workshops (organizations)
- Scope note
- It the context of visual and decorative arts, refers to groups of artists or craftsmen collaborating to produce works, usually under a master's name. The workshop typically included trained artists as well as a number of apprentices, who were learning a trade by practicing progressively more sophisticated tasks associated with the production of art works or decorative objects. Different people in the workshop generally performed different tasks associated with producing a work; for example, one person would apply the gilded background of a painting and another would paint the primary figures. The term is typically applied to groups active prior to the mid-17th century. The meaning of the term overlaps with "studios (organizations)," although there is often a subtle distinction in usage: "Studios (organizations)" typically refers to groups active in the 17th century and later, when the master artist or architect took on pupils rather than apprentices, and the emphasis of the pupil was on honing his native artistic skills rather than on learning a trade. "Workshops (organizations)" typically refers to earlier groups where the emphasis is on organized collaboration, smooth teamwork, a division of labor, and where apprentices are learning a trade rather than being trained as "artists" in the modern sense of the term. The phrases "studio of" or "workshop of" are often used to signify a work produced by persons in an artist's studio or workshop, but without the direct participation of the master's hand.
- Date of creation: 29-Apr-2024
Accepted term: 29-Apr-2024 
