ABSTRACT
Any discussion of amateur art must begin with a definition of the term. According to the Encyclopaedia Britannica, the original meaning of the word “amateur” is “someone who participates in any art, craft, game, sport or other activity solely for pleasure and enjoyment”. Indeed, the root of the word derives from the Latin amare (to love) and amatorem, which means essentially “one who has a taste for anything”. The second meaning of the word is more judgemental: it indicates “a person of inferior or superficial skill, ability or proficiency, as compared with others who specialise in and are expert in any field”. Those who practise art for pleasure are distinguished from those who practise the same art for other reasons, to which category belong the specialists or experts, who are motivated by professional ambition rather than by love of the field.
