Visual Elements

VISUAL ELEMENTS OF ART

1. POINT. Most basic visual element with no dimension.

2. LINE. Path of moving point, or points in a series.
3. SHAPE. Produced by the boundary or edge of an object.
4. VALUE. Created by the application of lights, shades and shadows.
5. COLOR. Most beautiful visual element produced by the light striking
a surface.
6. TEXTURE. Touch of hardness and softness in the surface of the
painting
KINDS OF LINES AND THEIR SUGGESTIVE PROPERTIES

1. STRAIGHT LINE. Suggest order and reason

2. CURVE LINE. Suggests motion and emotion

3. BROKEN LINE. Suggests disorder, chaos, confusion and passion.

4. HORIZONTAL LINE. Means peace and rest, and creates the illusion of
narrowness and tallness

5. VERTICAL LINE.. Means life and activity, and creates the illusion of
wideness and shortness
6. THICK LINE. Suggests strength and stability

7. THIN LINE. Suggests weakness and flexibility

8. SLIDING LINE ABOVE THE HORIZON. Means rising up,

pride, arrogance and attack

9. SLIDING LINE BELOW THE HORIZON. Means falling down,

shyness, humility and surrender
KINDS OF SHAPES AND THEIR
APPLICATION.

1. RECTILINEAR. Shapes produced by straight line and applied to

inanimate objects.

2. CURVILINEAR. Shapes produced by curve lines and applied to the

form of living things, also called biomorphic shapes.

3. IRREGULAR. All other shapes produced by the combination of

straight and curve lines
VALUE: LIGHT AND DARK IN ART

1. SHADE. Dark area in the surface of the object that cannot be

reached by lights.

2. SHADOW. Dark area cast on a receiving surface due to an opaque

object that block the passage of light.

3. CHIAROSCURO. Technique for applying values in painting. The word

is from Italian that means light and dark.

4. SFUMATO. Smoky effect in painting that creates blurry image and

conveys a sense of mystery
PHYSICAL PROPERTIES OF COLOR

1. HUE. Distinguishes one color from the others, refers to the

traditional color name. Primary hues are red, yellow and blue.
2. VALUE. Light and dark properties of color. Adding white is called tint;
it makes color lighter. Adding black is called shade; it makes color
darker. There are same hues with different shades, like red with
maroon which is darker than scarlet.

3. SATURATION. Concerned with intensity or the brightness and

dullness of color. Intensity ranges from black which is the dullest and
yellow which is the brightest. Dull colors tend to advance, while bright
colors tend to recede.
Visual Elements
 The following make up the
VISUAL ELEMENTS of Art:
Point
Line
Shape
Value
Color

Sometimes TEXTURE and SPACE are included,

but primarily they are elements of sculpture
and architecture.
 POINT
is the most basic visual element.
It has no dimension.

POINTILISM (DIVISIONISM)
by GEORGE SEURAT is a
style of painting that uses
point as the fundamental
structural element.
This is the pointillist masterpiece by Seurat, Sunday
Afternoon in the Island of La Grande Jatte, 1888
 If you look
closely at the
composition,
you will see
points.
 You see
many tiny
points.
 In fact, it is estimated that in this painting,
there are four million dots in 77 square feet,
which took Seurat four years to compose.
 The second visual element
of painting is LINE.

Line is one dimensional.

Structurally, it is a path
of moving point, or
points in a series.

Based on this definition, it is appropriate to say,

according to Cezanne, that “drawing is
taking a line for a walk.”
 There are three ways
of producing lines.

First, by actually
drawing a line.
This is how lines are
produced in graphic arts
such as in drawing,
calligraphy and drafting.
The second way of producing line is
by the INTERSECTION OF COLORS,
as in painting
 And third, lines
are produced by
the INTERSECTION
OF CONTOURS, as
in sculpture and
architecture
 There are lines
found in nature, such as
in a spider web.
 There is the
predominance
of lines in
Japanese
calligraphy
and drawing.
Leonardo, Notebook Drawings LINES
 Leonardo
Study on
the Head of
Leda the
Swan
 Leonardo
Grotesque
Face
 Leonardo
Study on the
Movement of
Horses
 Leonardo
Study on the
Gastro-Intestinal
System of the
Human Body
 Leonardo
Study on the
Back of the
Neck
 Leonard,
Study on
the Human
Embryo
 Leonardo
Study on
the Parts of
the Heart
These are
drawings
made up
of lines
produced
by simple
strokes of
the pen.

Picasso
The Camel
Picasso, The Horse
Picasso, The Bull
Picasso, The Dove of Peace
 Picasso
The Penguin
 Picasso
The Bird
Picasso, The Dog
 Picasso
The Squirrel
 Picasso
The Mouse
Picasso, Drawing Study
Picasso, The Sleeping Woman
Lines in children’s drawing
Amanda Regina
Orate, Melody
In the history of Western art, Boticelli is hailed
as the master of linear painting.
You
It is look
said that
at the
Boticelli
black outline
paintedalong
the hair
the of
face
Venus
and neck
one by
of
one,
Venus. using
There
a very
are thin
also brush
lines inmade
her curving,
up of a single
flowing
strand.
hair.
KINDS OF LINES AND
THEIR SUGGESTIVE
EXPRESSIONS AND
MEANINGS
 VERTICAL
HORIZONTAL LINE
LINE

Suggest peace, rest, death Activity, life

Vertical lines create an Horizontal lines produce
illusion of narrowness an illusion of wideness
and tallness and shortness.
 Yuan Jiang,
Island of the
Immortals
(Penglai Shan)
1708

Oriental landscape
paintings usually have
vertical orientation
showing the height of
the world.
 Ma Yuan
Singing and
Dancing:
Peasants
Returning
from Work
 Korean
Landscape
Painting
 Constable, Wivenhoe Park, Essex, 1816

Western landscape paintings usually have horizontal

orientation showing the wideness of the world.
Bierstadt, Sierra Nevada Mountain, California, 1868
Page from the Egyptian Book of the Dead, 3500 BC
Leonardo, The Last Supper, 1498
 Sliding Line above the Horizon
Suggest rising up, pride, arrogance, attack

Sliding Line below the Horizon

Falling down, shyness, humility, surrender
 Francisco,
Bonifacio,
1964

The lines sliding above the horizon

means “Attack!”
DIAGONAL
LINES create
a sense of
movement
in the
painting.

David
Napoleon
Crossing the
Alps
 Juan Luna, Spoliarium, 1884, 7.75 x 4.25 m.

The diagonal thrust of the painting implies movement.

 Titian
Bacchus
and
Ariadne

The
intersecting
diagonals
produced
radial
balance
which
implies
movement
 Ucello, Battle of San Romano, 1455

The dominance of sliding lines above the horizon

heightens the battle scene.
Thick Line Thin Line
Strength Weakness
Stability Flexibility
 THICK THIN
COLUMN COLUMN
Looks Looks
strong weak
and and
stable flexible
The THICK and THIN Mona Lisa
Straight Line Order
Reason

Curve Line Motion

Emotion

Broken Line Chaos

Passion
The straight
lines create
a sense of
order.

Mondrian
Composition
with Red,
Yellow and
Blue
 Mondrian
Composition
with Red,
Yellow and
Blue
Riley, Waves OP ART

The curve lines

suggest motion.
 The curve lines
suggest emotion.
77
 Picasso, Guernica, 1937

The broken lines express the chaos and horror of war.

CURVE LINES heighten the movement of the waves

Hokusai
The Great
Wave Off
Kanagawa
1831
 Munch
The Scream

CURVE LINES
express the
emotion of
terror
BROKEN LINES
Express the
feeling of
sensuality

De Kooning
Woman in a
Bicycle
 Pollock, Black and White, 1952

In this action painting, the curve lines are traces of

the movement by the painter.
 ENVIRONMENTAL ART OR EARTHWORK
Robert Smithson, Spiral Jetty, 1970, Great Salt Lake, Utah, 450 m.
 SHAPE
is defined by the boundary
or the edges of an object
WAYS OF MAKING SHAPE

By the boundary of a line that

closes into itself (polygon),
in drawing
By the boundary of color,
in painting.
 By the boundary of contour,
in sculpture and architecture
 KINDS
RECTILINEAR
Shapes of
objects

CURVILINEAR
(Biomorphic)
Shapes of
living things

IRREGULAR
Any possible
shape
A wonderful
shape found
in nature
A fascinating shape of an ordinary object
 Malevich
Suprematist
Composition
1914

RECTILINEAR
SHAPES are
floating on
empty space.
People
immersed in
rectilinear
shapes suggest
the concept of
dehumanization
in cubist
paintings

Picasso
The Three
Musicians
 Picasso, Girl in
a Mirror, 1932

The curvilinear shapes

show the form of the
female body meant
for reproduction, such
as the breasts and
the womb.

The diamonds at the

background indicate
the female genital.
 Fernand Leger, Women in an Interior, 1921

The curvilinear shapes of the head and body suggest life.

 Albers
Homage to
a Square
1955

COLOR FIELD
PAINTING
Kandinsky
Several
Circles
1926
 Dali, Face of a Great Masturbator.

There are shapes like of melting people and objects in surrealism.

Dali, Daddy Long Legs of the Evening
Miro, Person Throwing
a Stone, 1925
 VALUE
Refers to the application
of light and dark in the painting
Ways of
producing value
SHADING
SHADOWING
 SHADE
Dark area on
the surface of
the object
SHADOW
Dark area on
a receiving
surface
 The sunlight passing
through a window
and entering the
interior of a house, is
typical in Vermeer’s
paintings.

Vermeer
The Cook
 Vermeer
The Music
Lesson
 Vermeer
The Scientist
 Amorsolo, Fruit Pickers
under the Mango Tree

Amorsolo captures the tropical sunlight. His paintings are

always bathed with lights, and with shades and shadows.
 Amorsolo
The Market
Scene
Amorsolo
Girl with
Baskets of
Fruits
 Amorsolo
Ina at Anak
 Leonardo applied
the techniques of
CHIAROSCURO or
the application of
light and dark, as
well as SFUMATO
or the smoky effect
which creates a
sense of mystery.
 Leonardo
Ginebra
d’Benci

CHIAROSCURO
Light and dark
 Leonardo
Lady with
an Ermine

The application
of chiaroscuro
enhances the
shape of the
figure.
Rembrandt
The
Nightwatch
1640

There is
usually the
application
of deep
chiaroscuro
in BAROQUE
paintings.
Luna, Blood Compact

Dark and light enhances the solidity of figures.

Castelfranco
Samson and
Delilah
De Goya, Third of May, 1808
 Van Gogh
Sunflower

IMPASTO
Thick paint
applied on
the canvass
COLOR
…may be
considered
as the most
beautiful
visual
element.
COLOR
Produced by
light striking
a surface.

Physical
Properties
HUE
VALUE
SATURATION
 COLOR
WHEEL
HUE
distinguishes
one color
from
another:
Primary
Secondary
Tertiary
 VALUE
The lightness and darkness of color
Adding white to Adding black to
a color is TINT a color is SHADE
Atmospheric
Colors

Aerial
Colors

Ground
Colors

Underground
Colors
 COLOR SATURATION

Light Dark Medium

Dark color tends to advance. Light color tends to recede.
The most noticeable colors used in street signs.
 PAINTINGS
WITH COLORS
 In Kandinsky’s color
compositions, he expressed
the spiritual quality of art.
He also equated the colors
of painting with the sound
of music.
 Mondrian
Composition
with Red,
Yellow and
Blue

Mondrian made
a lot of variations
for this painting.
Miro, Blue 1
Malevich
White on
White
 Mark Rothko
Untitled
1968

COLOR-FIELD
PAINTING

Painting style
that uses huge
masses of colors
on the surface.
 FAUVISM
Style of painting by
Matisse that uses
artificial colors for
stimulating effect.

Matisse
The Blue
Window
Colors are used
naturalistically
in realistic
landscape
paintings.

Constable
The Hay Wain
 The use of
blur colors in
impressionism
indicates
movement
and passage
of time.

Monet
Impression
Sunrise
 The dominant use
of earth colors in
Renaissance paintings
relates with the view
of humanism which
emphasizes the
material world over
the spiritual.
 The curving,
swerving lines of
orange, red and
yellow suggests
the emotion of
terror in the
painting

Symbolic use of colors in

expressionist paintings for
emotional effect.
 Picasso
The Old Guitarist

The dominance of
blue heightens
the feeling of
sadness and
suffering
expressed by
the painting.
THE SUBJECT OF ART
 THE SUBJECT OF ART

• Anything that is represented in the artwork

(person, object, scene or event.)
 Representational / Objective Arts
Painting, Sculpture, graphic arts, and literature theater
 Non-Representational / non objective arts
No resemblance to any real subject
Appeal directly to the senses because of the organization of their
elements.
 • Representational art describes artworks—particularly
paintings and sculptures–that are clearly derived from
real object sources, and therefore are by definition
representing something with strong visual references to
the real world

David by Donatello (1440s),

Perhaps the greatest statue of the
Renaissance
 The Mona Lisa
by
Leonardo da Vinci
The Little Street (c.1657), one of the greatest genre paintings
by
the Dutch artist Jan Vermeer.
• Nonrepresentational art may simply depict shapes,
colors, lines, etc., but may also express things that are
not visible– emotions or feelings for example.
Source of Subject
- nature, Greek and Roman
mythology, Judeo-Christian tradition,
sacred oriental texts, other works of
arts.

Kinds of Subject
history, still life, animals, figures,
nature, landscape, seascape, cityscape,
mythology, myth, dreams, and fantasies
CONTENT IN ART (LEVELS OF
MEANING)

Content
• The meaning, message, and/or feeling
imparted by a work of art.
• This is not the same thing as the subject
matter the work depicts.
• Content is inextricably linked with form,
which refers to the pictorial aspects of art:
in a word, its design --including choices
about shapes, colors, framing, contrast,
soft or hard edges, & many other
decisions.
1.Factual
concerned with what is actually the case
rather than interpretations of or reactions to
it.
2.Conventional
in accordance with what is generally done
or believed.
3. Subjective
based on or influenced by personal
feelings, tastes, or opinions.