Before Impressionism, art was mainly confined to the salons, and consisted largely of portraits of the wealthy, or religious images. By the time of Modernism, however, the lives of ordinary people had become an acceptable subject matter for painters. Liu Chiao-mei, assistant professor in art at Taiwan National College of Arts, says: "We could describe them as 'anti-class.'"
過去屬於上流社會的肖像畫、或是追求神聖真理的宗教畫，只屬於少數階層，現代主義的畫家們關心的則是普羅大眾，「可以說他們是反階層的」，國立藝術學院美術系助理教授劉巧楣指出。