Masterpiece
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Originally, the term masterpiece (or chef d'œuvre) referred to a piece of handcrafted art produced by a journeyman aspiring to become a master craftsman in the old European guild system, which is partially retained today in Germany and France. These were (or are) typically perfect pieces of handicraft art, admired for their beauty and elegance.
Nowadays this term mostly refers to any work of art that is considered extraordinary. In a stronger sense, it can refer to what is considered an artist's best piece of work. For example, Leonardo Da Vinci's Mona Lisa, Michelangelo's David, William Shakespeare's Hamlet, or Ludwig van Beethoven's Ninth Symphony, or, for modern masterpieces, Steven Spielberg's Schindler's List and Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon.
Also colloquially known as gesamtwerk from the German, meant to indicate a work that expresses the sum of a culture.