Elements &

Principles of art by

Arjun Kumar SinghAssistant professor

Lovely Professional UniversityPunjab, India

1 Movement2 Unity3 Harmony4 Variety5 Balance6 Contrast7 Proportion8 Pattern and rhythm

1. MovementMovement shows actions, or alternatively, the path the viewer's eye follows throughout an artwork. Movement

is caused by using elements under the rules of the principles in picture to give the feeling of motion and to

guide the viewer's eyes throughout the artwork. In movement an art should flow, because the artist has

the ability to control the viewer's eye. The artists control what the viewers see and how they see it, like a

path leading across the page to the item the artist wants the viewer's attention focused on.

Cloud Monet,’ Impression Sunrise’ 1860

Georges-Pierre Seurat, Pointillism, 1880’s

Vincent van Gogh Year 1889 Type Oil on canvas Dimensions 73.7 cm × 92.1 cm (29 in × 36¼ in)

Location Museum of Modern Art (F612, JH1731) [1], New York City

Marshal Duchamp

M F Hussain’s painting from Horse series

2. UnityA principle of art, unity occurs when all of the

elements of a piece combine to make a balanced, harmonious, complete whole. Unity is another of those hard-to-describe art terms but, when it's

present, your eye and brain are pleased to see it.

The Calling of Saint Matthew by Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio completed in 1599-1600 , Contarelli Chapel

The Yellow Christ (1889), by Gauguin

Jan van Eyck

3. HarmonyHarmony is achieved in a body of work by using similar

elements throughout the work, harmony gives an uncomplicated look to a piece of artwork or sculpture.

Color harmony or color theory is also considered a principle through the application of the design element

of color.

Tree of life by Gustav Klimt

Untitledby Ganesh Pyne

Bharat Mataby

Awanindra Nath Tagore

From Black series by Francis Goya

M F Hussain’s painting from Mother serise

4. VarietyVariety is the quality or state of having different forms or types, notable use of contrast, emphasis, difference

in size and color

Paintings by

Sayedhaidarraja

Paintings by Sayed Haidar Raja

Paintings by

Salvador Dali

Paintingsby Vijender Sharma

5. BalanceAs a basic principle of art (specifically of design), balance refers

to the ways in which the elements (lines, shapes, colors, textures, etc.) of a piece are arranged. Balance is one of those

useful terms to know, if one is to employ Art Speak.Balance can be symmetrical ("formal"), where elements are

given equal "weight" from an imaginary line in the middle of a piece. For the most basic example of symmetry, think of your

eyes in relation to either side of your nose.Balance doesn't necessarily mean symmetry, though.

Asymmetrical ("informal") balance occurs when elements are placed unevenly in a piece, but work together to produce

harmony overall.

Paintingsby

Vijender Sharma

Paintings by Vijender Sharma

Picasso’s Guernica

6. ContrastA principle of art, contrast refers to the arrangement of

opposite elements (light vs. dark colors, rough vs. smooth textures, large vs. small shapes, etc.) in a piece so as to create visual interest, excitement and drama.

The colors white and black provide the greatest degree of contrast. Complementary colors also highly contrast

with one another.An artist can employ contrast as a tool, to direct the

viewer's attention to a particular point of interest within the piece.

Picasso

Three Musician by

Picasso

7. ProportionProportion is a principle of art that describes the size, location or amount of one element to another (or to

the whole) in a work. It has a great deal to do with the overall hamrony of an individual piece.

Think of Leonardo's Vitruvian Man (you know the guy: naked, inserted within a rectangle within a circle, arms

outstretched, legs shown both together and spread, etc.) for a clear idea of just how much thought has gone

into proper proportioning over the ages.

Painting by Partho Das

Caravaggio’s painting

8. RhythmRhythm is a principle of art that's difficult to summarize in words. Assuming that you've picked up on a rhythm in music before, take what you heard with your ears and try to translate that to something you'd see with

your eyes. Rhythm, in art, is a visual beat.A pattern has rhythm, but not all rhythm is patterned. For example, the colors of a piece can convey rhythm,

by making your eyes travel from one component to another. Lines can produce rhythm by implying

movement. Forms, too, can cause rhythm by the ways in which they're placed one next to the other.

Really, it's easier to "see" rhythm in just about anything other than the visual arts. Literally-minded types should

stick to music for rhythm.

M F Hussain’s painting from Horse series

Paul Gauguin's painting

9. PatternA principle of art - and probably the universe itself -

pattern means the repetition of an element (or elements) in a work.

An artist achieves a pattern through the use of colors (children playing with Legos® know this instinctively),

lines (think: Op Art) or shapes (as with mosaics, tessellations, etc.).

Painting by S H Raja

Tree of life by Gustav Klimt