Similarly, another private world of the Renaissance drew on fine art for humbler media. For the nobility, artists designed not just manuscripts, but everything from tapestries to tableware. These designers too lagged the cutting edge by a decade or more. They learned from the weighty pageants of great painting and sculpture. Still, they continued to revel in elegant, almost feather-light figures that connote nobility.
Postmodernism has a broad consciousness of history and a short memory.
Not just critics of modern art, but modern artists have always needed an attack on art. From Vincent an Gogh's simple designs to go with his rural subjects , maybe even earlier, fine art itself can hardly live without it. As for van Gogh, too, the attack comes with a refreshing populism. Modernists threw urinals , soup cans , and subway images at a museum's pretension. They crafted modest furniture for a better life and bold political banners for a better world.