It was not only the notion of splendour – that in former times had been the main category of representation – which was seen as senseless in the new rational, argumentative and commercial world, but also the complex allegorised and illusionist rhetoric of the Baroque era. So the ideas of the Enlightenment brought about change in the iconography of the visual arts, moving it away from allegory and shifting it towards concise and easily understandable content. This was especially true for history scenes that were regarded popularly as “real” renditions of the past. Now intended as religious or profane examples to serve the purposes of church and state, they were to be not rhetorically persuasive but simply instructive.