The Elements of Art

The Elements of Art

Lesson Objectives:1. Students will identify the seven elements of art.2. Students will describe a piece of artwork using the elements of art.

State Content Standard1.0 Students perceive and respond to works of art, objects in nature, events, and the environment. They also use the vocabulary of the visual arts to express their observations. (9th-12th)2.1 Solve a visual arts problem that involves the effective use of the elements of art and the principles of design (9th-12th)

The Elements of Art

The Elements of Art are the visual building

blocks that the artist puts together to create

a work of art. All works of art will contain some

or all of these elements.

LineLine is an element of

art that is the path of a moving point through

space. Artists use line to lead your eyes

through a work of art. Lines lead your eyes

into, around, and out of

visual images.

Horizontal Vertical

Diagonal Zig Zag

Cross-hatched Curved

Thin Thick

Piet Mondrian. Rhythm of Black Lines. 1935/42Oil on canvas72.2 x 69.5

Lines that are horizontal (straight across) and vertical (straight up and down) suggest strength and balance. Piet Mondrian was an artist who created strong designs with vertical and horizontal lines. His works seem simple but careful consideration and effort was put into putting each line in exactly the right space.

TextureTexture is the surface

quality of materials. There are two types of

texture: real and implied. Real textures

are those that we actually see and touch

in our environment. Implied textures are

simulated or invented.

Wood Paper Bag

Grain Rough

Brick Diamond

Marble Pebbly

Vincent Van Gogh. Fifteen Sunflowers in a Vase. Oil on canvas 93 x 73 cm National Gallery, London.

Vincent Van Gogh is a great example of an artist who used texture in his artwork. In this picture of Sunflowers the dying flowers are built up with thick brushstrokes. This evokes the texture of the seed-heads. He has implied texture through the use of lines his brush strokes created. He also has real texture because the use of thick brush strokes gave his paintings a rough texture. You can actually feel the brushstrokes in his painting.

ColorColor is the visual

sensation dependent on the reflection or

absorption of light from a given surface. The

three characteristics of color are hue, value,

and intensity.

Hue - The undiluted color in its purest intensity. Refers to the name of a color.Value - the lightness and darkness of the hue.Intensity - the brightness or dullness of a color. Intensity can be changed by adding black, white, gray, or an opposite color on the color wheel.

Primary Colors- refers to the colors red, yellow, and blue. From these all other colors are created.

Claude Monet. Wheatstacks (End of Summer). 1890-91Oil on canvas, 60 X 100 cm, 23.625 X 39.375. Art Institute of Chicago.

Monet was one of the artists to take paints and canvases outdoors. He realized that the colors of the scene changed as the time of the day changed, so he carried several canvases. As the light changed, he moved to another painting.

ValueValue is the lightness or darkness of color.

Artwork utilizes color to lend emphasis,

contrast, or balance to the composition. Value can be shown through

blending, cross-hatching, gradation,

stippling and shading.

Gradation

StipplingCrosshatching

Pablo Picasso. Guernica. 1937. Prado, Madrid

Guernica is a monumental painting by Pablo Picasso, depicting the Nazi German bombing of Guernica. The attack killed between 250 and 1,600 people, and many more were injured. The Guernica bombing inspired Picasso. Within 15 days of the attack, Pablo Picasso began painting this mural. Picasso uses dark values in Guernica to epitomize the tragedies of war and the suffering war inflicts upon individuals.

ShapeA shape is a two-

dimensional area that is defined in some

way. All shapes can be classified as either

geometric or organic.

Geometric Shape are precise shapes that can be described using mathematical formulas.

Organic Shapes are irregular and uneven shapes.

John Biggers. Starry Crown. 1924-1987, Acrylic on canvas, 59 1/2 x 47 1/2”. Dallas Museum of Art, Museum League Purchase Fund

Biggers uses the women in this work to represent the African civilizations of Egypt, Benin, and Dogon. The crowns are symbols of these civilizations. The cloth on their laps represents the geometry that has brought order to each culture.

FormForms are objects

having three dimensions. Like

shapes they have both length and width, but

forms also have depth. All forms can be

classified as either geometric or organic.

Geometric forms are precise shapes that can be described using mathematical formulas.

Organic Forms are irregular and uneven shapes.

George W. Hart. Bathysphere.

As a sculptor of constructive geometric forms, Hart’s work deals with patterns and relationships derived from classical ideals of balance and symmetry.  Mathematical yet organic, these abstract forms invite the viewer to partake of the geometric aesthetic.  He uses a variety of media, including paper, wood, plastic, metal, and assemblages of common household objects.

SpaceThe emptiness or area

between, around, above, below, or contained within

objects. Shapes and forms are defined by

the space around and within them, just as

spaces are defined by the shapes and forms

around and within them.

The Illusion of space is done in art by:

•Aerial Perspective - objects in the distance become lighter

•Linear Perspective - vanishing point(s) show accurate size changes

•Size Changes - objects in the distance become smaller

•Detail - objects in the distance have less detail

•Overlapping - Objects in the distance have less detail

•Vertical Location - objects higher in a painting are farther away

•Value Differences - sky and ground (or water) nearer the horizon line are lighter

Botticelli. The Adoration of the Maji. Early 1480’s, Sandro

Botticelli carefully paced everything with the frame of this scene. Botticelli uses aerial perspective, linear perspective, size changes, overlapping, vertical location and value differences to achieve the illusion of space in this piece.