The correct answer is <u>it declined</u>. The reason was not a lack of talented artists capable of creating visual artworks with the same degree and realism as those created by the artists of Ancient Times: it was a result of the control of virtually all visual art exerted by the Christian Church. The Church considered that the work of ancient artists came out as too sensuous and sinful. Thus, artists were ordered to adhere to a number of strict norms dictated by the Church such as:
the main, if not the only, themes selected for paintings and illustrations should be based on passages from the Bible
human bodies should always be depicted clothed and lack any particular features, especially those considered sexually sensual
depictions of common, unimportant or low level people should be depicted seen from one side, and important characters (especially Jesus and Virgin Mary) should be depicted in full face
the relative size of objects was considered unimportant, i.e., a tree might look as small as grass next to a man of importance
dark tones were predominant over lively colors, which made visual artwork look gloomy and somber
