Commentary Par XVIII 51

The word artista, as Hollander (Holl.1992.2), pp. 217-18, has argued, is perhaps used here for the first time in Italian with its modern sense, that is, not only as the practitioner of one of the liberal arts (in this case, music), but as a full-fledged 'artist,' both composer and performer of his own work, performing his 'mini-epic' of nine crusading spirits, his personal version of the Nine Worthies.  Its second such use will be in [Par XXX 33], where Dante will join his great-great-grandfather as one of the only two 'artists' so designated in the Commedia.  See also Hollander (Holl.1992.2), p. 218, for the suggestion that Dante's sense of the word reflects its appearance in the sonnet of Cino da Pistoia attacking Guido Cavalcanti, 'Qua' son le cose vostre ch'io vi tolgo.'

The musical reference of this canto, its concerns so often expressed in musical terms, is studied by Heilbronn-Gaines (Heil.1995.2).