Principles And ElementsOf Art

By Natalie BurrVAEDU 326

The Girl with the Red Hat Jan Vermeer Oil on panel, 1665

BALANCE

No one portion of an artwork seems too heavy or overpowers

any other part of the artwork

•Formal balance: dignified, stable, more static, symmetrical

•Informal balance: typically asymmetrical, creates interest and variety

A feeling of visual weight

The Starry NightVincent Van Gogh

Oil on canvas, 1889

Unity A harmonious blend of all elements

• All the separate elements of an artwork look as if they belong together.• We are led around and through the composition by any one of several

devices—colors, lines, or shapes—that connect various elements.

Movement

The Creation of Adam; Michelangelo Buonarroti; Fresco, 1511

Gives life to an artwork

Artists use combinations of the different art elements to cause the viewer’s eyes to move or sweep over a composition in a particular manner. Our eyes are directed to a focal point, or they sweept along an important visual channel that includes all areas of the

picture plane and leaves no dead or void spots. To do this, the artist exploits the direction of a line or utilizes the compelling force of a path made by repeated shapes or

colors.

Pro

port

ion

The SailorPablo

Picasso, 1938relationships

•Proportion has to do with relationships— with the relationship of one part to the whole or of one part to another part.

•Various art elements such as texture or color can be used in pleasing proportions or amounts to create a good composition.

•Artists do not always choose to use such realistic proportions. When they exaggerate, distort, or deviate from what we consider normal proportions, the effect can be powerfully expressive or quite decorative.

Repetition Rhythm Pattern

Golconde; Rene Magritte; 1953, oil on canvas

Repetition in the world of nature and art forms rhythm and pattern

Just as the repeated beat of a drum is rhythm, so the repetition of line, shape, and color creates a visual rhythm. Rhythm can create an exciting visual beat for our eyes to follow.

Emphasis

The Swing; Jean-Honore Fragonard; Oil on canvas, 1767

What catches your eye when you first look at an artwork?

•Emphasis is the principle of art that directs and centers our attention on one significant part of an artwork

•Artists usually try to avoid creating too many focal points in an artwork, since this tends to be confusing.

VARIETY

Tower of Babel; Pieter Bruegel the Elder; Oil on panel, 1563

The “spice of life” in artwork

•Variety is the art principle concerned with differences.

•Using differences and contrasting elements enlivens artwork.

•Too much sameness, however, can be boring and lose attention.

COLOR

Elasticity; Umberto Boccioni; Oil on canvas, 1912

Color appeals to our sense of beauty, whether we recognize and respond to it in natural objects or in works of human origin.

the response of vision to wave lengths of light

•Primary colors: red, yellow, blue•Secondary colors: orange, green, violet•Warm colors: red, orange, yellow (these colors advance visually•Cool colors: blue, green, violet (these colors tend to recede.

Line

I and the Village; Marc Chagall; Oil on canvas 1911

Line is the path of a point moving through space

Line is a record of action or

movementLine can be categorized in five different ways:

•Width•Length•Degree of curvature•Direction/position•Texture

Different types of line engender different feelings:

Vertical: authority, stability, strengthHorizontal: calmness, peace, continuityDiagonal: interest, instability, unease, curiosityCurvilinear: softness, ease, relaxationJagged: anger, hurry, tension, excitement, fear

Sh

ap

e

Yellow, Red, Blue; Wassily Kandinsky; Oil on canvas, 1925

When a line moves through space until it meets itself and forms an enclosure, it becomes a shape, form or mass

A shape may be called a

visually perceived

area of value, color, texture or

line– or any combination

of these elements.

There are two types of shapes:Biomorphic: related to nature, curved, rounded, soft edged, often asymmetricalGeometric: precise, hard edged, squared, has straight lines, angles, usually symmetrical, generally man or machine made

Space

Galatea Of The Spheres; Salvador Dali; Oil on canvas, 1952

The distance of area between, around, above, below or within shapes.

Three dimensional space has height, width, and depth, it is actual space. Such works can be viewed from many angles and will appear different from each view.

Two dimensional space is used for art works created on flat surfaces, such as drawings, paintings and prints. These forms have only height and width, with no actual depth. The implied depth or space portrayed in the work is the pictorial space or picture plane.

Texture

The kiss; Gustav Klimt; oil and gold leaf on canvas, 1907

Texture is the element that is concerned with how things feel or look as if they might feel on the

surface.

Actual texture:what is actually felt—rough, smooth, matt, uneven, etc.

Impasto: refers to this thick application of paint to a ground. Looks and feels heavy, rough to the touch, can be up to 1 inch think

Implied/Simulated texture:

has the same feel as the surface but looks different (surface may be smooth but look like wood, bark, stoneTrompe Le

Oel: refers to the style of painting that emphasizes photographic realism of detail, while maintaining a relatively smooth, glassy surface

Value

Venice Twilight; Claude Monet; Oil on canvas, 1908

Contrast between light and dark

Light or high values are closer to white, and low or dark values are closer to black.

The manipulation and arrangement of light and dark within an artwork is sometimes called “chiaroscuro”—chiaro means light and oscuro means dark.