The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 2 plus 5 letter word DA VINCI
I've seen this crossword clue in Independent
D
A
V
I
N
C
I
More clues leading to the result DA VINCI
- Welshman drinking French wine cold, as was Leonardo
- Michelangelo’s work incomplete essentially, fancied his rival
- Having no time or energy, distractedly vindicate historical figure
- Morse, say, imbibing a French drink, reveals genius
- Officer drinking a French wine with catholic artist
- Artist in diva upset about rhetoric, ultimately
- In vain, I’d revised chapter for artist, scientist, and engineer
- Renowned Italian giantkiller briefly acquires North American company
- Artist in India with CV that's exceptional
- Michelangelo's work incomplete essentially, fancied his rival
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "artist" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case artist = da vinci.The cryptic/wordplay part
In cryptic crossword there's often an wordplay/cryptic part as well.This part involves a more complex hint, such as an anagram, homophone, hidden word, etc.
Sadly, We don't have an explanation for this specific crossword clue yet.