Asher.p4.t1.Medieval

In the 13th century, tradesmen were allowed to emerge in the Medieval Era mainly due to thedownfall of the Feudal system. This decline of the Feudal system acted as a catalyst for the growth ofcities. The growth of cities led to more demand of luxury goods, and this eventually brought wealth formerchants and tradesmen. However, once the Plague hit, the economy heavily fluctuated. The Plaguecaused labor shortages, and led to the demand of higher wages from existing laborers. This small groupof people became wealthy and had had the money and the leisure to demand luxury goods. In the early15th century, the Plague started to decline and the population started to grow. Because of the demands of the wealthy group of people, tradesmen and merchants as well as other groups of people were ableto emerge.
The artist of this painting clearlydivided the painting into three sections byplacing three different designs of borders ontop of the painting. In the middle, there arewealthy people dressed in luxurious clothes.To the right, there are merchants andtradesmen selling goods. To the left, there is agroup of masters and servants, but do notmistake this for serfdom. Though serfdom, apart of the Feudal system, declined, servantsstill existed in wealthy families. He made themiddle section the brightest, then the right-hand side, then the left-hand side. This use of lighttechnique shows that he wanted to emphasize the importance of the wealthy class and show how theyimpacted the merchants and the economy. This painting of a typical city clearly represents the economyexplained previously in the first paragraph.