Today is the first Art257 class for this semester. Here are some points that left me with a relatively great impression. “Renaissance” means rebirth, and that means something had died, but what exactly does “something” refer is not yet clarified. Based on the so-far readings and knowledge, “something” may refer to the lack of creativity and humanism in European culture and art during the medieval period. This may not be correct and hope I could give a more precise answer after a few more class. The pictures of two little angels from Raphael’s painting shown in different modern objects, such as t-shirts and phone shells, are interesting. It makes me think about how art made in one certain period can obtain some totally different functions during the following human history. Being the altarpieces originally, it now becomes the image decoration being able to be printed almost everywhere. Its meaning also changes from merely ritual to more aesthetic, from something sacred to something that can be consumed and utilized by everyone in daily trivial life. Such a huge change, I think, is exactly the reason why we need to perceive the artworks in the Renaissance period through contextualized eyes in order to better understand and appreciate them comprehensively.