Understanding the Arts

Christopher Allen S. Marquez, PhD

School of Teacher Education and Humanities
Social Sciences and Philosophy Department
Part III. Subject and Content
Sources of Subjects
 • Amorsolo’s Rice Planting
Nature • Pieter Bruegel’s Fall of Icarus

• Honore Daumier’s Rue Transnonian

History • Richard Strauss’s Till Eulenspiegel’s
Merry Pranks

• Greek
Mythology • Roman
 Religion and Art:
Caves
Renaissance
Bible, Apocrypha, Church Rituals
JUDEO-
CHRISTIAN
TRADITION
Sacred Oriental Text:
China: Tao Te Ching
India: Vedas
Japan:
Kinds of Subjects
Landscapes, Still Life Animals
Seascapes
and
Cityscapes
Portraits Figures Everyday
Life
History and Religion
Legend and
Mythology
Content in Art
Classifications of Meaning

Factual Narration

Work of Art Conventional Cultural

Subjective Personal
Content Analysis

What is/are the forms in the picture?

What content can be deduced from the picture?

 Basic Semiotic Plane: it covers Iconic Plane: it deals with
the elements and the general particular features, aspects and
technical and physical aspects of qualities of the image.
the work with their semantic

READING THE
IMAGE

Contextual Plane: the work is

Axiological or Evaluative Plane: resituated in its context in order
values of a work are analyzed; to bring out the full meaning of
capacity of art to influence and the work in terms of human and
transform society social implications
Semiotic Plane: Visual arts
Iconic Plane: Choice of the
and how they are used;
subject; presentation of the
choice of the medium and
image and its relationship to
technique; format of the
the viewer; positioning of the
work and other physical
figures; relationship of one
properties and marks of the
figure to another.
work.

Evaluative Plane: View of the Contextual Plane: Knowledge

world and humanity; of history, economic, political
contribute to the debate in and cultural conditions, past
the field of art and culture. and present.
Reading the Image: Activity
Conclusion

Artist

Form Meaning

Onlooker