Lesson 6:

Appreciating
Painting
Learning objectives

By the end of this lesson, students will have to complete

the following objectives:
 Define painting.
 Recognize elements of painting in works of art.
 Discuss the different types of medium in painting.
 Analyze, interpret, and evaluate the form and content
of a painting.

2
Art Elements of
Painting
Distance
Three distances to look for in a
painting:
 Foreground - The part of the
painting closest to the viewer
 Middle ground - is the part
between the foreground
 Background – part which is farthest
away

4
Color
 Artists use colors to convey feelings and moods within their
painting.
 They can create a cheerful mood by placing bright colors next to
each other.
 They can create a calm or gentle mood by placing soft colors
alongside each other.
 Colors can be divided into warm (reds, orange, yellow) and cool
(blues, greens and violets) colors.
 When complementary colors (blue and orange, red and green,
yellow and purple) are used alongside each other, they intensify
each other and look extra bright. The artist also uses black to tone
down colors (shades) and white to lighten them up (tints).
5
6
Light
 Light affects the color of the subject and objects in the
painting look real and solid if the artist shows the way
light falls on them.
 Use of light and darkness also conveys particular moods
in a painting.
 It is important to look for the light sources in the
painting and describe their effect on the appearance of
the subjects and on the overall mood it communicates.

7
Line
 Artists use various types of lines (diagonal, curved,
vertical, and horizontal) to express ideas and feelings in
their paintings.
 Be sure to look for various lines in a painting and note
where they are and what they seem to convey.

8
Shapes
 An artist uses shapes to express ideas.
 They may be circles, triangles, rectangles, Ovals, or
squares.
 When arranged close together they help add energy to a
painting when placed far apart they look more serene.
 It is interesting to find both small and large shapes in a
painting counting how many you find of each and noting the
similarities they may possess.

9
Composition
 Artists seriously plan how they will arrange
elements like color, line and shapes in their
paintings. This is called composition.
 The composition helps to draw the viewer's eyes
into the picture and guides him/her as he/she
walks through the painting.
 A composition is often likened to an invisible
skeleton that holds the painting together.

10
Perspective
 Through perspective artists convey 3-dimension space.
 Perspective makes a flat picture look 3-dimensional
and have depth. How an artist layers the three
distances of foreground, middle ground and
background is one way he/she creates perspective.
 To create deeper space an artist may make parallel
lines come together. To give the effect of distance the
artist may make the objects in the background smaller
in size, lighter in color or less detailed.

11
 Symbols
 Artists often include symbolic objects in their
paintings. A symbol can be defined as
something, which has a special meaning or a
special message. Artists use them to express
such ideas as lite, death, hope and faith in
God. A painting may have hidden meanings
within it as expressed in the symbols the artist
uses.
 For example, the sunflower in Van Gogh's
paintings represents ideas of the sun, the
south, and hope. In paintings by Van Dyck, the
sunflower symbolized the king, Charles I.
12
GENERAL GROUPING OF
PAINTING
GENERAL GROUPING OF PAINTING
1. Abstract.
o Generally painting can be grouped according to its mood of
presentation.
o A painting is called abstract when the painter does not show the
subject as it appears in reality.
o The artist shows only his thought and feeling.
o At first sight of the painting the meaning is not easily recognized
Other abstract painters present the figures in some recognizable
forms, but they are presented in a misshapen manner.

14
ABSTRACT

15
ABSTRACT

16
GENERAL GROUPING OF PAINTING

2. Realistic
o A painting is considered realistic when the subject is
presented as it appears in reality.
o Critics of arts like Aristotle called this style as mimetic or
imitation.
o That the work of art must exactly appear as it appears in
reality.

17
STYLES IN PAINTINGS
STYLES IN PAINTINGS
1. Abstract
o As briefly discussed above, abstract presents
the subject not as it appears in reality.
o There are various types of abstracts, which are
as follows:

19
1. Abstract
a)Distortion
o This is a kind of abstract
which natural form or
condition is twisted or
distorted.
o There is a misshapen
look of the picture
presented.
20
1. Abstract
b) Elongation
o The character or the object being
painted is elongated or extended.
This is to emphasize a certain
purpose of the painter.
o The Resurrection by El Greco for
instance applied this style to mean
that spirit and not the soul goes to
heaven.
21
1. Abstract
c.)Cubism
o Abstractionism that stressed
through the use of some
geometrical shapes such as
cylindrical, triangular,
spherical and other forms at
the expense of the other
pictorial elements.

22
1. Abstract

d) Mangling
o The object is presented
as cut lacerated
mutilated or hacked.
o This is not well-used
kind of abstractionism.

23
STYLES IN PAINTINGS
2. Expressionism
o This was a European method that flourished in the first
decade of the twentieth century.
o In this method the artist has a freedom to consider his
personal style in presenting his subject or expressing his
thought or feeling. There are many ways in achieving the
method of expression.

24
2. Expressionism
a) Symbolism
o A symbolism is a thing or a single that stands for
another thing.
o A flying dove for instance stands for freedom.
o In painting the subject is not visible. A sign or an
emblem represents it.

25
Jupiter and Semele – Gustave Moreau
 This painting depicts the myth that tells us
about the love of Jupiter and the divine god of
gods; Semele.
 This painting is symbolic of humanity’s union
with the divine that ends in death.
 Themes of death, corruption, and resurrection
all appeared in this painting.
 The figure of Jupiter suggests the isolation of
the dreaming artist and the life of ideas.
 This painting is also symbolic of the neuroses
(obsessions) of the modern age.

26
The Eye Like A Strange Balloon Mounts Towards
Infinity – Odilon Redon
 In this art, the large scale of the eye is
the symbol of the spirit rising up out
of the dead matter of the swamp.
 The physical organ which is looking up
towards the divine is carrying a skull.
 This work evokes a sense of mystery
within a dream world. The head is a
symbol of the origin of imagination.

27
Death And The Mask – James Ensor

 In this work, Ensor imparts life-like qualities

to the skull of death in the center, with its
chilling grin, and to the mask of the people.
 The mask is trying to cover up the spiritual
hollowness of the decadence of the times.
 The light and bright palette suggest the
whimsy and absurdity of his time.
 The raw colors and savage texture are the
symbols to strip down to the layers of the
human psyche which is plumbing its depth.

28
 The Three Brides – Jan Toorop
 The scrawny figures with spindly arms and emphatic
gestures derive from Javanese puppet theatre.
 Here, Jan puts up three stages of the soul, consisting
of the bride dedicated to Christ, the bride dedicated
to earthly love and satanic bride- adorned with the
necklace of a small skull and holding a small snake.
 The bowl of blood symbolizes the purity of emotions
and passions.
 The bed of thorns is symbolic of pains.
 The bells in nailed fingers are symbolic of the sound
of bells within the artist and evoking of senses.
 The artist tries to relate humans to the spiritual
world.

29
The Dance Of Life – Edvard Munch
 This art piece presents the three stages of woman.
 The woman in white is a symbol for virgin; the red
one is symbolic for a carnal woman of experience
and the woman in black is satanic who is shown aged
one.
 The scene in the back symbolizes the eternity, vast
unknown and finally death.
 The dance is symbolic of worldly works and merry-
making. The dance of life is thus also a dance of
death.
 The theme of alienation and isolation is also very
well depicted.

30
Hope – George Frederic
 It presents a blindfolded female sitting on a globe,
playing the lyre with a single string.
 The background is blank.
 The picture’s sense of melancholy is enhanced by
the soft brush strokes.
 The female represents the blindness to the mental
state she embodies.
 It is actually the hopelessness towards reality and
despair against hope.
 The grayish background is a symbol of sadness in
mood and environment. The bent woman is trying to
hear the weak music is symbolic of the faintest
hope.

31
Mona Lisa – Leonardo Da Vinci
 Mona Lisa is one of the favorite and mysterious of most
artworks.
 It is known to be the portrait of Francesco Del Giocondo’s wife.
 The Mona Lisa’s enigmatic expression seems both alluring and
aloof. Mona Liza’s smile is the central motif of the piece. It is
this notion that makes it a masterpiece.
 At the back, the winding roads are symbols of the problems of
life. The blurred outlines, graceful figure, dramatic contrasts of
light and dark enhance its symbolism.
 The sitting posture represents the Pyramid image, ‘sitting of
Maddona’.
 The arm postures are symbolic of the sense of distance
between the spectator and the sitter.
 The half-smile of Mona Lisa is symbolic of the possible
happiness in the world or even pride.
32
2. Expressionism
b) Fauvism
o It is a kind of style or movement in
painting that is characterized by a
thick pigment.
o Fauvism is usually used to express a
feeling of joy, comfort or pleasure
through extremely bright colors.
o A fauvist is too much concerned on
the brightness of the colors.

33
2. Expressionism
c. Dadaism
o The word "dada" is a French word meaning
bobby horse.
o It is a protest movement against the
traditional outworn arts and evils in
society.
o Dadaist artist tries to start outrage to
undermine faith and dependence to an
established institution.

34
2. Expressionism
d. Surrealism
o A style in presenting art by fantastic or
incongruous imagery produced by
unnatural combinations.
o Surreal means intense irrationality or
beyond natural.
o It emphasizes activities of the
subconscious mind. In other words,
surrealism pictures out image in a form of
a dream.

35
2. Expressionism
e. Futurism
o Movies such as Star War, Time Machine, Terminator
etc. picture out something in the future. The same
thing is portrayed in paintings.
o It exalts success in technology. Subject includes
supersonic trains, jet, modern houses and anything
that relates to the importance of modernization.

36
Some Artists and their
Works
Leonardo da vinci
 He is a Florentine painter known very
much by his greatest masterpiece, the
Monalisa.
 His paintings particularly the Monalisa
emphasizes calmness. Everyone must have
observed the smile of Monalisa and the
way she puts her hand, very calm.
 Da Vinci was also the one who developed
the Chiaroscuro. He was born in 1452 and
died in 1519 in Florence.
 Some of his works are: Last Supper, The
Virgin and the Child and St. Anne,
Monalisa, Adoration of the Magi, The Virgin
of the Rocks and the Battle of the Anghiari.

38
Michelangelo Bounarrotti
 A stone carver and a
painter is best
remembered for his
classical work the Sistine
Chapel.
 Two of his other works
are Creation of Adam
and Pieta. He was born
in 1475 and died in 1564.
39
Vincent Van Gogh
 He was a Dutch painter, so forlorn and lonely in
his life. He proposed two marriages to two
different women, but he was rejected also two
times.
 He did not like noise, to demonstrate it, he cut
off his ears, a man who chose to be deaf than to
hear the one sense of the world. He was found
living with a prostitute.
 Van Gogh was born on March 30, 1853 and died
by suicide on July 27, 1890 at the age of 37. His
works include, Huts and Two Women, Working on
the Other Hand, Head of a Peasant, The Weaver,
The Garden of the Parish Church, The Potato
Eaters, The Back side of the Old House, Old Man
with the Head of Victor Hugo, The Draw Bridge,
A view of La Cray and The Red Orchard.

40
Pablo Picasso
 A Spanish painter who was a constant
experimenter in all mediums of
painting, but he lived longer in Cubism
style.
 He was a gifted youth, but he was
always impoverished in his life. His
works depict misery; they are poignant
and melancholy. Each is filled with
angular and stoop figure, the right
representation of poverty.
 His works are; La Vie, Old Guitarist, Boy
Leading a Horse, Saltimabargues,
Gestrude Stein, Female Nude, Woman
with Guitar, Minotasuromachy and
Leuernica.
41
Francisco Jose' de Goya y Lucientes
 He was a Spanish painter known
as the last of the masters and as
first of the modern was born on
March 30, 1746 and died on April
6, 1828.
 He was a historian and once a
court painter to the Spanish
Crown.
 He was also known for his
subversive and subjective theme
of his art, the Manet and Picasso.

42
Fernando Amorsolo
 A Filipino painter best remembered for his rural
landscapes in the use of light. His first taste in the
art of painting was first discovered and nurtured by
his uncle in the name of Fabian dela Rosa his
mother's first-degree cousin. Later he enrolled at
Liceo de Manila and at the University of the
Philippines. He studied Fine Arts and graduated in
1914.
 After working as a commercial artist and an
occasional instructor, he went to Madrid and for
seven months he made sketches at the Museo and
in the streets of the city.
 He went to New York where he discovered
Impressionism and Cubism which became very
influential in his works. He was born on May 30,
1892 at Paco district of Manila.

43
Juan Luna
 His posture in pictures is recognizable by his
Mexican styled moustache.
 He was brother of Antonio Luna, a Filipino fighter
who was murdered by his compatriots. Juan Luna
studied in Madrid and was brought by his private
tutor to Rome to study the masters.
 His famous work is the Spoliarium that won top
prize at the Madrid exposition of 1884.
 He married but out of extreme jealousy he
murdered his wife and a brother-in-law. The
French court acquitted him with all the charges.
He died of heart attack on December 7, 1899 in
Hong Kong upon knowing about the assassination
of his brother by the fellow Filipino insurgents.

44
Vicente Manansala
 He was also a Filipino painter from
Macabebe, Pampanga born on January 22,
1910 and died in Makati in 1981. He
studied at the University of the
Philippines and was a recipient for a
number of scholarship grants, the
privilege that allowed him to travel
outside the Philippines.
 His works were recognized by a number
of awards as a professional artist in
painting. In 1981 he was posthumously
proclaimed National Artist.

45