On a Sunday afternoon, I can think of no better activity than walking around the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) for the afternoon. It never ceases to amaze me the amount of people who are there for the express purpose of seeing and hopefully appreciating art. I have been to LACMA countless times, starting when I was a little girl, but never before had I gone with a specific assignment to complete: to see LACMA's Renaissance art collection to compare and contrast the pieces in their exhibit to the works of the art that we studied in the Literature course. I will focus on Cima da Conegliano's Madonna and Child in a Landscape and Petrus Christus's Portrait of a Man and compare and contrast them with artists such as Raphael and Jan van Eyck. Madonna and Child in a landscape (circa 1496) -99) was painted in oil on panel by Giovanni Battista Cima, known as Cima da Conegliano (Italy, circa 1459-1517). Cima, similar to Raphael, was well known for painting the Madonna. This painting has a very similar composition to Raphael's Madonna Alba. Both paintings show the main subjects in the foreground with a landscape in the background, as Cima's landscape also shows an incorporated village. While Raphael's work incorporates a third person (John the Baptist as a child), in both paintings the subjects appear to create the approximate shape of a triangle. Furthermore, in both, the horizon line generally appears in the upper third of the work with a two-point perspective. Raphael's choice of colors in his piece was softer and darker, with a subtle play of light and shadow. On the other hand, Cima's choice of colors was brighter, with a brighter appearance and much greater distinction... center of the card... a hint of linear perspective and a bit of Renaissance-era history in general. . Interestingly, it wasn't until I did some research on the artists I saw at LACMA a few days after my visit that I learned about the relationship between van Eyck and Christus. The fact that I was able to instinctively discern a similarity between the two artists without any prior knowledge indicates that I have gained some understanding, if only a small amount, during the course of this lesson. My love for art has always been present. Having seen it and appreciated it only for the profound feelings of amazement and reverence it arouses in me has always been enough. However, having this experience with just a little specific knowledge has made it so much more interesting that I want to continue gaining knowledge in this area to broaden my future experiences.