Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Unity (also called harmony) is an important principle of design that gives the artwork a sense of
cohesion or coherence. It is the wholeness or completeness of a picture. Unity and harmony in art are
used by artists to tie a composition together and help the composition make sense as a whole piece of
art.
Unity can be very subtle when done well. A unified artwork will just look right, complete, and
pleasing. Principles of art unity is not necessarily just a repetition of the same element over and over
again, but it is the pleasing combination of elements to create the big picture.
To create unity or harmony in art, artists arrange the similar components and elements of art to
create consistency. Unity or harmony can also be created by merging the form and the meaning of the
artwork together.
Unity and variety in art are often discussed together, because ultimately an artwork must contain
both unity and variety to be a successful work of art, and there must be balance between the two.
Botero creates unity in The Musicians with form, shape, color, line, and space.
Wassily Kandinsky, Circles in a Circle, 1923 Wassily Kandinsky, Circles in a Circle, 1923l