【正文】 h a short text. 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 ddl e Ages, the m ai n ai m of painters was to represent rel igi ous them es. A conventi onal arti st of thi s peri od was not i nterested i n showing nature and peopl e as they real l y were. A typical picture at this tim e was ful l of reli gious sym bol s, whi ch created a feeli ng of respect and l ove for God. But i t was evi dent that i deas were changi ng i n the 13th century when pai nters l i ke Giotto di Bondone began to paint reli gi ous scenes i n a m ore real istic way. The Renaissance (15th to 16th century) Duri ng the Renai ssance, new i deas and val ues gradual ly repl aced those hel d i n the Mi ddl e Ages. Peopl e began to concentrate l ess on reli gi ous them es and adopt a m ore humani sti c atti tude to li fe. At the sam e tim e pai nters returned to classical Rom an and Greek ideas about art. They tri ed to pai nt peopl e and nature as they real y were. Ri ch peopl e wanted to posses 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 pai nt pi ctures of themsel ves, thei r houses and possesi ons as wel as thei r acti vi ti es and achi evem ents. O ne of the m ost im portant di scoveri es duri ng this peri od was how to draw thi ngs i n perspecti ve. Thi s techni que was fi rst used by Masaccio i n 1428. When peopl e fi rst saw hi s pai nti ngs, they were convi nced that they were l ooki ng through a hol e i n a wal at a real scene. If the rul es of perspecti ve had not been di scovered, on one woul d have been abl e to paint such reali sti c pi ctures. By coinci dence, oil pai nts were al so developed at thi s tim e, whi ch m ade the col ors used i n painti ngs l ook richer and deeper. Wi thout the new pai nts and the new technique, we woul d not be abl e to see the m any great m asterpi eces for which thi s peri od i s famous. Im presi oni sm (l ate 19th to early 20th century) In the l ate 19th century, Europe changed a great deal, from a m ostl y agri cul tural soci ety to a m ostl y i ndustri al one. Many peopl e m oved from the countrysi de to the new ci ti es. There were m any new i nventi ons and soci al changes. N atural y, these changes al so l ed to new pai nti ng styl es. Am ong the pai nters who broke away from the tradi ti onal styl e of pai nti ng were the Im presi oni sts, who l i ved and worked i n Pari s. The Im pressi oni sts were the fi rst pai nters to work outdoors. They were eager to show how l i ght and shadow fel l on objects at di fferent tim es of day. H owever, because natural li ght changes so qui ckly, the Im pressi onists had to pai nt qui ckly. 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 ess and their pai nti ngs were ri di cul ous. Modern Art (20th century to today) At the ti m e they were created, the Im pressioni st pai nti ngs were controversi al, but today they are accepted as the begi nni ng of what we cal l “m odern art”. Thi s is because the Im pressi oni sts encouraged arti sts to look at thei r envi ronm ent i n new ways. There are scores of m odern art styl es, but without the Im pressi oni sts, m any of these pai nti ng styl es mi ght not exist. O n the one hand, som e m odern 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 ti es of the object, usi ng col or, li ne and shape to represent them . O n the other hand, som e pai nti ngs of m odern art are so reali sti 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 l ecti on (5th Avenue and E. 70th Street) M any art l overs would rather vi si t this sm al l art gal l ery than any other i n N ew York. H enry Cl ay Fri ck, a rich N ew Yorker, died i n 1919, l eavi ng hi s house, furni ture and art col l ection to the Am eri can peopl e. Fri ck had a preference for pertwenti eth century Western painti ngs, and these are wel represented in 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. Guggenhei m Museum (5th Avenue and 88th Street) Thi s m useum owns 5, 000 superb m odern painti ngs, scul ptures and drawi ngs. These art works are not al l displ ayed at the sam e tim e. The exhi bi ti on i s al ways changi ng. It wi l appeal to those who l ove Im pressi oni st and PostIm pressi onist pai nti ngs. The Guggenheim Museum buil di ng i s al so worl dfam ous. When you wal k i nto the gal l ery, you feel as i f you were i nsi de a fragil e, white seashel l. The best way to se 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 m useum al so has an excel ent restaurant. Metropoli tan Museum of Art (5th Avenue and 82nd Stret) The reputati on of thi s museum l i es i n the vari ety of its art col ecti on. This covers m ore than 5, 000 years of ci vi li zati on from m any parts of the worl d, i ncl udi ng Am eri ca, Europe, Chi na, Egypt, other Afri can countri es and South Am eri ca. The m useum di spl ays more than just the visual del i ghts of art. It i ntroduces you to anci ent ways of li vi ng. You can visi t an Egypti an templ e, a fragrant Mi ng garden, a typi cal rom i n an 18th century French house and m any other speci al exhi bi ti ons. Museum of Modern Art ( 53rd Street. Betwen 5th and 6th Avenues) It i s am azi ng that so m any great works of art from the l ate 19th century t