This comparative visual analysis is targeted at a period spanning almost 500 years in Western civilization, from the high Renaissance to 20th-century art. In this vast period of time, only the major art movements have been selected for analysis. A wealth of research material already exists on these movements. However, this material mostly discusses artists and art movements in general; a logical comparative scrutiny of individual visual elements of painting is rare. This project intends to initiate this process of scrutiny with a human figure as its patient. The figure has been selected keeping in mind its consistent appearance in paintings of all ages and its ability to give a comprehensive picture of any period. The analysis further breaks down the figure into its visual features (anatomy, color, tone, composition, technique) and semantic features and compares them through the time span. This is followed by a series of paintings done by me on a common theme, "Execution, in different styles. This gives a better understanding and a firm visual support to this analysis.