The Northern Renaissance is famous for its luscious and sensual use of oil paint, idealized fair skinned Virgin Mary's, and profusely ornamented and detailed paintings. Beauty is undeniable with these elegant paintings. Yet, you can't know good until you know evil. Likewise, you can't know beauty until you know ugly, which is why the depictions of what is 'not beautiful' was so common during the 15th and 16th centuries.
Perhaps it is the irony that appeals to me most: the most talented artists painting the grotesque, the odd, the other, with the most valuable materials that were known to exist. Considering the role Christianity played in daily life--- it seems most likely that painting what was 'not beautiful' was more of a way to cope with a fear of going to hell......
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