The term comes from the Middle Ages, when artists had to present a “master piece” to their craftsman’s guild. Stonemasons at work, depicted in a relief under the tabernacle of the Guild of Stone and ...

In recent years, the idea has been floated that there is no such thing as “quality”—a hierarchy of accomplishment—in art. The Journal’s “Masterpiece” column was launched in 2005 to refute that notion.

Exhibitions dedicated to El Greco, Constantin Brâncuși, and masterpieces from Romanian museums are part of the program ...