The Elements of Art Taken from the visual and tactile experience of making art

-Line

-Space

-Light The Formal Elements of Art

-Color

-Texture

-Time

-Motion

Jaune Quick-to-See Smith, House, 1995

Actual line

A continuous extent of length, straight or curved, without breadth or thickness

Implied line

Titian. Assumption and Consecration of the Virgin. c. 1516–18. 22 1/2 x 11 4/5 ft.

Henri Gaudier-Brzeska. Female Nude Back View. c. 1912.

Alberto Giacometti. Man Pointing. 1947. 70 1/2 x 40 3/4 x 16 3/8 in.

Contour line

(form)

Outline (shape)

Vincent van Gogh. The Starry Night. 1889. 29 x 36 1/4 in.

Donald Sultan. Lemons, May 16, 1984. 1984. 97 in. x 97 1/2 in.

Space

The area or location of something; the physical properties of where something exists

One-point perspective

Duccio. Perspective Analysis of Annunciation of the Death of the Virgin, from the Maestà Altarpiece. 1308–11. 16 3/8 x 21 1/4 in.

Leonardo da Vinci. The Last Supper. c. 1495–98. 15 ft. 1 1/8 in. x 28 ft. 10 1/2 in.

Two-point perspective

Eric Bulatov. Happy End. 1989. 20 7/8 x 20 7/8 in.

Gustave Caillebotte. Place de l’Europe on a Rainy Day. 1876–77. Multiple-point perspective 83 1/2 x 108 3/4 in.

Andrea Mantegna. The Dead Christ. c. 1501. 26 x 30 in.

Distortion and Foreshortening

Volume, The amount of space taken up by a shape or form, as defined by length times height (shape: L x H), or length times width times height (form: L x W x H)

Mass, The amount of material used by a shape or form; bulk, density

Weight, The mass of a form times the gravitational pull

Shape= 2-D A two-dimensional figure with an external surface or outline of specific figure made up of one or more lines - Positive and Negative - Geometric and Organic

Form= 3-D A three-dimensional figure of mass made of multiple shapes

- Actual or implied - Geometric or Organic

Geometric shapes and forms

Organic shapes and forms

Implied form

Actual form

Light and Color

Light: Electromagnetic energy (photons) as seen by the human eye

Value: The amount of light reflected by a surface; the level of lightness or darkness

Grayscale

Value

Paul Colin. Figure of a Woman. c. 1930. 24 x 18 1/2 in.

Chiaroscuro

Leonardo da Vinci. Madonna of the Rocks. c. 1495–1508. 75 x 47 in.

Atmospheric perspective

Hatching and Cross-hatching

The spectrum of electromagnetic energy (ROYGBV)

Color: The quality of a surface with respect to light reflected by the object, specifically referring to the spectrum of visible electromagnetic energy and the wavelength reflected.

The Color Wheel

Hue, tint, shade, tone, primary, secondary, intermediate (tertiary), saturation, complementary, analogous

Pigments Light

Texture

Texture: The visual and tactile quality of a surface

Peter Masters Actual Texture

Andrew Wyeth Implied Texture

Michelangelo. Pietà. 1501. height 6 ft. 8 1/ 2 in. Implied Texture

Robert Ryman. Long. 2002. 12 x 12 in. Actual texture

Kente prestige cloth (detail). Ewe peoples, nineteenth century. warp (vertical threads) 6 ft. 2 in., weft (horizontal threads) 9 ft. 1 7/8 in. Pattern- directional texture, often mathematical

Roni Horn. This is Me, This is You (detail). 1997–2000. 13 x 10 3/4 in. each, overall size of each panel approximately 11 x 9 ft.

Time: As past, present, or future; an indefinite and continuous duration

Keisuke Mizuno

Implied time

Gianlorenzo Bernini. David. 1623. life-size.

Motion: The action or process of moving or of changing place or position; movement

Implied motion

Alexander Calder. Untitled. 1976. overall: 29 ft. 11 3/8 in. x 75 ft. 11 5/8 in.; gross weight: 920 lb.

Actual motion

Time and Motion are often used together

The End.