【正文】 xt. Consequently, this text wil descri be onl y the m ost im portant ones, starti ng from the si xth century AD. The Mi ddl e Ages (5th to the 15th century AD) Duri ng the Mi dl e Ages, the mai n aim of pai nters was to represent rel i gi ous them es. A conventi onal arti st of thi s peri od was not i nterested i n showi ng nature and peopl e as they real y were. A typi cal pi cture at thi s tim e was ful of rel igi ous sym bol s, which created a feeli ng of respect and l ove for God. But it was evi dent that i deas were changi ng i n the 13th century when pai nters li ke Gi oto di Bondone began to pai nt rel i gi ous scenes i n a m ore real i sti c way. The Renai ssance (15th to 16th century) Duri ng the Renai ssance, new i deas and val ues gradual l y repl aced those hel d in the Mi ddl e Ages. People began to concentrate l ess on reli gious them es and adopt a more hum ani sti c atti tude to li fe. At the sam e ti m e pai nters returned to cl assi cal Roman and Greek i deas about art. They tri ed to pai nt peopl e and nature as they real y were. Ri ch peopl e wanted to possess thei r own pai nti ngs. so they coul d decorate thei r superb pal aces and great houses. They pai d fam ous arti sts to paint pi ctures of them sel ves, their houses and possessi ons as wel as thei r acti viti es and achi evem ents. O ne of the m ost i m portant di scoveri es duri ng thi s peri od was how to draw thi ngs i n perspecti ve. Thi s technique was fi rst used by Masacci o in 1428. When peopl e fi rst saw hi s painti ngs, they were convi nced that they were l ooki ng through a hol e in a wal at a real scene. If the rules of perspecti ve had not been di scovered, on one woul d have ben abl e to pai nt such reali stic pi ctures. By coi nci dence, oil pai nts were also devel oped at thi s tim e, which m ade the col ors used i n pai nti ngs look ri cher and deeper. Without the new pai nts and the new techni que, we woul d not be able to see the m any great m asterpi eces for whi ch thi s peri od i s fam ous. Im pressi oni sm (late 19th to earl y 20th century) In the l ate 19th century, Europe changed a great deal , from a m ostl y agri cultural soci ety to a m ostly i ndustri al one. Many peopl e m oved from the countrysi de to the new ci ti es. There were many new inventi ons and soci al changes. N atural l y, these changes al so l ed to new pai nti ng styles. Am ong the pai nters who broke away from the tradi ti onal style of pai nting were the Im presi oni sts, who l i ved and worked i n Pari s. The Im pressi onists were the fi rst pai nters to work outdoors. They were eager to show how li ght and shadow fel l on objects at di fferent tim es of day. However, because natural l ight changes so qui ckl y, the Im presi oni sts had to paint qui ckl y. Thei r pai nti ngs were not as detail ed as those of earli er painters. At fi rst, m any peopl e di sl i ked thi s styl e of pai nti ng and becam e very angry about i t. They sai d that the pai nters were carel es and thei r pai nti ngs were ridi cul ous. Modern Art (20th century to today) At the tim e they were created, the Im presi oni st pai nti ngs were controversial, but today they are accepted as the begi nni ng of what we cal “modern art”. Thi s i s because the Im presi oni sts encouraged arti sts to l ook at thei r environm ent i n new ways. There are scores of modern art styl es, but wi thout the Im pressi oni sts, many of these pai nti ng styl es mi ght not exi st. On the one hand, som e modern art i s abstract。 that i s, the pai nter does not attem pt to pai nt objects as we see them wi th our eyes, but i nstead concentrates on certain quali ties of the object, usi ng col or, l i ne and shape to represent them . O n the other hand, som e pai nti ngs of m odern art are so real isti c that they l ook li ke photographs. These styl es are so di fferent. Who can predi ct what pai nti ng styl es there wil l be i n the future? TH E BEST OF MANH ATTAN’S ART GALLERIES The Fri ck Col ecti on (5th Avenue and E. 70th Street) Many art l overs woul d rather vi si t thi s sm al art gal ery than any other i n N ew York. H enry Cl ay Fri ck, a ri ch N ew Yorker, di ed i n 1919, l eavi ng hi s house, furniture and art col ecti on to the Am eri can peopl e. Frick had a preference for pertwenti eth century Western pai nti ngs, and these are wel lrepresented i n thi s excel ent col l ecti on. You can al so explore Fri ck’s beauti ful hom e and garden whi ch are wel worth a vi sit. Guggenheim Museum (5th Avenue and 88th Street) Thi s museum owns 5, 000 superb m odern pai nti ngs, scul ptures and drawi ngs. These art works are not al di spl ayed at the same tim e. The exhi biti on i s al ways changi ng. It wil appeal to those who l ove Im pressi oni st and PostIm pressi onist pai nti ngs. The Guggenheim Museum buil ding i s al so worl dfam ous. When you wal k i nto the gal lery, you feel as i f you were i nsi de a fragi l e, whi te seashel . The best way to see the pai nti ngs i s to start from the top fl oor and wal k down to the bottom . There are no stai rs, just a ci rcul ar path. The museum al so has an excel ent restaurant. Metropoli tan Museum of Art (5th Avenue and 82nd Street) The reputati on of this m useum li es i n the vari ety of i ts art col ecti on. Thi s covers m ore than 5, 000 years of ci vil i zati on from m any parts of the worl d, i ncludi ng Am eri ca, Europe, Chi na, Egypt, other Afri can countri es and South Am eri ca. The museum di spl ays m ore than just the vi sual deli ghts of art. It i ntroduces you to ancient ways of l i vi ng. You can vi sit an Egypti an tem pl e, a fragrant Mi ng garden, a typi cal room i n an 18th century French house and m any other speci al exhi bi ti ons. Museum of Modern Art ( 53rd Street. Between 5th and 6th Avenues) It i s am azi ng that so m any great works of art from the l ate 19th century to the 21st century are ho