Visual Elements of Design

1. formal analysis: an analysis of the appearance of a work of art, its form. Formal analyses are carried out by the evaluation of visual elements and principles of design.

2. line: a linear form in which length dominates width.

3. Albrecht Dürer, The Knight, Death, and the Devil (1513). Engraving.

4. Henri Matisse, Dance (1909-10).

5. Kara Walker, Insurrection! (Our Tools Were Rudimentary, Yet We Pressed On) (2000).

6. John Singer Sargent, Madame X (Madame Pierre Gautreau) (1884).

7. Marc Chagall, I and the Village (1911-12).

8. Tony Smith, Die (1962). Steel.

9. mass: the apparent bulk of a form, whether actual (the object has mass) or implied (the object represents mass).

10. Henry Moore, Recumbent Figure (1938). Green Hornton stone.

11. Lucien Freud, Nake Man, Back View (1991-92).Oil on canvas.

12. Constantin Brancusi, The Kiss (1909). Limestone.

13. Alberto Giacometti, Man Pointing (1947). Bronze.

14. color-related terms: hue: the name of a color-- green is a hue, red is a hue, etc. value: black, white, or grey (lightness or darkness) tint: color produced by adding white to a hue shade: color produced by adding black to a hue We can also talk about color in terms of schemes: achromatic, monochromatic, analogous, or complimentary

15. James McNeil Whistler, Arrangement in Black and Grey (1871). Oil on canvas.

16. Nan Goldin, Vivienne in the Green Dress (1980).

17. Pablo Picasso, Les Demoiselles d’Avignon (1907).

18. Henri Toulouse-Lautrec, At the Moulin Rouge (1892).

19. light: the agent responsible for vision in a very literal way, but also a visual element that can be represented pictorially or actually present in a work of art.

20. Leonardo da Vinci, Mona Lisa (c. 1500-07). Oil on canvas.

21. Fitz Hugh Lane, Boston Harbor, Sunset (1850-55). Oil on canvas.

22. Claude Monet, from Rouen Cathedral series (1892-94). Oil on canvas.

23. Anthony McCall, Line Describing a Cone (1973). 16mm film, fog machine.

24. Felix Gonzalez-Torres, Untitled (Silver) (1992). Bulbs, sockets, cord.

25. texture: the tactile qualities of a surface or a representation of those qualities.

26. Meret Oppenheim, Object (Fur-covered Breakfast) (1936). Gazelle fur, teacup, saucer.

27. Jan van Eyck, Arnolfini Wedding Portrait (1434).

28. Auguste Rodin, The Thinker (c. 1880). Bronze.

29. Julian Schnabel, The Patients and the Doctors (1978). Oil, plates, and Bondo on canvas.

30. space: physical area between forms within a work of art or the representation of such areas. perspective: technique used to represent space on a two-dimensional surface by using lines and color variations. Other techniques to creating space: overlapping, relative size.

31. Giotto, Annunciation to St. Anne (1305). Fresco.

32. Masaccio, Trinity (c. 1427-28). Fresco.

33. Asher B. Durand, Kindred Spirits (1849). Oil on canvas.

34. Raphael, School of Athens (1512). Fresco.

35. Robert Morris, photograph of first solo show at Green Gallery (1964). Painted wood.

36. Michael Heizer, Double Negative (1970). Earthwork.

37. time: in a work of art, either the attempt to capture and preserve some image or idea or the passing of actual time.

38. Diego Velázquez, Las Meninas (1656). Oil on canvas.

39. Andy Warhol, Empire (1964). Film stills.

40. Judy Chicago, Ablutions (1972). Performance.

41. motion: in a work of art, either the attempt to represent motion in a static object or the incorporation of actual movement.

42. Giacomo Balla, Dynamism of a Dog on a Leash (1912). Oil on canvas.

43. Eeadward Muybridge, from Attitudes of Animals in Motion (1881). Photographs.

44. Alexander Calder, The Star (1960). Painted steel, wire.