Introduction to Humanities

Poetry and the arts feed the water and passions instead of starving
them. – Plato
Art is an imitation of nature and has healthful and formative effects
on the mind. – Aristotle
Beauty is defined as the capacity of an object aesthetically
contemplated to yield pleasant feelings. – Curt Ducasse
Art is a lie that makes us realize the truth.- Picasso
Art is the imitator of nature, it tries to offer an abridgment of reality. –
Coleridge

What elements should we notice about the work of art?

Formal elements – what kind of artwork is it? What materials are
employed? What is the composition in terms of structure? In terms
of pure form, how does this particular work when compared to
similar work of the same artist?
Symbolic elements – what is this artwork attempting to say? Is its
purpose didactic, propagandistic, or to give pleasure of what? How
well do the formal elements contribute to the symbolic statement
being attempted in the work of art?
Social elements – What is the context of this artwork? Who is paying
for it and why? Whose purpose does it serve?
Qualities of a Good Work of Art
1. It must be an expression of the inner vision of the artist who
thought a skillful manipulation of the medium makes such a
vision concrete and well illustrated.
2. It must be able to communicate the embodied concept or
message of the artist to the viewer or listener etc.
3. It must have form and obey the laws of form as dictated by
whatever medium the artist uses.
4. It must be self-contained. It must have a beginning and end.

The Value of Art

1. Material Value – Works of art may be valued because they are
made of precious metal.
2. Religious Value – one traditional way in which art has been
valued is in terms of its religious significance. Painting and
sculptures depicting gods and goddesses make their image
accessible.
3. Intrinsic Value – depends largely on the general assessment of
the artist who created it.
4. Nationalistic value – they express the pride and
accomplishment of a particular culture.
5. Psychological value – Our reaction to art span virtually the
entire range of human emotion. They include pleasure, fright,
amusement, avoidance and outrage.
 Painting
DRY MEDIA
Pencil – Graphite pencil sometimes call lead pencil
Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres – French Painter
- He is a master of drawing using graphite pencil
- He draws a portrait of virtuoso violinist Nicolo Paganini

Metalpoint – the ancestor of the graphite pencil

- the drawing medium is a thin wire made of metal, often
made of pure silver, thus, it is called silverpoint.
Charcoal – from burned stick woods
Chalk and Crayon – “Pastel”

LIQUID MEDIA
Pen & Ink – Ballpen.
- Such thick and thin lines are referred to as calligraphic or
gestural
Brush & Ink – Favorite drawing tool for Asian artists.
- When ink is diluted with water and applied with a brush, The
result is called a wash.

FRESCO – to make a fresco the artist paints in water-suspended

pigment on a surface of freshly spread plaster.
OIL – invented early 15th century by the great Netherlandish artist
Jan van Eyck

ENCAUSTIC -The pigment particles are suspended in beeswax

GOUACHE – When opaque (nontranslucent) white is added to
watercolors, the result is known as gouache.

PAINTING RELATED TECHNIQUE

COLLAGE – is a French word that means ‘pasting’ or ‘gluing’.

MOSAIC – the mosaic artist “paints” by assembling small colored
stones, bits of glass, or colored clay tiles into a pattern or
pictorial image.

PRINTS
- The art of multiples and each image is called impression( a
copy of an image)- is considered an original work of art.
- Editions – is a number of copy

4 Basic Methods for making an art print

1. Relief
2. Intaglio
3. Lithography
4. Screenprinting
The Visual Elements
Lines
1. Straight Lines - are horizontal, vertical, or diagonal.
- Horizontal lines – they communicate the notion of rest
and peace.
 - Vertical lines – dynamic and forceful, suggestive of
authority, dignity, majesty and balance.
- Diagonal lines – convey the notions of action.

2. Curved lines – never harsh or skern.

- They convey a notion of action, life, and energy
- Single curve is a single arc but the double curve is an S-
curve because it turns back on itself.

COLOR
Casablanca movie was colorized by the colorizers.
PERSPECTIVE
Perspective is attributed to the Italian Renaissance architect Filippo
Brunellshchi
Linear Perspective –
Space and Light – the relationship between space and light are
sometimes placed under the heading of atmospheric or aerial
perspective.
TEXTURE – involves the tactile senses, the senses of touch.
- A unit thus repeated as a thematic element becomes a motif.
SHAPE AND MASS - a shape becomes a mass through a change
in viewpoint or in lighting.
PAINTING AND ITS CLASSIFICATION
1. Wall or Murals
- Fresco Art
- Mosaic Art
 - Stained glass art

2. Panel
- Tempera
- Oil
- Water Color
- Tapestry

3. Book
- Manuscript Illumination
- Prints

CHRONOLOGY
1. Lascaux paintings – in the cave of Dordogne, France.
- It draws animals
- Lascaux animals are among the best examples of
“Paleolithic artists”.
2. Cosquer and Chauvet – cave 121 feet below sea level
- 25000 and 16000 years ago paintings
3. Venus of Willindorf 25,000 years ago – a sculpture of a woman
- it was named venus
- the statute was a fertility image and was less than 5 inch
tall.
- Possibly carried as an amulet or goodluck charm.

Proto Geometric ( 1000 – BC ) – Proto geometric vases use bold

designs consisting of concentric circles and semi-circles.
Geometric ( 900 – 700 BC ) – Geometric vase (ornamental in
nature) uses abstract designs which include (zigzags, triangles,
diamonds and the meander.
Archaic (800 – 650 BC) – introduced by Corinthian Painters called
Nessos Painters.
Classical (480 – 323 BC) – painting on the wall or panel become
more prominent in this period.