In Europe after the Renaissance, the Enlightenment and the rise of commerce, the individual was released from the yoke of religion and people became conscious of the value of their own nature. Human existence and the materials conquered by people became the stuff of art.
歐洲在十五世紀後的文藝復興、啟蒙運動，加上商業活動興起，個人生命由宗教的壓抑中解放出來，人自覺到本身的重要性，歌頌人存在與被人所征服的物質遂成為繪畫題材。