old master

American  

noun

1. an eminent artist of an earlier period, especially from the 15th to the 18th centuries.

2. a work by such an artist.

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old master British  

noun

1. one of the great European painters of the period 1500 to 1800

2. a painting by one of these

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Etymology

Origin of old master

First recorded in 1945–50

Example Sentences

Cook has never tired of relaying the lessons he learned from Jobs, but he also taught the old master something new.

From Barron's • Apr. 22, 2026

And, possibly, long enough to know how to get under the skin of an old master.

From BBC • Feb. 28, 2026

Now that it’s an auction house, the public can walk in free and view a regularly revolving slate of offerings, from rare books to old master paintings to dinosaur skeletons, depending on the sale calendar.

From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 17, 2025

In a museum storage depot in Amersfoort, the Netherlands, a 17th-century painting by a Dutch old master is packed away, unseen and unappreciated.

From New York Times • Mar. 13, 2024

A long time they sat there by the fire, and Ged told his old master the tale of the years since he had sailed from Gont aboard the ship called Shadow.

From "A Wizard of Earthsea" by Ursula K. Le Guin