Elements of Art
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The elements of art are the basic building blocks or
“vocabulary” of art.
They are organized according to the principles of
design.
- You cannot create a work of art without using at
least a few of them.
Elements of Art
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The elements are…
 Line
 Shape
 Form
 Value
 Color
 Space
 Texture
Elements of Art
When we talk about how the elements are
arranged in a particular work of art, we are
talking about its composition.
Usually when we are talking about composition, we
are not too concerned with the subject or story
behind the work of art. We are thinking only about
how it is arranged.
Composition
Theodore
Gericault,
Raft of the
Medusa,
1818-1819.
Oil on
canvas.
Shape
A shape is a contained area. They can be separated
from the rest of the composition by a line, color,
texture, or value.
Shapes
Geometric shapes have straight or curved lines and tend to
progress regularly according to mathematical laws. Basically,
geometric shapes are the shapes that have names.
Shapes
Organic shapes are those that are derived from natural
forms. They are usually irregular shapes that don’t have
names other than the form they copy (cloud, for example).
Tara Donovan, Untitled, 2003.
Styrofoam cups and hot glue.
Shapes
Piet Mondrian, Composition with Red, Blue, and Yellow, 1930. Oil on canvas.
Shapes
Henri Matisse, The Flowing Hair
(La Chevelure), 1952. Gouache
on cut and pasted paper.
Shapes
Frank Gehry, Guggenheim Museum,
Bilbao , Spain, 1997.
Shapes
David Smith,
Cubi XVIII, 1964. Polished stainless steel.
Shapes
Josef Albers, Homage to the Square: Apparition, 1959. Oil on masonite.
Shapes
Wasily
Kandinsky,
Composition
VIII, 1923.
Oil on
canvas.
Shapes
Henri Matisse, Piano Lesson,
1916. Oil on canvas.
Shapes
Dale Chihuly, Desert Wildflower
Towers, Glass. Phoenix, Arizona.
Shapes
Victor Vasarely, Blue / Red, 1983,
silkscreen.
Shapes
Ida Kohlmeyer,
Circus Series 83-9,
1983. Mixed media
on canvas.
Shape versus Form
Piet Mondrian, Composition with Red,
Blue, and Yellow, 1930. Oil on canvas.
Gerrit Rietveldt, Schroeder House, Utrecht,
1924.
Shape versus Form
We can represent three-dimensional forms as twodimensional shapes.
Ellsworth Kelly,
Apples, 1949.
Watercolor and
pencil on paper.
Shape
A contour drawing defines the shape of an object using line.
Ellsworth Kelly,
Briar, 1961. Pencil
on paper.
Positive Shape/Negative Space
A positive shape is usually a solid or clearly defined shape,
usually in the foreground. Negative space or shape refers to the
open or void surrounding positive shapes (background).
Positive Shape/Negative Space
A positive shape is usually a solid or clearly defined shape,
usually in the foreground. Negative space or shape refers to the
open or void surrounding positive shapes (background).
Positive Shape/Negative Space
Positive/Negative Shape
Positive Shape/Negative Space
Compositions are
usually most
interesting when
positive shape and
negative space are
integrated together.
Shapes
Sometimes the relationship positive shapes and
negative space can be blurred.
Shape
M.C. Escher, Day and Night, 1938. Woodcut print.
Shape
Salvador Dali,
Slave Market
with
Disappearing
Bust of Voltaire,
1940. Oil on
canvas.
Shape
When we are drawing, objects can be broken down into
simple shapes.
Pablo Picasso often
broken down complex
forms into simple
shapes and lines.
When drawing,
we can think
about an
“alphabet” of
shape. Any shape
you try to draw
can be broken
down into these
simple shapes
and lines.