Apprentice

DEFINITION

A person who is learning an art, a craft or occupation from one or more masters of that work. This was the prevailing means of entering many professions in Europe from the Middle Ages to the nineteenth century.Examples: Master of Balaam (Dutch), St. Eligius in His Studio, c. 1450, engraving on paper, 11.5 x 18.5 cm, Rijksmuseum, Netherlands. A man in a bishop's mantle is working in a metalsmiths workshop. "The man is Eligius, patron saint of smiths. He is hammering a goblet into shape on his anvil. Three other people are working in the studio: a master smith and two apprentices. The table is covered with tools. On the right, hammers, tongs and files hang in orderly rows against the wall. On the left is the furnace."