I'm currently in Italy (first time) and to say that I'm blown away by the medieval and Renaissance art is a major understatement. But I notice that the earlier stuff, 12th century and thereabouts, depict individuals with a universally bland expression regardless of their function. For instance a (future) saint being flayed alive has the same unremarkable, dour expression as his torturers and any angels in attendance. Likewise depictions of the Virgin, and so on. Great advances in art came with the Renaissance, but before that what were the artists attempting to portray with this bland facial expression regardless of setting? For that matter even the earlier Renaissance pieces, though showing better understanding of perspective and the human form, also have similar, expressionless faces.