【正文】 m i n such a short text. Consequentl y, thi s text wil l descri be onl y the m ost important 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 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 showing nature and peopl e as they real l y were. A typi cal pi cture at this tim e was ful l of reli gi ous sym bol s, whi ch created a feel i 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 li ke Gi otto di Bondone began to pai nt reli gi ous scenes in a more reali sti c way. The Renai ssance (15th to 16th century) Duri ng the Renai ssance, new i deas and val ues gradual y repl aced those hel d in the Mi ddl e Ages. Peopl e began to concentrate l ess on reli gi ous them es and adopt a m ore hum ani sti c atti tude to li fe. At the sam e ti m e pai nters returned to cl asi cal Rom an and Greek i deas about art. They tri ed to pai nt peopl e and nature as they real y were. Rich peopl e wanted to posses thei r own painti ngs. so they coul d decorate their superb pal aces and great houses. They pai d fam ous arti sts to pai nt pictures of them sel ves, thei r houses and possessi ons as wel l as thei r acti vi ti es and achi evem ents. One of the most im portant di scoveri es duri ng thi s peri od was how to draw things i n perspecti ve. Thi s techni que was fi rst used by Masacci o i n 1428. When peopl e fi rst saw his pai nti ngs, they were convi nced that they were l ooki ng through a hol e i n a wal l 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 colors used i n pai nti ngs l ook ri cher 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 masterpi eces for whi ch thi s period i s fam ous. Im pressi oni sm (l ate 19th to earl y 20th century) In the l ate 19th century, Europe changed a great deal, from a mostl y agri cul tural soci ety to a m ostl y industri al one. Many peopl e moved from the countrysi de to the new ci ti es. There were m any new i nventi ons and social changes. N atural l y, these changes al so l ed to new pai nti ng styl es. Am ong the painters who broke away from the tradi ti onal style of pai nti ng were the Im presi oni sts, who l ived and worked i n Pari s. The Im presi oni sts were the fi rst painters to work outdoors. They were eager to show how li ght and shadow fel on objects at different ti mes of day. H owever, because natural l ight changes so quickl y, the Im pressioni sts had to pai nt qui ckly. Thei r pai nti ngs were not as detail ed as those of earli er pai nters. At fi rst, m any peopl e disli 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 careless and thei r pai nti ngs were ri di culous. Modern Art (20th century to today) At the ti m e they were created, the Impressi onist pai nti ngs were controversi al , but today they are accepted as the begi nni ng of what we cal “m odern art”. Thi s is because the Im pressioni sts encouraged arti sts to l ook at their envi ronm ent i n new ways. There are scores of modern art styl es, but without the Im pressi onists, m any of these pai nting styl es m i ght not exi st. O n the one hand, som e m odern art i s abstract。 that i s, the pai nter does not atem pt to pai nt objects as we see them wi th our eyes, but i nstead concentrates on certai n qual iti 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 ferent. Who can predict 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 sit thi s smal 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, furni ture 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 this excel lent col ecti on. You can also expl ore Fri ck’s beautiful hom e and garden whi ch are wel l worth a vi si t. Guggenheim Museum (5th Avenue and 88th Street) Thi s m useum 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 sam e ti me. The exhi biti on is al ways changi ng. It wil l appeal to those who l ove Im pressi onist and PostIm presi oni st pai ntings. The Guggenhei m Museum bui l di ng i s al so worl dfamous. When you walk i nto the gal ery, you feel as i f you were i nsi de a fragi le, whi te 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 Street) 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 m ore than just the visual del i ghts of art. It i ntroduces you to ancient ways of l i vi ng. You can vi si t 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 special 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 late 19th century