Elements of Art with descriptions

2. ELEMENTS OF ART

3. WASSILY KANDINSKY (1866-1944)
Autumn Landscape with Boats, 1908 (oil on board)

4. ELEMENTS OF ART
• Building blocks of composition in art.
LINE - SHAPE - TONE - COLOR - PATTERN - TEXTURE - FORM
• When we analyze any drawing, painting, sculpture or
design, we examine these component parts to see how
they combine to create the overall effect of the artwork.

5. THE VISUAL
ELEMENTS HAVE
A RELATIONSHIP
TO ONE
ANOTHER:
Most images begin their life as line
drawings.
Lines cross over one another to form
shapes.
Shapes can be filled with tone and color or
repeated to create pattern.
A shape may be rendered with a rough surface
create a texture.
A shape may be projected into three dimensions
to create form.

6. REMEMBER:

7. LINE
LEONARDO DA VINCI
(1452-1519)
A STUDY FOR AN EQUESTRIAN
MONUMENT, 1488 (METAL POINT ON
BLUE PAPER)

8. LINE
 Line is the foundation of all drawing. It is the first and most versatile of the
visual elements of art. Line in an artwork can be used in many different
It can be used to suggest shape, pattern, form, structure, growth, depth,
distance, rhythm, movement and a range of emotions.

9. WE HAVE A PSYCHOLOGICAL RESPONSE TO DIFFERENT TYPES OF
LINES:
 Curved lines suggest comfort and ease.
 Horizontal lines suggest distance and calm.
 Vertical lines suggest height and strength.
 Jagged lines suggest turmoil and anxiety.

10. SHAPE
FRANCIS CAMPBELL BOILEAU
CADELL
(1883-1937)
THE BLUE FAN, 1922 (OIL ON
CANVAS)

11. SHAPE
 Shape can be natural or man-made, regular or irregular, flat (2-dimensional)
or solid (3-dimensional), representational or abstract, geometric or organic,
transparent or opaque, positive or negative, decorative or symbolic, colored,
patterned or textured.

12. THE BEHAVIOUR OF SHAPES: SHAPES CAN BE USED TO CONTROL YOUR
FEELINGS IN THE COMPOSITION OF AN ARTWORK:
 Squares and Rectangles can portray strength and stability.
 Circles and Ellipses can represent continuous movement.
 Triangles can lead the eye in an upward movement.
 Inverted Triangles can create a sense of imbalance and tension.

13. TONE
JOHANNES VERMEER
(1632-1675)
GIRL WITH THE PEARL EARRING,
1665 (OIL ON CANVAS)

14. TONE
 Tone is the lightness or darkness of a color. The tonal values of an
artwork can be adjusted to alter its expressive character.

15. TONE CAN BE USED:
 to create a contrast of light and dark.
 to create the illusion of form.
 to create a dramatic or tranquil atmosphere.
 to create a sense of depth and distance.
 to create a rhythm or pattern within a composition.

16. COLOR
WASSILY KANDINSKY
(1866-1944)
AUTUMN LANDSCAPE WITH
BOATS, 1908 (OIL ON BOARD)

17. COLOR
 The Visual Element of Color has the strongest effect on our
emotions. It is the element we use to create the mood or
atmosphere of an artwork.

18. THERE ARE MANY DIFFERENT APPROACHES TO THE USE OF COLOR
IN ART:
 Color as light
 Color as tone
 Color as pattern
 Color as form
 Color as symbol
 Color as movement
 Color as harmony
 Color as contrast
 Color as mood

19. COLOR
AS LIGHT
GIACOMO BALLA (1871-1958)
STREET LIGHT, 1909 (OIL ON
CANVAS)
Giacomo Balla's
beautiful painting of a
street lamp is a poetic
impression that
represents the physical
properties of light. At its
center, the bulb burns
with a white heat in the
darkness of the night. Its
radiant glow dissolves in
concentric waves, each
of which diminish in
intensity and change
color to suggest the
different wavelengths of
the spectrum.

20. COLOR
AS TONE
EMILE NOLDE (1867-1956)
LAKE LUCERNE, 1930
(WATERCOLOR ON VELLUM)
'Lake Lucerne' by Emile Nolde is a classic example of an
expressionist painting technique. It is painted more from memory
than from observation using the natural fluidity of watercolor to
mirror the changing mood of the landscape.

21. COLOR
AS
PATTERN
JUAN GRIS (1887-1927)
VIOLIN AND CHECKERBOARD, 1913
(OIL ON CANVAS)
In 'Violin and
Checkerboard' by Juan
Gris, the artist assigns
different colors to
particular shapes which
create an asymmetrical
pattern of forms arranged
around the white cloth at
the center of the painting.
This pattern of colors leads
the viewer's eye in a
clockwise motion around
the picture. Color
distributed as irregular
pattern is often used as
unifying element in the
composition of artworks.

22. COLOR
AS FORM
ANDRÉ DERAIN (1880-1954)
PORTRAIT OF MATISSE, 1905 (OIL
ON CANVAS)
To create the illusion of
form in a painting, artists
traditionally added lighter
and darker pigments to
the main color of an object
in order to render the
naturalistic effects of light
and shade.

23. COLOR
AS SYMBOL
VINCENT VAN GOGH (1853-1890)
THE POTATO EATERS, 1885 (OIL ON
CANVAS)
The Potato Eaters' are a poor Dutch peasant family sitting down
to share their frugal evening meal. They are agricultural labourers
and the earthy greens and browns that Van Gogh uses to paint
them symbolize their closeness to and dependence on the land
for their survival.

24. COLOR
AS
MOVEMENT
VICTOR VASARELY (1906-1997)
VONAL KSZ, 1968 (SILKSCREEN
PRINT)
Victor Vasarely makes use of this impulse to create an impression
of movement by combining graduated squares and sequential
colors. These lead the eye into and through the image with
increasing and decreasing acceleration.

25. COLOR
AS
HARMONY
EDGAR DEGAS (1834-1917)
BLUE DANCERS, 1899 (PASTELS)
Harmony is the
compatibility, balance or
progression of similar
elements. 'Blue Dancers'
by Edgar Degas is a
carefully composed pastel
painting that illustrates the
harmony of color as well as
several other visual
elements:

26. COLOR
AS
CONTRAST
JOSEPH MALLORD WILLIAM TURNER
(1775-1851)
THE BURNING OF THE HOUSES OF
LORDS AND COMMONS, 1835 (OIL
ON CANVAS)
This painting is a cleverly arranged contrast of opposite colors,
tones and classical elements which Turner has devised to
heighten the impact of each.

27. COLOR
AS MOOD
PABLO PICASSO (1881-1973)
THE OLD GUITARIST, 1903-04 (OIL
ON PANEL)
We often use the language
of color to describe our
emotions. We talk of being
'red' with rage or 'green'
with envy. If we are feeling
good we are in the 'pink'
or if we are sad we've got
the 'blues'. When Pablo
Picasso painted 'The Old
Guitarist' he was certainly
suffering from the 'blues'.
In fact, the main body of
his work between 1901-04
is now referred to as his
'Blue Period'.

28. PATTERN
PAUL KLEE
(1879-1940)
DREAM CITY, 1921 (WARERCOLOR
AND OIL)

29. PATTERN
 Pattern is made by repeating or echoing the elements of an
artwork to communicate a sense of balance, harmony, contrast,
rhythm or movement.
 There are two basic types of pattern in art: Natural
Pattern and Man-Made Pattern. Both natural and man-made
patterns can be regular or irregular, organic or geometric,
structural or decorative, positive or negative and repeating or
random.

30. PATTERNS IN ART:
 Natural Pattern: Pattern in art is often based on the inspiration we get from
observing the natural patterns that occur in nature. We can see these in the
shape of a leaf and the branches of a tree, the structure of a crystal, the spiral
of a shell, the symmetry of a snowflake and the camouflage and signaling
patterns on animals, fish and insects.
 Man-Made Pattern: Pattern in art is used for both structural and decorative
purposes. For example, an artist may plan the basic structure of an artwork by
creating a compositional pattern of lines and shapes. Within that composition
he/she may develop its visual elements to create a more decorative pattern of
color, tone and texture across the work.

31. Natural Pattern Man-Made Pattern
RORY MCEWEN (1932-1982)
Kensington Gardens 1, 1979
(watercolor on vellum)
WILLIAM MORRIS (1834-1896)
Pencil and Watercolor Sketch for
Acanthus Wallpaper Pattern, 1874-75

32. TEXTURE
JAN VAN HUYSUM
(1682-1747)
DETAIL OF BOUQUET OF FLOWERS
IN AN URN, 1724 (OIL ON CANVAS)

33. TEXTURE
 Texture is the surface quality of an artwork - the roughness or
smoothness of the material from which it is made.
 We experience texture in two ways: optically (through sight)
and physically (through touch).

34. TEXTURES IN ART:
 Optical Texture: An artist may use his/her skillful painting technique to create
the illusion of texture. For example, in the detail from a traditional Dutch still
life above you can see remarkable verisimilitude (the appearance of being
real) in the painted insects and drops of moisture on the silky surface of the
flower petals.
 Physical Texture: An artist may paint with expressive brushstrokes whose
texture conveys the physical and emotional energy of both the artist and
his/her subject. They may also use the natural texture of their materials to
suggest their own unique qualities such as the grain of wood, the grittiness of
sand, the flaking of rust, the coarseness of cloth and the smear of paint.
 Ephemeral Texture: This is a third category of textures whose fleeting forms
are subject to change like clouds, smoke, flames, bubbles and liquids.

35. FORM
IGOR MITORAJ
(1944-2014)
TINDARO SCREPOLATO (TYNDAREUS
CRACKED), 1998 (BRONZE)

36. FORM
 Form is the physical volume of a shape and the space that it
occupies.
 Form can be representational or abstract.
 Form generally refers to sculpture, 3D design and architecture
but may also relate to the illusion of 3D on a 2D surface.

37. FORMS IN ART:
 Three-Dimensional Form can be modelled (added form), carved (subtracted
form) and constructed (built form). It can be created from sculptural materials
like clay, wax, plaster, wood, stone, concrete, cast and constructed metal,
plastics, resins, glass and mixed media. It may also be kinetic, involving light
and movement generated by natural, mechanical and electronic means. More
recently the CAD process of 3D printing has been added to the list of
sculptural processes.
 Two-Dimensional Form constructs the illusion of 3D in 2D media by a skilful
manipulation of the visual elements. Perspective drawing, trompe l'oeil [1], 3D
computer graphics programs and holograms are examples of 2D form.

38. CLASSIFY THE
ELEMENTS OF
ARTS IN THE
DIFFERENT
PAINTINGS
FROM LUZON.

39. Igorrote Farm

41. CLASSIFY THE
ELEMENTS OF
ARTS IN THE
DIFFERENT
PAINTINGS FROM
SOUTHEAST ASIA.

42. MAHAKALA
Raqib Shaw, Absence of God
VII (detail), Mixed Media Painting