Elements and Principles of Art
The Elements of Art The building blocks, ingredients or tools of art.
LINE Davinci Gustave Caillebotte Ansel Adams A mark with length and direction. A continuous mark made on a surface by a moving point.
Pablo Picasso
Color Consists of Hue (another word for color), Intensity (brightness) and Value (lightness or darkness).
COLOR Alexander Calder Henri Matisse
VALUE The lightness or darkness of a color. MC Escher Pablo Picasso
SHAPE An enclosed area defined and determined by other art elements; 2- dimensional. Joan Miro
Matisse
Jean Arp A 3-dimensional object; or something in a 2-dimensional artwork that appears to be 3-dimensional. For example, a triangle, which is 2-dimensional, is a shape, but a pyramid, which is 3- dimensional, is a form. Lucien Freud
Space The distance or area between, around, above, below, or within things Foreground, Middleground and Background (creates DEPTH). Claude Monet
Space Positive (filled with something) and Negative (empty areas). Robert Mapplethorpe Matisse
Texture The surface quality or "feel" of an object, its smoothness, roughness, softness, etc. Textures may be actual or implied.
Cecil Buller
The Principles of Art What we use to organize the Elements of Art
Principles of Design Balance Emphasis Proportion Pattern/Repetition Rhythm/Movement Unity/Harmony Contrast/Variety
Balance Balance is an equal arrangements of specific elements within a composition deliberately organized to create a feeling of stability. Elements could include color, line, shape, or texture. There are three types of balance; symmetrical, asymmetrical and radial.
Symmetrical Design Hawk mask, Nuna peoples, Burkina Faso Wood, pigment
Symmetrical Balance
Symmetrical Balance Joseph Stella, Bridge, 1936, WPA Federal Arts Project
Symmetrical Balance The parts of an image are organized so that one side mirrors the other. Leonardo DaVinci
Asymmetrical Balance Informal Balance is created when an asymmetrical layout is used. James Whistler (American)1834-1903, Arrangement in Grey and Black: Portrait of the Painter's Mother
Asymmetrical Balance George Seurat, (French) 1859-1891, Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grand Jatte, 1884, oil on canvas, 81 x 120 inches
Radial Balance Radial Balance starts from the center of the design and goes out. Can you think of something in nature that has a radial balance? Rose window, Notre Dame Cathedral
Rosette from the ancient Temple of Jupiter,
What kind of Balance? Alexander Calder
5 How is this painting balanced?
How is this painting balanced? 4
How is this balanced? Georgia O'Keeffe Jack-in-the-Pulpit No. IV, 1930 1
CONTRAST A large difference between two things to create interest and tension. Salvador Dali Ansel Adams
Emphasis At the Moulin Rouge: The Dance, oil on canvas by Henri de Toulouse- Lautrec, 1890; in the Philadelphia Museum of Art. Emphasis is used by artists to create dominance and focus in their work. The focal point may be the largest, brightest, darkest, or most complex part of the whole, or it may get special attention because it stands out for some other reason.
EMPHASIS Jim Dine The focal point of an image, or when one area or thing stand out the most. Gustav Klimt
Emphasis Emphasis is the created center of interest, the place in an artwork where your eye first lands. Ambassadeurs, Poster Toulouse Lautrec
What is the emphasis? Leonardo da Vinci - Lady with an Ermine in Cracow
Emphasis? Andrew Wyeth. Cristina s World,19 48
Proportion Concerned with the size relationship of one part to another. Diego Rivera's "Richest of California"
Scale The comparative relationship of one part to another with respect to size, quantity, or degree; SCALE. Gustave Caillebotte
What is out of proportion? Spoonbridge and Cherry, 1988 Stainless steel and aluminum painted with polyurethane enamel 29 ft. 6 in. x 51 ft. 6 in. x 13 ft. 6 in. (9 x 15.7 x 4.1 m) Minneapolis Sculpture Garden
What is out of proportion?
What do you notice about the proportions of these figures? The General And His Family Artist:Fernando BoteroCountry of Origin:ColombiaDate of Creation:1977 ADTagged With:N/A
Rhythm refers to a regular repetition of elements of art to produce the look and feel of movement. Piet Mondrian (Dutch, 1872-1944), Broadway Boogie Woogie.
Rhythm&Pattern A sense of visual or actual motion in an artwork created by repeating an element of art MC Escher
Marcel Duchamp A regular repetition of elements to produce the look and feel of movement.
Repetition of a pattern. Gustav Klimt
Regular Rhythm Giacomo Balla (Italian, 1871-1958), Street Light (Lampada Studio di luce), 1909
Alternating Rhythm
Progressive Rhythm Marcel Duchamp. Nude Descending a Staircase, No. 2 (1912
UNITY/ Harmony When all the elements and principles work together to create a pleasing image. Johannes Vermeer
Unity and Harmony a way of combining elements of art to accent their similarities and bind the picture parts into a whole. It is often achieved through the use of repetition and simplicity.
Vincent VanGogh
What gives this piece unity? Kazimir Severonic Malevich (Russian, 1878 1935) The Knife Grinder (Principle of Glittering
How is this painting balanced? Thomas Eakins American, 1844-1916 Baby at Play, 1876 oil on canvas
How is this pottery balanced? 3 By Sandra M. Victorino