Principles of ART
BALANCE
Symmetrical
Diego Rivera, Flower Day, 1925, Oil on canvas
Asymmetrical
Katsushika Hokusai, The Great Wave at Kanagawa, 1823, Polychrome woodblock print
Radial
Chuck Close, Lucas Woodcut, 1993, Color woodcut with pochoir
MOVEMENT
Movement can be actual or implied. Often created by directional force and repetition.
actual movement
Alexander Calder, Lobster Trap and Fish Tale, 1939, Hanging Mobile
implied movement - created by diagonal lines
Edgar Degas, The Star, 1876, Pastel on monotype
movement created by repetition
Marcel Duchamp, Sad Young Man in a Train, 1911, Oil on canvas
(directional force)
implied lines - glances and pointing
Leonardo da Vinci, Madonna on the Rocks, 1483, Oil on panel
actual line - guns
Francisco Goya, The Third of May, 1808, Oil on canvas
RHYTHM/PATTERN
pattern - repetition of shape
Andy Warhol, Marilyn Monroe's Lips, 1962, Diptych, Synthetic polymer, enamel and pencil on canvas
M.C. Escher, Day and Night, 1938, Woodcut in black and gray
random - repition of color
Jasper Johns, Map, 1961, Oil on canvas
CONTRAST
contrast of light
Caravaggio, The Conversion of St. Paul, 1601, Oil on canvas
contrast of color
Paul Klee, The Herald of Autumn, 1922, Watercolor
contrast of shape
Henri Matisse, Conomas, 1943, Collage
EMPHASIS/FOCAL POINT
Emphasis can be created by:
1) contrast
2) isolation
3) centrality
4) movement (directional force)
5) color intensity
isolation, centrality, color intensity
Thomas Gainsborough, The Blue Boy, 1770, Oil on canvas
contrast, color intensity
Helen Frankenthaler, The Bay, 1963, Acrylic on canvas
directional force, color intensity
Judith Leyster, The Concert, 1633, Oil on canvas
UNITY
Unity can be achieved by:
1) proximity - objects are placed close together
2) continuity - continuous background color, shape or line
3) repetition - any elements of art can be repeated
4) movement - through actual or implied lines (directional force)
proximity of figures
Marie Bashkirtseff, A Meeting, 1884, Oil on canvas
repetition of shape
Mary Cassatt, The Letter, 1891, Drypoint
continuity of line
Edouard Manet, The Railway, 1873, Oil on canvas