GEC 22 Printable Module

GEC 22
College of Arts and Sciences

Palompon Institute of Technology
Evangelista Street, Palompon, Leyte
Tel. Nos. (053) 555-9841/338-2082 Fax: 338-2501
Course Outline: GEC 22 – Reading Visual Arts
Course Facilitator: Buenaventura M. Raygon Jr.

Email: Pit.edu.buenaventura32@gmail.com
Student Consultation: traditional contact (calls, texts, emails)
Mobile: 09958408286 (Globe), 09709260236 (TNT)
Facebook Name: Buenaventura Raygon
Effectivity Date: August 9, 2021
Mode of Delivery: Distance Educational Delivery
Time Frame: 54 hours
Student Workload: Expected Self-Directed Learning
Requisites: None
Credit: 3
Attendance Requirements: The attendance is not part of the DED, but
you must contact your course facilitator as
to when will be the submission of the
module for final checking.
Course Outline Policy
Areas of Concern Details

Contact and Non- This 3-unit course self-instructional manual is designed for
contact Hours blended learning mode of instructional delivery with scheduled
face to face or virtual sessions. The expected number of hours
will be 54.
Assessment Task Submission of assessment tasks shall be on 3rd, 5th, 7th and 9th
Submission week of the term. The assessment paper shall be attached with a
cover page indicating the title of the assessment task (if the task
is performance), the name of the course coordinator, date of
submission and name of the student. The document should be
emailed to the course coordinator. It is also expected that you
already paid your tuition and other fees before the submission of
the assessment task.
READING VISUAL ARTS WEEK 1-9 1

GEC 22
Grading System Assessment Methods Weights

EXAMINATIONS
A. Exam 1to 3 - 30%
B. Final Exam
- MCQ and Performance-based - 30%
CLASS PARTICIPATIONS
C. Quizzes - 10%
D. Research - 15%
E. Oral recitation - 10%
F. Assignments - 5%
Total 100%
Submission of the final grades shall follow the usual University
system and procedures.
Student All communication formats: chat, submission of assessment
Communication tasks, requests etc. shall be through the school recognized
platforms. You can also meet the course coordinator in person
through the scheduled face to face sessions to raise your issues
and concerns.
Contact Details of the Buenaventuara M. Raygon Jr.
Instructor Email: pit.edu.buenaventura32@gmail.com
Student with Special Students with special needs shall communicate with the course
Needs coordinator about the nature of his or her special needs.
Depending on the nature of the need, the course coordinator with
the approval of the program coordinator may provide alternative
assessment tasks or extension of the deadline of submission of
assessment tasks. However, the alternative
assessment tasks should still be in the service of achieving the
desired course learning outcomes.
Course Information – see attached course syllabus

GEC 22
CC’s Voice: Hello prospective student! Welcome to this course GEC 22: Reading
Visual Art. This course provides an introduction to the language of visual
arts and a foundation for individual understanding and enjoyment of art.
This course will focus on how art communicates as well as how to analyze
and interpret visual arts. Moreover, we will also tackle about how art is
seen as a cultural product that reveals something about the society that
produced it. This course is a combination of art theory and practice, art
techniques and a survey of art from prehistory to the present.
CO Before we start learning how to read and interpret visual arts, it is

necessary that students are equipped with skills in critical thinking through
writing and interpretation. Understanding visual arts in the context of
historical, social, cultural, and political context is the ultimate course
outcome of this subject. As future professionals, it is important that the
ability to critically analyze forms of arts be translated in different platforms.
It is the hope of this course that by studying art, you will see art as an
inspiration because it is a powerful reflection of human experience and
society’s cultural moment.
Let us begin!

GEC 22
Big Picture
Week 1-3. Unit Learning Outcomes (ULO): At the end of the unit, you are expected to:
a) Summarize changing perceptions and definitions of art throughout history.
b) Differentiate mediums and techniques in visual arts.
c) Categorize the elements of compositional balance in a work of art.
Big Picture in Focus: ULOa. Summarize changing perceptions and

definitions of art throughout history
Metalanguage
For you to demonstrate ULOa, you will need to have a wide range of understanding of
how art is defined from the ancient past until today. There is a need to explain the different
function of arts as well. Only then can the relevance of art in one’s individual life can be fully
realized.
Key Terms:
• Aesthetics. The branch of philosophy that deals with the principles of beauty and artistic taste.
• Intuitive. Spontaneous, without requiring conscious thought; easily understood or grasped by instinct.
• Fine arts. The purely aesthetic arts, such as music, painting, and poetry, as opposed to industrial or
functional arts such as engineering or carpentry.
• Form. The shape or visible structure of an artistic expression.
• Formalism. The study of art based solely on an analysis of its form – the way it is made and what it
looks like.
• Human condition. The characteristics, key events, and situations which compose the essentials of
human existence, such as birth, growth, emotionality, aspiration, conflict, and mortality.
• Mimesis. The representation of aspects in the real world, especially in human actions, in literature and
art.
• Muses. Goddesses of the inspiration of literature, science, and the arts in Greek mythology.
Essential Knowledge
To perform the aforesaid big picture (unit learning outcomes) for the first three (3) weeks of
the course, you need to fully understand the following essential knowledge that will be laid down in
the succeeding pages. Please note that you are not limited to exclusively refer to the
READING VISUAL ART WEEK 1-9 4

GEC 22
these resources. Thus, you are expected to utilize other books, research articles and other
resources that are available in the university’s library e.g. ebrary, search.proquest.com etc.
“The main thing is to be moved, to love, to hope, to tremble, to live.”

– Auguste Rodin
Why Art Matters
Before you proceed, complete the thought bubble below:
For me, “art” is

_________________________________________________
_________________________________________________
_________________________________________________
_________________________________________________
_________________________________________________
_________________________________________________
_________________________________________________

GEC 22
As a thought experiment, imagine what a society without art would be like.
Without art, the world __________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
Aesthetics and the Philosophy of Arts
In the general overview of the humanities, Sanchez, Abad, and Jao (2011) mentioned that
art, like love, is difficult to define. That’s because art concerns itself with “the communication of
certain ideas and feelings by means of a sensuous medium.” The Stanford Encyclopedia of
Philosophy1 says that “art’s contingent cultural and historical features are emphasized by some
definitions of art.” Philosophy plays an important role in the definition of art as philosophy even has a
word to refer to the philosophical study of beauty and taste – aesthetics.
Simply, we can define art according to the possession of their representational, expressive,
instrumental and formal properties. For instance, Plato in The Republic, believes that arts are
representational or mimetic in nature – meaning, they imitate physical objects (beautiful or
meaningful) that exist in the world. Art as an expression is a belief that art is created to reflect the
inner state of the artist – the subjective experiences and the emotions. Instrumentalism in art
presents that art is created as a tool or “instrument” to persuade the viewers, through social
commentary on social issues. Lastly, we can also approach art according to the arrangement of its
formal elements, that is lines, shapes, colors, etc. Representationalism, expressionism,
instrumentalism, and formalism are the basic aesthetic theories about art.
Merriam-Webster defined art as “the conscious use of skill and creative imagination
especially in the production of aesthetic objects.”2 After all, the word art came from the word
“ars” which means skill. That means that art is a skill resulting from learning and practice. It is
synonymous with craft, cunning, and workmanship.
One thing is certain – art will always related to human condition. Still, the definition of art
and how art is viewed remains to be controversial across time. While there may be differing
1
https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/art-definition/
2
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/art

GEC 22
perspectives regarding art, we can summarize how art is viewed from a particular period/era
below:
Period/era How Art was Viewed

Pre-modern/pre-aesthetic: The Greek word for “art” is techne, whose Latin
Ancient Greece and Rome equivalent is ars, both of which mean skill. Art was
equated with craft or the sciences
During the Enlightenment, the natural sciences were
emancipated from the arts. A system of fine arts was
Modern/Aesthetic: 1700s established. Aesthetics became a separate discipline in
to mid 1900s, in particular, philosophy. The aesthetic experience was seen as the
Germany and England
proper way to approach art and beauty. Art was to be
appreciated for art’s sake.
Various modern theories were rejected, such as
Postmodern/Post-
aesthetic universalism, the aesthetic attitude,
aesthetic: Mid 1900s up to aestheticism, innovation and creativity (“genius”) and the
present
canon of art.
The fine arts are those objects made by humans to be

enjoyed aesthetically. This may be in the form of painting,
sculpture, architecture, music, or even poetry.
Other arts were eventually added by aestheticians;

gardening, engraving, the decorative arts, dance and
theatre, the opera, eloquence and prose literature, film
and photography.
In aesthetics, philosophers pay attention to the practice,

history, and criticism of the individual arts, and to the
philosophical problems and puzzles raised by them.
Our definitions of art, and our ways of thinking about it, change over time. An understanding of
the different aesthetic theories could enhance one’s appreciation of the art, especially,
contemporary art, which requires awareness of the discourse of the artworld.
A survey of art as it has evolved over time shows that a full appreciation of aesthetic objects
requires both cognitive and intuitive.

GEC 22
In the first column in the table below, list down your most striking encounters with arts.
On the second column, explain why you think each encounter is an experience of art.
My Encounter with Arts Why?

1

GEC 22
What Does Art Do?
A primary purpose essential to most artistic disciplines is the underlying intention to connect
with or appeal to human emotion.
Key Points:
Art can arouse aesthetic and moral feelings, and can be understood as a way of
communicating these feelings.
An everyday object, such as a glass or a chair, is transformed with aesthetic and
design values through decorative arts. Art can function on a therapeutic level as well,
with art therapy.
Since the introduction of conceptual art and post-modern theory, it has been proven
that anything can, in fact, be term as art.
Fine arts represent and exploration of human condition and the attempt at a deeper
understanding of life.
An artist is a person involved in activities related to art.
How Does Art Look?

There is no single standard of visual values that define what art looks like.
Key points:
How best to define art is a subject of constant contention. There have been several
publications, both in books and journals, that engage with determining what art is.
The word art is usually associated with creative art or fine art. Here we mean that the
skill is being used to express the artist’s creativity to engage an audience’s aesthetic
sensibilities, or to draw the audience towards consideration of more beautiful things.
Another methodology is the institutional approach to art. This approach states that art
must be examined as a sociological category. This means that regardless of any
formal definition, art schools, museums, and artists can get away with what they
consider as art.

GEC 22
The proceduralist approach to art suggests that art is labeled as "art" through a
process by which it is created or viewed. Thus, art is not art because of its inherent
features, nor because of the reception it has received from institutions of the art
world. In art theory, the term formalism means that an art’s work value is determined
solely by its form, or how it is made, with no regard for context.
Since conceptual art and postmodern theory came into prominence, it has been
proven that anything can be term as art.
The idea of defining art today is far more difficult than it has ever been.
What Makes Art Beautiful?

In the context of art, beauty refers to anything that pleases the senses - the interaction
between line, color, texture, shape, motion, and size.
Key points:
It is difficult to express what is beautiful about art because of a lack of language.
It is human instinct to appreciate harmony, balance, and rhythm. This forms our
concept of beauty.
The branch of under philosophy that deals with the appreciation and nature of art,
beauty, and taste is aesthetics.
An aesthetic judgment cannot be empirical judgment but instead must be processed
on a more intuitive level.
Art Value: Functions of Art
Art serves several functions. These functions include, but not limited to, the following:
Aesthetic Function. An artwork is a direct source of sensual pleasure and it elicits

perhaps an intrinsically aesthetic response. Artists have different reasons for
indulging in art, and this is because they want to express something. Mostly, works of
art are created to beautify and decorate, say for instance, a house, a building, or a
public space.
Economic Function. Art serves its economic purpose, as there are creations of art
that are also useful in the society. Also, paintings, sculptures, and other works of art
are worth millions of money. In art, there is an opportunity to make money.
Educational Function. Arts can be a means to pass down the values, attitudes and
history of a culture. Art can also be an effective tool to educate, eg. a mounted play
about an important historical event, or ancient scrolls and diagrams of prehistoric
people.
Religious Function. People in the prehistoric period relied on works of art to worship
their gods, as evidenced by statues of gods. and deities, as well as makeshift temples
and places for worship. Most of the art forms evolved from religion.
Social and Cultural Function. Because man is a social being, he/she associates with
other fellow human beings. This can be seen in churches are designed for communal

GEC 22
worship, where people come together to pray. Arts also showcases group identity
and pride in the form of tattoo, flags, and banners. Buildings and other infrastructures
form the material culture of the society.
Defining Visual Arts
Arts are generally classified into three: (1) visual arts; (2) performing arts; and (3) literary
arts. Visual arts are those forms that create works which are primarily visual (forms
perceived by the eyes). Performing arts are those forms in which the artists used his/her
own body, face, and presence as a medium. Finally, literary arts centered on creative writing
and other composition processes which intended to read.
This course focuses on visual arts. The man can take the beauty of nature through a
piece of paper so that other people may take time appreciating the captured image.
Examples of these arts include:
Painting. This form of visual art aims to evoke an emotion from the viewers. It is
practice by applying colors or other media to a surface with a brush or other objects.
Sculpture. This form of visual arts characterized as the art of representing an
imagined or observed objects in hard materials such as glass, metals, or wood in
three dimensions.
Architecture. This form of art provides us the physical structure we lived. It is a
profound expression of human culture in a particular period, and it will endure and
outlive us in forms of monuments that future generations will study and strive to
understand.
Drawing. This form of art enhances the way we see the world around and conditions
us to capture its details in a two-dimensional medium. This has been a critical
element of art throughout history and in the contemporary art world.
Photography. This form of art is a process of creating portraits by recording radiation
on a radiation-sensitive medium, such as electronic image sensors or photographic
films.
Self-Help: You can also refer to the sources below to help you
further understand the lesson:
1. Art History by Boundless Learning. Curation and Revision. Provided by:

Boundless.com. License: CC BY-SA: Attribution-ShareAlike
(https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/)
2. Javellana, R. (2018). Understanding, valuing, and living art. Quezon City: Vibal.
3. Menoy, J. (2014). Introduction to humanities: A holistic approach. Mandaluyong:
Books Atbp Publishing Corp.

GEC 22
4. Sanchez, C. et. al. (2011). Introduction to humanities. Manila: Rex

5. Zulueta, F. (2003). The humanities. Mandaluyong: NBS
Let’s Check
Activity 1. Now that you know the most how art as a field has change over time as well as
its multiple functions in the society, let us try to check your understanding. Encircle the letter
of the correct answer.
1. If someone does a painting categorized 4. What do you call a person engaged

as “Art for People”, what particular issue in the creation of art works and
is the main focus of the artist? generally recognized as a
a. Early religious art commissioned by professional by critics and peers.
the church a. artist
b. Traditional forms rejected by b. art nouveau
Modernist trends c. art critic
c. An adaptation of impressionistic d. interior designer
and abstract idioms
d. The connection of art works to 5. Art created for purely aesthetic
various nationalistic struggles, expression, contemplation or
social realism, and activism communication. Painting and
sculpture are the best known of this.
2. The artists in the visual arts are a. fine art
a. engineers, doctors, and singers b. figurative art
b. painters, sculptors, architects, c. fixative art
filmmakers, and photographers d. communicative art
c. dramatists, writers, and
photographers 6. Are those creations we can look at,
d. none of the above such as a drawing or a painting,
sculpture, architecture,
3. When discussing the size, shape, photography, film and printmaking.
material, color, and composition of a a. fine arts
work of art, we are discussing its b. performing arts
a. Form c. visual arts
b. Iconography d. auditory arts
c. Theme
d. Purpose 7. Useful art is called:
a. functional
b. Expressive
c. narrative
d. decorative

GEC 22
8. The purpose of this art work is to 10. One of the oldest forms of art ever
support rituals, like worship found in the human world are those
services—maybe a funeral or paintings found in caves which are
wedding: known to be the works of cavemen
a. ceremonial in the primitive times. What era
b. narrative does the word “primitive” represent?
c. functional a. Medieval
d. artistic expression b. Renaissance
c. Prehistoric
9. The purpose of this kind of art is d. Dark Ages
self-expression, decoration and
expressing emotions.
a. artistic expression
b. functional
c. ceremonial
d. narrative
Let’s Analyze
Activity 1. Short Answer: Answer the following questions below briefly but precisely.
1. How can art be an aid to a better citizenship? Give an example to illustrate this.
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________

GEC 22
In what way does art contribute to the physical, social, spiritual well-being of man? Explain.
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
2. How is the changing perspective on the definition of art makes art controversial?
Which definition of art do you subscribe to? Explain.
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
In a Nutshell
The study of art is very difficult because the definition of art varies across different historical
and cultural contexts. Based from the definition of the most essential terms while reading
information on arts, please feel free to write your arguments or lessons learned below. I
have indicated my arguments or lessons learned.
• "Art is form and content" means: All art consists of these two things:
O Form means: (1) the elements of art, (2) the principles of design and (3) the
actual, physical materials that the artist has used.

GEC 22
 "Content" is idea-based and means (1) what the artist meant to portray, (2) what the
artist actually did portray and (3) how we react, as individuals, to both the intended and
actual messages.
 Another thing to be aware of, is the fact that art reflects and belongs to the period and
culture from which it is spawned.
Your turn. What did you learn about art?
1. ___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
2. ___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
3. ___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________

GEC 22
Q & A List
This section is a place for you to raise your questions and queries that you feel the
instructor should give attention to. Feel free to ask relevant questions related from the
course here. This Q & A portion helps in the review of concepts and essential knowledge.
Do you have any question for clarification?
Questions/Issues Answers
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Keywords Index
This section lists down the keywords for easy recall of concepts.
aesthetics intuitive mimesis muses

formalism fine arts form content
human condition

GEC 22
Big Picture in Focus: ULOb. Differentiate medium and techniques

in visual arts
Metalanguage
In this section, you will learn about the most essential terms relevant to the medium
and technique in visual arts. You will encounter these terms as we go through the study of
curriculum. Please refer to these definitions in case you will encounter difficulty in the in
understanding educational concepts.
Please proceed immediately to the “Essential Knowledge” part since the first lesson
is also definition of essential terms.
Essential Knowledge
To perform the aforesaid big picture (unit learning outcomes) for the first three (3)
weeks of the course, you need to fully understand the following essential knowledge that
will be laid down in the succeeding pages. Please note that you are not limited to
exclusively refer to the these resources. Thus, you are expected to utilize other books,
research articles and other resources that are available in the university’s library e.g.
ebrary, search.proquest.com etc.
Medium and Techniques in Visual Arts
The word medium is a Latin word that denotes by which an artist communicates his idea.
The medium may be in the form of materials used by an artist to interpret his feelings or
thoughts. For instance, in paintings, pigments on woods and canvas to recreate the reality of
nature. Visual arts in general are made by media that can be seen and can occupy space.
The medium can be two-dimensional, such as painting or drawing; or it can be three-
dimensional, such as sculpture or architecture.
The term technique is the manner in which the artist controls the medium to achieve the
desired effects. Technique is the ability by which the artist fulfills the technical requirements
of a particular work of art.
The below shows the popular art media used in paintings:
Medium Description

 Watercolor pigments invites brilliance and variety of hues
Watercolor  The effects are rendered through some techniques

 Can be applied on wet plaster, canvas, wood, and paper

GEC 22
Challenge: Difficult to handle to showcase warm and rich tones
Sample work/s:
Jedburgh Abbey from the River by Thomas Gertin
Painting method done on a moist plaster surface with colors ground in water
or a limewater mixture
Image becomes permanently fixed and impossible to remove.
Challenge: Must be done quickly because the moment the paint is applied
to the surface, the color dry into plaster and the painting becomes an
Fresco integral part of the wall
Sample work/s:
The Creation of Adam in the Sistine Chapel ceiling by Michelangelo
School of Athens by Raphael (Buon Fresco)
Mineral pigments mixed with egg yolk or egg white and ore.
This egg-based emulsion binds the pigments to the surface.
Characterized by its film-forming properties and rapid drying rate.
Requires more deliberate technique than oil because it does not possess
the flexibility of oil.
Favorite medium of painters during Middle Ages and early
Renaissance
Tempera period (before oil was adopted)
Usually done
Challenge: The artist must be precise and exact in his or her work.
Sample work/s:
The Last Supper by Leonardo da Vinci
The Birth of Venus by Sandro Boticelli
Stick of dried paste of pigment ground with chalk and compounded with
gum water.
Very flexible medium whose colors are luminous.
Pastel Challenge: In spite of richness and varied effects of pastel, it is difficult to
preserve the finished product in its original state
When the chalk rubs off, the image loses some of its brilliance.
Early medium by Egyptians for painting portraits on mummy cases

Done by applying wax colors fixed with heat
Encaustic Produces luster and radiance, making the subjects appear at their best in
their portraits.
Pigments are mixed with linseed oil and applied to canvas.

Oil Flexible – the artist can use even his hands in applying paint on his or her
canvas.
1
GEC 22
Easy to correct, repainting is without much difficulty

Appears glossy and lasts long
Sample work/s:
Mona Lisa by Leonardo da Vinci
Water Lilies by Claude Monet
Used by contemporary painters today because of its transparency and

quick-drying characteristics of watercolor and flexibility of oil combined.
Synthetic paint mixed with acrylic emulsion as binder for coating the
surface
Acrylic of the artwork.
Do not break easily, unlike oil paints which turn yellowish or darker over
a
period of time.
Usually done on paper using pencil, pen, ink, or charcoal

Most fundamental of all skills necessary in arts
Considered as good training for artists because it makes one
concentrate
on the use of life
Drawing Shading can also be used to make drawing make more life-like and
realistic.
Sample work/s:
Leonardo da Vinci’s sketches
The below shows the popular art media used in sculpture:

Medium Description
Hard and brittle substance formed from mineral and earth material.
Stone:
Granite, Marble, The finish product is granular and dull in appearance
Basalt,
Sample work/s:
Limestone
Laocoon and His Sons
Usually colored green and widely used in China
Fine stone:
Jade
Ornamental stone for carving and fashion jewelry
From tusk of elephants

Ivory Hard white substance used to make carvings and billiard balls
Characterized by capacity, ductility, conductivity and peculiar luster

when
freshly fractured
Can be shaped or deformed under great pressure without breaking
Metals
Bronze: can resist any atmospheric corrosion; best suited for sculptures
in
open and outdoor spaces
Brass: does not rust and take a brilliant polish

GEC 22
Copper: resistant to atmospheric corrosion

Composed of lime, sand, and water
Worked on metal wires and fibers
Plaster Used extensively in making mannequins, models, molds, architectural
decorations
Natural earthy material that is plastic when wet

Clay Generally fragile so ideal to cast into another durable materials
Hard, brittle, and non-crystalline

Glass Used in making figurines
Easy to carve because it can be subjected into a variety of treatments.

Lighter and softer to carve than stone
Wood
Should be treated to preserve its quality
Commonly used: dapdap, white lauan, oak, walnut, mahogany narra,
and
dao.
Other art media used by artists depend on visual art types.
• Stained glass is a common art in Gothic Cathedrals and churches. It is made by

combining small pieces of colored glass, held together by bands of lead. The pictures
in the stained glass commonly depict the lives of saints and in effect, also serve as a
religious instruction among Christians.
• In tapestry, fabric is produced by hand weaving colored threads upon a warp. The
woven designs often end up as pictorials, wall hangings, and furniture covering.
During Middle Ages, they were hung on the walls of palaces and in cathedrals on
festive occasions to provide warmth.
• Mosaic, is an art of putting together small pieces of colored stones or glass called
tesserae to create an image. The stones are cut into squares and glued on a surface
with plaster or cement. Mosaic is an important feature of Byzantine churches.
• As for drawing, this visual art type is usually done on paper using pencil, pen, ink, or
charcoal. It is the most fundamental of all skills necessary in arts. It is also
considered as good training for artists because it makes one concentrate on the use
of life. Shading can also be used to make drawing make more life-like and realistic.
One of the most popular drawings are made by Leonardo da Vinci. Bistre, crayons,
and silverpoint are also examples of medium for drawing.

GEC 22

Let’s Check
Activity 1. Encircle the letter of the correct answer.
1. From the different techniques in 2. This painting medium is a mixture of

sculpting, carving is considered the most pigment and water, applied to wet or
painstaking and time consuming process. dry plaster.
What makes it so? a. Fresco
a. Different tools are used and the artist b. Tempera
slowly chips off pieces of the medium c. Oil
little by little until the desired image is d. Water Color
achieved
b. It involves adding or building up 3. Glass that has been colored or stained
pieces of the medium to form the through different processes. This term is
desired image also used to refer to the art of cutting
c. Firing and glazing are needed at the colored glass into different shapes and
end of the whole process joining them together with lead strips to
d. The process is composed of two create a pictorial window design.
stages: creating a negative then a a. broken glass
positive b. stained glass
c. smokey glass
d. crystals

GEC 22
4. There are many mediums used in

painting. What kind of paint uses egg
yolk as its binder?
a. Water color
b. Fresco 8. It is a fast-drying water-based "plastic"
c. Oil paint paint valued for its versatility and
d. Tempera cleans up with soap and water.
a. elastic paint
5. Two processes are used in sculpting. b. enamel paint
One is additive and the other is c. acrylic paint
subtractive. What type of additive d. achromatic paint
technique is used if you put together
different objects or scraps? 9. Some contemporary artists prefer this
a. Casting new painting medium because of its
b. Molding ease of use. It is synthetic and uses
c. Welding emulsion as its binder. What medium
d. Assemblage in painting are we referring to?
a. Encaustic
6. A medium created by mixing pure, b. Acrylic
ground pigments with egg yolk. This c. Watercolor
was a very common medium before d. Charcoal
the invention of oil paints.
a. egg solution 10. This medium of art is also a result of
b. egg yolk geological weathering, and is
c. shell mosaic classified into three kinds; igneous,
d. egg tempera metamorphic and sedimentary.
a. rock
7. A technique of art production, primarily b. stone
used in visual arts, where the artwork c. marbles
is made from an assemblage of d. clay
different forms to create a new whole.
a. collage
b. sfumato
c. chiaroscuro
d. screen painting

GEC 22
Let’s Analyze
1. What are the differences between oil and acrylic paints?
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
2. How does the choice of medium for art important consideration for an artist?
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
3. If you were to paint something, what medium/media would you use and why? (Your
answer does not have to be any one (or two) from what is discussed in this module).
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________

GEC 22
Activity 2. Identify the art medium used in the following prominent paintings.
Visual Art Art Medium

1. Statue of Liberty (1886) by Frederic Auguste Bartholdi
2. Composition No. 10 by Piet Mondrian
3. 1947-J by Clyfford Still
4. The Calling of St. Matthew by Caravaggio
5. Black Square and Red Square (1915) by Kasimir
Malevich
6. The Desperate Man (1844-45) by Gustave Courbet
7. Construction in Space with Crystalline Centre (1938-
1940) by Naum Gabo
8. Composition No. 7 (1917) by Bart Van der Leck
9. Portrait of Emile Zola (1868) by Edouard Manet
10. Ancient Sound (1925) by Paul Klee
11. The Scream (1893) by Edvard Munch
12. The Kiss (1907-1908) by Gustav Klimt
13. The Bronze David (1440) by Donatello
14. Christ the Redeemer (1931) by Paul Landowski
15. Venus de Milo (130 BCE-100 BCE) probably by
Alexandros of Antioch
In a Nutshell
Our discussion to cover ULOb can be summarized by the following key points below:
• The artist thinks, feels, and gives shape to his or her own vision in terms of the
chosen medium.
• When an artist chooses a particular medium, he or she believes that such choice can
be express the idea to be conveyed.
• At times, an artist employs more than one medium to give meaning to his creative
production.
• Each medium has its own characteristics which determined the physical appearance
of the finished work of art. For instance, stone must be chiseled and wood must be
carved.

GEC 22
Your turn. What did you learn about medium and techniques in visual arts?
1. ___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
2. ___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
3. ___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________

GEC 22
Q & A List
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Keywords Index
watercolor pastel tempera medium

technique mosaic tapestry stained glass
plaster metals acrylic oil
encaustic

GEC 22
Notable Visual Arts Index

This section lists down the notable visual art works highlighted in this section and which you
should familiarized yourself with.
Art Artist Type

The Creation of Adam in the Sistine Chapel Michelangelo Painting
School of Athens Raphael Painting
The Last Supper Leonardo da Vinci Painting
The Birth of Venus Sandro Boticelli Painting
Mona Lisa Leonardo da Vinci Painting
Water Lilies by Claude Monet Painting
Laocoon and His Sons - Sculpture

GEC 22
Big Picture in Focus: ULOc. Categorize the elements of the

compositional balance of a work of art
Metalanguage
In this section, you will learn about the elements of the compositional balance of a
work of art. You will encounter these terms as we go through the study of curriculum. Please
refer to these definitions in case you will encounter difficulty in the in understanding
educational concepts.
The rest of the important terms are defined in detail in the “Essential Knowledge”
section.
Key Terms:
• Asymmetry. Want of symmetry, or proportion between the parts of a thing, especially want
of bilateral symmetry. Lacking a common measure between two objects or quantities;
Incommensurability. That which causes something to not be symmetrical.
• Symmetry. Exact correspondence on either side of a dividing line, plane, center, or axis. The
satisfying arrangement of a balanced distribution of the elements of a whole.
• Radial. Arranged like rays that radiate from, or converge to, a common center.
Essential Knowledge
Principles of Composition | Artistic Principles
To arrive at attractive artworks, artists follow the principles of composition. These

conventions of the artistic principles highlight the value judgment about a composition.
Although the list below may not be comprehensive, they are undoubtedly the most common.
Below are the principles of composition that enable artists to hold the spectators’ interest
and attention to their artworks. They form the overall “visual impact” of art. They are also
called principles of design.

GEC 22
Principle 1: Balance
Also known as the physical equilibrium, this is the placement of elements in a work of art to
form a certain visual weight.
Key points:
There are three types of compositional balance: symmetrical, asymmetrical, and
radial.
If all parts are equally distributed around a central point, then it forms a harmonious
compositional balance or a symmetrical balance. It is also called formal balance.
Interestingly, an artist can highlight objects of unequal weights or unequal attractions
by placing them in either the left of right side, thus, displaying an uneven distribution
of visual weight. This is referred to as asymmetrical balance. Some references call it
informal or occult balance.
Radial balance is when the same measure occurs from the central point to the end of
every radius.
The three types of balance: symmetric, asymmetric, and radial
Symmetrical balance is the most visually stable, and characterized by an exact—or nearly
exact—compositional design on either (or both) sides of the horizontal or vertical axis of the
picture plane.3 The figure below is entitled Vitruvian Man by Leonardo da Vinci, sketched
in 1487. Leonardo da Vinci's Vitruvian Man is often used as a representation of symmetry in
the human body and, by extension, the natural universe.
3
https://courses.lumenlearning.com/masteryart1/chapter/oer-1-8/

GEC 22
The human body is an example of a
compositional balance and this allows
a typical human being to stand erect.
This is why a symmetrical balance
shows aesthetically pleasing
proportionality.
About Vitruvian Man, originally known as Le

proporzioni del corpo umano secondo Vitruvio,
lit. 'The proportions of the human body
according to Vitruvius.'
Vitruvian Man is Leonardo da Vinci’s

own reflection on human proportion
and architecture, made clear through
words and image. The purpose is to
bring together ideas about art,
architecture, human anatomy, and
symmetry in one distinct and
commanding image.
In architecture, formal balance is also

delightful application. To illustrate,
check the Gateway Arch designed by
Eero Saarinen in St. Louis, Missouri
(right). The stainless steel frame rises
over 600 feet into the air before gently curving back to the ground.
Gateway Arch designed by Eero Saarinen
What is asymmetrical balance in art?

Asymmetry in compositional balance is simply a
visually unstable balance because the elements
are offeset from each other. Instead of the
pleasing proportionality that is found in
symmetrical balance, spontaneity and
movement is essentially what an assymetrical
visual balance can show. Simply put,
asymmetry in art makes it dynamic.

GEC 22
A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte (1884) by George Seurat
Sample analyses on visual arts concerning compositional balance:
[1] “Asymmetrical balance can be exhibited throughout the entire painting by

George Seurat in 1884 entitled “A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande
Jatte” (also, A Sunday on La Grande Jatte). The dark (heavy) colors of the
shaded areas and dark clothing are counterbalanced by the equal sunlit and light
colored areas. Also, the large people near the right edge of the painting are
balanced by the black dog and the group consisting of the man smoking his pipe
and the man and woman above him. The scale of the people closest to us is
larger than those of people further away. The objects get smaller as your eye
proceeds down the riverbank.4”
[2] “Claude Monet’s Still Life with Apples and Grapes from 1880 (below) uses
asymmetry in its design to enliven an otherwise mundane arrangement. First, he
sets the whole composition on the diagonal, cutting off the lower left corner with a
dark triangle. The arrangement of fruit appears haphazard, but Monet purposely sets
most of it on the top half of the canvas to achieve a lighter visual weight. He
balances the darker basket of fruit with the white of the tablecloth, even placing a
few smaller apples at the lower right to complete the composition. 5”
4
http://wsnewby.tripod.com/lagrandejatte.html
5

GEC 22
Claude Monet’s Still Life with Apples and Grapes from 1880
Radial balance is essentially another type

of symmetry that suggests movement from
the center of the composition to the outer
edge and vice versa. This applies to round
objects. Examples are Buddhist mandala
paintings.
Radial balance refers to circular design

elements extending outward or inward.
Radial balance in art is when there are
equal parts that radiate out from the center.
Gothic Rose Windows. Interior of the rose at

Strasbourg Cathedral.
The Gothic rose windows at Strasbourg

Cathedral is also a characteristic of Gothic
architecture. Rose windows are popular throughout the Medieval period.

GEC 22
But radial balance is more prominent in Buddhist mandala paintings. In the Tibetan Mandala
of the Six Chakravartins, the image moves dynamically outward from the central spirit figure.
As mentioned earlier, radial balance is a type of symmetrical balance, and this image is a
prime example. There is symmetry in the composition, but there is also circular movement
within a rectangular format. Such symmetry in the Buddhist context implies that there is an
order in the universe.
Tibetan Mandala of the Six Chakravartins, c. 1429-46. Central Tibet (Ngor Monestary)

GEC 22
Practice A. Identify the compositional balance of the following visual arts. Take time to
review and reflect on each of this simple drill in order to improve your performance on the
assessment for this section later .Write your answers on the space provided below.
____________________________ ____________________________
Self-Portrait with Thorn Necklace and Hummingbird Mayan Tzolk'in wheel from 498 AD.
(1940) by Frida Kahlo
____________________________ ____________________________
Mae West's Lips Sofa (1936) by Salvador Dali The Rehearsal (1887) by Edgar Degas

GEC 22
____________________________ ____________________________
St. Mark’s Sacristy (1480s) by Melozzo da Forlì The Starry Night (1889) by Vincent van Gogh
Principle 2. Rhythm
In art composition, pattern and rhythm (also known as repetition) are defined as showing
consistency with colors or lines.
Key points:
Rhythm is the continuous use of a motif or
repetitive pattern; may it be in color, lines,
or shape.
There are many ways to show rhythm in
visual arts. It can be done through
alternation, radiation, progression, or
parallelism. Rhythm is closely related to the
principles of geometry.
Because there is a pattern, a beat, or a
harmonious repetition, the eye moves from
one space to another. This forms the
rhythmic movement, which makes the
artwork seem active.
Svanen (The Swan) by Hilma af Klint, 1914
Hilma af Klint's Svanen (The Swan) exemplifies the visual representation of rhythm using
color and symmetry. Color and symmetry work together in this painting to guide the eye of
the viewer in a particular visual rhythm.

GEC 22
See sample analysis on visual arts concerning rhythm below:
“Rhythmic cadences take complex visual form when subordinated by others.

Elements of line and shape coalesce into a formal matrix that supports the leaping
salmon in Alfredo Arreguin’s ‘Malila Diptych’. Abstract arches and spirals of water
reverberate in the scales, eyes and gills of the fish. Arreguin creates two rhythmic
beats here, that of the water flowing downstream to the left and the fish gracefully
jumping against it on their way upstream. The textile medium is well suited to
incorporate pattern into art. The warp and weft of the yarns create natural patterns
6
that are manipulated through position, color and size by the weaver.”
Malila Diptych 2003 (detail) by Alfredo Arreguin. Washington State Arts Commission.
Digital Image by Christopher Gildow. Licensed under Creative Commons.
Principle 3: Proportion and Scale

Proportion is a measurement of the size and quantity of elements within a composition
Key points:
Proportion is the proper and pleasing relationship of one object with the others in a
design.
Sometimes, artists use unnatural scale and proportion to highlight important parts of
the artwork.
6

GEC 22
Both proportion and scale can show

the relative size of one form with
another. An artist can provide a focal
point or emphasis in an image by
presenting the scale of the object.
Pieta (1499) by Michelangelo
From WikiEducator7:
“A good example of this is

Michelangelo’s sculptural masterpiece
Pieta from 1499 (above). Here Mary
cradles her dead son, the two figures
forming a stable triangular composition.
Michelangelo sculpts Mary to a slightly
larger scale than the dead Christ to give
the central figure more significance, both
visually and psychologically.”
Practice B. How is proportion manifested in the following?
(1) Temple of Portanus, Greece:
7
http://wikieducator.org/Artistic_principles/Scale_and_proportion

GEC 22
(2) Madonna with the Long Neck by Parmigianino:
(3) Girl with a Pearl Earring by Johannes

Vermeer:

GEC 22
Principle 4: Emphasis
Elements of composition are commonly used group of aspects to create emphasis in a work
of art.
Key points:
For example, objects placed at a distance from the viewer’s eye are rendered with
less details, clarity, and intensity than the closer ones. Artists use many techniques
to create this emphasis: line, color, shape, texture, form, and value.
Emphasis is shown when an artist gives proper importance on one or more parts of
an object in an artwork. The artist aims to redirect the viewer's attention to the object
being emphasized.
Emphasis can also be done when you isolate an area through color, value, or
texture. There are many compositional techniques to create emphasis, including the
rule of space, the rule of odds, and the rule of thirds.
There are many ways techniques that artists use to create emphasis:
Popular Techniques in Creating Emphasis8
8
https://artclasscurator.com/principles-of-design-examples/

GEC 22
Concerning emphasis, below is a sample discussion of The Third of May by Francisco de

Goya9:
“We can clearly determine the figure in the white shirt as the main emphasis in
Francisco de Goya’s painting The Third of May, 1808 below. Even though his
location is left of center, a candle lantern in front of him acts as a spotlight, and his
dramatic stance reinforces his relative isolation from the rest of the crowd. Moreover,
the soldiers with their aimed rifles create an implied line between themselves and the
figure. There is a rhythm created by all the figures’ heads— roughly all at the same
level throughout the painting—that is continued in the soldiers’ legs and scabbards
to the lower right. Goya counters the horizontal emphasis by including the distant
church and its vertical towers in the background.
Francisco de Goya y Lucientes, The Third of May, 1808, 1814. Oil on canvas. The Prado
Museum, Madrid. This image is in the public domain.
“In terms of the idea, Goya’s narrative painting gives witness to the summary
execution of Spanish resistance fighters by Napoleon’s armies on the night of
May 3, 1808. He poses the figure in the white shirt to imply a crucifixion as he
faces his own death, and his compatriots surrounding him either clutch their
faces in disbelief or stand stoically with him, looking their executioners in the
eyes. While the carnage takes place in front of us, the church stands dark and
silent in the distance. The genius of Goya is his ability to direct the narrative
content by the emphasis he places in his composition.”
9
https://courses.lumenlearning.com/sac-artappreciation/chapter/oer-1-8/

GEC 22
Still, compositional balance is still necessary should artists employ emphasis as a technique.
Below are some approaches artists use to achieve unity in an artwork.
• The rule of thirds means mentally breaking the image into three parts, both horizontally
and vertically, thus creating 9 parts. The key is to position the subject/object of interest is
near one of the lines that would divide the image into 3 equal rows and columns.
The Rule of Thirds: If you are photographing landscapes, you want to align the
horizon with one of the horizontal lines, regularly the bottom one. This also regards
to photos of people, but the earlier suggested guidelines should usually take priority
over this one and automatically take care of the issue of a centered horizon. 10
• The "rule of odds" means capturing an odd number of subjects in an image, rather
than even number. This is done to achieve a naturalistic, informal composition as
opposed to having even number of subjects, which may suggest monotony.
Photo by Willian Justen de Vasconcellos on Unsplash11
10
https://filmsides.com/rule-of-thirds-in-photography/
11 https://www.lightstalking.com/rule-of-odds/

GEC 22
• The rule of space applies to artwork suggests leaving a white space in the direction
towards where the subject is heading. This creates an illusion of movement.
Rule of Space: This rule will also give you control over where a viewer enters the
image and where their eye goes once viewing the image allowing you to tell the story
12
how you want it told.
12
https://photographyhero.com/using-the-rule-of-space-in-photography/

GEC 22
Practice B. Emphasis is how an artist or designer creates a focal point. In the following list
of paintings, briefly explain how does the artist create emphasis in their work. You can
include other techniques not included in this module, provided that you justify them through
brief explanation.
Painting Explanation
1.
The Swing (also, “The Happy Accidents of the

Swing”
by Jean-Honoré Fragonard
2.
The Last Supper (1490s)

by Leonardo da Vinci
3.
Christina’s World (1948)

by Andrew Wyeth

GEC 22
Savonarola (16th century)

by Fra Bartolommeo
5.
The Art of Living (1967)

by Rene Magritte
Note: You can see high resolution versions of these paintings online.

GEC 22
Principle 5: Unity and Variety
Unity happens when all elements work together to form a coherent whole; variety, on the
other hand, is the spice and life of art.
Key points:
Unity and harmony are interchangeable - both mean that there is a pleasing
relationship among the visual elements.
Variety, on the other hand, is the quality or state of having different forms or types,
notable use of contrast, emphasis, difference in size and color.
Eva Isaksen, Orange Light, 2010. Print and collage on canvas.
We can view Eva Isaksen’s work Orange Light below to see how unity and variety work
together. See sample discussion about it below:
“Isaksen makes use of nearly every element and principle including shallow
space, a range of values, colors and textures, asymmetrical balance and
different areas of emphasis. The unity of her composition stays strong by
keeping the various parts in check against each other and the space they
inhabit. In the end the viewer is caught up in a mysterious world of organic forms
that float across the surface like seeds being caught by a summer breeze.”13
13

GEC 22

5. Zulueta, F. (2003). The humanities. Mandaluyong: NBS.
6. Scale and proportion - WikiEducator.
http://wikieducator.org/Artistic_principles/Scale_and_proportion
Let’s Check
Activity 1. Multiple Choice. Encircle the letter of the correct answer.
1. This principle of design is the most important of all. It refers to the coherence of the
elements of a work to the whole.
a. Rhythm
b. Proportion
c. Balance
d. Unity
2. We like to see things in proper scale. When we see objects having the proper
relationships to each other (in size), the principle of art that we are referring to is
___________.
a. Rhythm
b. Proportion
c. Balance
d. Harmony
3. A sense of appropriateness in the size relationship of different parts of a work.

a. proportion
b. formal balance
c. visual impact
d. level of appropriateness

GEC 22
4. The unity of all the visual elements of a composition achieved by the repetition of the
same characteristics or those which are similar in nature.
a. balance
b. contrast
c. harmony
d. symmetry
5. A continuance, a flow, or a feeling of movement achieved by the repetition or

regulated visual units.
a. line
b. rhythm
c. cascade
d. pattern
1. How can artist establish balance in the visual arts?
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
2. Why is emphasis important in the arrangement of the elements of art? How is it

achieve in art?
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________

GEC 22
3. How does texture as an element of art enhance the surface effects of any shape of
art work?
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
Let’s Analyze
Major Paper 1 – ARTWORK ANALYSIS.
Read the attached document entitled “How to analyze an artwork: a step-by-step guide”
(This is also available online at https://www.studentartguide.com/articles/how-to-analyze-an-
artwork.
Choose 1 artwork for art analysis in approximately 500 words. The next page is intended for
your output. Don’t forget to be guided with the rubric in the next page that follows.
List of Popular Artworks for analysis:
Title Artist
The Persistence of Memory Salvador Dali
The Kiss Gustav Klimt
The Arnolfini Portrait Jan Van Eyck
Luncheon of the Boating Party Pierre Auguste Renoir
The Great Sphinx of Giza -
Ecstacy of Saint Teresa Gian Lorenzo Bernini
Should you have other choice for analysis, just let your instructor know. However, the approval of
your choice is subject to your instructor’s discretion.

GEC 22

GEC 22

GEC 22
RUBRIC
Art Analysis
Name: ………………………………………… Term / Sem / AY: …………………….
Title of the Artwork: ………………………………………….
Artist: ………………………………………………………..
Category 5 - Advanced 3 - Proficient 1 - Developing Score

Development Development covers Development
Development covers topic in topic with some covers topic
of the topic depth and is depth. superficially.
comprehensive.
Ability to Shows original Shows some insight Shows little
analyze and insights and with occasional insight and no
interpret art makes clear connections. clear connections.
connections
Examples Examples generally Examples are
Use of specifically illustrate major lacking or weak
supportive illustrate major ideas. Uses few art with little
details and ideas. Uses art conventions to explanation. Does
examples conventions to discuss ideas. not use art
discuss ideas. conventions to
discuss ideas
Writin
Correct use of Writing shows Writing shows g shows
language evidence of generally good interference in
skills mastery of mastery of language language mastery
language
Score

GEC 22
In a Nutshell
Our discussion to cover ULOc can be summarized by the following key points below:
• The elements of composition in art pave the way for a visually appealing work.
• Through these principles, the artist can create beautiful and exciting
combinations of shapes, textures, colors, and lines.
Your turn. What did you learn about principles of composition / artistic composition?
1. ___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
2. ___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
3. ___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________

GEC 22
Q & A List

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Keywords Index
asymmetry symmetry radial balance

design unity harmony proportion
emphasis rhythm informal balance formal balance

GEC 22
This section lists down the notable visual art works which are mentioned in this section. You
are advised to familiarize (if not memorized) them.
Art Artist Type

Vitruvian Man Michelangelo Drawing - Sketches
Gateway Arch Eero Saarinen Architecture
A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La
George Seurat Painting
Grande Jatte
Still Life with Apples and Grapes Claude Monet Painting
Svanen (The Swan) Hilma af Klint Painting
Malila Diptych Alfredo Arreguin Painting
Pieta Michelangelo Sculpture
Temple of Portanus - Architecture
Francisco de Goya The Third of May Painting
Madonna with the Long Neck Parmigianino Painting
The Girl with a Pearl Earring Johannes Vermeer Painting

GEC 22
Big Picture
d) Differentiate visual elements in art.
e) Differentiate subject matter and visual art forms.
Big Picture in Focus: ULOa.

Differentiate visual elements of art.
Metalanguage
In this section, you will learn about the elements of the major elements in art. You
will encounter these terms as we go through the study of visual arts, as these form your
knowledge on analyzing works of art later. Please refer to these definitions in case you will
encounter difficulty in the in understanding educational concepts.
Key Terms:
• Chiaroscuro. An artistic technique popularized during the Renaissance, referring to the use
of exaggerated light contrasts in order to create the illusion of volume.
• Form. The shape or visible structure of an artistic expression.
• Gradation. A passing by small degrees from one tone or shade, as of color, to another.
• Horizon Line. The horizon line art theory is a horizontal line that runs across the paper or
canvas to represent the viewer's eye level, or delineate where the sky meets the ground.
• Plane. A flat surface extending infinitely in all directions (e.g., horizontal or vertical plane).
• Tactile. Tangible; perceptible to the sense of touch.
• Tenebrism. A style of painting especially associated with the Italian painter Caravaggio and
his followers in which most of the figures are engulfed in shadow but some are dramatically
illuminated by a beam of light usually from an identifiable source.
• Vanishing Point. A point at which receding parallel lines seem to meet when represented in
linear perspective.
Essential Knowledge
To perform the aforesaid big picture (unit learning outcomes) in the next two weeks of
the course, you need to fully understand the following essential knowledge that will be laid down
in the succeeding pages. Please note that you are not limited to exclusively refer to the these
resources. Thus, you are expected to utilize other books, research articles and other resources
that are available in the university’s library e.g. ebrary, search.proquest.com etc.

GEC 22
Visual Elements of Art
Line
A line is an essential element of visual arts. It is defined as a series of connected dots.
Key Points:
All visual artists, such as painters, sculptors, and architects, use line as a
springboard of their finished products.
Most of the visual arts start with pencil sketches, which are essentially line-based.
Lines are classified according to position, direction, and shape. Emotions can be
associated with lines as the latter determine motion, energy, and direction of an art.
The types of lines are as follows: (1) actual line; (2) implied line; (3) straight or classic line;
(4) expressive line; (5) outline or contour line; (6) cross-contour line; (7) hatch line; and (8)
crosshatch line. More discussion about these lines is detailed below.
1. Actual Line. Actual lines are physically present, existing as solid connections
between one or more points.
Las Meninas: Take a look at the edge of the
wooden stretcher bar at the left of Las Meninas.
This is an example of an actual line. The picture
frames mounted on the wall as well as the canvas
are outlined with actual lines. How many other
actual lines can you find in the painting?
2. Implied line. Implied lines are created

when a viewer of art visually connects two
or more areas together. Implied lines refer
to the direction to which an eye takes as it
follows other elements within an art work.
Las Meninas: The space between the Infanta

Margaret Theresa —the blonde central figure in
the composition—and her entourage of maids
of honor (or "meninas") to the left and right of
her, are implied lines. Both set up a diagonal
relationship that implies movement.
Las Meninas or “The Ladies in Waiting” (1656) by Diego
Velasquez. This image is in the public domain.
3. Straight or classic lines provide the
structure to a composition. They exhibit steadiness, stiffness, and force. On the
surface, they can be in the form of horizontal, vertical, or diagonal. Most inanimate
objects are made from straight or classic lines.

GEC 22
Review the painting "Las Meninas" and you'll see many straight or classic lines. To illustrate,
the huge canvas on the left, the doorways on the right, as well as the frame pictures in the
background are all straight lines.
4. Expressive lines or curved or organic

lines, indicate movements that are
smooth, graceful, or flexible. They add
life and dynamics to a work of art.
The girls' dresses in the painting "Las

Meninas" are made with expressive lines.
Even the dog's folded hind leg is a curved
line.
Look again at the famous sculpture, Laocoon

and His Sons (right). Where to do you see
the expressive lines? How does the lines
express the emotions of this artwork?
Straight Lines, 11 July 2012, Creator: Organic lines, 11 July 2012, Creator:
Oliver Harrison. CC BY Oliver Harrison. CC BY
5. Outline or contour line create a path around the edge of a shape. Outlines define
shapes.
6. Cross contour lines describe the form of the shape and reflect the movement of
your eye. They help you understand the solid form of the object when you create
shading using this type of line.

GEC 22
Outline, 11 July 2012, Creator: Cross Contour, 11 July 2012, Creator:

Oliver Harrison. CC BY Oliver Harrison. CC BY
7. Hatch lines are repeated at short intervals in generally one direction. They give
shading and visual texture to the surface of an object.
8. Crosshatch lines provide additional tone and texture. They can be oriented in any
direction. Multiple layers of crosshatch lines can give rich and varied shading to objects
by manipulating the pressure of the drawing tool to create a large range of values.
Hatch, 11 July 2012, Creator: Oliver Crosshatch, 11 July 2012, Creator:

Harrison. CC BY Oliver Harrison. CC BY

GEC 22
+ WF LQ QG &URVV+ WF LQ ([ PSOHV

GEC 22
Practice 1. Copy the drawing on the left to improve your hatching and cross hatching
technique. Use pencil only. (Hatching activity taken from the free art lessons of Artyfactory,
https://www.artyfactory.com/)

GEC 22
Color
In the visual arts, color is the most noticeable element.
Key Points:
Colors are classified in different ways.
Color has three dimensions or attributes: hue, value, and intensity.
Based on how they are produced, colors can be primary, secondary, or tertiary.
Based on the position in the color wheel, colors can be adjacent, analogous,
complementary, split complementary, or triadic.
Based on the effect of the visual sense, colors can be warm or cool.
According to value, they can be light or dark.
Based on intensity, they can be bright or dark.
Color theory classifies color into the "primary colors" which compose of red, yellow, and
blue, and "secondary colors" which compose of green, orange, and violet. The secondary
color is a combination of colors in the primary colors. When primary and secondary colors
are combined, they are classified as tertiary colors. The color wheel is an illustration that
shows the relationships of all various colors to each other.
Color wheel. The color wheel is a diagram that shows the relationship of the various colors
to each other.

GEC 22
There are many important key terms associated with the study of color as an art element.
These keywords are summarized in the table below:
Key Words Definition

The dimension of color that gives color its name.
Hue
Example: Green and violet are hues.
The darkness and lightness of the hue.
• When values are below normal, it is called a
Value tint (just add white)
(tint, shade) • When values are above normal, it is called a
shade (just add black)
Example: Pink is a tint of red.
The brightness and the darkness of the color.
Intensity
Also known as saturation.
Colors that are next to each other in the color
Adjacent Color
wheel.
Three or four neighboring colors with one color in
Analogous Color
all mixtures.
Complementary Colors that are opposite each other in the color
Color wheel.
Split
Complementary Any three colors forming a Y in the color wheel.
Color
Triadic Color Three colors forming a triangle in the color wheel.
Colors associated warmth, cheerfulness, and
excitement. Usually associated with sources of
Warm Color
heat.
Example: orange, yellow, red
Colors associated with distance, tranquility, and
Cool Color restfulness.
Example: violet, green, blue
Monochrome A color with a different shade.
Additive color Color created by mixing green, red, and blue
The reverse of additive color; the primary colors
Subtractive color
become cyan, magenta, yellow, and black
Tone Gradation of a color on a lighter or darker scale.

GEC 22
Subtractive Color Mixing. Released

under the GNU Free Documentation
Additive Color Representation. This

image is in the public domain.
The color as an element as applied in visual arts can be highlighted on the concept of
chiaroscuro in Baroque paintings. Chiaroscuro literally means “light-dark” in Italian is used
by Baroque artists to produce a highly dramatic effect in art. Caravaggio is popular in using
chiaroscuro in high contrast palette in his work, “The Denial of St. Peter” as shown below.
The Denial of St. Peter (1610) by Caravaggio. Caravaggio's The Denial of St. Peter is an excellent example of how light can
be manipulated in artwork.

GEC 22
Such style of using the chiaroscuro method to achieve a dark, gloomy, and mysterious visual
effect from the violent contrast of light and dark is called tenebrism. This style is mostly
seen in Italian and Spanish paintings.
Another term associated with color (specifically in the context of light and shade) is stippling.
This a technique in drawing where areas in light and shadow are created with dots. For
darker areas, you apply a greater number of dots and keep them close together. Then for
progressively lighter areas, use fewer dots and space them farther apart.14
The Young Shepherd, engraving using stipple technique by Giulio Campagnola, around
1510. Image is in public domain.
Wikipedia mentions:
In a drawing or painting, the dots are made of pigment of a single colour, applied
with a pen or brush; the denser the dots, the darker the apparent shade—or lighter, if
the pigment is lighter than the surface. This is similar to—but distinct from pointillism,
which uses dots of different colours to simulate blended colours.15
14
https://www.artistsnetwork.com/art-mediums/drawing/get-started-with-stippling/
15 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stippling

GEC 22
Practice 2A. Take a look at the painting below by Caravaggio entitled “Judith Beheading
Holofernes.”
Judith Beheading Holofernes (c. 1598–1599 or 1602) by Caravaggio. By Architas - Own work,
CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=70052157
Comment on the interplay of light and darkness, and the overall general tone of the
painting. How does Caravaggio’s use of light and value highlight the dramatic tension
of the subject matter?
My

GEC 22
6WL OLQ([POV

GEC 22
Practice 2B. Copy the drawing on the left to improve your stippling technique. You can use
any of the following: pencil, ballpen, or marker. (Stippling activity taken from the free art lessons
of Artyfactory, https://www.artyfactory.com/)

GEC 22
Practice 3A. The Mandala is a popular geometric design in Hindu and Buddhist cultures.
Coloring mandalas is a great meditation technique that can relive stress and anxiety. This an
example of an art therapy.
Color the mandala design below based from your knowledge on complementary colors.
https://www.publicdomainpictures.net/pictures/310000/velka/mandala-a-colorier-
9.png. Image is public domain.

GEC 22
Practice 3B. The Mandala is symbolic circle that can reflect personal experience, which is
why in some coloring activities, this is a creative way where you can express your story.
Color the mandala design below in any way you want to color it.
https://www.publicdomainpictures.net/pictures/310000/velka/mandala-a-
colorier-7.png. Image is public domain.

GEC 22
Texture
Texture is the element associated with the sense of touch
Key Points:
Through various techniques of other elements such as line, shading, and color,
texture can be smooth or rough, fine or course, regular or irregular.
Texture depends on the execution of the chose medium of the artist. For instance,
the use of marble as a medium in sculpture may be described as smooth texture.
It is possible that an art work may appear rough to look at, but physically smooth to
touch.
"The Virgin of Chancellor Rolin” by Jan Van Eyck shows various texture in the clothing and
robes yet the actual surface of the work remains very smooth. To the painter, texture can be
an illusion.
The Virgin of Chancellor Rolin (1435) by Jan van Eyck. The Virgin of Chancellor Rolin
has a great deal of texture in the clothing and robes, but the actual surface of the work is
very smooth.

GEC 22
The Starry Night (1889) by Vincent van Gogh. The Starry Night contains a great deal of
actual texture through the thick application of paint.
On the other hand, Vincent van Gogh showed in his painting “The Starry Night” that a
painting can depict actual texture through the physical application of his chosen medium.
The painting is filled with so much energy and movement brought about by visible
brushstrokes and thick application of paint.
A closer look at Van Gogh’s The Starry Night. Screenshot taken from Google Arts and
Culture.16
16
https://artsandculture.google.com/asset/the-starry-night-vincent-van-gogh/bgEuwDxel93-Pg?hl=en

GEC 22
Shape and Volume

Shape refers to an area in a two-dimensional space that is defined by edges; volume is
three-dimensional, exhibiting height, width, and depth.
Key Points:
"Positive space" refers to the space of the defined shape or figure.
"Negative space" refers to the space that exists around and between one or more
shapes.
A "plane" in art refers to any surface area within space.
Space contributes to the final form of the art

work. Circles, polygons, and other shapes are
put together to make up a whole object.
Volume on the other hand, pertains to solidity
and thickness, perceived through the artist’s
use of contour lines or outlines and by surface
light and shadows.
Three-dimensional figures may be depicted on

the flat picture plane through the use of the
artistic elements to imply depth and volume, as
seen in the painting Small Bouquet of Flowers
in a Ceramic Vase by Jan Brueghel the Elder.
Small Bouquet of Flowers in a Ceramic Vase (1599) by Jan

Brueghel the Elder. Three-dimensional figures may be depicted
on the flat picture plane through the use of the artistic elements
to imply depth and volume.
Form
The physical volume of a shape and the space that it occupies.
Key Points:
"Form" is a concept that is related to shape.
Form can be representational or abstract.
When you combine two or more shapes can create a 3D shape.
Form is always considered three-dimensional as it has volume, meaning it has
height, width, and depth.
Form generally refers to sculpture, 3D design and architecture but may also relate to
the illusion of 3D on a 2D surface.

GEC 22
Laocoon and His Sons. Vatican Museums / CC BY-SA

(https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0)
Space
Space is the empty area surrounding real or implied objects.
Key Points:
Art responds to all of these kinds of space.
Knowledge on perspective is essential in space.
Positive space is the space of the defined figure or shape.
Negative space is the space that exist around one or more shapes.
Space is the area occupied by the artwork. A painting can occupy the wall when it is
mounted there. Space becomes very important in the context of architecture.

GEC 22
Perspective
Perspective deals with the effect of distance to the appearance of the object.
Key Points:
Perspective is the point of view, the angle of vision, and the frame of reference in art.
It enables viewers to perceive distance vis-à-vis an object in the art work.
In perspective, the concept of horizon line and vanishing point matter.
See how perspective is set up in the schematic examples below:
One Point Perspective, 11 July 2012, Creator: Oliver Harrison. CC BY.
One-point perspective occurs when the receding lines appear to converge at a single point
on the horizon and used when the flat front of an object is facing the viewer. Sample
description of one-point perspective in a painting:
“A classic Renaissance artwork using one point perspective is Leonardo da

Vinci’s The Last Supper from 1498. Da Vinci composes the work by locating the
vanishing point directly behind the head of Christ, thus drawing the viewer’s
attention to the center. His arms mirror the receding wall lines, and, if we follow
them as lines, would converge at the same vanishing point.”17
17

GEC 22
The Last Supper by Leonardo da Vinci (1498). Work is in the public domain.
Two-point perspective occurs when the vertical

edge of a cube is facing the viewer, exposing two
sides that recede into the distance, one to each
vanishing point.
Two Point Perspective, 11 July 2012, Creator: Oliver
Sample description of one-point perspective in a

painting:
“View Gustave Caillebotte’s Paris Street, Rainy Weather from 1877 to see how
two-point perspective is used to give an accurate view to an urban scene. The
artist’s composition, however, is more complex than just his use of perspective.
The figures are deliberately placed to direct the viewer’s eye from the front right
of the picture to the building’s front edge on the left, which, like a ship’s bow, acts
as a cleaver to plunge both sides toward the horizon. In the midst of this visual
recession a lamp post stands firmly in the middle to arrest our gaze from going
right out the back of the painting. Caillebotte includes the little metal arm at the
top right of the post to direct us again along a horizontal path, now keeping us
from traveling off the top of the canvas. As relatively spare as the left side of the
work is, the artist crams the right side with hard-edged and organic shapes and
forms in a complex play of positive and negative space.” 18
18

GEC 22
Paris Street, Rainy Day (1964) by Gustave Caillebotte. Work is in the public domain.
Three-point perspective is used when an artist wants to project a “bird’s-eye view”, that is,
when the projection lines recede to two points on the horizon and a third either far above or
below the horizon line. In this case the parallel lines that make up the sides of an object are
not parallel to the edge of the ground the artist is working on (paper, canvas, etc).
Three-point perspective (with vanishing points above and below the

horizon line shown at the same time). Design by Shazz, CC B.

GEC 22

Let’s Check
1. If perspective helps to give the 3. In drawing the human figure, what

position of an object in a space, is the term for the modification of an
what kind of perspective represents established scale to represent
distance by means of converging perspective?
lines? a. One-point
a. Foreshortening perspective b. Two-point
b. Aerial perspective c. Aerial
c. One-point perspective d. Foreshortening
d. Two-point perspective
4. Volume adds beauty to an art work.
2. Perspective has many functions in What is volume?
art particularly in the use of space. a. Area, size and distance of
What type of linear perspective is an object
applied when we draw or illustrate a b. The radius, diameter and
figure on a surface? arc of an object
a. One-point c. The thickness, height and
b. Two-point width of an object
c. Aerial d. The angle, degree and
d. Foreshortening feature of an object

GEC 22
5. The following are complementary 11. What is the resulting color if we

colors, except combine of all primary-colored
a. red and green lights?
b. red and violet a. Gray
c. blue and orange b. Black
d. violet and yellow c. White
d. Brown
6. The following are adjacent colors,
except 12. Which is the most basic of all the
a. violet and green elements of arts?
b. red and orange a. Shape
c. yellow and orange b. Color
d. yellow and green c. Space
d. Line
7. The following are tints, except
a. pink 13. The element of art which helps
b. maroon create an illusion of depth is
c. sky blue __________.
d. mint green a. Shape
b. Value
8. The following are shades, except c. Texture
a. scarlet d. Line
b. navy blue
c. ultramarine 14. The use of one color with different
d. crimson tints or shades in seen in some
works arts. What is the term for
9. Perspective is also known as using one color with different
a. frame of reference shades?
b. point of views a. Light and shadow
c. angle of vision b. Analogous
d. all of the above c. Monochromatic
d. Complementary
10. Lines, when used by an artist, may
suggest meanings. What meaning 15. If an artist uses yellow and violet
may be associated with a vertical for his composition, what type of
line? color harmony is he using?
a. Depression a. Triad
b. Dominance b. Complementary
c. Motion and mobilization c. Double complementary
d. Continuity and grace d. Split complementary

GEC 22
Activity 2. Identify if the following works of art as either representational or non-

representational. The first one is done for you.
Visual Art Representational or

Non-Representational?
1. Glass of Water and Coffee Pot (1760) by Jean
Representational
Baptiste Simeon Chardin
2. Composition No. 10 by Piet Mondrian
3. 1947-J by Clyfford Still
4. The Calling of St. Matthew by Caravaggio
5. Black Square and Red Square (1915) by Kasimir
Malevich
6. The Desperate Man (1844-45) by Gustave Courbet
7. Construction in Space with Crystalline Centre (1938-
1940) by Naum Gabo
8. Composition No. 7 (1917) by Bart Van der Leck
9. Portrait of Emile Zola (1868) by Edouard Manet
10. Ancient Sound (1925) by Paul Klee
Let’s Analyze
Activity 1. Answer the following questions below.
1. In connection to the discussion of visual arts elements, what do we mean when we

say that the visual arts strive for the total sensory experience?
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________

GEC 22
Activity 2. Formal Analysis. The goal of a formal analysis is to explain how the formal
elements of a work of art affect the representation of the subject matter and expressive
content. The emphasis should be on analyzing the formal elements—not interpreting the
artwork.
It may be helpful to start by looking at the work of art and identifying the visual elements.
You can ask questions such as follows:
  How are they arranged?
  Is the work balanced?
  Is there a focal point?
 Is there a sense of movement?
You might consider why the artist chose to include certain elements and how each element
contributes to your response to the work.
For this activity, choose an artwork based from the list of visual art works in the “Let’s Check
Activity 2, pp. 25. Then answer the formal analysis worksheet in the next page.

GEC 22

GEC 22
In a Nutshell
Our discussion to cover ULOc can be summarized by the following key points below:
Like a language, art has its own vocabulary and grammar, which is referred to as its
visual elements.
To echo what Javellana (2018) said – “The formal elements of the visual arts,
organized according to the principles of design, takes concrete through media used.”
It is through the use of medium in which these formal elements are materialized.
When the principles and elements are successfully combined, they aid in creating an
aesthetically pleasing or interesting work of art.
Your turn. What did you learn about elements of visual arts?
1. ___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
2. ___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
3. ___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________

GEC 22
Q & A List
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Keywords Index
chiaroscuro cross hatching form gradation

hue line plane tactile texture
tint value volume stippling
texture form space vanishing point
horizon line tenebrism

GEC 22
Art Artist Type

Las Meninas Diego Velasquez Painting
The Denial of St. Peter Caravaggio Painting
The Young Shepherd Giulio Campagnola Painting
Judith Beheading Holofernes Caravaggio Painting
The Virgin Chancellor Rolin Jan Van Eyck Painting
Paris Street, Rainy Day Gustave Caillebotte Painting
The Last Supper Leonardo da Vinci Painting
Laocoon and His Sons - Sculpture
by Jan Brueghel the
Small Bouquet of Flowers in a Ceramic Vase Painting
Elder
The Starry Night Vincent Van Gogh Painting

GEC 22
Big Picture in Focus: ULOb.

Differentiate subject matter and visual arts form.
Metalanguage
In this section, you will learn about the subject matter in art. You will encounter
these terms as we go through the study of visual arts, as these form your knowledge on
analyzing works of art later. Please refer to these definitions in case you will encounter
difficulty in the in understanding educational concepts.
Key Terms:
• Expressionism. A movement in the arts in which the artist does not depict objective reality,
but rather the subjective expression of inner experience.
• Iconoclasm. The deliberate destruction of religious icons and other symbols or monuments,
usually with religious or political motives.
• Plein air. En plein air is a French expression which means "in the open air", and refers to the
act of painting outdoors. In the mid-19th century, working in natural light became
particularly important to the Barbizon school and Impressionism.
• Religious art. Artistic imagery using religious inspiration and motifs, often intended to
uplift the mind to the spiritual.
• Verisimilitude. The property of seeming true, of resembling reality; resemblance to reality,
realism.
Essential Knowledge
Figurative VS Non-Figurative
A work of art can either be representational (figurative) or non-representational (non-

figurative). Figurative or representational art means that the subject of the artwork is derived
from real sources. On the other hand, non-representational artwork, otherwise known as
non-figurative or abstract, refers to any art without any strong reference to the real world.

GEC 22
Key Points:
Representational art, or figurative art, references objects or events in the real world.
Representational artworks have high levels of verisimilitude.
Even representational work is abstracted to some degree; entirely realistic art is
elusive.
Romanticism, Impressionism, and Expressionism contributed to the rise abstract art
in the 19th century.
For non-figurative or abstract art, meaning is becomes subjective. Some artworks
take liberties in presenting objects by making them inconspicuous.
Meerhaven (17th c) by Johann Anton

Eismann. Work is in the public domain.
This representational work entitled

Meerhaven by Johann Anton Eismann from
the seventeenth century depicts easily
recognizable objects that exist in the real
world, eg. ships, clouds, people, and
buildings.
An example of non-figurative or abstract art is

depicted below:
Le Premier Disque (1913) by Robert Delaunay. Work is in the public domain

GEC 22
Practice A. Identify if the following works of art are representational or non-representational.
Then briefly explain your reasons for your answers.
Painting Explanation
1.
Composition No. 10
by Piet Mondrian
2.
Large Seated Nude

by Amedeo Modigliani

GEC 22
3.
Color Study – Squares with Concentric Circles

by Wassily Kandinsky
Venus de Milo
by Alexandros of Antioch
5.
The Anatomy Lesson of Dr Nicolaes Tulp

by Rembrandt
Note: You can see high resolution versions of these paintings online.

GEC 22
Subject Matter in Art
Landscape
Shows a scene, usually from nature to rural, pastoral, and idyllic places. 19
Key Points:
Artists paint their environment in a variety of different styles.
A landscape painting or drawing refers to an artwork whose primary focus is natural
scenery, such as mountains, forests, cliffs, trees, rivers, valleys, etc.
Some paint in a naturalistic manner to reflect the visual beauty of the subject while
others create an idealised version of the subject.
Some exaggerate or distort elements of the scene for expressive effect, and others
paint scenes of total fantasy which are the constructs of their own imagination.
Claude Monet, Pierre-Auguste

Renoir, Alfred Sisley and Frédéric
Bazille among others, practiced
plein air painting and developed
what would later be called
Impressionism, an extremely
20
influential movement.
View of Toledo (1596-1600) by El Greco

(Doménikos Theotokópoulos). Image is on
public domain.
“El Greco's 'View of Toledo' is a

landscape painting with a spiritual
dimension. He chooses to portray
the scene just at that moment
before a storm bursts. The
heavens are at war, with the sun
just holding out against the
impending thunderstorm and the
atmosphere is electric.21”
19
Javellana, R. (2018). Understanding, Valuing, and Living Art. Quezon City: Vibal
20
http://oer2go.org/mods/en-boundless/www.boundless.com/art-history/textbooks/boundless-art-history-
textbook/european-and-american-art-in-the-18th-and-19th-centuries-34/neoclassicism-and-romanticism-211/landscape-
painting-in-the-romantic-period-759-7347/index.html
21
https://www.artyfactory.com/art_appreciation/landscapes/el_greco.htm

GEC 22
The Château at Médan (1880) by Paul

Cezanne. (Image is on public domain)
Take a look at the descriptions of

the paintings below:
The 'Château at Médan' is a good

example of this style. It portrays
the summer house of his friend, the
writer Emile Zola. This is a flat,
frontal view of the house which is
situated on the banks of the River
Seine. Cézanne's use of parallel
oblong brushstrokes gives the
surface a distinctly woven
appearance which emphasizes its
flatness. This effect is strengthened by the horizontal and vertical lines of the houses, trees
and riverbank that bind the composition together. It is a three-dimensional scene which has
been deliberately arranged as a flat pattern on a two-dimensional surface. Any suggestion of
depth is conveyed by aerial perspective: using the natural properties of warm and cool
colors to respectively advance and recede.22
The Starry Night (1889) by Vincent Van Gogh. Image

is on public domain.
This is a painting that portrays the colossal

power of nature as it overwhelms the scale
of man. If you live in the city today, light
pollution from commercial and domestic
lighting makes it is difficult to appreciate
the power and beauty of the night sky. On
a good night you can only make out a few
of the major stars. However in the pitch
black night of the countryside, you can
literally see
countless thousands of sparkling constellations. The awesome wonder of this vision leaves you
with a profound sense of humility as you cannot help but appreciate your own smallness. Van
Gogh's imagination confronts the frightening power of this infinite domain and he expresses his
amazement in the exaggerated rhythms and colours of his brushstrokes.
22
https://www.artyfactory.com/art_appreciation/landscapes/paul_cezanne.htm

GEC 22
Although 'Starry Night' is not a 'realistic' image, there is no more powerful or honest
depiction of the sky at night.23
Seascape | Marine painting

Depicts the sea, the boats, boat docks, and piers. 24
Key Points:
A seascape is a photograph, painting, or other work of art which depicts the sea, in
other words an example of marine art. The word originated as a formation from
landscape, which was first used of images of land in art.
It is also called marine art, or maritime art. It is a figurative art that portrays or draws
its main inspiration from the sea.
Maritime painting is a genre that depicts ships and the sea—a genre particularly
strong from the 17th to 19th centuries.
The Wave (1882) by Pierre-Auguste Renoir. Image is public domain.
A brief description of the painting The Wave:
Pierre-Auguste Renoir produced more than portraits during his

summers on the Normandy shore. He also completed a series of
23
https://www.artyfactory.com/art_appreciation/landscapes/vincent_van_gogh.htm
24 Javellana, R. (2018). Understanding, Valuing, and Living Art. Quezon City: Vibal

GEC 22
seascapes that represent some of the more audacious and experimental

work of his career. During his last summer at Wargemont in 1882 he
painted The Wave, a view of the English Channel, churning with unusual
fury as the sky goes dark from a storm and distant sailboats make for
safe harbor. Renoir would appear to be literally standing in the surf as he
renders the immediacy and force of a wave crashing onto the shoreline.
He captures its fleeting nature with the deft use of a palette knife,
building up layers of buttery impasto that swirl into foam, sand, and
mist.25
Sunrise, Impression (1874) by Claude Monet
On Sunrise, Impression:
“The defining figure of Impressionism, Claude Monet virtually gave

the movement its name with his painting of daybreak over the port of
Le Havre, the artist’s hometown. Monet was known for his studies of
light and color, and this canvas offers a splendid example with its
flurry of brush strokes depicting the sun as an orange orb breaking
through a hazy blue melding of water and sky.”26
25
https://artsandculture.google.com/asset/the-wave/sgFAR71m5du-uQ
26 https://www.timeout.com/newyork/art/top-famous-paintings-in-art-history-ranked

GEC 22
Still life
Natura morta – literally, “dead nature.”
Key Points:
Still life refers to work whose subject matter are natural objects and whose forms are
arranged deliberately, like a basket of fruits, a porcelain cup, or textile with a bunch
of flowers. 27
Traditionally, still life is the drawing and painting of items such as fruit, flowers and
household objects, which are usually arranged on a table top.
Over the centuries artists have chosen the subject of still life for a variety of reasons: to
reflect the status of their owner, be it humble or haughty; for their symbolic meaning which
reveals a hidden story or idea; to capture the natural beauty of transient object like a flower
or fruit; to demonstrate the artist's skilled painting technique; or as a controlled structure to
express the abstract qualities of the visual elements.28
Still Life: An Allegory of the Vanities of Human Life (1640) by Harmen Steenwyck
On Still Life: An Allegory of Vanities of Human Life:
'Still Life: An Allegory of the Vanities of Human Life' by Harmen

Steenwyck is a classic example of a Dutch 'Vanitas' painting. It is
27
Javellana, R. (2018). Understanding, Valuing, and Living Art. Quezon City: Vibal
28 https://www.artyfactory.com/art_appreciation/still_life/still_life.htm

GEC 22
essentially a religious works in the guise of a still life. 'Vanitas'
paintings caution the viewer to be careful about placing too much
importance in the wealth and pleasures of this life, as they could
become an obstacle on the path to salvation. The title 'Vanitas'
comes from a quotation from the Book of Ecclesiastes 1:2, 'Vanity of
vanities, all is vanity.'29
Portrait
The painting of the human figure.
Key Points30
The earliest examples of individual portraits in art come from Ancient Rome and are
mostly painted with tempera or encaustic on a wooden panel.
Portrait painting, as we understand it today, evolves from Renaissance portraiture.
Artists create portraits of individuals and groups to express the beauty, status, power,
wealth or character of their subjects.
Artists use a wide range of media for portraiture, including drawing, printing, painting,
sculpture, photography and multimedia.
The Self Portrait, which first became popular during the Renaissance, is an intimate
and revealing form of the genre.
Albrecht Dürer was the first important artist to produce a range of self portraits that
document both his physical and artistic
development.
Rembrandt and Vincent Van Gogh are the most
prolific painters of self portraits, both producing
around forty works that chart their life as an artist.
Portrait Paintings express the beauty, status,

power, wealth or character of their subjects. Artists
use a wide range of media for portraiture, including
drawing, printing, painting, sculpture, photography
and multimedia.31
Self Portrait in a Velvet Dress (1926) by Frida Kahlo
On Frida Kahlo’s Self Portrait in a Velvet Dress:
One of Frida's early works, the ‘Self-

Portrait in a Velvet Dress’ suggests an
29
https://www.artyfactory.com/art_appreciation/still_life/harmen_steenwyck.htm
30 https://www.artyfactory.com/art_appreciation/portraits/portraiture.htm
31 https://www.artyfactory.com/art_appreciation/portraits/portraiture.htm

GEC 22
influence and knowledge of European art. The elongation of the
hands and neck recalls the Mannerist portraits of Bronzino, while the
turbulent waves in the background evoke the deep emotional turmoil
that can be found in the ice blue self portrait by Van Gogh in the
Musée d'Orsay.32
History
Depicts historical scenes, usually stylized and made to look heroic.
Key Points:
History painting is a genre in painting defined by its subject matter rather than artistic
style.
History paintings usually depict a moment in a narrative story, rather than a specific
and static subject, as in a portrait. Most history paintings are not of scenes from
history, especially paintings from before about 1850.
Liberty Leading the People (1830) by Eugene Delacroix
Here’s a brief description of the painting, Liberty Leading the People by Eugene Delacroix:
“Commemorating the July Revolution of 1830, which toppled King

Charles X of France, Liberty Leading the People has become
synonymous with the revolutionary spirit all over the world. Combining
allegory with contemporary elements, the painting is a thrilling
32
https://www.artyfactory.com/art_appreciation/portraits/frida_kahlo.htm

GEC 22
example of the Romantic style, going for the gut with its titular
character brandishing the French Tricolor as members of different
classes unite behind her to storm a barricade strewn with the bodies
of fallen comrades. The image has inspired other works of art and
literature, including the Statue of Liberty and Victor Hugo’s novel Les
Misérables.”
The Raft of the Medusa (1818-1819) by Theodore Gericault
A description on the painting, The Raft of Medusa can be read below:
“For sheer impact, it’s hard to top The Raft of the Medusa, in which
Géricault took a contemporary news event and transformed it into a
timeless icon. The backstory begins with the 1818 sinking of the French
naval vessel off the coast of Africa, which left 147 sailors adrift on a
hastily constructed raft. Of that number, only 15 remained after a 13-day
ordeal at sea that included incidents of cannibalism among the
desperate men. The larger-than-life-size painting, distinguished by a
dramatic pyramidal composition, captures the moment the raft’s
emaciated crew spots a rescue ship. Géricault undertook the massive
canvas on his own, without anyone paying for it, and approached it
much like an investigative reporter, interviewing survivors and making
numerous detailed studies based on their testimony.”33
33
https://www.timeout.com/newyork/art/top-famous-paintings-in-art-history-ranked

GEC 22
Religion
Art in the Service of Religion
Key Points:
Christian, Buddhist, and Islamic artistic traditions have used elements of symbolism,
narrative, ritual, iconoclasm, and authorship to express the tenets of their beliefs
throughout history.
Christian sacred art is produced in an attempt to illustrate, supplement, and portray,
in tangible form, the principles of Christianity; most Christian art is built around
themes familiar to the intended observer.
Buddhist art followed believers as the dharma spread and evolved in each new host
country. It developed to the north through Central Asia and into Eastern Asia to form
the Northern branch of Buddhist art; and to the east as far as Southeast Asia to form
the Southern branch of Buddhist art.
Islamic art prohibited the depiction of representational images in religious art.
Therefore, the naturally decorative nature of Arabic script led to the use of
calligraphic decorations, which usually involved repeating geometrical patterns that
expressed ideals of order and nature.
Religion and spirituality has been a theme in art throughout history and throughout many
areas of the world, from Hinduism and Judaism to indigenous spiritual practices.
The Creation of Adam (1512) by Michaelangelo
Here is a sample description of the painting, The Creation of Adam by Michaelangelo:
“Of all the marvelous images that crowd the immense complex of the
Sistine Ceiling, The Creation of Adam is undoubtedly the one which has
most deeply impressed posterity. No wonder, for here we are given a

GEC 22
single overwhelming vision of the sublimity of God and the potential
nobility of man unprecedented and unrivaled in the entire history of
visual art. No longer standing upon earth with closed eyes and mantle,
the Lord floats through the heavens, His mantle widespread and bursting
with angelic forms, and His calm gaze accompanying and reinforcing the
movement of His mighty arm. He extends His forefinger, about to touch
that of Adam, who reclines on the barren coast of earth, barely able as
yet to lift his hand. The divine form is convex, explosive, paternal; the
human concave, receptive, and conspicuously impotent. The incipient,
infecundating contact about to take place between the two index fingers
has often been described as a spark or a current, a modern electrical
metaphor doubtless foreign to the sixteenth century, but natural enough
considering the river of life which seems about to flow into the waiting
body.”34
Allegorical | Symbolic Scenes

Mythology and ancient stories come to life
Key Points:
Allegory in art is when the subject of the artwork, or the various elements that form
the composition, is used to symbolize a deeper moral or spiritual meaning such as
life, death, love, virtue, justice etc.
Most of the representations for this subject in art in in ancient stories and myths.
The Birth of Venus (1484-1486) by Sandro Botticelli
34
https://www.michelangelo.org/the-creation-of-adam.jsp

GEC 22
To know more about Boticelli’s The Birth of Venus, read the short description below:
“Botticelli’s The Birth of Venus was the first full-length, non-religious

nude since antiquity, and was made for Lorenzo de Medici. It’s claimed
that the figure of the Goddess of Love is modeled after one Simonetta
Cattaneo Vespucci, whose favors were allegedly shared by Lorenzo and
his younger brother, Giuliano. Venus is seen being blown ashore on a
giant clamshell by the wind gods Zephyrus and Aura as the
personification of spring awaits on land with a cloak. Unsurprisingly,
Venus attracted the ire of Savonarola, the Dominican monk who led a
fundamentalist crackdown on the secular tastes of the Florentines. His
campaign included the infamous “Bonfire of the Vanities” of 1497, in
which “profane” objects—cosmetics, artworks, books—were burned on a
pyre. The Birth of Venus was itself scheduled for incineration, but
somehow escaped destruction. Botticelli, though, was so freaked out by
the incident that he gave up painting for a while.”35
Narcissus (1594-1599) by Caravaggio

On the other hand, this an excerpt taken from a
description of the painting, Narcissus:
“Narcissus is one of only two known Caravaggio’s

on a theme from Classical mythology, although this
is due more to the accidents of survival than the
artist's oeuvre. Narcissus, according to the poet
Ovid in his Metamorphoses, is a handsome youth
who falls in love with his own reflection. Unable to
tear himself away, he dies of his passion, and even
as he crosses the Styx continues to gaze at his
reflection. Caravaggio painted an adolescent page
wearing an elegant brocade doublet, leaning with
both hands over the water, as he gazes at this own
distorted reflection.[2] The painting conveys an air
of brooding melancholy: the figure of Narcissus is
locked in a circle with his reflection, surrounded by
darkness, so that the only reality is inside this self-
regarding loop. The 16th century literary critic
Tommaso Stigliani [it] explained the contemporary
thinking that the myth of Narcissus "clearly
demonstrates the unhappy end of those who love their things too much." 36
35
https://www.timeout.com/newyork/art/top-famous-paintings-in-art-history-ranked
36 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Narcissus_(Caravaggio)

GEC 22
Genre Painting
The everyday life, usually showing rural scenes of planting, harvesting, feasting, and
celebrating.
Key Points:
Intimate scenes from daily life are almost invariably the subject of genre painting.
The elimination of imaginative content and of idealization focuses attention upon the
shrewd observation of types, costumes, and settings.
Genre painting), a form of genre art, depicts aspects of everyday life by portraying
ordinary people engaged in common activities.
As a general rule of thumb, a genre-painting is typically a portrayal of normal events,
in which individual figures usually play an important role.
Genre art is the pictorial representation in any of various media of scenes or events
from everyday life such as markets, domestic settings, interiors, parties, inn scenes,
and street scenes.
Nighthawks (1942) by Edward Hopper. Art Institute of Chicago.
On Nighthawks by Edward Hopper:
The best-known of Hopper's paintings, Nighthawks (1942), is one of his paintings of

groups. It shows customers sitting at the counter of an all-night diner. The shapes
and diagonals are carefully constructed. The viewpoint is cinematic—from the
sidewalk, as if the viewer were approaching the restaurant. The diner's harsh electric
light sets it apart from the dark night outside, enhancing the mood and subtle
emotion.[84] As in many Hopper paintings, the interaction is minimal. 37
37
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_Hopper

GEC 22
In the Philippines, Fernando Amorsolo is considered to be a master in genre painting. He is
also known for his landscapes which shows fiestas, occupations, and other Filipino customs.
He was posthumously conferred the Order of the National Artist of the Philippines for Visual
Arts.
Ligawan (1963) by Fernando Amorsolo. Image taken from Mutual Art. 38
Tinikling (1951) by Fernando Amorsolo. Image taken Kahimyang Project.39
38
https://www.mutualart.com/Artwork/Ligawan/A8DB31A2DCBE2545
39 https://kahimyang.com/kauswagan/articles/1372/a-small-collection-of-fernando-amorsolos-paintings

GEC 22

5. Zulueta, F. (2011) The humanities. Mandaluyong: NBS.
Let’s Check
Activity 1. Identify the subject matter of the following works of art below. The first one is
done for you.
Visual Art Subject Matter

1. Self Portrait (1889) by Vincent Van Gogh Portrait
2. Liberty Leading the People by Eugene Delacroix
3. The Entrance to the Grand Canal, Venice (1730) by
Canaletto
4. Montagne Sainte-Victoire (1904) by Paul Cezanne
5. Sacra Familia con San Giovannino (1540) by Polidoro da
Lanciano
6. Pieta (1499) by Michaelangelo
7. Napoleon Crossing the Alps (1801) by Jacques Louis
David
8. The Fighting Temeraire (1839) by Joseph Mallord
William Turner
9. Apples and a Promegranate (1871) by Gustave Courbet
10. The Red Tower at Halle (1915) by Ernst Ludwig Kirchner

GEC 22
Let’s Analyze
Activity 1. Getting acquainted with the subject matter in art is essential in analyzing it. Now,
I will require you to react on the following paintings below. You can support your comment
with a visual analysis on both form and content.
Luncheon of the Boating Party by Pierre Auguste Renoir

GEC 22
Washing Scene by Fernando Amorsolo

GEC 22
Let’s Create
Activity 1. A portrait is an artistic representation of a person, in which the face and its
expression is predominant. The intent is to display the likeness, personality, and even the
mood of the person.
In this activity, freely create a portrait (or self-portrait) based from a photograph using any
medium of your choice. Don’t forget to attach a copy of the original photo.

GEC 22
In a Nutshell
1. There are many types of painting according to subject matter. A painting can be a
history painting, portraiture, genre painting, landscape and still life. Other paintings
show allegorical and symbolic scenes as well.
2. The term subjects in art refers to the main idea that is represented in the artwork.
3. The subject in art is basically the essence of the piece.
4. To determine subject matter in a particular piece of art, ask yourself: What is actually
depicted in this artwork? What is the artist trying to express to the world?
Your turn. What did you learn subject matter in art?
1. ___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
2. ___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
3. ___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________

GEC 22
Q & A List
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Keywords Index
expressionism iconoclasm plein air religious art

verisimilitude figurative non-figurative landscape
seascape still life portrait historical painting
genre painting

GEC 22
Art Artist Type

Meerhaven Johann Anton Eisman Painting
Le Premier Disque Robert Delaunay Painting
View of Toledo El Greco Painting
The Chateau at Medan Paul Cezanne Painting
The Starry Night Vincent Van Gogh Painting
The Wave Pierre-Auguste Renoir Painting
Sunrise, Impression Claude Monet Painting
Still Life: An Allegory of the Vanities of
Harmen Steenwyck Painting
Human Life
Self Portrait in a Velvet Dress Frida Kahlo Painting
Liberty Leading the People Eugene Delacroix Painting
The Raft of the Medusa Theodore Gericault Painting
The Creation of Adam Michelangelo Painting
The Birth of Venus Sandro Botticelli Painting
Narcissus Caravaggio Painting
Nighthawks Edward Hopper Painting
Ligawan Fernando Amorsolo Painting
Luncheon of the Boating Party Pierre-Auguste Renoir Painting
Washing Scene Fernando Amorsolo Painting
Composition No. 10 Piet Mondrian Painting
Venus de Milo Alexandros of Antioch Sculpture
Large Seated Nude Amedeo Modigliani Painting
Color Study – Squares with Concentric
Wassily Kandinsky Painting
Circles
The Anatomy Lesson of Dr Nicolaes Tulp Rembrandt Painting
Tinikling Fernando Amorsolo Painting

GEC 22
Big Picture
a) Describe key characteristics and defining events in visual arts history
b) Discuss the visual arts based from their historical and cultural contexts.
Big Picture in Focus: ULOa. Describe key characteristics and

defining events of visual arts history.
Metalanguage
In this section, you will learn about the brief history of visual arts from prehistoric
period to the Renaissance period. You will encounter these terms as we go through the
study of visual arts, as these form your knowledge on analyzing works of art later. Please
refer to these definitions in case you will encounter difficulty in the in understanding
educational concepts.
Key Terms:
• Archaic smile. A stylized expression used in sculpture from 600 to 480 BCE to suggest a sense of
lifelikeness in the subject.
• Black figure painting. A style of antique Greek vase painting were the figures are painted onto the pot
with a slip that, when fired, turns black.
• Contrapposto. A weight shift depicted in the body that rotates the waist, hips, chest, shoulders, and
sometimes even the neck and head of the figure. It increases that naturalism in the body since it correctly
mimics the inner workings of human musculature.
• Frieze. The monuments dedicated to the reigns of Trajan, Antoninus Pius, and Marcus Aurelius emphasize
their military achievements, divinity, and public works.
• Horror vacui. From the Latin, "fear of empty space," it is a style of painting when the entire surface of a
space is filled with patterns and figures. Notable in Ancient Greek pottery.
• Mannerism. A style of art developed at the end of the High Renaissance, characterized by the deliberate
distortion and exaggeration of perspective, especially the elongation of figures.
• Parietal Art. Paintings, murals, drawings, etchings, carvings, and pecked artwork on the interior of rock
shelters and caves; also known as cave art.
• Petroglyph. A design chiseled or chipped out of a rock surface.
• Pictograph. A design painted on a rock surface and rock art panel.
• Sculpture in the round. Free-standing sculpture, such as a statue, that is not attached.
• Severe style. A style that marks the breakdown of the canonical forms of Archaic art and the transition to
the greatly expanded vocabulary and expression of the classical moment of the late 5th century.
• Sfumato. In painting, the application of subtle layers of translucent paint so that there is no visible
transition between colors, tones, and often objects.
• Stele. A tall, slender stone monument, often with writing carved into its surface. Plural – STELAE).
• Trompe l'oeil. A genre of still-life painting that exploits human vision to create the illusion that the subject
of the painting is real.

GEC 22
Essential Knowledge
To perform the aforesaid big picture (unit learning outcomes) in the next two weeks
of the course, you need to fully understand the following essential knowledge that will be
laid down in the succeeding pages.
Art History Part I from Prehistory to Renaissance Period
Prehistoric Arts
Understanding early human life and culture through visual arts.
Key Points:
Stone Age art illustrates early human creativity through small portable objects, cave
paintings, and early sculpture and architecture.
The art of the Stone Age represents the first accomplishments in human creativity,
preceding the invention of writing.
Paleolithic cave paintings demonstrate early humans' capacity to give meaning to
their surroundings and communicate with others.
Mesolithic people most likely continued the art forms developed during the Upper
Paleolithic Period, including cave paintings and engravings, small sculptural artifacts,
and early megalithic architecture.
Neolithic culture in the Near East is separated into three phases based on agricultural
developments, advances in architecture, and the production of pottery.
The Bronze Age is the earliest period for which we have direct written accounts, since
the invention of writing coincides with its early beginnings.
Paleolithic Period
(Greek: paleo, “old” + lithos,
Mesolithic
“stone”) Neolithic Period
Period (Greek: neo, “new” +
Upper Paleolithic (“middle”) lithos, “stone”)
Middle Paleolithic
Lower Paleolithic
• Cave paintings • beginnings of

at Chauvet and architecture in
Europe
Lascaux, • stylized
France pebbles • “Stonehenge”
• relief sculpture • rock arts • figurines,
• “Venus of ceramics, and
Willendorf” metallurgy

GEC 22
Prehistoric Highlights
Periods
• Caves with spectacular paintings, drawings, and sculptures that
are among the earliest undisputed examples of representational
image-making.
• Paintings and engravings along the caves' walls and ceilings fall
under the category of parietal art.
Prehistoric cave paintings in Lascaux, France. Wikimedia CC BY-SA.

• Paleolithic small sculptures are made of clay, bone, ivory, or stone
Paleolithic Period and consist of simple figurines depicting animals and humans.
Venus of Hohle Fels. Image copyright H. Jensen /

Universität Tübingen40. Oldest known Venus figurine. Also the
oldest known, undisputed depiction of a human being in
prehistoric art. Made of mammoth tusk and found in Germany.
• In particular, Venus figurines are the most indicative of this era.
They are highly stylized depictions of women with exaggerated
female parts representing fertility and sexuality.
40
http://www.nature.com/nature/videoarchive/prehistoricpinup

GEC 22
• The Mesolithic or Middle Stone Age is an archaeological term

used to describe specific groups of cultures defined as falling
between the Paleolithic and the Neolithic Periods.
• The use of small chipped stone tools, called microliths, and
retouched bladelets are the key defining factor to identify
the Mesolithic as a period in prehistory.
Mesolithic Period
Dance of the Cogul | Catalonia, Spain

• Mesolithic people most likely continued the art forms developed
during the Upper Paleolithic Period, including cave paintings and
engravings, small sculptural artifacts, and early megalithic
architecture.
• The Neolithic is signified by a

progression in behavioral and cultural
characteristics including the cultivation
of wild and domestic crops and the use
of domesticated animals.
Halaf Fertility Figure. (c. 5,000 BCE).
Neolithic Period • As early as the 7th millennium BC, cultures

in the Near East began to create organized
settlements with well-developed religious and
funerary practices.
• Neolithic culture in the Near East is separated into three phases
based on agricultural developments, advances in architecture, and
the production of pottery.

GEC 22
Stonehenge (3000 BC - 2000 BC) Wiltshire, England

• Cultures in the Bronze-Age Near East and China developed the
first systems of writing.
• Petroglyphs, or rock engravings, exist around the world and range in
possible purposes from ritual to communication to narration.
Bronze Age
The Rock Carvings in Tanum (Swedish: Hällristningsområdet i Tanum) are

a collection of petroglyphs near Tanumshede, Bohuslän, Sweden, which were
declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1994 because of their high
concentration.
• The majority of rock carvings were produced in caves or canyons

by hunter-gatherer peoples who inhabited the area and typically
depicted animals, humans as well as some narrative scenes.

GEC 22
Practice 1A. There are several prominent visual arts from prehistoric periods not discussed
above. Find an image representing each prehistoric period, paste them on the boxes below,
and complete the rest of the table.
Title / Description / Brief Analysis on

Prehistory Period
Composition
paste an image here

representing visual
arts from
Paleolithic period
paste an image here

representing visual
arts from
Mesolithic period
paste an image here

representing visual
arts from Neolithic
period

GEC 22
Classical West, Greece, and Ancient Rome
Key Points:
Ancient Greek culture spans over a thousand years, from the earliest civilizations to
the cultures that became the Ancient Greeks.
Greek religion played a central and daily role in the life of ancient Greeks, and their
worship was centered on the temple and cult sites.
The Geometric period in Greek art is

distinguished by a reliance on geometric shapes
to create human and animal figures as well as
abstract décor.
Ancient Greek
Period: The Dipylon Amphora, mid-8th century BC, with human figures.
Geometric National Archaeological Museum, Athens. Wikimedia. CC BY-SA
4.0. The entire vessel is decorated in a style known as horror
vacui, a style in which the entire surface of the medium is filled
with imagery.
• The Corinthians developed the technique of black-figure painting.

Corinthian black-figure vases in the Orientalizing period are
distinguishable by the inclusion of exotic and mythical animals. This
style quickly spread
throughout Greece,
and artists later
developed uniquely
Greek images.
Ancient Greek
Period: The Blinding of
Orientalizing Polyphemos, c. 600 BCE.
This detail from Proto-
Attic amphora shows the
outline- and silhouette-
based forms in which the
human body was depicted
at the time, as well as the
orange clay available to
41
Attic ceramicists.
41
http://oer2go.org/mods/en-boundless/www.boundless.com/art-history/textbooks/boundless-art-
history-textbook/ancient-greece-6/the-orientalizing-period-866/vase-painting-in-the-orientalizing-period-
330-10889/images/polyphemos-painter-the-blinding-of-polyphemos-c-600-bce/index.html

GEC 22
• Temples in the Archaic period were

the first stone temples built in Greece.
They demonstrate a developing
knowledge of stone building and use of
decorative spaces on buildings.
• The style of Greek temples is divided
into three different and distinct orders, the
first of which is the Doric Order.
• Sculpture during the Archaic period
became increasing naturalistic, although
this varied depending on the gender of
the subject.
• Kouroi figures were an ideal form for a
young Greek male and is comparable to
the ideal body of the god Apollo.
• Korai statues reflected the Greek ideals for women, who were
supposed to be fully clothed, modest and demure.
Ancient Greek
Period: Archaic
• Korai statues
reflected the Greek
ideals for women,
who were supposed
to be fully clothed,
modest and demure
Left: Reconstruction of the

paint on the Peplos Kore.
Right: Kroisos, 530 BCE.

GEC 22
• Early Classical Greek marble sculpture and

temple decoration display new conventions to depict
the body and severe style facial expressions.
Kritios Boy (left) is an early example of contrapposto and Severe

style in use. This marble statue depicts a nude male youth, muscular
and well built, with an air of naturalism that dissolves when
examining his Severe style face.
• Surviving Greek bronze sculptures of the Early

Classical period showcase the skill of Greek artists
in representing the body and expressing motion.
• High and Late Classical architecture is
distinguished by its adherence to proportion, optical
refinements, and early exploration of
monumentality.
• The Athenian Acropolis is an ancient citadel in Athens containing
Ancient Greek the remains of several ancient buildings, including the Parthenon.
Period: Early
Classical Period
The Acropolis of Athens viewed from the Hill of the Muses by Carole Raddato. Wikimedia.
CC BY-SA 2.0.

GEC 22
• Large, relief-carved stelae became the

new funerary markers in Greece during the
High Classical period.
• Panel and tomb paintings from the High
Classical Period depicted natural figures with
high plasticity and dynamic compositions.
Ancient Greek
• High Classical sculpture demonstrates
Period: Early
the shifting style in Greek sculptural work as
Classical Period
figures became more dynamic and less
static.
Roman bronze reduction of Myron's Discobolus, 2nd

century AD (Glyptothek, Munich), Wikimedia. CC BY
2.5.
• Architecture during the Hellenistic period

focused on theatricality and drama; the
period also saw an increased popularity of
the Corinthian order.
Photograph of the Temple of Olympian Zeus in Athens showing

Ancient Greek detail of the Corinthian columns' capitals. Wikimedia. Image is
Period: Hellenistic on public domain.
Period
• A key component of Hellenistic sculpture is
the expression of a sculpture's face and
body to elicit an emotional response from
the viewer. An example sculpture is
Laocoon and his Sons.
• During the Roman Republic, members of all social classes used a

variety of sculptural techniques to
promote their distinguished social
statuses.
• Roman architecture relies heavily
Ancient Roman: on the use of concrete and the arch
The Early Empire to create unique interior spaces and
architectural forms.
The Roman Colosseum with Moon. Photo by Jimmy Walker. Wikimedia. CC BY-SA 2.0.
• The Flavian Amphitheatre, also known as the Colosseum, was
constructed under the Flavians on land in Rome owned by Nero.

GEC 22
• Roman frescoes were the primary method of interior decoration and

their development is generally categorized into four different styles.
• Imperial portraiture of men and women

in the early- to mid second century
reflects increasing austerity and interest
in the Greeks.
Bust of Emperor Hadrian Roman 117-138 CE by Osama

Ancient Roman: Shukir Muhammed Amin. Wikimedia. CC BY-SA 4.0.
The Nervan-
Antonines • The monuments dedicated to the reigns
of Trajan, Antoninus Pius, and Marcus
Aurelius emphasize their military achievements, divinity, and public
works.
• Hadrian was a great lover of architecture; the buildings he designed
reflect these attributes of his character.
The Decline of • The Severan Dynasty was the last stable period of imperial reign
the Roman over the Roman Empire until that of Constantine.
Empire

GEC 22
Practice 2A. Find an image of the following architectural wonder and classify them based
from their style of Greek temple order.
Temple Image
Temple of Hera II and Hera I.
Paestum, Italy.
Greek Order / Design:

__________________
Temple of Aphaia at Aegina,

Greece.
Greek Order / Design:

__________________

GEC 22
The Christian Era and the Medieval Period
Period Highlights
• Early Christians used
the same artistic media as the
surrounding pagan culture.
These media included fresco,
mosaics, sculpture, and
manuscript illumination.
Typical of a depiction of Jesus for its

time, this fresco depicts a clean-shaven
man with short hair. Catacombs of
Early Christian Art Marcellinus and Peter. c. 300-350.
Image is public domain.
• Despite an early
opposition to monumental
sculpture, artists for the early
Christian church in the West
eventually began producing
life-sized sculptures.
• The Early Byzantine period

witnessed the establishment
of strict guidelines in the
production of icons.
Mosaic of Justinianus I at the Basilicaof

San Vitale by Petar Milošević.
Wikimedia. CC BY-SA 4.0.
• In the Byzantine period, a

Byzantine Empire building's interior decoration
often took the form of mosaic
"paintings" but with an added
sense of spiritual drama that
ordinary paintings could not
convey.
• Carved ivory relief sculptures
were central features of Early
Byzantine art.

GEC 22
Romanesque • Romanesque art refers to the art of

Period Europe from the late 10th century to the
rise of the Gothic style in the 13th
century.
• Aside from Romanesque architecture
which is characterized by its massive
quality, the art of the period was
characterized by a vigorous style in both
painting and sculpture.
Stained glass, the Prophet Daniel from Augsburg

Cathedral, late 11th century. Image is public domain.
• Painting from the Romanesque era

consisted of elaborate mural
decorations and exquisite stained glass.
• Norman painting, like other Romanesque
painting of its time, is best demonstrated by illuminated
manuscripts, wall paintings, and stained glass.
A scene from the Bayeux Tapestry depicting Odo, Bishop of Bayeux, rallying Duke
William's troops during the Battle of Hastings in 1066. Image is public domain.

GEC 22
Gothic Art • Gothic art developed after the

Romanesque, in the 12th
century. The style continued to
be used well into the 16th
century in some parts of Europe,
while giving way to the
Renaissance style earlier in
some regions.
• French Gothic cathedrals are
characterized by lighter
construction, large windows,
pointed arches, and their
impressive height.
Interior of Cologne Cathedral by Pascal Reusch.

The verticality and the extreme height demonstrated in this image is a definitive feature of
Gothic architecture. CC BY-SA 3.0.
• Giotto was one of the most revered painters of his time and an
important bridge between Medieval and Renaissance periods.

GEC 22
The Renaissance
Key Points:
• The art of the Italian Renaissance was influential throughout Europe for centuries.
• Humanism is a cultural and intellectual movement prominent from the 14th to 16th
centuries in Europe characterized by attention to classical culture and a promotion of
vernacular texts, notably during the Renaissance.
• The term "High Renaissance" denotes a period of artistic production that is viewed
by art historians as the height, or the culmination, of the Renaissance period.
Period Highlights
The Birth of Venus by Sandro Botticelli was among the most important works of early Renaissance.
Image is on public domain.
• Donatello became renowned as the greatest sculptor

of the Early Renaissance, known especially for his
The Italian
humanist, and unusually erotic, statue of David. Renaissance
The bronze David by Donatello. Museo Nazionale del Bargello. CC BY-
SA 2.0. Conceived independently of any architectural surroundings, it
was the first known free-standing nude statue produced since antiquity.
• The Florence school of painting became the

dominant style during the Renaissance. Renaissance
artworks depicted more secular subject matter than
previous artistic movements.
• Michelangelo, da Vinci, and Rafael are among the best known painters
of the High Renaissance.
• Giorgione, Titian, and Veronese were the preeminent Venetian painters
of the High Renaissance.
• The High Renaissance was followed by the Mannerist movement,
known for elongated figures.

GEC 22
Up Close: The School of Athens by Raphael
The School of Athens by Raphael (1509-1511). Image is on public domain.
“Raphael was commissioned by Pope Julius II to redecorate the Pope's living

space in Rome. As part of this project, Raphael was asked to paint in the Pope's
library, or the Stanza della Segnatura. The School of Athens is one of the
frescoes within this room. The fresco represents the subject of philosophy and is
consistently pointed to as the epitome of High Renaissance painting. The work
demonstrates many key points of the High Renaissance style; references to
classical antiquity are paramount as Plato and Aristotle are the central figures of
this work. There is a clear vanishing point, demonstrating Raphael's command of
technical aspects that were so important in Renaissance painting. But above all,
the numerous figures in the work show restrained beauty and serve to support
the harmonious, cohesive work. While the figures are diverse and dynamic,
nothing serves to detract from the painting as a whole.” 42
42
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_School_of_Athens

GEC 22
Up Close: The Last Judgment by Michaelangelo
The Last Judgement by Michaelangelo. Image is on public domain.
“Raphael was commissioned by Pope Julius II to redecorate the Pope's living space in
Rome. As part of this project, Raphael was asked to paint in the Pope's library, or the
Stanza della Segnatura. The School of Athens is one of the frescoes within this room.
The fresco represents the subject of philosophy and is consistently pointed to as the
epitome of High Renaissance painting. The work demonstrates many key points of the
High Renaissance style; references to classical antiquity are paramount as Plato and
Aristotle are the central figures of this work. There is a clear vanishing point,
demonstrating Raphael's command of technical aspects that were so important in
Renaissance painting. But above all, the numerous figures in the work show restrained
beauty and serve to support the harmonious, cohesive work. While the figures are
diverse and dynamic, nothing serves to detract from the painting as a whole.”43
43
http://oer2go.org/mods/en-boundless/www.boundless.com/art-history/concepts/painting-in-the-high-renaissance-0-
17366/index.html

GEC 22
David (1501-1504) by Michaelangelo. Image is on public domain.

GEC 22
Up Close: David by Michaelangelo
“When the David was completed, it was intended to be a

buttress on the back of the Florentine Cathedral. But Florentines
during that time recognized it as so special and beautiful that
they actually had a meeting about where to place the sculpture.
Members of the group that met included the artists Leonardo da
Vinci and Botticelli. What about this work made it stand out so
spectacularly to Michelangelo's peers? The work demonstrates
classical influence. The work is nude, in emulation of Greek and
Roman sculptures, and the David stands in a contrapposto
pose. He shows restrained beauty and ideal naturalism.
Additionally, the work demonstrates an interest in psychology,
which was new to the High Renaissance, as Michelangelo
depicts David concentrating in the moments before he takes
down the giant. The subject matter was also very special to
Florence as David was traditionally a civic symbol. The work
was ultimately placed in the Palazzo Vecchio and remains the
prime example of High Renaissance sculpture.”44
Up Close: Mona Lisa by Leonardo da Vinci
In the Mona Lisa, da Vinci incorporates his sfumato technique

to create a shadowy quality. The shadowy quality for which
the work is renowned came to be called sfumato, the
application of subtle layers of translucent paint so that there is
no visible transition between colors, tones, and often objects.
Other characteristics found in this work are the unadorned
dress, in which the eyes and hands have no competition from
other details; the dramatic landscape background, in which
the world seems to be in a state of flux; the subdued coloring;
and the extremely smooth nature of the painterly technique,
employing oils, but applied much like tempera and blended on
the surface so that the brushstrokes are indistinguishable.
And again, da Vinci is innovating upon a type of painting here.
Portraits were very common in the Renaissance. However,
portraits of women were always in profile, which was seen as
proper and modest. Here, da Vinci present a portrait of a
woman who not only faces the viewer but follows them with
her eyes.45
44
http://oer2go.org/mods/en-boundless/www.boundless.com/art-history/concepts/sculpture-in-the-high-renaissance-0-
17367/index.html
45
http://oer2go.org/mods/en-boundless/www.boundless.com/art-history/textbooks/boundless-art-history-textbook/the-
italian-renaissance-23/the-high-renaissance-158/leonardo-da-vinci-612-5755/index.html

GEC 22

Let’s Check
1. The aim of tracing the early 3. A style of art that developed in the
beginning of the Western Art is sixteenth century as a reaction to the
a. to acquire a richer and fuller classical rationality and balanced
understanding of the harmony of the High Renaissance;
prehistoric people as characterized by the dramatic use of
reflected in their artwork space and light, exaggerated color,
b. to know the characteristic of elongation of figures, and distortions
male and female art of the of perspective, scale, and proportion.
Muslim in the Philippines a. minimalism
c. to discover the evidence of b. pointillism
art since the prehistoric times c. mannerism
d. to be able to view an object d. fauvism
differently
4. The term chiaroscuro indicates a
2. Greek sculpture was calm, painting features
thoughtful, and is focused on a. an attempt to make the
a. churches and biblical figures painting look three
b. carving of garments dimensional
c. physical beauty b. a pose of unnatural
d. carving of heros and heroines dimensions
c. a use of bright colors
d. a strong contrast between
dark and light shades

GEC 22
5. Although the cave paintings in the 9. ____ is the name for the standard
Great Hall of the Bulls at Lascaux subject in Christian art, that of Mary,
were originally interpreted as the mother, of Jesus, holding her son
depictions of hunting scenes, they after he was taken down from the
have more recently been interpreted cross.
as paintings intended to a. Pieta
a. warn people about b. Vanitas
dangerous animals c. Portrait
threatening villages d. Savior
b. portray scenes of animal
c. domestication 10. If a work is faithful to our visual
d. document a series of animal- experience, then its style is
based rituals a. iconographic
e. tell a mythic narrative of b. representational
human origins c. stylized
d. abstracted
6. The Renaissance painting style of
11. Raphael Sanzio’s Madonnas are
Mannerism was defined by all of the
found in
following EXCEPT __________.
a. Florence
a. naturalism in movement
b. Vatican
b. strict compositional forms
c. Siena
c. highly intellectual approach to
d. Lisbon
art
d. artificial constructions and
12. Which of the following is the earliest
poses
in art history?
a. The Renaissance Period
7. The kind of art adhering to standards
b. Greek Period
of simplicity, restraint, proportion
c. Roman Period
found in Greek and Roman art and
d. Baroque Period
architecture.
a. Baroque
13. Which of the following is NOT a
b. Dadaism
Renaissance artist?
c. Classicism
a. Donatello
d. Cubism
b. Raphael
c. Pablo Picasso
8. Stonehenge was built using
d. Leonardo da Vinci
_________ construction.
a. Post and lintel
b. Corbel and cantilever
c. Lintel and beam
d. Steel frame

GEC 22
14. Which of the following is NOT a work 15. This work by Michelangelo is a
of Leonardo da Vinci? depiction of the Virgin Mary
a. The Sick Child supporting the body of the dead
b. Last Supper Christ.
c. Mona Lisa a. Pieta
d. Virgin of the Rocks b. David
c. Moses
d. all of the above

GEC 22
Let’s Analyze
Activity 1. Research about the significant history of the following Western Arts and discuss
the impact of their cultural value.
The Dying Gaul. Capitoline Museums, Rome. Wikimedia Commons.

GEC 22
The Milkmaid by Johannes Vermeer. Image is on public domain.

GEC 22
1. Explain how sculpture is associated with religion and the military.
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
2. Compare and contrast elements of composition in Greek and Roman period with the
Medieval period. Cite an example to do this.
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
3. Describe the history of art in the Prehistoric Civilization.
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________

GEC 22
4. Discuss the Medieval Arts in Europe.
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
5. What are the cultural roots of Western culture and arts?
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________

GEC 22
In a Nutshell
• Evidences of human art-making goes back to prehistoric times as found in caves and
rock shelters.
• The art history of the West begins with the Greek and Roman civilization.
• The Judeo-Christian tradition greatly influenced art during Medieval and Byzantine
period.
• The Renaissance period took place in the 14th century, which literally translate to
“rebirth” – during this time, there is a rediscovery of. classical philosophy, literature,
and art.
Your turn. What did you learn about the history of art from prehistory to the Renaissance
period?
1. ___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
2. ___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
3. ___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________

GEC 22
Q & A List
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Keywords Index
archaic smile black figure painting contrapposto frieze

horror vacui mannerism parietal art petroglyph
pictograph severe style sfumato trompe l’oeil
stele

GEC 22
Art Artist Type

Cave paintings in Lascaux, France - Painting
Venus of Hohle Fels - Sculpture
Dance of the Cogul - Painting
Halaf Fertility Figure - Sculpture
Stonehenge - Architecture
The Rock Carvings in Tanum - Painting
Kritios Boy - Sculpture
Discobolus Myron Sculpture
The Parthenon - Architecture
The Roman Colosseum - Architecture
Bust of Emperor Hadrian - Sculpture
Mosaic of Justinians I - Stained Glass
Bayeux Tapestry - Tapestry
Cologne Catedral Pascal Reusch Architecture
The Birth of Venus Sandro Botticelli Painting
The Bronze David Donatello Sculpture
The School of Athens Raphael Painting
The Last Judgment Michelangelo Painting
David Michelangelo Sculpture
Mona Lisa Leonardo da Vinci Painting
The Dying Gaul - Sculpture
The Milkmaid Johannes Vermeer Painting

GEC 22
Big Picture in Focus: ULOb. Discuss the visual arts based from
their historical and cultural contexts.
Metalanguage
In this section, you will learn about the brief history of visual arts from the Baroque
period up to the 21st Century. You will encounter these terms as we go through the study of
visual arts, as these form your knowledge on analyzing works of art later. Please refer to these
definitions in case you will encounter difficulty in the in understanding educational concepts.
Key Terms:
• Enlightenment. A philosophical movement in 17th- and 18th-century Europe; the Age of
Enlightenment, or the Age of Reason, emphasized rationalism.
• Expressionism. A movement in the arts in which the artist does not depict objective reality,
but rather a subjective expression of inner experience.
• History painting, meaning "story painting", is a genre in painting defined by its subject matter
rather than artistic style. History paintings usually depict a moment in a narrative story, rather
than a specific and static subject.
• Plein air. En plein air is a French expression which means "in the open air", and refers to the
act of painting outdoors. In the mid-19th century, working in natural light became particularly
important to the Barbizon school and Impressionism.
• Primitivism. Primitivism is a Western art movement that borrows visual forms from non-
Western or prehistoric peoples, a practice which was central to the development of modern art.
• Rococo. Rococo, also referred to as Late Baroque, is an 18th-century artistic movement and
style, which affected several aspects of the arts,, including painting, sculpture, architecture,
interior design, decoration, literature, music, and theater.
• Vanitas. A type of still life painting, symbolic of mortality and characteristic of Dutch
painting in the 16th and 17th centuries.
• Sturm und Drang. "Storm and Stress", a German proto-romantic movement signifying
turmoil and emotional intensity.
Essential Knowledge

GEC 22
Art History Part II: From Baroque and Rococo Period to the 21 st Century
Baroque and Rococo

Exaggerated motion and clear detail used to produce drama, exuberance, and grandeur in
sculpture , painting, and architecture.
Key Points:
Famous painters of the Baroque era include Rubens, Caravaggio, and Rembrandt.
The chiaroscuro technique refers to the interplay between light and dark that was
often used in Baroque paintings of dimly lit scenes to produce a very high-contrast,
dramatic atmosphere.
Baroque architecture was characterized by new explorations of form, light and
shadow, and dramatic intensity.
Period Highlights
Baroque Period • Baroque is a period of artistic style that started around 1600 in
Rome, Italy, and spread throughout the majority of Europe.
• The Baroque style is characterized by exaggerated motion and
clear detail used to produce drama, exuberance, and grandeur in
sculpture, painting, architecture, literature, dance, and music.
Massacre of the Innocents (1611–12) by Peter Paul Rubens.

Wikimedia. Image is on public domain.

GEC 22
The later Baroque style was termed Rococo, a style

characterized by increasingly decorative and elaborate works.
Gian Lorenzo Bernini was the master of Baroque architecture in
Rome; St. Peter's Square was one of his greatest achievements.
Saint Peter's Square designed by Gian Lorenzo Bernini has
been praised as a masterstroke of Baroque theatre.
St. Peter's Square and Basilica, designed by Bernini. Image is on public domain.
• Gian Lorenzo Bernini was also the most important Italian

sculptor during the Baroque Period, both in Rome and
throughout Europe. Baroque sculpture attempted to capture
dynamic movement of human figures, spiraling around an empty
central vortex or reaching outwards into the surrounding space.
On the other hand, still life painting flourished during the Golden Age of the Dutch Republic.
Still lifes offered a great opportunity to display skill in painting textures and surfaces in great
detail, and with highly realistic light effects. Food of all textures, colors, and shapes—silver
cutlery, intricate patterns, and subtle folds in table cloths and flowers—all challenged
painters.46
Virtually all still lifes had a moralistic message, usually concerning the brevity of life. This is
known as the vanitas theme. The vanitas theme was included in explicit symbols, such as a
skull, or less obvious symbols such as a half-peeled lemon (representing life: sweet in
appearance but bitter to taste). Flowers wilt and food decays, and silver is of no use to the
soul. Nevertheless, the force of this message seems less powerful in the more elaborate
pieces of the second half of the century. 47
46
baroque-period-27/the-dutch-painters-172/still-life-painting-646-4730/index.html
47
baroque-period-27/the-dutch-painters-172/still-life-painting-646-4730/index.html

GEC 22
European and American Art in the 18th and 19th Century

A large amount of art produced due to various art movements and styles
Key Points:
European Neoclassicism in the visual arts began c. 1760 in opposition to the
decadence of Baroque and Rococo styles.
Neoclassicism refers to movements in the arts that draw inspiration from the
"classical" art and culture of ancient Greece and Rome.
Rococo style in painting echoes the qualities evident in other manifestations of the
style including serpentine lines, heavy use of ornament as well as themes revolving
around playfulness, love and nature.
Rococo emphasized the asymmetry of forms, whilst Baroque was the opposite.
Romanticism, fueled by the French Revolution, was a reaction to the scientific
rationalism and classicism of the Age of Enlightenment.
Landscape painting in Europe and America greatly increased in prominence during
the 18th and particularly the 19th century.
Realism arose in opposition to Romanticism, which had dominated French literature
and art since the late 18th century.
Impressionism is a 19th century movement known for its paintings that aimed to
depict the transience of light, and to capture scenes of modern life and the natural
world in their ever-shifting conditions.
Modern sculpture is generally considered to have begun with the work of
French sculptor Auguste Rodin.
Period Highlights
th th
18 and 19 • Neoclassicism was the dominant artistic style of the Enlightenment
century period and drew inspiration from the classical art and culture of
Ancient Greece and Rome.
STYLE:
NEOCLASSICIS
M
Et in Arcadia Ergo (1630s) by Nicholas Poussin. Poussin was a master of the

Neoclassical style. Image is on public domain.

GEC 22
• Neoclassicists believed that strong drawing was rational, and

therefore morally superior, and that art should be cerebral, not
sensual.
18th and 19th • Rococo style is characterized by elaborate ornamentation,

century asymmetrical values, pastel color palette, and curved or serpentine
lines.
STYLE:
ROCOCO
Pilgrimage to Cythera (c. 1718-19) is an embellished repetition of Antoine Watteau's earlier

painting, and demonstrates the frivolity and sensuousness of Rococo painting.
• Antoine Watteau is considered to be the first great Rococo painter

who influenced later Rococo masters such as Boucher and
Fragonard.
Pygmalion and Galatea (1763) by Etienne-

Maurice Falconet. The subject is taken from the
Roman poet Ovid's tale of Pygmalion. Pygmalion is
depicted in rapturous amazement at the feet of his
love object, a nude sculpture, just at the moment
when it is given life by Venus, the goddess of love.
Walters Art Museum, CC BY-SA 3.0
• In sculpture, the work of Etienne-

Maurice Falconet is widely considered
to be the best representative of Rococo
style.

GEC 22
• 18th century Rococo architecture was a lighter, more graceful,

yet also more elaborate version of Baroque architecture.
18th and 19th • Romanticism legitimized the individual imagination as a critical

century authority, which permitted freedom from classical notions of form in
art.
STYLE: • Romanticism was also influenced by Sturm und Drang, a German
ROMANTICISM Counter-Enlightenment movement that emphasized subjectivity
and intense emotion.
The Raft of the Medusa (1821) by Jean Louis Theodore Gericault.

This painting remains the greatest achievement of the Romantic history
painting, which in its day had a powerful anti-government message.
• Gericault and Delacroix were leaders of French romantic painting,

and both produced iconic history paintings. Delacroix's "Liberty
Leading the People"(1830) remains, with the Medusa, one of the
best known works of French Romantic painting. Both of these
works reflected current events and appealed to public sentiment .

GEC 22
• The Spanish artist Francisco

Goya is considered perhaps
the greatest painter of the
Romantic period, though he did
not necessarily self-identify
with the movement; his oeuvre
reflects the integration of many
styles.
The Milkmaid of Bordeaux (ca. 1825-

1827), by Francisco Goya, Though he
worked in a variety of styles, Goya is
remembered as perhaps the greatest painter
of the Romantic period.
• Landscape painting flourished

during this period. The glorified depiction of a nation's natural
wonders, and the development of a distinct national style, were
both ways in which nationalism influenced landscape painting in
Europe and America.
The Hay Wain by John Constable. Image is on public domain.
• During the late 1860s, the Barbizon painters attracted the

attention of a younger generation of French artists studying in
Paris. Claude Monet, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Alfred Sisley and
Frédéric Bazille among others, practiced plein air painting and
developed what would later be called Impressionism, an
extremely influential movement.

GEC 22
18th and 19th • Realist48 painters often depicted common laborers, and ordinary
century people in ordinary surroundings engaged in real activities as
subjects for their works.
STYLE:
REALISM
A Burial at Ornans (1849–50) by Gustave Courbet. Exhibition of this piece at the Paris Salon
created an “explosive reaction” and brought Courbet instant fame. Image is public domain.
• Gustave Courbet is known as the main proponent of Realism and

his paintings challenged convention by depicting unidealized
peasants and workers, often on a grand scale traditionally
reserved for paintings of religious or historical subjects.
Gleaners (1857) by Jean-Francois Millet. One of his most controversial, this painting by
Millet depicts gleaners collecting grain in the fields near his home. The depiction of the
realities of the lower class was considered shocking to the public at the time.
48
https://courses.lumenlearning.com/boundless-arthistory/chapter/realism/

GEC 22
• Jean-Francois Millet is noted for his scenes of peasant farmers of

which “The Gleaners” is one of his most well-known due to its
depiction of the realities of the lower class.
18th and 19th

century
STYLE:
IMPRESSIONISM
Impression, soleil levant by Claude Monet. The term "impressionism" is derived from the title
of Claude Monet's painting which is literally "Impression, Sunrise".
• Impressionist works characteristically portray overall visual effects

instead of details, and use short, "broken" brush strokes of mixed
and unmixed color to achieve an effect of intense color vibration.

GEC 22
Parlement, coucher du soleil (sunset), 1902 by Claude Monet. Image is on public domain.
• Impressionists typically painted scenes of modern life and often
painted outdoors or "en plein air."
• Édouard Manet, a French painter, was a pivotal figure in the

transition from Realism to Impressionism.
Olympia (1863) by Edouard Manet. Manet's Olympia was a controversial painting at the time
due to the confrontational gaze of the woman depicted and also to the fact that numerous
details in the painting signify that she is a prostitute. Conservatives condemned the work as
"immoral" and "vulgar.

GEC 22
• His early masterworks, The Luncheon on the Grass (Le déjeuner

sur l'herbe) and Olympia, engendered great controversy and
served as rallying points for the young painters who would create
Impressionism. Today, these are considered watershed paintings
that mark the genesis of modern art.
Luncheon on the Grass (Le déjeuner sur l'herbe) (1863) by Édouard Manet. The painting
depicts the juxtaposition of a female nude and a scantily dressed female bather on a picnic
with two fully dressed men in a rural setting. Rejected by the Salon jury of 1863, Manet seized
the opportunity to exhibit this and two other paintings, in the 1863 Salon des Refusés, where
the painting sparked public notoriety and controversy.

GEC 22
• Modern sculpture is generally

considered to have begun with the
work of French sculptor Auguste
Rodin.
The Thinker by Auguste Rodin. Douglas

O'Brien, CC BY-SA 2.0.
• Rodin's most original work departed

from traditional themes of mythology
and allegory, in favor of modeling the
human body with realism, and
celebrating individual character and
physicality.
• Post-Impression refers to a genre that
rejected the naturalism of
Impressionism in favor of using color
and form in more expressive manners.
Wheatfield with Crows by Vincent Van Gogh. Vincent van Gogh used vibrant colors and
swirling brush strokes to convey his feelings and his state of mind. Image is on public domain.
• Post-Impressionists extended the use of vivid colors, thick

application of paint, distinctive brush strokes, and real-life subject
matter, and were more inclined to emphasize geometric forms,
distort forms for expressive effect, and to use unnatural or arbitrary
colors in their compositions.
• Paul Cezanne is a post-Impressionist painter whose work highlights
the transition from the 19th century to the early 20th century.

GEC 22
Still Life with Skull by Paul Cezanne.
The lightness of Cezanne’s

Impressionist works contrast
sharply with the dramatic
resignation found in his final
period of productivity from 1898-
1905. This resignation informs
several still life paintings that
depict skulls as their subject.
Modernism
Key Points:
Symbolism was a late 19th century art movement of French, Russian, and Belgian
origin.
Art Nouveau was an international style of art and architecture that was most popular
from 1890–1910.
Camera photography was invented in the first decades of the 19th century.
The Fauves were a group of early twentieth-century Modern artists based in Paris
whose works challenged Impressionist values.
Period Highlights
Modernism • Symbolism was largely a reaction against naturalism and realism,
anti-idealistic styles which were attempts to represent reality in its
Style: Symbolism gritty particularity, and to elevate the humble and the ordinary over
the ideal. Symbolism, on the other hand, favored spirituality, the
imagination, and dreams.
The Caress by Fernand Khnopff

GEC 22
Modernism • Art Nouveau was inspired by natural forms and structures,

exemplified by curved lines, asymmetry, natural motifs, and
Style: Art Noveau intricate embellishment.
Modernism • Photography represents the first instance of an artistic medium

being used widely by the masses as a mode of visual expression.
Development of
photography
Modernism • The Fauvist movement, led by

Henri Matisse and Andre Derain,
Style: Fauvism officially lasted for only four years:
1904-1908.
Woman with a Hat by Henri Matisse,

1905.This painting was rejected by critics when
initially exhibited, but was soon acquired by
avant-garde collectors Leo and Gertrude Stein.
Modernism • As one of the most influential artists of the 20th century, Pablo
Picasso is widely known for his involvement in Cubism and
Style: Primitivism Primitivism.
and Cubism
Les Desmoiselles d'Avignon,
Pablo Picasso, 1907. This work is
influenced by primitivism and is
considered to be one of the
earliest examples of Cubist
painting.
• Picasso and Georges

Braque co-founded
the Cubist movement,
one of the
mostinfluential
movements in
Modern Art.

GEC 22
Modernism • Expressionist artists sought to express meaning or emotional

experience rather than physical reality.
Style:
Expressionism
Modernism Fountain (1917) by Marcel Duchamp. Image is
on public domain. This is an example of a
readymade sculpture. Duchamp's appropriation
Style: Abstract of a urinal as a piece of art challenged the
Sculpture, Dada, prevailing definition of sculpture.
and Surrealism
• Surrealism further expanded
upon contemporary definitions of
sculpture by introducing the concept
of the "readymade".
• Dada was a multi-disciplinary
art movement that rejected the
prevailing artistic standards by
producing "anti-art" cultural works.
Modernism • Regionalism refers to

a naturalist and
Style: American realist style of
Regionalism painting that
dominated American
rural painting in the
1930s.
American Gothic by Grant

Wood.
• Using a realist
approach, the artistic
focus of Regionalism
was from artists who
shunned city life and
rapidly developing
technological
advances, to create
scenes of rural life.

GEC 22
Modernism • Abstract expressionism was an

American post–World War II art
Style: Abstract movement.
Expressionism
No. 5 by Jackson Pollock. Action painting,
created by Jackson Pollock, is a style in which
paint is spontaneously splattered, smeared or
dripped onto the canvas.
• Abstract expressionism has an image

of being rebellious, anarchic, highly
idiosyncratic, and nihilistic. In practice,
the term is applied to any number of
artists working (mostly) in New York who
had quite different styles, and even to
work that is neither especially abstract
nor expressionist.
Modernism
Style: Pop Art
Campbell's Soup Cans (1962) by Andy Warhol. Warhol's Campbell's Soup Cans have
become synonymous with the Pop Art movement and exemplify his preoccupation with
notions of pop culture and capitalism.
• The Pop Art Movement began in the 1960s and questioned the
boundaries between "high" and "low" art.

GEC 22
Self-Help: You can also refer to the sources below to help

you further understand the lesson:

Let’s Check
1. After World War I, there were artists 4. Which western art movement was
who started an aggressive reaction inspired from familiar images of
against established conventions in popular culture, such as
art and aesthetics. What is the name advertisements, comics, and
of this “art movement”? commercial products?
a. Fauvism a. Expressionism
b. Modernism b. Pop art
c. Expressionism c. Romanticism
d. Dadaism d. Commercialism
2. Abstractionism is exhibited in the 5. If you were to build a structure in

form of accordance with the Modernist style,
a. elongation which of the following would best
b. distortion describe your design?
c. cubism a. It possesses Greco-Roman
d. all of the above Motifs
b. It is straightforward and
3. Vincent Van Gogh did “The Starry minimal
Night” in an asylum in c. It is energetic and
a. St. Vitale ornamented
b. St. Remy d. All of the above
c. St. Claire
d. St. Stephen

GEC 22
6. It is a broad movement in the arts 8. Of the periods of art history, the last
which encompasses the activities and is the
output of those who felt that a. Modern period
“traditional” forms of art are outdated. b. Classic period
a. Realism c. Impressionistic period
b. Cubism d. Post-modernism
c. Surrealism
d. Modernism 9. Claude Monet, Edouard Manet, and
Wassily Kandinsky are exponents of
7. This is style is totally free in form. a. Abstractionism
The artist can drip or throw colors to b. Modernism
fill space, or roll on a canvas with c. Impressionism
paint on the body. d. Expressionism
a. Impressionism
b. Expressionism 10. Which of the following artists below
c. Abstract expressionism is well known for his still life
d. Pop art paintings?
a. Marc Chagall
b. Pablo Picasso
c. Paul Cezanne
d. Wassily Kandinsky
Activity 2. Identify if the style / movement of the following works below. The first one is done
for you.
Visual Art Style / Movement

1. Pygmalion and Galatea by Etienne-Maurice Falconet Rococo
2. Chirone Insegna Ad Achille a Suonare La Cetra by
Rinaldo Rinaldi
3. Shipwreck by Claude Joseph Vernet
4. Death of Sardanapalus by Eugène Delacroix
5. Little Dancer of Fourteen Years by Edgar Degas
6. Charing Cross Bridge, London by André Derain
7. The Black Marble Clock 1869–1871 by Paul Cezanne
8. Pontoise by Camille Pissaro
9. The Persistence of Memory by Salvador Dali
10. Birth of Venus by Alexandre Cabanel
11. The Ballet Girl Fixing Her Slipper by Edgar Degas

GEC 22
12. Horses by Wassily Kandinsky

13. Three Musicians by Pablo Picasso
14. The Grand Canal Venice by Claude Monet
15. La Danse by Henri Matisse
Let’s Analyze
Activity 1. Answer the following questions below.
1. Discuss how art reflects and belongs to the period and culture from which it is
spawned.
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
2. What are the factors that made it possible for baroque to become a global style?
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________

GEC 22
3. Name (3) artistic movements from post-World War II to the 21st century. Describe
them by giving example art works for each movement.
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________

GEC 22
Let’s Recreate
Time for you to recreate some famous paintings! Choose your media and follow the artist’s
color scheme in black-and-white line rendering sheets as inspired from modern paintings.
Try to recreate an accurate representation of the original work. For a reference, the actual
photos of the painting with brief caption are indicated below. This activity is taken from Color
Your Own Modern Art Paintings (2013) rendered by Muncie Hendler, published by Dover
Masterworks.
Plate (1). The Scream by Edvard Munch.
A forerunner of the Expressionists, Norwegian artist

Edvard Munch was drawn directly from his own life
experiences. He produced intensely powerful images
that often portrayed fear, anxiety, love, and death.
The Scream is one of the best known images in the
history of art and embodies the stress and angst of
modern life.
Activity: Recreate an accurate representation of

the original work based from the medium of your
choice.
Plate (2). Portrait of Felix Feneon by

Paul Signac.
Originally intending to be an architect,

Signac began to paint under the
guidance of Monet and Guillaumin in
1880. Along with Seurat, Signac
cofounded the Salon de Artistes
Independants in 1884 and help to further
develop the Pointillist style of painting.
The subject of this painting is Felix
Feneon, a Parisian anarchist and art
critic who was a friend of Paul Signac.
Activity: Color this painting using the pointillist style of painting. (Hint: best to use
color pens)

GEC 22
The Scream by Edvard Munch

GEC 22
Portrait of Felix Feneon by Paul Signac

GEC 22
In a Nutshell
Baroque was the first global style as it was a multisensory art.

Modernism is an umbrella term that includes many art movements.
Your turn. What did you learn about the history of art from Baroque period to contemporary
period?
1. ___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
2. ___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
3. ___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________

GEC 22
Q & A List
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Keywords Index
enlightenment expressionism history painting plein air

primitivism rococo vanitas

GEC 22
Art Artist Type

Massacre of the Innocents Peter Paul Rubens Painting
St. Peter’s Square Gian Lorenzo Bernini Painting
Et in Arcadia Ergo Nicholas Poussin Painting
Pilgrimage to Cythera Antoine Watteau Painting
Etienne-Maurice
Pygmalion and Galatea Sculpture
Falconet
Jean Louis Theodore
The Raft of the Medusa Painting
Gericault
The Milkmaid of Bordeaux Francisco de Goya Painting
The Hay Wain John Constable Painting
A Burial at Ornans Gustave Courbet Painting
Gleaners Jean Francois-Millet Painting
Impression, soleil levant Claude Monet Painting
Parlement coucher du soleil Claude Monet Painting
Olympia Edouard Manet Painting
Luncheon on the Grass Edouard Manet Painting
The Thinker Auguste Rodin Sculpture
Wheatfield with Crows Vincent Van Gogh Painting
Still Life with Skull Paul Cezanne Painting
The Caress Fernand Khnopff Painting
Woman with a Hat Henri Matisse Painting
Les Desmoiselles d’Avignon Pablo Picasso Painting
Fountain Marcel Duchamp Sculpture
American Gothic Grant Wood Painting
No. 5 Jackson Pollock Painting
Campbell’s Soup Cans Andy Warhol Painting

GEC 22
Big Picture
a) Identify the highlights of the history of arts in key Southeast Asian countries.
b) Articulate the development of Philippine art aesthetics from its most primal to its
contemporary form.
Big Picture in Focus: ULOa. Identify the highlights of the history

of arts in key Southeast Asian countries
Metalanguage
In this section, you will learn about the brief history and development of arts in
selected Asian countries from prehistoric period to contemporary period. You will encounter
these terms as we go through the study of Asian arts. Please refer to these definitions in
case you will encounter difficulty in the in understanding educational concepts.
The rest of the important terms are defined in detail in the “Essential Knowledge”
section.
Key Terms:
• Calligraphy. The art of writing letters and words with decorative strokes.
• Khmer. The predominant ethnic group in Cambodia, accounting for approximately 90% of the
15.2 million people in the country.
• Lapis lazuli. A relatively rare, intensely blue semi-precious stone.
• Stupa. A dome-shaped Buddhist monument, used to house Buddhist relics.
• Relief. A sculptural technique which gives the impression that the sculpted material has been
raised above the background plane.
• Yamato-e. A style of Japanese painting inspired by Tang dynasty paintings and fully
developed by the late Heian period; it is considered the classical Japanese style.
• Hinduism. A religion or a way of life found most notably in India and Nepal; with over one
billion followers, it is the world's third largest religion by population.
• Wat. A buddhist temple in Thailand, Cambodia, or Laos.
• Manhwa. The general Korean term for comics and print cartoons.
• Ukiyo-e. A Japanese woodblock print or painting depicting everyday life.

GEC 22
Essential Knowledge
Highlights of Arts in Key Southeast Asian regions
Era / Highlights
Period
• Cities of the ancient Indus Valley had multi-
story brick buildings, employed an advanced
sanitation system, and used a unified system of
weight and measurement.
The Great Stupa at Sanchi, Eastern Gateway. Image taken by

Biswarup Ganguly. Wikimedia. CC BY-SA 3.0. This is an
example of an architectural wonder in Maurya period.
• With the propagation of Buddhist religion came

also the building of Buddhist stupas. Stupas
evolved over time from simple funerary
Art of
monuments to elaborately decorated objects of
Southeast
veneration.
Asia Before
• Rock-cut architecture is the practice of creating a structure by carving it
1200 CE
out of solid natural rock.
Dancing Shiva at Ellora Cave. Image taken by

Sarah Welch. Wikimedia. CC BY-SA 4.0. Ellora Cave
is one of the largest rock-cut monastery-temple cave
complexes in the world, featuring Hindu, Buddhist
and Jain monuments, and artwork, dating from the
600– 1000 CE period.49
• Buddhist wall paintings could be

traced back to the Gupta period and
were one of the dominant art forms of
the early medieval period in India.
49
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ellora_Caves

GEC 22
Angkor Wat, Cambodia. Image taken by Supanut Arunoprayote. Wikimedia. CC BY-SA 4.0. Angkor
Wat is the largest religious monument in the world.
• Throughout Cambodia's long history, religion has been a major

source of cultural inspiration for art. The 12th century temple complex
of Angkor Wat, located amidst other sites in the area around Angkor,
it perhaps the most famous example of Cambodian architecture of the
Khmer Empire.
• The sculpture of Southeast Asia was heavily influenced by
Indian religions and artistic styles.
• Southeast Asian painting from 300-600 CE mostly took the form of
frescoes and reflected Hindu and Buddhist themes.
• Sculpture and architecture were intimately connected in Southeast Asia,
and monumental reliefs were used to decorate the walls of buildings.
A relief of King Suryavarman, the builder of Angkor Wat. Image taken by Michael Gunther.
Wikimedia. CC BY-SA 4.0. The king sits in state upon a naga-footed divan, surrounded by royal
parasols, fans, and fly-whisks.

GEC 22
• The art of China—"The Middle Kingdom"—has arguably the oldest

continuous tradition in the world. They are known for their painted
potteries.
• Remains of Han Dynasty
architecture include ruins of brick
and rammed earth walls, rammed
earth platforms, and funerary
stone pillar-gates.
Songyue Pagoda. CC BY-SA 4.0.
Chinese • The calligraphic tradition of

and Korean East Asia originated and
Art Before developed from China and were greatly
1279 CE advanced during the Six Dynasties period.
• Chinese transformed the rounded earthen
mound of the stupa into the towering
pagoda to house the sacred buried relics
of Buddha at its core.
• The Tang Dynasty is considered a golden
age in Chinese civilization, and Chinese
figure painting developed dramatically
during this time.
Emperor Guangwu of Han from the Thirteen Emperors

Scroll.
The introduction of Buddhism to Japan resulted in the creation of temples,
monasteries, paintings, and sculptures of extraordinary artistic achievement.
Japan
Before 1333
CE
Five-story pagoda and Tōkondō at Kōfuku-ji. Image is on public domain.

GEC 22
In the Heian period, a style of calligraphy and painting emerged that was
unique to Japan.
Dating from about 1130, the Genji Monogatari Emaki, a famous illustrated
Tale of Genji, represents the earliest surviving yamato-e handscroll, and is
considered one of the high points of Japanese painting.
The Genji Monogatari Emaki also called The Tale of Genji Scroll, is a famous illustrated hand scroll
of the Japanese literature classic The Tale of Genji is from the 12th century. Image is public domain.
• Hindu sculpture represents the themes of its religion through its

depiction of deities and recurring symbols, such as the lotus flower.
• Thai painting traditionally took the form of book illustrations and
ornamentation of temples and palaces.
South and
Southeast
Asia After
1200 CE
Painting at the Temple of the Emerald Buddha, Bangkok, depicting characters or scenes from
Rammakian, a Thai version of the Hindu epic poem Rāmāyaṇa.50
50
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wat_Phra_Kaew#/media/File:Emerald_Buddha_Temple_-_2017-06-11_(073).jpg

GEC 22
• The most common form of Buddhist architecture seen in Thailand is the

wat, or monastery temple, which is characterized by multiple-tiered roofs.
• Burmese art has been influenced primarily by Theravada Buddhism, with
additional influences from India, Thailand, and China.
• Champa art and architecture in Vietnam was been formed by the
interaction of local customs with Indian, Chinese, and Indonesian
influences.
• Indonesian architecture has been shaped by interaction between
indigenous customs and foreign influences, including Hinduism,
Buddhism, and Islam.
Exposed Buddha image within the stupas of Borobudur upper terraces. Borobudur temple
Park, Indonesia. Image taken by Uwe Aranas. Borobudor is the world's largest Buddhist temple.
51
• This period saw advancement in the realm of decorative arts such as

porcelain and lacquerware.
• During the Qing Dynasty, painters known as Individualists rebelled
China and against many of the traditional rules of painting through free brushwork.
Korea After • Korea's Joseon Dynasty (1392–1910) is considered the golden age of
1279 CE Korean pottery.
• The art of the Joseon period was influenced by both Confucianism and
Buddhism and has left a substantial legacy on Korean art.
51
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Borobudur-Temple-Park_Indonesia_Stupas-of-Borobudur-04.jpg

GEC 22
Early Joseon landscape painting by Seo Munbo in the late 15th century.
Manhwa, or Korean comics, were inspired by classic Asian arts and have
been influenced by the dramatic modern history of Korea, resulting in a
diversity of forms and genres.
• Zen Buddhism played an

influential role in the
development of Zen ink painting
in Japan.
Reading in a Bamboo Grove (1446) by Tenshō

Shūbun. Shūbun's most well-known painting,
designated as a National Treasure in Japan.
• Zen dry rock gardens were

created at temples of Zen
Japan After Buddhism during the
1333 CE Muromachi Period to imitate the
intimate essence of nature.
• The ornate castle architecture
and interiors of the Momoyama
period were a reflection of both
a feudal lord's power and a new
aesthetic sense.
• With the rise of popular culture
in the Edo period, a style of woodblock prints called ukiyo-e became a
major art form.

GEC 22
The Great Wave off Kanagawa (1829-1833) by Hokusai. Wikimedia Commons: Metropolitan
Museum of Art. This is a woodblock print and is Hokusai's most famous work and one of the most
recognizable works of Japanese art in the world.
• After World War II, Japanese artists became preoccupied with the
mechanisms of urban life and moved from abstraction to anime-
influenced art.


GEC 22
Let’s Check
its multiple functions in the society, let us try to check your understanding. Answer the
following questions briefly and precisely.
1. How is religion influential in Asian arts? Explain by citing examples.
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
2. What is the purpose of prehistoric art in Southeast Asian cultures?
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
3. Among Southeast Asian architectural wonders, what is your favorite and why?
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________

GEC 22
Let’s Analyze
In the 5th century China, the concept of The Six Principles by Xie He became famous. This
gives an idea on how to approach a painting. The principles are published in his book called
“The Classification of Old Painters”.
The principles are as follows:

1. Spirit Resonance, also called “vitality.” This refers to the energy that flows in the work
of the artist in terms of theme and content.
2. Bone Method, also called the way of using the brush. This is not only limited to the
texture and the brush strokes of the artist, but also the relationship of the artist
execution through handwriting and his personality. Take note that calligraphy is
considered as an art in Chinese culture.
3. Correspondence to the Object, or the depiction of the form. This refers to the volume,
shape and lines of the artwork. Essentially, how it looks like.
4. Suitability to type, or color application. This is not limited to color appropriation but
also the qualities, value, tone, and layer.
5. Division and planning, or in the Western art, the elements of composition. This refers
to the overall arrangement in connection with composition, space, and depth.
6. Transmission by copying, or the copying of models. This means not only from life but
also from the works of antiquity.
Major Paper 2 – ARTWORK ANALYSIS. Based from the Six Principle by Xie Hie, analyze
a Southeast Asian art piece. Choose 1 artwork for art analysis in approximately 500 words.
The next page is intended for your output. Don’t forget to be guided with the rubric in the
next page that follows.
List of Popular Artworks for analysis:

Title Artist
Buddhist Temple in the Mountains Li Cheng
Thiếu nữ bên hoa huệ (Young
Tô Ngọc Vân
Woman with Lily)
Hodogaya: 4th Station of The 53
Stations of the Tokaido Series Utagawa Hiroshige.
(1834)
Sunrise over the Eastern Sea Fujishima Takeji
Hwajeopdo Nam Gye-u.
A Boat Ride Shin Yun-bok
Should you have other choice for analysis, just let your instructor know. However, the approval of
your choice is subject to your instructor’s discretion.

GEC 22

GEC 22

GEC 22
In a Nutshell
Activity 1. The study of Asian art is very difficult because the scale and depth of art
production across different historical and cultural contexts. Based from the definition of the
most essential terms while reading information on arts, please feel free to write your
arguments or lessons learned below. I have indicated my arguments or lessons learned.
• The art and culture of Asian is greatly influenced by Eastern philosophical schools of
thought such as Confucianism, Buddhism, Hinduism, Taoism, Shintoism, etc.
• The art from Asian countries are just as diverse as their languages and ideologies.
Your turn. What did you learn about art history of Asian regions?
1. ___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
2. ___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
3. ___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________

GEC 22
Q & A List
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Keywords Index
calligraphy Khmer lapis lazuli stupa

relief yamato-e Hinduism wat
manhwa ukiyo-e

GEC 22
This time, it’s your turn to list down the notable visual art works which are mentioned in this
section. You are advised to familiarize (if not memorize) them.
Art Artist Type

GEC 22
Big Picture in Focus: ULOb. Articulate the development of Philippine

arts from its most primal to its contemporary form.
Metalanguage
In this section, you will learn about the brief history and development of Philippine
arts from prehistoric period to contemporary period. You will encounter these terms as we go
through the study of curriculum. Please refer to these definitions in case you will encounter
difficulty in the in understanding educational concepts. Please proceed immediately to the
“Essential Knowledge” part since the first lesson is also definition of essential terms.
Essential Knowledge
Timeline of Philippine Arts52
Era / Period Highlights

• Arts during this period is used for
ritual purposes or for everyday
functional use. As local communities
become established, art starts to go
beyond mere craft, i.e. stone weapons
or jewelry but starts to have decorative
Ethnic Art elements, meaning and context.
Pre-13 AD • Early Filipino painting was found in
the acclaimed ritual potteries of
Manunggul jars.
The Manunggul Jar found in Tabon Cave, Palawan.

Image by Philip Maise. CC BY-SA 3.0.
52
https://www.scribd.com/document/368860735/Timeline-of-Philippine-Arts

GEC 22
• Manunggul Jar is a burial jar is topped with two figures. The front figure
is the deceased man. The rear figure is holding a steering paddle
directing the boat and soul of the man to the afterlife. 53
• Stone tools are found in different regions of the Philippines to suggest
their functional use.
• Carving is made for likha.
• Tattoo tradition is also manifested in Early Filipinos during precolonial
era.
• The mountainous province of Ifugao have been carefully cultivated
with terrace fields. This engineering feat is considered as a natural
architectural wonder.
• The Bahay Kubo is the Filipino word for nipa huts, a common native
house design of indigenous people in precolonial period.
• Arts during this area is characterized by geometric designs nad

patterns.
• The Muslim Filipinos of the South built strong fortresses called kota to
protect their communities. These kotas are made of stone, bamboo,
Islamic Art
and other light materials and surrounded by trench networks.
13 AD
• Pre-Spanish colonial period features Maranao’s Naga Dragons and
Sarimanok carvings in their Torogan houses. Sarimanok is still
considered a cultural significance among Maranao people.
• Art is used as a tool to propagate Catholic faith among the natives.

Friars during this time use images and religious icons to explain
religion, particularly concepts on Catholicism. Arts during this time tell
the stories of Christ’s life and passion.
Damian Domingo becomes the 1st Filipino to do

self-portrait. He is the founder of Academia de
Dibujo y Pintura, the first school of drawing in the
Spanish Era Philippines (1821). Wikimedia. Image is on public
(1521-1898) domain.
• Damian Domingo is also known as

the "Father of Filipino Painting" ALIAS "The
First Great Filipino Painter"
• In the 16th century, 3 different types
of dwelling structures are still being built
53
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manunggul_Jar#/media/File:Manunggul_Jar.jpg

GEC 22
today: (1) bahay kubo; (2) Ifugao house; and (3) Maranaw house.
• Spanish colonizers introduced easel painting.
• Fr. Antonio Sedeno, a Jesuit introduced the line in the construction
of buildings. He was responsible for the construction of the first
fortress, the Nuestra Senora de Guia Fort in Manila.
• Engraving was printed from copper plates and wood cuts in 17 th
century.
• Carving is redirected to create santos, and other religious
representations.
• The Bahay na Bato is a colonial Filipino house, made from brick
and stone.
• Fort Santiago is a defense fortress established by Miguel Lopez de
Legaspi.
• This is the period of secular art forms. After more than three centuries
of Spanish rule, Americans came to the Philippines to rule over the
country through education and governance.
• Lithograph prints replaced engraving on copper.
American Era
(1898-1940)
Women working in a rice field (1902) by Fabian dela Rosa.

• Don Fabián de la Rosa y Cueto was a Filipino painter. He was the

uncle and mentor to the Philippines' national artist in painting,
Fernando Amorsolo, and to his brother Pablo. He is regarded as a
"master of genre" in Philippine art.

GEC 22
Barcazas en el Rio (Houseboats in a River) (1920)by Fabian dela Rosa.

• Juan Luna and Felix Resurreccion Hidalgo became famous abroad

for their visual arts.
• Spolarium (1884) by Juan Luna was awarded a gold medal at the
Exposicion National de Bellas Artes. His work is classified as a
classical romantic style.
• Felix Resurreccion Hidalgo won a silver medal for his large canvass
entitled “Christian Virgins Exposed to the Populace”.
Noche de Luna by Emilio Alvero.54
54
https://www.mutualart.com/Artwork/Noche-de-Luna/E32655402CE74675

GEC 22
• Emilio Alvero later produced several Impressionist still life paintings.

But it would take an architect to give modernism its needed boost in
the country. Juan Arellano would be known as an architect but his
Impressionist landscapes are as impressive as his buildings.
• Carlos “Botong” Francisco, (1913-1969), Angono-based painter,
depicted Philippine history in his “History of Manila” mural at the
Manila City Hall.
Afternoon meal of the rice workers, 1951, oil on canvas. Won first prize at the New York World's
Fair.55
• Fernando Amorsolo usually depicts a familiar rustic chore like

planting rice, gathering fruits, and other barrio work scene. Fernando
Amorsolo raised the genre art to a new height. His celebration of the
Filipino rustic way of life has been identified with Filipino art to
foreigners. He is the best exemplar for representational art.
• The arrival of the Japanese caused tremendous fear, hardships and

Japanese Era suffering among the Filipinos. The Filipino way of life was greatly
(1941-1945) affected during the Japanese period. The Filipinos lost their freedom
of speech and expression. The development of art was also stopped.
55
https://kahimyang.com/kauswagan/articles/1372/a-small-collection-of-fernando-amorsolos-paintings

GEC 22
Rape and Massacre in Ermita (1947) by

Diosdao Lorenzo. The former head of the
University of Santo Tomas Fine Arts
Department painted it in 1947 at a time when
the country was still reeling from the shock of
the over 100,000 men women, and children
slaughtered, bayoneted, and senselessly
56
butchered in Manila in February 1945.
• In response to the Japanese

propaganda, Filipino painters
reacted by producing art works.
There were still many artists who
portrayed the atrocities of war in
their collections such as “Rape and
Massacre in Ermita” by Diosdado
Lorenzo.
• Modern era in Philippine Art began after World War 2 and the granting
of Independence. Writers and artists posed the question of national
identity as the main theme of various art forms. Modern art is
characterized by the artist's intent to portray a subject as it exists in the
world, according to his or her unique perspective and is typified by a
rejection of accepted or traditional styles and values.
• Vicente Manansala is known for his Cubism paintings.
Modern Era • Carlos “Botong” Francisco is distinguished during this time as a
(1946-1969) practitioner of mural painting and for his historical pieces. He is popular
for the mural of Katipunan, “Lusob! Bangon Katipunan!”
• Jose Joya pioneered abstract expressionism in the Philippines. His
canvases were characterized by "dynamic spontaneity" and "quick
gestures" of action painting. He is the creator of compositions that were
described as "vigorous compositions" of heavy impastoes, bold
brushstrokes, controlled dips, and diagonal swipes". 57
56
Comfort Woman: A Slave of Destiny. Facebook, 4, Nov. 2016,
https://www.facebook.com/comfortwomanaaslaveofdestiny. Accessed 20 May, 2020.
57
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jos%C3%A9_T._Joya

GEC 22
Granadean Arabesque (1958) by Jose Joya. This is a large scale yellow hued
mural that features clusters of sand and impasto. It can be viewed at the
Ateneo Art Gallery in Manila.58
• Contemporary art as the work of artists who are living in the 21st
century.
• Guillermo Tolentino is a classical master of Philippine sculpture. His
most popular work is the Bonifacio Monument at the Balintawak Circle.
Contemporary
Period
(1970-present)
Detail of Tolentino's statues of Bonifacio and the Katipuneros. Image taken by Ramon F.
Velasquez. Wikimedia. CC BY-SA 3.0.
The Oblation statue, the iconic symbol of the University of the

Philippines, is also designed by Guillermo Tolentino. It depicts a man
58
https://theculturetrip.com/asia/philippines/articles/the-10-most-famous-filipino-artists-and-their-masterworks/

GEC 22
facing upward with arms outstretched, symbolizing selfless offering

of oneself to his union.59
Oblation (“Pahinungod, Oblasyon”) by Guillermo Tolentino. The
original sculpture is at the Main Library in UP. Originally, the statue
is completely naked but modified with the addition of a fig leaf to cover
the genitals.
• Contemporary art mirrors contemporary

culture and society, offering the general
audiences a rich resource through which to
consider current ideas and rethink the familiar.
The work of contemporary artists is a dynamic
combination of materials, methods, concepts,
and subjects that challenges traditional
boundaries and defies easy definition. Diverse
and eclectic, contemporary
art is distinguished by the very lack of a uniform organizing principle,
ideology, or -ism.
• The Balangiga Encounter Monument in Balangiga, Samar, is
designed by Napoleon Abueva. It is dedicated to the heroism of the
local freedom fighters in Samar. Napoleon Abueva, together with
Lorenzo del Castillo, also designed the Dambana ng Kagitingan,
located in Bataan. The Dambana ng Kagitingan is dedicated to the
soldiers who fought for freedom in the Battle of Bataan, the site where
the Philippines and the American soldiers took their last stand against
invading Japanese forces.
The Fishermen (1981) by Ang Kiukok. Fishermen at Sea connects both energy, faith and the
struggle of fishermen under a vibrant crimson sun labouring together to bring in the haul for the
day.60
59
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oblation_(statue)
60 https://theculturetrip.com/asia/philippines/articles/the-10-most-famous-filipino-artists-and-their-masterworks/

GEC 22
• Ang Kiukok is the pioneer of Philippine modern figurative

expressionism. Rewarded as the country’s National Artist in 2001, he
was one of the most successful commercial figures on the local art
scene.

Let’s Check
Activity 1. Encircle the letter of the correct answer. Some of the items may require additional
readings.
1. The Father of Modern Philippine 3. Posthumously conferred the Order

Painting is of National Artist of the Philippines
a. Fernando Amorsolo for Visual Arts are Fernando
b. Victorio Edades Amorsolo and
c. Hernando Ocampo a. Vicente Manansala
d. Cesar Legaspi b. Hernando Ocampo
c. Carlos Francisco
2. The Father of Philippine Realism is d. Victorio Edades
a. Fernando Amorsolo
b. Victorio Edades 4. Vicente Manansala is known for his
c. Hernando Ocampo works in abstractionism, particularly
d. Cesar Legaspi a. elongation
b. mangling
c. distortion
d. abstract expressionism

GEC 22
5. Jose Joya is known for his works in 8. Filipinos have nipa huts and the
abstractionism, particularly Eskimos have igloos to house
a. elongation them. This illustrate considerations
b. mangling for
c. distortion a. technical factors
d. abstract expressionism b. ideational factors
c. geographical factors
6. In 1976, Victorio Edades and d. economic factors
Napoleon Abueva were hailed
National Artist respectively for 9. Juan Luna and Felix Resurreccion
a. music and architecture Hidalgo won first place and second
b. sculpture and music place respectively in an
c. painting and sculpture international arts exposition in
d. sculpture and painting a. London
b. Rome
7. The architect of the Cultural Center c. Vienna
of the Philippines is d. Madrid
a. Leandro Locsin
b. Alejandro Locsin 10. Juan Luna’s work, Spolarium, is
c. Leonardo Locsin considered
d. Hernando Ocampo a. expressionistic
b. impressionistic
c. realistic
d. symbolistic
its multiple functions in the society, let us try to check your understanding.
1. What are the different factors that affect Filipino art development and culture?
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________

GEC 22
2. What is the purpose of prehistoric art in the Philippines?
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
3. Among Filipino art paintings, what is your favorite and why?
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________

GEC 22
Let’s Analyze
Activity 1. Take a look at the painting below by Fernando Amorsolo entitled Mango Pickers
(1936).61
Fernando Amorsolo is best known for his style of dazzling colorism, and a masterful
use of light in his landscape and genre paintings. How is Amorsolo style essentially
impressionistic? Explain in details below.
My
61
https://kahimyang.com/kauswagan/articles/1372/a-small-collection-of-fernando-amorsolos-paintings

GEC 22
Activity 2. Vicente Manansala is a famous Filipino cubist painter and illustrator. Find any
picture of Manansala Cubist artwork and paste it on the box below. Then answer the
question that follows.
Vicente Manansala is considered to be a modern painter with a tremendous popular

appeal. In the artwork that you choose above, explain Manansala’s own Cubism style
both in form and content.
My

GEC 22
In a Nutshell
Activity 1. Our country host a wide range of artists laudable for their talents and
skills in visual arts. Based from the definition of the most essential terms while reading
information on arts, please feel free to write your arguments or lessons learned below. I
have indicated my arguments or lessons learned.
• Philippine art is heavily definition of art varies across different historical and cultural
contexts.
Your turn. What did you learn about art?
1. ___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
2. ___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
3. ___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________

GEC 22
Q & A List
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Keywords Index
Manunggul jars fort mural

GEC 22

This time, it’s your turn to list down the notable visual art works which are mentioned in this
section. You are advised to familiarize (if not memorize) them.
Art Artist Type
- end -

GEC 22 Printable Module

Uploaded by

Document Information

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

GEC 22 Printable Module

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

GEC 22

College of Arts and Sciences

Course Outline: GEC 22 – Reading Visual Arts

Course Facilitator: Buenaventura M. Raygon Jr.

Course Outline Policy

Areas of Concern Details

READING VISUAL ARTS WEEK 1-9 1

Grading System Assessment Methods Weights

Course Information – see attached course syllabus

READING VISUAL ARTS WEEK 1-9 2

CO Before we start learning how to read and interpret visual arts, it is

READING VISUAL ARTS WEEK 1-9 3

Big Picture in Focus: ULOa. Summarize changing perceptions and

READING VISUAL ART WEEK 1-9 4

“The main thing is to be moved, to love, to hope, to tremble, to live.”

Why Art Matters

Before you proceed, complete the thought bubble below:

For me, “art” is

READING VISUAL ARTS WEEK 1-9 5

Without art, the world __________________________________________________________

Aesthetics and the Philosophy of Arts

READING VISUAL ARTS WEEK 1-9 6

Period/era How Art was Viewed

The fine arts are those objects made by humans to be

Other arts were eventually added by aestheticians;

In aesthetics, philosophers pay attention to the practice,

READING VISUAL ARTS WEEK 1-9 7

My Encounter with Arts Why?

READING VISUAL ARTS WEEK 1-9 8

How Does Art Look?

READING VISUAL ARTS WEEK 1-9 9

What Makes Art Beautiful?

Art Value: Functions of Art

Aesthetic Function. An artwork is a direct source of sensual pleasure and it elicits

READING VISUAL ARTS WEEK 1-9 10

Defining Visual Arts

1. Art History by Boundless Learning. Curation and Revision. Provided by:

READING VISUAL ARTS WEEK 1-9 11

4. Sanchez, C. et. al. (2011). Introduction to humanities. Manila: Rex

1. If someone does a painting categorized 4. What do you call a person engaged

READING VISUAL ARTS WEEK 1-9 12

READING VISUAL ARTS WEEK 1-9 13

READING VISUAL ARTS WEEK 1-9 14

Your turn. What did you learn about art?

READING VISUAL ARTS WEEK 1-9 15

Do you have any question for clarification?

aesthetics intuitive mimesis muses

READING VISUAL ARTS WEEK 1-9 16

Big Picture in Focus: ULOb. Differentiate medium and techniques

Medium and Techniques in Visual Arts

The below shows the popular art media used in paintings:

READING VISUAL ARTS WEEK 1-9 17

Early medium by Egyptians for painting portraits on mummy cases

Pigments are mixed with linseed oil and applied to canvas.

Easy to correct, repainting is without much difficulty

Used by contemporary painters today because of its transparency and

Usually done on paper using pencil, pen, ink, or charcoal

The below shows the popular art media used in sculpture:

From tusk of elephants

Characterized by capacity, ductility, conductivity and peculiar luster

READING VISUAL ARTS WEEK 1-9 19

Copper: resistant to atmospheric corrosion

Natural earthy material that is plastic when wet

Hard, brittle, and non-crystalline