The 7 Elements of Art

1. The 7 Elements of Art Examples in 20th Century Art

2. Line • A line is a continuous mark, with length and direction, made on a surface by a moving point.

3. Line “Best Buddies” 1990 Keith Haring Silkscreen A line can be used to create an outline or contour. Here, lines are also used to indicate emotion.

4. Line “Contellation: The Morning Star” 1940 Joan Miro Gouache and Tempertine Paint on Paper Some of the lines in this piece appear continual and serve to join all the elements together to create a composition.

5. Shape • A shape has two dimensions, both length and width, and is represented in an enclosed area defined by line, color, value, texture, space or form.

6. Shape “Asheville” 1948 Willem de Kooning Oil and Enamel on Cardboard Although abstract, this painting has many shapes defined by areas of color and the use of texture and line.

7. Shape “Egg Beater No 4” 1928 Stuart Davis Oil on Canvas These simple shapes resemble paper cut-outs. Setting them against complementary and contrasting colors makes them stand out.

8. Form • Form appears as 3-dimensional - length, width, and height – and encloses volume.

9. Form “Still Life” 1920 Le Corbusier Oil on Canvas The objects in this painting, though flattened, show 3-dimensional form, such as the cylinder.

10. Form “The Tub” 1886 Edgar Degas Oil on Canvas This painting depicts the human form and its relationship to its surroundings.

11. Value • Value refers to changes of base color, and includes light, medium and dark areas. Value is determined by how much light a surface reflects or absorbs.

12. Value “Daybreak” 1922 Maxfield Parrish Art Print The illusion of light is combined with color to create a wide ranges of values.

13. Value “Relativity” 1953 M.C. Escher Lithograph Here, the artist uses hatchmarks to create lighter and darker values.

14. Texture • Texture is the tactile quality of a surface (what it feels like) or what it appears to feel like.

15. Texture “Olive Trees” 1889 Vincent Van Gogh Oil on Linen Texture is created by the brush strokes of the paint.

16. Texture “Untitled” 1963 Robert Rauschenberg Oil, Silkscreened ink, metal and plastic on canvas Here, the artist creates texture by incorporating tactile elements such as metal and plastic.

17. Color • Color has three properties: hue or tint, which is the color name, like “red”; intensity, which is the strength of a color; and value, the lightness or darkness of a color.

18. Color “Rouen Cathedral” 1892 - 1894 Claude Monet Oil on Canvas These paintings show how light affects color. The artist painted the same subject at different times of day to experiment with light and color.

19. Color “Harmony in Red” 1908 Henri Matisse Oil on Canvas Here we see very vibrant colors, and large areas of intense color.

20. Space • Space is the creation of visual perspective, and the illusion of depth; the distance around, between, above, below and within an object or group of objects.

21. Space “Pizza d’ Italia” 1913 Giorgio de Chirico Oil on Canvas The positioning and size of the elements in this painting give the illusion of depth.

22. Space “Central Savings” 1975 Richard Estes Oil on Canvas This artist plays with our perception of what we are seeing by using reflection to show the space in front and around the image.