THE LANGUAGE OF ART
THE VISUAL ELEMENTS
LEARNING OUTCOMES
Demonstrate understanding of the creative process, elements of art, and
principles of design.
THE VISUAL ELEMENTS
Line
Shape
Light
Color
Texture
Space
LINE
is a path traced by a moving point.
It serves as a basic building block around which an art form is
constructed and, by itself, has the capacity to evoke thought and emotion.
It is an element of infinite potential, capable of conveying a wide variety
of emotions and meanings.
SHAPE
It is a two-dimensional form that occupies an area with identifiable
boundaries. These boundaries may be created by line, a shift in texture,
or a shift in color.
GEOMETRIC
They are formed by straight lines or
curved ones that progress evenly.
Squares, rectangles, triangles, and
circles are all examples of this kind
of two-dimensional shape.
Composition with Yellow, Blue, and Red, Piet Mondrian, 1937–42, oil on canvas
ORGANIC
These shapes and
masses are irregular and
evoke the living forms of
nature. They are formed
by uneven curves.
Franz Marc, Die grossen blauen Pferde (The Large Blue Horses),1911.
IMPLIED
Artists used implied shapes to create a sense
of order, so that we perceive a work of art as a
unified and harmonious whole.
Raphael. The Madonna of the Meadows. 1505. Oil on panel
LIGHT
It reveals the material world to our eyes in a way that helps us
understand forms and spatial relationships.
Light makes it possible for us to see points, lines, shapes, and textures.
VALUE
it indicates the degree of luminosity—that is, the presence or
absence of light.
CHIAROSCURO
It is the gradual shifting from light to dark through a successive gradation
of tones across a curved surface.
It can give objects portrayed on a flat surface a rounded, three-
dimensional appearance.
COLOR
It is derived from light, whether natural, like sunlight, or artificial, like
fluorescent light. Without light there can be no color.
Color in works of art can also trigger strong emotional responses in the
observer.
COLOR PROPERTIES
Any color has three properties.They are called hue, value, and intensity.
Hue is the name of the color according to the categories of the color
wheel—green or red or blue-violet.
VALUE
refers to relative lightness or darkness.
INTENSITY
also called chroma or saturation—refers to
the relative purity of a color. It is strength of
the color’s hue.
COLOR HARMONIES
is the selective use of two or more colors in a single composition.
Monochromatic harmonies are composed of variations on the same
hue, often with differences of value and intensity. A painting all in reds,
pinks, and maroons would be considered to have a monochromatic
harmony.
COLOR HARMONIES
Complementary harmonies involve colors directly opposite each
other on the color wheel, such as red and green. Complementaries
“react” with each other more vividly than with other colors, and thus
areas of complementary color placed next to or even near each other
make both hues appear more intense.
ANALOGOUS COLORS
Colors that are adjacent to each other on
the color wheel
TEXTURE
Texture refers to surface quality—a perception of smooth or rough, flat
or bumpy, fine or coarse.
Actual/Tactile texture consists of physical surface variations that can
be perceived by the sense of touch.
Visual texture is illusionary.
SPACE
It is the field of action on which all artists work.
It is a dynamic visual element that interacts with the lines and shapes and
colors and textures of a work of art to give them definition.
IMPLIED SPACE: SUGGESTING DEPTH IN TWO DIMENSIONS
Picture plane - In two-dimensional art forms, it is the actual space of the work
itself, which we tend to see all at once. It is the boundary that defines and limits the
space in which an artist works.
Perspective is the technical means by which we perceive distance in painting, the
means by which we are made to see the position of objects in space.
LINEAR PERSPECTIVE
Objects become smaller as they recede into the distance. Parallel lines
below eye level seem to rise to a vanishing point on the horizon, while
those above eye level seem to descend to the vanishing point.
FORESHORTENING
is a term of linear perspective applied mainly
to the human figure. It refers to the visual
effect or optical illusion that an object or
distance appears shorter than it actually is
because it is angled toward the viewer.
ATMOSPHERIC PERSPECTIVE
Objects become fainter in the distance due to the effect of the
atmosphere. Objects become lighter in color and hazier in outline as
they approach the horizon.
THE LANGUAGE OF ART
PRINCIPLES OF DESIGN
DESIGN
is the act of organizing the visual elements to effect a desired aesthetic in
a work of art.
UNITY AND VARIETY
Unity is the quality of overall cohesion within an artwork.
Variety is the element of difference within an artwork.
BALANCE
Balance in an artwork results from placing the elements so that their
visual weights seem evenly distributed.
Weight generally means the amount of attention an element commands
from the viewer.
BALANCE
In sculpture and architecture, actual weight, or
the physical weight of materials in pounds, has an
important effect in the design.
Artists achieve visual balance in compositions by
one of three means—symmetrical balance,
asymmetrical balance, or radial balance.
Isamu Noguchi. Red Cube. 1968. Steel painted red.
SYMMETRICAL
the implied center of gravity is the vertical
axis. Forms on either side of the axis
correspond to one another in size, shape, and
placement.
Georgia O’Keeffe. Deer’s Skull with Pedernal. 1936. Oil on canvas,
ASYMMETRICAL
It is achieved by the careful distribution of
uneven elements.
Gustav Klimt. Death and Life. 1915.
RADIAL BALANCE
Results when all the elements in the
composition visually radiate outward from a
central point.
North transept rose window, Chartres Cathedral, 1235
EMPHASIS
It focuses the viewer’s attention on one or more
parts of a composition by accentuating certain
shapes, intensifying value, etc.
Focal points are specific parts of the work that
seize and hold the viewer’s interest.
Joseph the Carpenter, Georges de la Tour, 1645, Oil on canvas
SCALE AND PROPORTION
Scale is the word we use to describe the dimensions of an art object in
relation to the original object that it depicts or in relation to the objects
around it.
PROPORTION
refers to the size of one part in relation to
another within a work of art, or the size of
one part in relation to the whole.
The Family, Alice Neel, 1970, oil on canvas
RHYTHM
Is the repetition of carefully placed elements separated by intervals.
PRINCIPLES OF DESIGN
Unity and Variety
Balance
Emphasis
Scale and Proportion
Rhythm
