vision to be able to step outside the design box and consider every element of the work, from its structure, composition, meaning and then create this flawlessly.  At Lolo and Galago, we consider this approach crucial to the design process of all our luxury jewellery and it is for this reason we remain constantly inspired by every aspect of art, fashion, nature and architecture around us. It results in every piece we produce having a meaning behind it, so that you know your jewellery is not just a beautifully crafted piece, but also a work of art.   

Written by Rosie May Reddington