Elements of Art

1. Elements of Art Form, Value, Texture and Space

2. Form • A form is a three dimensional object. It has length, width and depth. • Architecture, sculpture and pottery are all examples of forms. • There are many types of forms…..

3. Form: closed • A closed form does not interact with the space around it • This sculpture of the Pharaoh Kafra, ca. 2570 b.c. is an example.

4. Form: open • An open form interacts with the space around it. • This sculpture, Recumbent Figure, by Henry Moore, 1938, allows space to flow through the piece as well as around it.

5. Form: relief • A form carved in relief can not be viewed from all sides, as shown here in this ancient Greek carving.

6. Value • Value is the element of art that deals with how light or dark the colors are.

7. Value: shade • If you add black to a color, you create a shade of that color. Adding black to blue, will create a midnight-blue shade.

8. Value: tint • If you add white to a color, you are creating a tint of that color. • Pink is a tint of red.

9. Value • Here we see a value scale for green.

10. Value: uses • Value is often used to create the illusion of form or depth. Here the different values create the illusion of 3-D.

11. Value: uses • In the Mona Lisa, you can see how the lighter values appear further away than the darker values.

12. Value: uses • Value can be used in art to create dramatic effects. • In Rembrandt’s The Night Watch, the different values draw the eye to specific parts of the work.

13. Value: uses

14. Texture • Texture is the element of art that deals with the actual feel or touch of the surface of the artwork, or the way it looks as though it would feel. • All surfaces have textures.

15. Texture • Michelangelo's Pieta, appears to have a smooth, cool texture.

16. Texture • Texture is an important quality in Vincent van Gogh’s Starry Night, as shown in this close-up of the work.

17. Space • Space is the element of art that deals with the perception of depth or dimension. • It defines how objects are organized.

18. Space • 2-dimensional works can imply more space than is actually present. • The use of perspective creates the illusion of space on a 2-D surface. • An example is Raphael’s The School of Athens, 1509. The Vatican. It uses linear perspective (the use of a vanishing point).

19. Space: linear perspective

20. Space: linear perspective

21. Space: atmospheric perspective • Another technique for creating the illusion of space on a 2-D surface is atmospheric perspective. • Atmospheric perspective creates depth by changing the colors, values and details. • We see all of these in Albert Bierstadt’s Among the Sierra Nevada, California, 1868.

22. Space: atmospheric perspective