&gt; is it really true that high culture was part of the common conversation<p>Been to a European city lately? At the centre of each you will find cathedrals and palaces, as well as churches dotted throughout. High culture was indeed part of the common conversation.<p>Fine art was financed by aristocrats to showcase their power and status and what better way to demonstrate that status than by plonking it in the centre of town for all to admire.