Masterpiece

What is a masterpiece?

I admire realistic paintings, preferring them to abstracts that I don't understand or appreciate. I love paintings from the Hudson River Valley school. I see God's majesty reflected in Albert Bierstadt's towering cloud banks and rugged peaks, dwarfing the tiny deer grazing beside still pools. I like Frederick Remington's dusty landscapes, bursting with the vitality and humanity of cowboys, soldiers, and American Indians. And I like the exaggerated features of Norman Rockwell's genuine people, displaying a remarkable range of human nature.

I was mildly surprised to hear my daughter call Rockwell an "illustrator" after her first year of college art classes. I hadn't thought about the difference between an painter and an illustrator. And I didn't truly understand the difference until I recently considered it in writing terms.

Accurately recording a factual scene from memory differs acutely from truthfully crafting a fictional scene from imagination. It's the difference between being a chronicler and a storyteller.

Whether one is describing a masterpiece of painting or writing, the definition is subjective. Certain guidelines govern what constitutes superb art or excellent writing, but people don't always agree on the criteria and the same piece affects people differently.

Just as I believe that I don't need to be considered an artist, as long as I consider myself a writer; I believe that it may not be as important to produce a masterpiece as to produce the Master's pieces.