Republic of the Philippines

DR. EMILIO B. ESPINOSA, SR. MEMORIAL STATE COLLEGE

OF AGRICULTURE AND TECHNOLOGY
(Masbate State College)
COLLEGE OF EDUCATION
http://www.debesmscat.edu.ph
Cabitan, Mandaon, Masbate

MODULE 2: SHARPENING THE TOOLS FOR APPRECIATION

I. Module Overview
This module serves as a guide in discovering the beauty embodied in a work of art.

II. Desired Learning Outcomes

At the end of this topic, the students should be able to:
1. Familiarize with the different styles and forms of arts
2. Understand the importance of art in the development of a nation

III. Take-Off/Motivation

Explain:

“Art is the centre of culture so that once a culture is lost, art is also lost with it.”

– Unification Thought Theory

IV. Content Focus

The Ultimate Purpose of Art

The Unification Art fueled by the culture of society moves away from its basic
purpose that is – to please God who had been in sorrow since the
Thought Theory
beginning of the history of humankind. We cannot ignore the fact
argues that we have
that artists today consider the monetary return and fame from their
now a degenerate
artistic work more rather than the thought of pleasing their creator. To
or culturally
make this explanation more specific, how much money does the
declining art. This
painter collects from the priest in order to repaint the church? How
depravity springs
much was collected by the local sculpture from the priest to sculpt the
from the fact that we
image of the Virgin Mary? The services to make these things should
have a decadent
have been free like what Michaelangelo did in the Sistine Chapel.
culture. Art is the
center of culture so
According to this theory, God is the greatest artist and the
that once a culture
universe is His greatest masterpiece. He created the universe out of
is lost, art is also
the intention to obtain joy. Like God, artists should have also created
lost with it.
artwork for the intention to obtain joy - joy for them as artists endowed
with a rare quality, joy for their fellow humans, but above all, joy to
God.

Beauty
A student may say that many of his/her classmates are beautiful while the others may give no
comment. Is beauty only in the eye of the beholder? How do we define beautiful?
For the Spaniards, according to Prosper Merimee, for a woman to be beautiful, she must have
three dark things – dark eyes, dark eyelashes and dark eyebrows. To a certain village in Africa, the
woman with the longest neck is the most beautiful. Also in Africa, a woman with pouting lips is beautiful.
To the Filipinos, for a woman to be beautiful, she must be white, with long hair and pointed nose. To
sum up this characteristics, one will find an appearance of a Caucasoid woman, a western look. So how

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can we identify the beauty of ourselves in the national setting when we consider the western look
beautiful? If such are the criteria to determine beauty, how could one determine if she has beauty?
Anthon Chekhov, a Russian playright said, “When a woman isn't beautiful, people always say, 'You
have lovely eyes, you have lovely hair.'
Fortunately, it is not the point of argument here. What we have just dealt about was a pure
physical look which is not the only concern of art. God is the greatest artist; there is nothing ugly in His
creation. Beauty is something that is beyond what the eyes can see. Beauty is the value that the giver
(artist) gives and the receiver (appreciator) receives. It is the value of art that stimulates desire of the
appreciator.
So, to judge the beauty of a certain work of art, the stimulation it creates to the appreciator is the
parameter.
Harmony in Art
This is about how beauty is achieved by the artist in his work. A work of art has a purpose, and
as we have explained previously, that is to please God and His people. Art like anything else is a
product of different materials or items put together. Achievement of beauty relies on how these
materials or items are arranged or put together by the artist. Putting together all the materials or items
depends on the craftsmanship of the artist. To come up with beauty, these materials are arranged or
fixed in harmony with the purpose of the artist. There is no beauty if there is no harmony. There is no
harmony if materials are not put together to meet the purpose of the artist.
Technicalities of Art
Noticeable in the face of Monalisa are lines and forms mingled with colors so as to produce the
greatest painting. The same things are observable in the Eiffel tower. Eiffel tower is considered as one
of the greatest achievements in the field of architecture. Its fame attracted thousands of tourists
throughout the world every year. But looking closely at it, one will find that it is only a combination of
lines and forms. It has no color elements, but like paintings, it has lines and forms.
Lines, forms and colors are the most basic elements of visual arts. All arts have elements of
their own but in visual art, there are always lines and forms. Other elements are texture and
perspective.
Lines
1. Straight Lines
These are the most commonly used lines both in art and in engineering. Generally, straight lines
imply simplicity. A person is labeled straight if he is simple. He is extremely opposite to the
intricately decorated fellow labeled as baroque.
Vertical. A line rising perpendicularly from a level surface upright. The fact
that it is rising upward, it implies ambition, authority, majesty and respect.
Vertical line is seen in a man standing straight, a tall tree. These are
impressions of dignity.

Horizontal. A line in parallel to the horizon. These are lines of repose and
serenity, reclining person, landscape of bodies of water and picture of
horizontal lines.

Diagonal. A line running in slanting direction. This imply actions and

movements. A running man, a bull fighting and other actions are pictures of
diagonal lines.

2. Curved Lines
Curved lines suggest grace, movements, flexibility and joyousness. They are never harsh or stern.
They are formed in a gradual change in direction (C.A. Sanchez et al 1989). Curved lines are of
various kinds. They are illustrated below.

Circle. A curve that is loci at all points in the plane and equidistant from a
fixed point called center.

Lunet. A kind of curve formed like a crescent.

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 Oblong. A kind of curve identified by its spherical form and elongation in one dimension.

Forms
A combination of different lines would result to a certain form. As discussed previously, visual
arts are only a combination of lines and forms.
Colors
Is black a color? It is not a color. Color is a property of light so if there is no light, there is no
color. Lines and forms give structure to a work of art while colors give life to it. There are three
attributes of color namely: hue, value, and intensity.
Hue refers to the name of the color itself. When we say the color of the dress is yellow, we are
naming its hue as yellow. Blue, red and yellow are primary hues. Mixing equally the primary ones
produces secondary hues. Secondary hues are orange, green and violet. Orange is the result of a
mixture of red and yellow, green from mixing yellow and blue, violet from mixing blue and red.
Mixing together two hues would result to a new color. For
instance, mixing yellow and green would result to yellow-green. To
illustrate further the productions of new hue, a color wheel is
provided below.
Some colors are so glaring to the eyes. Others are so
soft that people, after they have looked at the warm colors,
look at the soft ones to neutralize the sight. This refers to the
warm and cool colors.
Red, orange and yellow are warm colors. They
associate with the sources of heat such as sun, light, and fire.
They imply cheerfulness, joys, actions, life and happiness.
Blue, blue-green, blue-violet are considered cool colors.
They suggest distance calm, sober restful and inconspicuous.
Color harmonies refer to the groupings of hues. There are two kinds namely: related color
harmonies and contrasted color harmonies.
Related color harmonies refer to the combination of several tones of one hue, like for example
orange, tan, brown and others from the orange family. This is the agreement of different tones. It is also
called monochromatic. The other one is called adjacent or neighboring harmony, two or three
neighboring hues on the color circle are used together. For example, tones of green, yellow and orange
can produce a delightful harmony.
Contrasted color harmonies refer to the disagreement or opposition of hues. There is difficulty
in combining the opposite hues but when they are properly harmonized they give a beautiful effect.

Value
This is the relative lightness or darkness of a color or a
quality of light and dark. Practically, knowledge on the
value of color helps anyone achieve the best effect
they want to achieve. A scale is provided to explain
further the meaning of value.
Values are measured using a value scale which has an
infinite number of values. Most value scales are
sufficient when showing 7-9 values.
Intensity

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 It is worth remembering that colors have
psychological and emotional bearings. Sometimes,
emotions are shown on the thickness of the color being
applied. This is apparent in the fauvism form of art.
Fauvist like Van Gogh expressed his emotion by
thickening the color of his objects. Red is associated with
cheer, warm or happiness. A fauvist, to express his
feeling or happiness, thicken the red color. This is
referred to as the third element of art known as intensity.
Intensity is the brightness or darkness of color. It
can be in the same hue but different intensity. It deals
with the amount of purity in the hue itself. It is also
referred to as “saturation”. The color blue can be very
thick or bright in the upper portion but can be very dark in
the lower portion. But it is still blue. Intensity can be
described as full intensity, two third intensity, two third neutral and neutral.
There are still other elements of visual arts. Some of them are texture, perspective, light and
darkness or chiaroscuro.
Texture
This is the visual appearance of things. In sculpture, this includes the sense of touch that has
something to do with the characteristics of surface. It can be rough or smooth, fine or coarse, shiny or
dull and so on. In painting, texture represents the skin, clothes, jewelry and other objects of the artists.
Perspective
This is the painters’ technique to make the object of their art appear as in the distance or in a
depth. To draw a high way, painters use two converging lines. The two lines of a railway seem to meet
in the distance. In a long file of things or people, the figures in the distance are smaller than those in the
foreground. Objects seem to recede into the distance. This is perspective, the distant appearance of an
object.
Chiaroscuro (light and shadow)
The word is taken from the two Italian word chiaro which means light and oscuro which means
dark. This is a pictorial representation using light and shade without the use of colors.

STYLES AND FORMS OF ARTS ACCORDING TO DEVELOPMENT

People have already appreciated art long before they learned to write. Paintings, were believed
to have been mustered before the advent of writing were seen on a wall of a certain cave of Cro-
Magnon France. This art on the wall has an extreme theme of naturalism. They are reflections of things
seen by the hunting cavemen. Mostly, they are pictures of wild animals and trees. But as shown further,
the development of art in the cave was not left behind by the development of the people from food
gathering to food producing. Some paintings contain symbolic elements as modern arts do. There are
paintings of fallen leaves to indicate summer, zigzag lines probably to indicate mountains or seas
fingers made stripes may represent rainbow.
Renaissance
Renaissance refers to the rebirth or revival
of the classic. This is a period in European
Civilization that aims to bring back the classic art
of the Greeks and Romans. But artists of this
period were still free to integrate their own taste
into the classic although features of classicism
such as balance, harmony, proportions and
intellectual orders were the standard of the time.
It marks the transition from the Middle
th th
Ages to modernity covering the 15 and 16 century.

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Mannerism
According to chronology, Mannerism is situated between the High Renaissance and Baroque
styles at the ending part of the 15th century in Europe; although the term was also used in the 18 th
century to refer to the 16th century artists who adhered to their Renaissance masters.
The term comes from the
Italian word, maniera or “style”.
Manner is another word for ways or
means. The mannerists still followed
the forms of the artists of the
Reinassance. They followed them as
their inspiration and tried to perfect
what the renaissance masters had done. The Feast in the House of Levi (1573) – Paolo Veronese

Baroque Art
It is derived from the word barocco which
means an ill-shaped pearl. The word can be
associated to an overly ornamented thing or
person. A person with too much adornment is
labeled as Baroque. Curved and zigzag lines,
which express vitality and actions, make fit to the
standard of baroque art. This art flourished in
Europe during the 17th to 18th centuries. Baroque
art rejects straight lines because in art, straight
lines imply simplicity.

Classicism
Generally, the term refers to a work of art with quality
and taste belonging to the highest. The term also refers to the
imitation of Greek and Roman literature, architecture and art.
Artists of Classicism adhered to the traditional aesthetic
principle and formalities although they flavored their works
with expression and individuality. Art belonging to this form
could be characterized by its clarity, balance, order, unity,
dignity and symmetry. The three columns of the Greeks are
still dominant in Classicism.
Christ Served by the Angels (1650) – Jacques Stella

Romanticism
This refers to the movement in art and philosophy
that began and developed in Europe in the 18 th and 19th
centuries. It was said that Romanticism is both an expansion
and at the same time, a reaction against the Enlightenment.
Artists of Romanticism emphasized the individual. It is
subjective, irrational, imaginative, personal, visionary, and
transcendental. Concerning the subject of Romanticism,
Carrassat and Marcade’ (2005) said “artists expressed their
own opinion on current events. Their canvasses became
vehicles of outpouring of extreme, impassioned, strange,
melancholic feelings. Their landscapes are drenched in
human emotion, mystery and poetry – a gnarled tree, for
example, symbolizes anguish and pain.”

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The Soul of the Rose (1908) – John William Waterhouse

Gothic Art
Gothic Art is a period in European art which
links medieval Romanesque art with the Early
Renaissance. The period is divided into Early Gothic
(1150-1250), High Gothic (1250-1375), and
International Gothic (1375-1450). Its main form of
expression was architecture which is shown through
the various Gothic cathedrals in Northern France.
Primary gothic media also include panel painting,
stained glass, fresco and illuminated manuscripts.
Gothic art, which is basically religious art, was
a major factor in the growing power of the Church in
Rome. Gothic art illustrates its upright position leading
to God. Coronation of the Virgin (1432) – Fra Angelico

Modernism
Modernization is characterized by the advancement of technology. This technology brought
several changes to people’s lifestyle and this lifestyle gives birth to several artistic creations.
Some modern arts that come out
through recent inventions are photography,
industrial arts, cosmetics and advertising.
Cinematography is also an art that emerged
together with the modern innovation of
humans.
The word modernism comes from the
Latin “modo” referring to something which
belongs today. It is a form of artistic
experimentation of getting away with what
was in the past. It flourished in the 1940’s and
1960’s in Paris. It is characterized with simple
shapes and modern artificial materials.
Light at Two Lights (1927) – Edward Hopper

Prerequisites to Appreciation
We have already discussed much about the purpose of art. The artist does not paint something
because he feels like painting. The writer does not write because he likes to write. There is something
in their hearts that they want humanity to understand. We, as appreciators of art, have duty to do. We
will not just appreciate art because we feel like doing it. We have a duty to discover the “something”
that artist wants us to understand.
To help you achieve understanding of the meaning of the work of art, some points are provided
below.
1. Attitude. This refers to your interest in art or to a certain work of art. We cannot do
something that we do not like. In other words, we cannot come into oneness with the artist if
in the first place we do not like art. To make you understand things, make yourself free from
any form of evil thoughts, abhor all worldly materials because the meaning of art does not
reside in this world. You try to practice contemplation, reflection and discernment.
2. Background of the work. It is necessary to know first the philosophy, religion and even the
personal problem of the artist when he created the work of art. Background knowledge
means knowing the circumstances that motivate the artist to do the work.
3. Empathy. It means to sympathize with the sorrow of the characters. It is a subjective action
which through it, you become closer and more united with the work of art.
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 4. Location. This is the place where art is appreciated. The place contributes much to your
success. There is a place for drama or ballet performance. Gallery is a right place to
appreciate painting while a silent place like a library is the right place for reading a novel.
V. Take Action
Interpret the meaning of the Image below and explain how it relates to creating Art.

VI. Self – Check

Create one art piece. Straight lines and Curved lines should be evident. Choose from among the different style
and form of arts according to development.
 Renaissance
 Mannerism
 Baroque Art
 Classicism
 Romanticism
 Gothic Art
 Modernism

VII. Self – Reflect

Choose one from the following:
 POEM
 SONG
 POSTER

THEME: Importance of art in the development of nation.

VIII. References

 Art Appreciation: Introduction to the Humanities by Claudio V. Tabotabo et. al., c2010

Compiled and Edited by:

JERRY G. ARNADO
COS

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