Lecture 5

ARCH 2815

Art Appreciation
PART A শিল্প রসাস্বাদন / শিল্প সমাদর

Joarder HAFIZ Ullah | Assistant Professor, DUET

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We shall learn Toady about

• Elements of Art

• Elements of Composition in Art

• Drawing : Different Tools and Techniques

• Painting : Different mediums and Techniques

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 Elements of Art
in art you have these building blocks:

1.Line

2.Shape

3.Form

4.Space

5.Texture

6.Value

7.Color

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 What is Composition in Art

Composition is the term used to

describe the arrangement of the
visual elements in a painting or
other artwork. It is how the
elements of art and design—line,
shape, color, value, texture, form,
and space—are organized or
composed according to
the principles of art and design—
balance, contrast, emphasis,
movement, pattern, rhythm,
unity/variety—and other elements
of composition, to give the
painting structure and convey the
intent of the artist.

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 Elements of Composition in Art
In Western art the elements of composition are generally
considered to be:
•Unity: Do all the parts of the composition feel as if they
belong together, or does something feel stuck on, awkwardly
out of place?
•Balance: Balance is the sense that the painting "feels right"
and not heavier on one side. Having a symmetrical
arrangement adds a sense of calm, whereas an asymmetrical
arrangement creates a more dynamic feeling. A painting that is
not balanced creates a sense of unease.
•Movement: There are many ways to give a sense of
movement in a painting, such as the arrangement of objects,
the position of figures, the flow of a river. You can use leading
lines (a photography term applicable to painting) to direct the
viewer's eye into and around the painting. Leading lines can be
actual lines, such as the lines of a fence or railroad, or they can
be implied lines, such as a row of trees or curve of stones or
circles.

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 Elements of Composition in Art

•Rhythm: In much the same way music does, a piece of art can
have a rhythm or underlying beat that leads your eye to view the
artwork at a certain pace. Look for the large underlying shapes
(squares, triangles, etc.) and repeated color.
•Focus (or Emphasis): The viewer's eye ultimately wants to rest
on the "most important" thing or focal point in the painting,
otherwise the eye feels lost, wandering around in space.
•Contrast: Paintings with high contrast—strong differences
between light and dark, for example—have a different feel than
paintings with minimal contrast in light and dark, such as
in Whistler Nocturne series. In addition to light and dark, contrast
can be differences in shape, color, size, texture, type of line, etc.
•Pattern: A regular repetition of lines, shapes, colors, or values in
a composition.
•Proportion: How things fit together and relate to each other in
terms of size and scale; whether big or small, nearby or distant.

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ART FORMS
The possible combinations in visual art are infinite, but the visual arts have traditionally been practiced and categorized in only a
few broadly termed ways. The primary distinction in the visual arts is dimension. Two-dimensional art consists of drawing,
painting, and printmaking; three-dimensional art consists of sculpture, including installation, and kinetic art. Art objects are limited
to the dimensions of space—and time. For this reason, art objects fall into three categories: two-dimensional art, three-
dimensional art, and four-dimensional art. Each category has divisions deriving primarily from differences between the
materials and approaches used.

TWO-DIMENSIONAL ART
Two-dimensional art occurs on flat surfaces, like paper,
canvas, or even cave walls. This art can be further
divided into three main categories:
• Drawing,
• Painting, and
• Printmaking.

All art that occurs on a flat surface is one or a

combination of these three activities.

Embryo in the Womb THE MUSCLES OF THE BACK, 1508 - 09

Leonardo Da Vinci
DRAWING
The term DRAWING describes both a visual object and an activity. It consists of
making contrasting marks on a flat surface. One can “draw” water from a well or be
“drawn” to a charismatic person. There is something in the word “draw” that is
related to extracting or delineating, the “pulling out” of an essence.

To draw an object is to observe its appearance and transfer that observation

to a set of marks. Ancient cave painters truly “drew” the animals they saw around
them based on their deep familiarity with their essential nature. Drawing is a
combination of observation and mark making. Drawing is usually—but not always—
done with monochromatic media, that is, with dry materials of a single color such as
Charcoal,
Crayon,
Metal point
Graphite.
Pastels
Ink
Color can be introduced using pastels. In addition to these dry materials, free-flowing
ink can also be used to make drawings. These materials have been highly refined
over centuries to serve specific artistic purposes. Charcoal is made from wood or
other organic material that has been burned in the absence of oxygen. Compressed
charcoal is challenging to erase.
Charcoal
Charcoal also comes in a form called willow or vine charcoal. This form of
drawing charcoal leaves a very light mark as it is simply burned twigs. It is
generally used for impermanent sketches because it does not readily stick
to paper or canvas and is easily erased. Both compressed and vine
charcoal drawings are easily smudged and should be protected by a
fixative that adheres the charcoal to the drawing surface and creates a
barrier resistant to smudging.

Crayon
Crayon is a hand-held drawing material similar to compressed charcoal.
Conté crayons are sticks of graphite or charcoal combined with wax or
clay that come in a variety of colors, from white to sanguine (deep red) to
black, as well as a range of hardness. Harder is used for details and softer
varieties for broad areas.

This portrait by Georges-Pierre Seurat (1859-1891, France) was drawn in

black crayon on textured paper in order to break the image into discrete
marks.
Metal point
Metalpoint is the use of malleable metals like silver, pewter, and gold to
make drawing The surface must have a “tooth” or roughness to hold the
marks. Any pure silver or gold object can be used for this, though artists
today favor silver and gold wire held in mechanical pencils for the process.

Graphite
Graphite is a crystalline form of carbon. In the sixteenth century, a large
deposit of pure graphite was discovered in England, and it became the
primary source for this drawing material. Because of its silvery color, it was
originally thought to be a form of lead, though there is no actual lead in
pencils. Today powdered graphite is mixed with clay to control hardness.

Pastel
Pastels are similar to compressed charcoal but, instead of finely powdered
carbon, finely ground colored pigment and a binder are used to create
handheld colored blocks.

The powdery pigments smudge easily, so the image created must be

displayed under glass or covered with a fixative. Edgar Degas (1834-1917, Nach dem Bade sich
abtrocknende Frau (After the
France) is famous for the subtle yet distinct layering of color he was able Head of a Girl
Bath, Woman drying herself)
achieve in his pastel drawings. Artist: Edgar Degas Artist: Leonardo da Vinci
Graphite sticks Charcoal sticks and pencils Conté Sticks, crayons, and pencils

Pens and Ink Paper, Drawing Board, Easels Pastel pencils

Metalpoint
Left: Filippino Lippi (Italian, 1457–1504). Standing Youth with Hands Behind His Back, and a
Seated Youth Reading (detail), 1457/58–1504). Metalpoint, highlighted with white gouache, on
pink prepared paper, 9 5/8 x 8 1/2 in. (24.5 x 21.6 cm). The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New
York, Harris Brisbane Dick Fund, 1936 (36.101.1).

Right: Thomas Wilmer Dewing (American, 1851–1938). Portrait of a Woman (detail), after 1894.
Silverpoint on paper, mounted on pulp board, 22 1/2 x 18 7/8 in. (57.2 x 47.9 cm).
 PIGMENT
A pigment is a material that changes the color of reflected or
transmitted light as the result of wavelength-selective
absorption. This physical process differs from fluorescence,
phosphorescence, and other forms of luminescence, in which
a material emits light.
Many materials selectively absorb certain wavelengths of light.
Materials that humans have chosen and developed for use as
pigments usually have special properties that make them ideal
for coloring other materials. A pigment must have a high tinting
strength relative to the materials it colors. It must be stable in
solid form at ambient temperatures.
For industrial applications, as well as in the arts, permanence
and stability are desirable properties. Pigments that are not
permanent are called fugitive. Fugitive pigments fade over
time, or with exposure to light, while some eventually blacken.
 OIL PAINTING
Oil painting was discovered in the fifteenth century
and uses vegetable oils, primarily linseed oil and
walnut oil, as the binding agent. Linseed oil was
chosen for its clear color and its ability to dry slowly
and evenly. Turpentine is generally used as the solvent
in oil painting.
The medium has strict rules of application to avoid
cracking or delamination (dividing into layers). Detail of the eyes of Mona Lisa
Additionally, oil paint can oxidize and darken or yellow Artist: Leonardo da Vinci
over time if not properly crafted. Some pigments have
been found to be fugitive, meaning they lose their color
over time, especially when exposed to direct sunlight.
This can be seen in a detail of Leonardo’s Mona Lisa
where the figure’s eyebrows and eye lashes are now
“missing.”

Starry Night: Van Gogh

 ACRYLIC PAINTING

Acrylic painting is relatively modern and uses water-

soluble acrylic polymer as the binding agent. Water is
the solvent. Acrylic dries very quickly and can be used
to build up thick layers of paint in a short time. One
problem with acrylic is that the colors can subtly
change as it dries, making this medium less suitable for
portraiture or other projects where accurate color is
vital. Nevertheless, acrylic paint is preferred over oil
paint by many artists today, in part due to its greater
ease of use and clean up, and because its rapid drying
time allows the artist to work at a faster pace.
 WATER PAINTING

Watercolor painting suspends colored pigments in

water-soluble gum arabic distilled from the Acacia tree
as the binder. Watercolor paints are mixed with water
and brushed onto an absorbent surface, usually paper.
Before the industrial era, watercolor was used as an
outdoor sketching medium because it was more
portable than oil paint, which had to be prepared for
use and could not be preserved for long periods or The Sponge Diver
easily transported. Artist: Winslow Homer
Today, however, many artists use watercolor as their
primary medium.
 ENCAUSTIC PAINTING
Encaustic uses melted beeswax as the binder and must be applied
to rigid supports like wood with heated brushes. The advantage of
encaustic is that it remains fresh and vibrant over centuries.
Encaustic paintings from ancient Egypt dating to the period of
Roman occupation (late first century BCE-third century CE) are as
brilliantly colored as when they were first painted.

• Extremely durable
• Colors remain vibrant
• Surface will retain a hard luster
• Very old technique
• Must be heated to pain easily
• Paint hardens when cool
Portrait of the Boy Eutyches
• Used by the Egyptians and the romans Artist: Masaccio
 FRESCO PAINTING

Fresco is the process of painting onto plaster; it is a long-lasting

technique. There are two kinds of fresco:

Buon fresco, or “good” fresco, is painting on wet plaster, and

Fresco secco, or dry fresco, is done after the plaster has dried.

Paintings made using the buon fresco technique become part of

the wall because the wet plaster absorbs the pigment as it is
applied. The only way to correct a buon fresco painting is to chip
it off the wall and start over. Buon fresco must be done in Artist: RAFAEL
sections. Each section is called a giornate, which is Italian for “a
day’s work.” Because it is done on dry plaster, fresco secco is
more forgiving, but also less permanent as changes in moisture
levels or damage to the wall can harm the painting. Due to the
dry air and stable weather, there are fresco secco murals
created as early as 3,000 BCE in ancient Egyptian tombs that Problem with Fresco:
remain largely intact. 1.Have to work fast, one a day time to paint
2.Some color don’t work well with lime.
FRESCO PAINTING

The four Raphael Rooms (Italian: Stanze di

Raffaello) form a suite of reception rooms
in the palace, the public part of the papal
apartments in the Palace of the Vatican.
Artist: RAFAEL
 TEMPERA PAINTING

Tempera painting has been around for centuries. The most popular
version of painting during the Middle Ages was egg tempera, in
which dry colored pigments were mixed with egg yolk and applied
quickly to a stable surface in layers of short brushstrokes. Egg
tempera is a difficult medium to master because the egg yolk
mixture dries very quickly, and mistakes cannot be corrected without
damaging the surface of the painting. Perhaps one of the most famous examples of egg tempera painting is Botticelli’s
“Birth of Venus” pictured below, which is generally believed to have been painted
The Birth of Venus by Sandro Botticelli (1445-1510, Italy) is an egg in the 1480’s and still looks in excellent condition today.
tempera painting.

• Bright color lasts longer than oil paint

• Extremely durable
• Pure and Brilliant colors
• Color did not become compromised by
oxidation
• Consistency and fluidity allowed precision
• Dries quickly
• Hard to rework and change
• Can not provide subtle gradation of tone.
 PRINT MAKING
Printmaking is an artistic process based on the principle of transferring
images from a matrix onto another surface, most often paper or fabric.
Traditional printmaking techniques include
woodcut, etching, engraving, and lithography, while modern artists
Katsushika Hokusai The Underwave off
Kanagawa, 1829/1833, color woodcut,
have expanded available techniques to include screenprinting.
Rijksmuseum Collection
A matrix is essentially a template, and can be made of wood, metal, or
glass. The design is created on the matrix by working its flat surface
with either tools or chemicals. The matrix is then inked in order to
transfer it onto the desired surface. To print from a matrix requires the
application of controlled pressure, most often achieved by using a
printing press, which creates an even impression of the design when it
is printed onto the paper or fabric. (More modern printmaking
techniques, such as screenprinting, do not require a press.) The
resulting print is often the mirror image of the original design on the
matrix. One of the great benefits of printmaking (save for monotype) is
that multiple impressions of the same design can be printed from a
single matrix.
https://www.metmuseum.org/about-the-met/collection-areas/drawings-and-prints/materials-and-
techniques/printmaking#:~:text=Printmaking%20is%20an%20artistic%20process,available%20techniques%20to%20
include%20screenprinting.

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 Explore more:

WATCH
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nbXLcUkae9k&t=5s
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VwUZ3PivD6I
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xbveb0QoZq4
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MYlgj1hwcYw
https://study.com/academy/lesson/history-of-painting-materials-
techniques.html
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0C_ArE9TxmY
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JReOky0CTEk
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lzraF7MRzmE
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W4NuqLa9i1Q

VISIT
https://www.thoughtco.com/elements-of-composition-in-art-2577514
https://www.jacksonsart.com/blog/2014/01/21/traditional-metal-
point-drawing-materials/
https://artincontext.org/elements-of-art/
https://study.com/academy/lesson/what-are-the-seven-elements-of-
art-definition-examples.html
https://thevirtualinstructor.com/blog/10-essential-drawing-materials-
and-tools-for-beginners
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 THANK YOU
For Your Participation

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