The Death of General Wolfe (Benjamin West. Oil, 1770.)

Artistic licence or license (US), also known as dramatic license/licence, is a colloquial term used to denote the distortion or complete ignorance of fact, or the changing of an established work that an artist may undertake in the name of art — for example, if an artist decided it was more artistically "correct" to portray St. Paul's Cathedral next to the Houses of Parliament in a scene of London, even though in reality they are not close together, that would be artistic license. Writers adapting a work for another medium, e.g. a film screenplay from a book, often make significant changes, additions to or omissions from the original plot in the book (often to the dismay of fans of the original book), on the grounds that these changes were necessary to make a good film. Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (2048x1441, 306 KB) Year 1770 Technique de: Öl auf Leinwand en: Oil on canvas Dimensions de: 151 × 213 cm Current location de: National Gallery of Canada, de: Ottawa Source The Yorck Project: DVD-ROM, 2002. ... Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (2048x1441, 306 KB) Year 1770 Technique de: Öl auf Leinwand en: Oil on canvas Dimensions de: 151 × 213 cm Current location de: National Gallery of Canada, de: Ottawa Source The Yorck Project: DVD-ROM, 2002. ... The Death of General Wolfe is a well-known 1770 painting by artist Benjamin West depicting the final moments of General James Wolfe on the Plains of Abraham during the 1759 Battle of Quebec. ... Benjamin West Benjamin West (October 10, 1738 – March 11, 1820) was an Anglo-American painter of historical scenes around and after the time of the American Revolution. ... Mona Lisa, Oil on wood panel painting by Leonardo da Vinci La donna velata, painted in 1516, Oil on wood panel painting by Raphael Oil painting is done on surfaces with pigments that are ground and mixed into a medium of oil — especially in early modern Europe, linseed oil. ... 1770 was a common year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ... English language spread in the United States. ... Look up artist in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... The Bath, a painting by Mary Cassatt (1891-1892). ... St Pauls Cathedral is a cathedral on Ludgate Hill, in the City of London in London, and the seat of the Bishop of London. ... The Palace of Westminster, also known as the Houses of Parliament or Westminster Palace, in London, England is where the two Houses of the Parliament of the United Kingdom (the House of Lords and the House of Commons) meet to conduct their business. ... London (pronounced ) is the capital city of England and the United Kingdom. ...

Another type of artistic license, poetic license/licence refers to the ability of a poet to ignore some of the minor requirements of grammar for poetic effect. For example, Mark Antony's "Friends, Romans, Countrymen, lend me your ears" from Shakespeare's Julius Caesar would technically require the word "and" before "countrymen", but this is omitted to preserve the rhythm of iambic pentameter. Conversely, on the next line, the end of "I come to bury Caesar, not to praise him" has an extra syllable because omitting the word "him" would make the sentence unclear, but adding a syllable at the end would not disrupt the meter. Both of these are examples of poetic license. Grammar is the study of rules governing the use of language. ... For his relatives, see Marcus Antonius (disambiguation). ... William Shakespeare—born April 1564; baptised April 26, 1564; died April 23, 1616 (O.S.), May 3, 1616 (N.S.)—has a reputation as the greatest of all writers in English. ... The Tragedy of Julius Caesar is a tragedy by William Shakespeare probably written in 1599. ... Iambic pentameter is a meter in poetry. ...

In summary, artistic license is:

• Entirely at the artist's discretion
• Intended to be tolerated by the viewer (cf. "willing suspension of disbelief")
• Neither "good" nor "bad"
• Useful for filling in gaps, whether they be factual, compositional, historical or otherwise
• Used consciously or unconsciously, intentionally or unintentionally or in tandem

Artistic licence often provokes controversy by offending those who resent the reinterpretation of cherished beliefs or previous works. Artists often respond to these criticisms by pointing out that their work was not intended to be a verbatim portrayal of something previous and should only be judged on artistic merit. Artistic licence is a generally accepted practice, particularly when the result is widely acclaimed. William Shakespeare's historical plays, for example, are gross distortions of historical fact but are nevertheless lauded as outstanding literary works. Similarly, Peter Jackson's film versions of The Lord of the Rings, though adhering to the major events of J.R.R. Tolkien's books, contain various plot alterations and omissions that have upset devotees of the book. The films have nevertheless been acclaimed as an outstanding cinematic accomplishment. Suspension of disbelief refers to the willingness of a reader or viewer to accept the premises of a work of fiction, even if they are fantastic or impossible. ... Look up Controversy in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Verbatim has several meanings. ... Artistic merit is an English language term that is used in relation to cultural products when referring to the judgment of their perceived quality or value as works of art. ... Wikipedia does not yet have an article with this exact name. ... Peter Jackson CNZM (born October 31, 1961) is a three-time Academy Award, Golden Globe and BAFTA winning New Zealand filmmaker best known as the director of The Lord of the Rings trilogy, which he, along with his long time partner, Fran Walsh, and Philippa Boyens adapted from the novels... The Lord of the Rings is an epic high fantasy novel written by J. R. R. Tolkien. ... J. R. R. Tolkien in 1916. ...

The tension between the need to respect established views and works and the artist's right to free expression in order to create an artistically valid new work will always make artistic licence a contentious but ever-present practice.