CHAPTER I: EXPLORING &

UNDERSTANDING ART

1 2 3 4
Jan Vermeer. Girl with a Pearl Earring. c. 1665–1667. Oil on canvas. 46.5 40 cm
(181⁄4 151⁄4) Royal Cabinet of Paintings, Mauritshuis, The Hague, The
Netherlands. Scala/Art Resource, NY.
 CHAPTER I: EXPLORING &
UNDERSTANDING ART

Exploring Art

1 2 3 4
What is

ART ?
 craftmansh
ip
skill
ARTi mastery of
form
s inventivenes
s
ARTize To
prepare
in
 To put
ARkiske togethe
in r
A Art is a product of man’s need to express himself.

R
T
A Art is a product of man’s need to express himself.

Art is concerned with the communication of certain ideas

R and feelings by means of sensous medium, color, sound,

bronze, marble, words, and film.

T
A Art is a product of man’s need to express himself.

Art is concerned with the communication of certain ideas

R and feelings by means of sensous medium, color, sound,

bronze, marble, words, and film.

T Art is that which brings life in harmony with the

beauty of the world.
A Art is a product of man’s need to express himself.

Art is concerned with the communication of certain ideas

R and feelings by means of sensous medium, color, sound,

bronze, marble, words, and film.

T Art is that which brings life in harmony with the

beauty of the world.

Art is an attitude of the spirit, a state of mind.

A Art is a product of man’s need to express himself.

Art is concerned with the communication of certain ideas

R and feelings by means of sensous medium, color, sound,

bronze, marble, words, and film.

T Art is that which brings life in harmony with the

beauty of the world.

Art is an attitude of the spirit, a state of mind.

Art is the skilful arrangement or composition of some common but

significant qualities of nature to express human feelings, emotions,
or thoughts in a perfect meaningful and enjoyable way.
A Art is a product of man’s need to express himself.

Art is concerned with the communication of certain ideas

R and feelings by means of sensous medium, color, sound,

bronze, marble, words, and film.

T Art is that which brings life in harmony with the

beauty of the world.

Art is an attitude of the spirit, a state of mind.

Art is the skilful arrangement or composition of some common but

significant qualities of nature to express human feelings, emotions,
or thoughts in a perfect meaningful and enjoyable way.
Governor’s Rapids Battad Rice Terraces
QUALITIES OF

ART
Art is NOT nature
 . Man-made

 . Artificial
Pottery wheel-throwing, from Craft and Art of Clay
Andrew Wyeth. Soaring. 1950. Tempera on masonite. 130 221 cm (48 87). Shelburne Museum, Shelburne, Vermont.
  . lifelike

Paul Cézanne, The Basket of Apples, c. 1895. Oil on canvas, 217/16 x 311/2 in. The Art Institute of
Chicago. Helen Birch Bartlett Memorial Collection. 1926.252.
 . Pleasing to
the eyes

Vincent van Gogh (1853–1890), The Starry Night, 1889. Oil on canvas, 29 x 361/4 in. The Museum of
Modern Art, New York, NY, U.S.A. Acquired through the Lillie P. Bliss Bequest. (472.1941).
  . creative

Kane Kwei (Teshi tribe, Ghana, Africa), Coffin

Orange, in the Shape of a Cocoa Pod, c. 1970.
Polychrome wood, 34 * 1051/2 * 24 in. The Fine
Arts Museums of San Francisco. Gift of Vivian
Burns, Inc., 74.8.
  . expressive

“Emptiness”. Albert Gyorgy.

Bronze Satue located at Lake
Geneva, Switzerland.
 ART APPRECIATION

the ability to interpret or understand man-made

arts and enjoy them either through actual and
work experience with art tools and materials or
possession of these work of art for one’s
admiration and satisfaction.
SUBJECT OF

ART
SUBJECT OF ART
 SUBJECT OF ART

Non-
Representational
representational
art
art
 uses form

concerned
realistic
with what

Representational
Art
 portraiture

Landscapes,
Still life seascapes,
cityscapes

Representational
Art
Still life is a work of art
depicting mostly inanimate
subject matter, typically
commonplace objects
which may be either natural
or man-made in an artificial
setting.

Don Gray, detail from Nine Stones, Stone #2, 2009.

Oil on panel, 23 x 23 in.© 2009, Don Gray.
Georgia O’Keeffe, Banana Flower, 1933. Charcoal and
black chalk on paper, 213/4 x 143/4 in. The Museum
of Modern Art, New York, NY, U.S.A. Given
anonymously (by exchange).
 Portraiture (portrait) is a
painting, photograph,
sculpture, or other artistic
representation of a
person, in which the face
and its expression is
predominant.

John Ahearn and Rigoberto Torres, Pat, 1982. Painted cast plaster,
281/2 x 161/2 x 11 in. Courtesy Alexander and Bonin, New York.
Collection Norma and William Roth, Winterhaven, Florida.
Leonardo da Vinci, Study of a woman’s head or of the
angel of the Vergine delle Rocce, 1473. Silverpoint
with white highlights on prepared paper, 71/8 * 61/4
in. Biblioteca Reale, Turin, Italy. Alinari/Art Resource,
NY.
 Landscape represents a
scene by land or sea, actual
or fancied

J. W. Powell, Noon-Day Rest in Marble Canyon, from Exploration of the

Colorado River of the West, 1875.
After J. M. W. Turner, Snow Storm:
Steamboat off a Harbor’s Mouth
(1842), 1891. Engraving on steel.
Thomas Coram, View of Mulberry House and Street, c. 1800. Oil on paper.
Gibbes Museum of Art, Charleston, SC. Carolina Art Association,
1968.1968.18.01.
 Non-objective

w/out
abstract
representation

Non-
representational
Art
Clifford Possum Tjapaltjarri, Man’s
Love Story, 1978. Synthetic
polymer paint on canvas, 6’113/4” x
8’41/4” (2.15 x 2.57 m). Art Gallery of
South Australia, Adelaide.
Beatriz Milhazes, Carambola, 2008. Acrylic on
canvas, 547/x 505/8 in. Courtesy James Cohan
Gallery, New York.
Matthew Ritchie, No Sign of the
World, 2004. Oil and marker on
canvas, 99 x 154 in. (251.46 x
391.16 cm). ARG # RM2004–
001.
Courtesy of Andrea Rosen Gallery, New York.
FORMS OF

ART
Fine Applied
arts arts
 refer to arts which have no
practical function and are
valued in terms of the
Fine arts visual pleasure they
provide or their success in
communicating ideas or
feelings.
Elizabeth Catlett. Mother and Child. 1933.
Mahogany. 171.5 41.9 x 39.4 cm (671⁄2
161⁄2 151⁄2). Collection of the Studio
Museum in Harlem, New York. © Elizabeth
Catlett/Licensed by VAGA, New York, NY.
 used to describe the
design or decoration of
Applied arts functional objects to
make them pleasing to
the eye.
Maria and Julian Martinez. Black-on-black storage jar.
1942. Clay shaped by Maria and design painted by
Julian. 47.6 56 cm (183⁄4 22). Courtesy of the Museum
of New Mexico, Santa Fe, New Mexico. School of
American Research Collection.
PURPOSE OF

ART
 A
E
S
Jan van Eyck, Giovanni Arnolfini and His
Wife Giovanna Cenami, c.1434. Oil on T
oak panel, 321/4 * 231/2 in. National H
Gallery, London.
E
T
I
C
S
 M
O
R
A
Jean-Baptiste Siméon
Chardin. The Attentive Nurse.
L
c. 1738. Oil on canvas. 46.2 S
37 cm (181⁄8 141⁄2). National
Gallery of Art, Washington, /
D.C. Board of Trustees,
Samuel H. Kress Collection. E
T
H
I
C
S
 S
P
I
R
I
Amitabha Budda (Amida), the Buddha
of T
Infinite Light, Kamakura period, Japan,
13th century. Freer Gallery of Art,
U
Smithsonian Institution, Washington, A
D.C.: Purchase, F1971.4a-b
L
I
T
Y
 H
I
S
Hung Liu, Virgin/Vessel, 1990. Oil on
canvas, broom, 72 * 48 in. Collection of T
Bernice and Harold Steinbaum. O
R
Y
 P
O
Jacques-Louis David. Napoleon in His
Study. 1812. Oil on canvas. 203.9 L
125.1 cm (801⁄4 491⁄4). National
Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C. Board
I
of Trustees, The Samuel H. Kress T
Collection.
I
C
S
FUNCTIONS OF

ART
 Self Decision Problem
Creation
expression making solving
 CHAPTER I: EXPLORING &
UNDERSTANDING ART

Understanding
Art

1 2 3 4
Artist
refers to a person who produces
works in any of the arts that are
primarily subjected to aesthetic
criteria.
Artisan
a worker in a skilled trade, especially
one that involves making things by
hand.
 Art Media
consist of the materials the
artist uses to create artworks.
 Art Processes
is the action involved in making art.
Aesthetics
is a branch of philosophy concerned
with identifying the criteria that are
used to understand, judge, and defend
judgments about works of art.
Aesthetician
is a scholar who specializes in
identifying the criteria to be used in
determining the significance of
artworks.
Art Criticism
an orderly way of looking at and
talking about art. It is a method
used to gather information from
the work of art itself.
 Art Critics
direct their attention to a
thorough examination of
works of art.
Art History
involves gathering of facts
about works of art and the
artists.
Art Historian
seek objective facts about
works of art and the artists
who created them.
 CHAPTER I: EXPLORING &
UNDERSTANDING ART

Elements of Art

1 2 3 4
 of

ELEMENTS A
R
T
The elements of art are the basic
components, or building blocks
Thomas Hart Benton. The Sources of Country Music. 1975. Acrylic on canvas. 1.8x3 m (6 x10). The Country Music Hall of fame and Museum, Nashville, Tennessee. © T.H. Benton
and R.P. Benton, Testamentary Trusts/UMB Bank Trustee/Licensed by VAGA, New York, NY.
 BLUE

GREEN

RED

Thomas Hart Benton. The Sources of Country Music. 1975. Acrylic on canvas. 1.8x3 m (6 x10). The Country Music Hall of fame and Museum,
Nashville, Tennessee. © T.H. Benton and R.P. Benton, Testamentary Trusts/UMB Bank Trustee/Licensed by VAGA, New York, NY.
 VALUE

Thomas Hart Benton. The Sources of Country Music. 1975. Acrylic on canvas. 1.8x3 m (6 x10). The Country Music Hall of fame and Museum,
Nashville, Tennessee. © T.H. Benton and R.P. Benton, Testamentary Trusts/UMB Bank Trustee/Licensed by VAGA, New York, NY.
 L
I
N
E

Thomas Hart Benton. The Sources of Country Music. 1975. Acrylic on canvas. 1.8x3 m (6 x10). The Country Music Hall of fame and Museum,
Nashville, Tennessee. © T.H. Benton and R.P. Benton, Testamentary Trusts/UMB Bank Trustee/Licensed by VAGA, New York, NY.
 S
H
A
P
E
&
F
O
R
M

Thomas Hart Benton. The Sources of Country Music. 1975. Acrylic on canvas. 1.8x3 m (6 x10). The Country Music Hall of fame and Museum,
Nashville, Tennessee. © T.H. Benton and R.P. Benton, Testamentary Trusts/UMB Bank Trustee/Licensed by VAGA, New York, NY.
 color value line

shape
texture space
and form
 HUE
INTENSITY
VALUE

A particular set of visible spectral compositions, perceived or named as a class

HUE refers to the
name of a color.
PRIMARY
COLORS
SECONDARY
COLORS
INTERMEDIATE
COLORS
INTENSITY quality of brightness
and purity.
VALUE hue’s lightness or
darkness.
Rene Magritte. The Listening
Room. 1952. Oil on canvas. 45
55 cm (173⁄4 212⁄3). The
Museum of Modern
Art, New York, New York.
Photothètique R. Magritte-
ADAGP/Art Resource, NY.
©2004 Herscovici, Brussels/
Artist Rights Society (ARS), NY.
continuous mark made on some surface by a moving
point
 EMPHASIZING LINE

contour line
It is used to show the edges, or
contours, of an object

Marie Laurencin. Woman with Hat (Femme au Chapeau). 1911.

Oil on canvas. 35 26 cm (133⁄4 101⁄4). The Museum of Fine
Arts, Houston, Texas. The John A. Jones and Audrey Jones Beck
Collection.
 EMPHASIZING LINE

contour line
It is used to show the edges, or
contours, of an object

Marie Laurencin. Woman with Hat (Femme au Chapeau). 1911.

Oil on canvas. 35 26 cm (133⁄4 101⁄4). The Museum of Fine
Arts, Houston, Texas. The John A. Jones and Audrey Jones Beck
Collection.
 DE-EMPHASIZING LINE

painterly
It is used to eliminate or conceal
the outline of objects in their
pictures.

Claude Monet. The Haystack, End of Summer, Giverny. 1891. Oil on canvas. Musée d’Orsay,
Paris, France.
LINE & SCULPTURE

Henry Moore. Large Interior Form.

1953, cast 1981. Bronze. 5 1.4 1.4 m
(195 561⁄4 561⁄4). The Nelson-Atkins
Museum of Art, Kansas City, Missouri.
The Hall Family Foundation Collection.
 LINE & MOVEMENT

horizontal
vertical

diagonal
curved

John Biggers. Climbing Higher Mountains. 1986. Oil and

acrylic on canvas. 101.6 91.4 cm (40 36). Hampton
University Museum, Hampton, Virginia.
 LINE & MOVEMENT

vertical
straight up and down, suggests strength and
stability

horizontal
from side to side, suggests calmness.

diagonal
suggests tension.

curved John Biggers. Climbing Higher Mountains. 1986. Oil and

suggests a flowing movement. acrylic on canvas. 101.6 91.4 cm (40 36). Hampton
University Museum, Hampton, Virginia.
John Constable. Wivenhoe Park, Essex. 1816. Oil on canvas. 56.1 101.2 cm (221⁄8 397⁄8). National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C. Board of
Trustees, Widener Collection.
Peter Paul Rubens. The Raising of the
Cross (sketch). 1609–10. Oil on board.
68 52 cm (264⁄5 201⁄2). The Louvre,
Paris, France.
 LINE & MOVEMENT

Axis line
an imaginary line that is traced through an object
or several objects in a picture

John Biggers. Climbing Higher Mountains. 1986. Oil and

acrylic on canvas. 101.6 91.4 cm (40 36). Hampton
University Museum, Hampton, Virginia.
Hera of Samos.
c. 570–560 B.C.
1.8 m (6) tall.
The Louvre,
Paris, France.

Procession of Horsemen, from the west frieze of the Parthenon. c. 440 B.C. Marble.
Approx. 109 cm (43) high. British Museum, London, England.
 Smooth
Rough

the element of art that refers to the way things feel, or look as if they might feel if touched.
Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres.
Princesse de Broglie. 1853. Oil on canvas.
121.3 90.8 cm (473⁄4 353⁄4). The
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York,
New York. Robert Lehman Collection,
1975. (1975.1.186)
José de Creeft. The Cloud. 1939.
Greenstone. 42.5 31.4 25.4 cm
(163⁄4 123⁄8 10). Collection of
Whitney Museum of American Art,
New York, New York. Purchase.
41.17a–b. © Estate of José de
Creeft/Licensed by VAGA, New York,
New York.
SHAPE
&

FORM
 CHAPTER I: EXPLORING &
UNDERSTANDING ART

Principles of Art

1 2 3 4
 DESIGN
a skillful blend of elements and principles
PRINCIPLES OF
ART
 PRINCIPLES OF ART

balance emphasis harmony variety

gradiation movement rhythm proportion

 balance
a way of combining elements to add
a feeling of equilibrium or stability to
a work of art.

Balance can be of three kinds:

1. Symmetrical
2. Asymmetrical
3. Radial
Jessie Oonark. A Shaman’s Helping Spirits. 1971. Stonecut and
stencil on paper. 94.2 63.8 cm (37 25). Art Gallery of Ontario,
Toronto, Canada. Gift of the Klamer Family,1978.
 Symmetrical
balance
a formal balance in which two
halves of a work are identical.

Jessie Oonark. A Shaman’s Helping Spirits. 1971. Stonecut and

stencil on paper. 94.2 63.8 cm (37 25). Art Gallery of Ontario,
Toronto, Canada. Gift of the Klamer Family,1978.
 Asymmetrical
balance
more informal and takes into
account such qualities as hue,
intensity, and value in addition to
size and shape.

Joseph M.W. Turner. Burning of the Houses of Lords and Commons. 1834. 92 123.19
cm (361⁄4 481⁄2). Oil on canvas. Philadelphia Museum of Art. The John H. McFadden
Collection. M1928-1-41.
 Radial balance
when objects are positioned around
a central point.

Stained-glass window (West rose window). Chartres Cathedral,

France. 1153–1260.
 emphasis
a way of combining elements to
stress the differences between
those elements.

Georgia Mills Jessup. Rainy Night Downtown. 1967. Oil on

canvas. 111.8 120 cm (44 48). The National Museum of Women
in the Arts, Washington, D.C. Gift of Savanna M. Clark.
 harmony
a way of combining similar
elements in an artwork to accent
their similarities.

Robert Delaunay. Portuguese Still Life. 1916. Oil on canvas. 89.2 111.8
cm (351⁄8 44). Norton Museum of Art, West Palm Beach, Florida. Gift
of Mrs. Jeanne Levin. 92.1
 harmony
If there is harmony, there is order.

Harmony has five aspects, which

are:
1. Harmony of lines and shapes
2. Harmony of size
3. Harmony of color
4. Harmony of texture
Robert Delaunay. Portuguese Still Life. 1916. Oil on canvas. 89.2 111.8 5. Harmony of idea
cm (351⁄8 44). Norton Museum of Art, West Palm Beach, Florida. Gift
of Mrs. Jeanne Levin. 92.1
 harmony
1. Harmony of lines and shapes
1. Transitional lines
2. Opposing lines
3. Repetition
 harmony
1. Harmony of lines and shapes

Transitional lines
- softens and modifies
other lines
- usually curved and
graceful which connect
two or more opposing
lines
 harmony
1. Harmony of lines and shapes

Opposing lines
- A straight line which
intersects with each other
and form angles
 harmony
1. Harmony of lines and shapes

Repetition
- by repeating the shapes of
the lines or by connecting
transitional lines to curve
lines
 harmony
2. Harmony of size
it refers to good proportion
 harmony
3. Harmony of color
it means using two or more
colors in decorating an article or
object. It does not mean mixing
the colors
 harmony
3. Harmony of color
it means using two or more
colors in decorating an article or
object. It does not mean mixing
the colors
 harmony
4. Harmony of texture
the character of texture can be
determined by feeling the object
with fingertips or by looking at it.
Coarse textures should not be
combined with fine textures
 harmony
4. Harmony of texture
the character of texture can be
determined by feeling the object
with fingertips or by looking at it.
Coarse textures should not be
combined with fine textures
 harmony
5. Harmony of idea
there must be harmony in the
idea presented together
 variety
a way of combining elements in
involved ways to create intricate
and complicated relationships.

Yves Tanguy. Multiplication of the Arcs. 1954. Oil on canvas. 101.6 152.4 cm (40 60). The
Museum of Modern Art, New York, NY/Licensed by SCALA/Art Resource, NY. Mrs. Simon
Guggenheim Fund (559.1954). ©2004 Estate of Eves Tanguy/Artists Rights Society (ARS),
New York.
 gradiation
a way of combining elements by
using a series of gradual changes in
those elements.

Antonio M. Ruiz. School Children on Parade. 1936. Oil on canvas. 24 33.8 cm

(91⁄2 131⁄4). Secretaria de Hacienda y Credito Publico, Mexico City, Mexico.
© Antonio M. Ruiz/SOMAAP México, 1999.
 movement
the principle of art used to create the
look and feeling of action and to
guide the viewer’s eye throughout the
work of art.

Marcel Duchamp. Nude Descending a Staircase #2.

1912. Oil on canvas. 147.3 89 cm. (58 35). Philadelphia
Museum of Art, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Louise and
Walter Arensberg Collection. ©2004 Artists Rights
Society (ARS), New York/ ADAGP, Paris/Succession
Marcel Duchamp.
 rhythm
the careful placement of repeated
elements in a work of art to cause a
visual tempo or beat.

Robert Delaunay. Saint-Séverin No. 3. 1941. 114.1 88.6 cm

(45 347⁄8). Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York,
New York. Gift, Solomon R. Guggenheim. 41.462.
 rhythm
the careful placement of repeated
elements in a work of art to cause a
visual tempo or beat.

Two Classifications:
1. Formal
2. Informal

Robert Delaunay. Saint-Séverin No. 3. 1941. 114.1 88.6 cm

(45 347⁄8). Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York,
New York. Gift, Solomon R. Guggenheim. 41.462.
 rhythm
Two Classifications:
1. Formal
the repetition of a pattern in
regular arrangement
2. Informal
the repetition of a pattern with
variation in its form and
arrangement
 proportion
the principle of art concerned with
the relationship of certain elements
to the whole and to each other.

African. Nigerian. Benin kingdom. Warrior and

Attendants Plaque. 17th century. Brass. 37.46 39.37 cm
(143⁄4 151⁄5). The Nelson- Atkins Museum of Art,
Kansas City, Missouri. Purchase: Nelson Trust. 58.3
 proportion
the principle of art concerned with
the relationship of certain elements
to the whole and to each other.

African. Nigerian. Benin kingdom. Warrior and

Attendants Plaque. 17th century. Brass. 37.46 39.37 cm
(143⁄4 151⁄5). The Nelson- Atkins Museum of Art,
Kansas City, Missouri. Purchase: Nelson Trust. 58.3