In art, a commission is the act of requesting the creation of a

piece Piece or Pieces (not to be confused with peace) may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Games * Piece (chess), pieces deployed on a chessboard for playing the game of chess * ''Pieces'' (video game), a 1994 puzzle game for the Super NES * ...

, often on behalf of another. Artwork may be commissioned by private individuals, by the government, or businesses. Commissions often resemble endorsement or sponsorship. In

classical music Classical music generally refers to the art music of the Western world, considered to be distinct from Western folk music or popular music traditions. It is sometimes distinguished as Western classical music, as the term "classical music" al ...

, ensembles often commission pieces from

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and Def ...

s, where the ensemble secures the composer's payment from private or public organizations or

donor A donor in general is a person, organization or government which donates something voluntarily. The term is usually used to represent a form of pure altruism, but is sometimes used when the payment for a service is recognized by all parties as rep ...

Commissions and visual artist

Throughout history, it has been common for rulers and governments to commission

public art Public art is art in any media whose form, function and meaning are created for the general public through a public process. It is a specific art genre with its own professional and critical discourse. Public art is visually and physically acce ...

as a means of demonstrating power and wealth, or even for specific

propaganda Propaganda is communication that is primarily used to influence or persuade an audience to further an agenda, which may not be objective and may be selectively presenting facts to encourage a particular synthesis or perception, or using loaded ...

purposes. In ancient Rome, large architectural projects were commissioned as symbols of imperial glory. The Roman

Colosseum The Colosseum ( ; it, Colosseo ) is an oval amphitheatre in the centre of the city of Rome, Italy, just east of the Roman Forum. It is the largest ancient amphitheatre ever built, and is still the largest standing amphitheatre in the world ...

for example, was commissioned by Emperor

Vespasian Vespasian (; la, Vespasianus ; 17 November AD 9 – 23/24 June 79) was a Roman emperor who reigned from AD 69 to 79. The fourth and last emperor who reigned in the Year of the Four Emperors, he founded the Flavian dynasty that ruled the Emp ...

. Public statuary was widespread, depicting mythical and heroic figures. The

frieze In architecture, the frieze is the wide central section part of an entablature and may be plain in the Ionic or Doric order, or decorated with bas-reliefs. Paterae are also usually used to decorate friezes. Even when neither columns nor ...

that is carved into the Marcus Column, located at the

Campus Martius The Campus Martius (Latin for the "Field of Mars", Italian ''Campo Marzio'') was a publicly owned area of ancient Rome about in extent. In the Middle Ages, it was the most populous area of Rome. The IV rione of Rome, Campo Marzio, which cove ...

, depicts the figure of

Victory The term victory (from Latin ''victoria'') originally applied to warfare, and denotes success achieved in personal combat, after military operations in general or, by extension, in any competition. Success in a military campaign constitutes ...

, and would have been commissioned to honour successful military campaigns waged by Marcus Aurelius. Ancient Roman culture was anti-intellectual and held artists in low esteem, in contrast to ancient cultures such as the Greek or Babylonian. Despite this, the sheer amount of surviving artworks commissioned at the height of the Roman Empire testify to the rulers' view that art could influence public opinion. During the Renaissance, visual art flourished in the cities of Italy due to the patronage of wealthy merchants and government officials, such as

Cesare Borgia Cesare Borgia (; ca-valencia, Cèsar Borja ; es, link=no, César Borja ; 13 September 1475 – 12 March 1507) was an Italian ex-cardinal and ''condottiero'' (mercenary leader) of Aragonese (Spanish) origin, whose fight for power was a major i ...

Leonardo da Vinci Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci (15 April 14522 May 1519) was an Italian polymath of the High Renaissance who was active as a painter, draughtsman, engineer, scientist, theorist, sculptor, and architect. While his fame initially rested on ...

earned steady commissions for artwork ranging from paintings (such as the ''

Virgin of the Rocks The ''Virgin of the Rocks'' ( it, Vergine delle rocce), sometimes the ''Madonna of the Rocks'', is the name of two paintings by the Italian Renaissance artist Leonardo da Vinci, of the same subject, with a composition which is identical except ...

'' for the Church of San Francisco Grande), to murals (''

The Last Supper Image:The Last Supper - Leonardo Da Vinci - High Resolution 32x16.jpg, 400px, alt=''The Last Supper'' by Leonardo da Vinci - Clickable Image, Depictions of the Last Supper in Christian art have been undertaken by artistic masters for centuries, ...

'' for the monastery church of Santa Maria della Grazia), to sculptures (the Gran Cavallo at

Sforza The House of Sforza () was a ruling family of Renaissance Italy, based in Milan. They acquired the Duchy of Milan following the extinction of the Visconti family in the mid-15th century, Sforza rule ending in Milan with the death of the last m ...

). The most famous commissioned artwork of the Renaissance may be the

Sistine Chapel ceiling The Sistine Chapel ceiling ( it, Soffitto della Cappella Sistina), painted in fresco by Michelangelo between 1508 and 1512, is a cornerstone work of High Renaissance art. The Sistine Chapel is the large papal chapel built within the Vatican ...

at the Vatican, painted by

Michelangelo Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni (; 6 March 1475 – 18 February 1564), known as Michelangelo (), was an Italian sculptor, painter, architect, and poet of the High Renaissance. Born in the Republic of Florence, his work was ins ...

as a commission for

Pope Julius II Pope Julius II ( la, Iulius II; it, Giulio II; born Giuliano della Rovere; 5 December 144321 February 1513) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 1503 to his death in February 1513. Nicknamed the Warrior Pope or the ...

. Today, public artworks may be commissioned by benefactors who wish to donate the artwork to a city as a gift to the public. "Famine" (1997), a series of sculptures by Rowan Gillespie depicting victims of the Great Famine, was commissioned by Norma Smurfit and donated to the city of

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 ...

, Ireland. The harrowing memorial has brought other commissions to Gillespie, who has created companion sculptures for the cities of Toronto and Boston. According to US copyright law, copyright holders have the sole right to distribute derivative works based on an original creation. This includes commissioned fan art, which is not in itself fair use. Sales of commissioned copyrighted material requires permission of the copyright owner. The US also has agreements with most other countries regarding copyright and most respect each other's copyright laws. A full list of countries that comply with US Copyright law and other information about US Copyright law can be found on the US Government's Copyright law website.

Other uses

An art gallery or dealer "processes" the artist's work usually resulting in a sale of the artworks on the artist's behalf. The dealer or art gallery then typically takes a percentage of the price. This portion is called the gallery's " commission". The remainder of the proceeds goes to the artist. In this way, the gallery or dealer is not only the middleman but obliquely takes the role of "

patron Patronage is the support, encouragement, privilege, or financial aid that an organization or individual bestows on another. In the history of art, arts patronage refers to the support that kings, popes, and the wealthy have provided to artists su ...

" in that it provides representation, housing of artworks, marketing and income for the artist.

References

{{Authority control Business of visual arts

Commissions and visual artist

Other uses

See also

References