Pose painter set up to test skills (8)
I believe the answer is:
artistry
'pose painter set up to test skills' is the definition.
I can't judge whether this defines the answer.
'pose painter set up to test' is the wordplay.
'pose' becomes 'sit' (sitting is a kind of posing).
'painter' becomes 'RA' (member of the Royal Academy of Arts).
'set up' shows that the letters should be reversed in order (in a down clue, letters go up).
'to test' becomes 'try' (synonyms).
'sit'+'ra'='sitra'
'sitra' backwards is 'artis'.
'artis'+'try'='ARTISTRY'
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for artistry that I've seen before include "Creative skill learned by study and practice" , "ability" , "Skilled workmanship" , "Superior skill" , "Genius" .)