‘Artisan’ is no longer either in English or in French used of him who cultivates one of the fine arts, but only those of common life. The fine arts, losing this word, have now claimed ‘artist’ for their exclusive property; which yet was far from belonging to them always. An ‘artist’ in its earlier acceptation was one who cultivated, not the fine, but the liberal arts. The classical scholar was eminently the ‘artist.’ ‘Artful’ did not any more than ‘cunning,’ which see, imply art which had degenerated into artifice or trick.
He was mightily abashed, and like an honest-minded man yielded the victory unto his adversary, saying withal, Zeuxis hath beguiled poor birds, but Parrhasius hath deceived Zeuxis, a professed artisan.—Holland, Pliny, vol. ii. p. 535.
Rare artisan, whose pencil moves
Not our delights alone, but loves!
Waller, Lines to Van Dyck.
For then the bold and coward,
The wise and fool, the artist and unread,
The hard and soft, seem all affined and kin.
Shakespeare, Troilus and Cressida, act i. sc. 3.
Nor would I dissuade any artist well grounded in Aristotle from perusing the most learned works any Romanist hath written in this argument. In other controversies between them and us it is dangerous, I must confess, even for well-grounded artists to begin with their writings, not so in this.—Jackson, Blasphemous Positions of Jesuits, Preface.