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Before the Renaissance, artists were not usually considered worthy subjects of works of art. The work of making art was considered equal to the work of making furniture or pots and pans for cooking. The artist was a craftsperson and operated in a system of "guilds." Painters ground their colors from minerals and so, they belonged to the guild of apothecaries and physicians. Sculptors belonged to the goldsmiths' guild, and architects were associated with masons and carpenters.

This engraving illustrates the difference between the craftsperson of the Medieval Period and the Renaissance artist. The Italian sculptor Baccio Bandinelli (1488-1560) commissioned this engraving from printmaker Enea Vico to celebrate his achievements as an artist. Bandinelli is the figure wearing a cross on his chest at the extreme right. The cross is a badge of knighthood and a sign of the rank Bandinelli received from Emperor Charles V. Filled with books, antiquities and human bones, the representation of the studio suggests that the making of art is an intellectual enterprise. During the Renaissance, the training of a sculptor included the understanding of mathematical perspective, optics, geometry and anatomy, elevating the status of the artist from the mechanical guilds of goldsmithing and carpentry to the liberal art of poetry.

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