Painter departs, returning wise (5)
I believe the answer is:
degas
'painter' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)
'departs returning wise' is the wordplay.
'departs' becomes 'd' (common abbreviation e.g. train timetables).
'returning' says the letters should be written backwards.
'wise' becomes 'sage' ('sage' can be similar in meaning to 'wise').
'sage' written backwards gives 'egas'.
'd'+'egas'='DEGAS'
(Other definitions for degas that I've seen before include "He produced works of art" , "French impressionist painter, d. 1917" , "Edgar -, Fr. artist" , "Edgar ---, Fr. impressionist" , "French artist known for his ballet scenes, d. 1917" .)