Paul Cézanne. The Basket of Apples. c. 1895.
21 7/16 x 31 1/2 in.
Chapter 4: Line
In painting the picture plane refers to the flat surface of the canvas or the
physical material onto which the paint is applied. The illusion of depth and
three dimensionality that accompanies certain types of pictures is described
extending beyond the picture plane.
Chapter 4: Line
Qualities of Line: line possesses certain intellectual, emotional, and
expressive qualities.
Vincent van Gogh. The Starry Night. 1889.
29 x 36 1/4 in.
Line can also be autographic, or distinctive like a signature
Sol LeWitt. Wall Drawing No. 681 C, A wall divided vertically into four
equal squares separated and bordered by black bands. Within each
square, bands in one of four directions, each with color ink washes
superimposed. 1993.
image: 120 x 444 in.
Chapter 4: Line
The grid- the pattern of vertical and horizontal lines crossing one another to
make squares. The grid’s geometric regularity lends a sense of order and
unity to any composition. The grid can organize space and create a serial
effect that can allude to make aspects of industrial design and architecture.
The grid can also suggest a rational or intellectual quality for line.
Jacques Louis David. The Death of Socrates. 1787.
51 x 77 1/4 in.
Eugène Delacroix. The Death of Sardanapalus. 1827.
12 ft. 1 1/2 in. x 16 ft. 2 7/8 in.
Space
A shape is a flat, two-dimensional area (measured in height and width).
(What kind of line can describe a shape?)
A form, or mass, is a solid that occupies a three-dimensional volume,
measured in height, width, and depth. For example, the difference between
a shape and form is a square and cube, a circle and a sphere.
Donald Sultan. Lemons, May 16, 1984. 1984.
97 in. x 97 1/2 in.
Space
A sense of depth, of three dimensions, can be achieved on a flat
surface only by the means of illusion.
What do we mean by illusion?
Steve DiBenedetto. Deliverance. 2004.
30 1/8 x 22 1/2 in.
Space
A sense of depth, of three dimensions, can be achieved on a flat
surface only by the means of illusion.
For example, this can be created by:
Scale– objects closer to us appear larger; objects farther away appear
smaller.
Overlapping images- create the illusion that one object is in front of
another object
The presence of a relationship between light and shadow.
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.
Leonardo da Vinci. Madonna of the Rocks. c. 1495–1508.
75 x 47 in.
J. M. W. Turner. Rain, Steam, and Speed—The Great Western Railway.
1844.
33 3/4 x 48 in.
Chiaroscuro – Italian, literally means “light” /“dark”. Refers to the balance of
light and shadow in a picture, useful to define a gradual transition from light
to dark for a curved surface.
A sphere represented by means of modeling.
Value
The gradual shift from light to dark that characterizes both chiaroscuro and
atmospheric perspective (and is illustrated systematically in the gray scale).
Conventional color wheel.
Catherine Murphy, 1980s
Claude Monet, Grainstacks, 1890
Georges Seurat. La Chahut (The Can-Can). 1889–90.
66 1/8 x 55 1/2 in.
Georges Seurat. Detail of La Chahut (The Can-Can). 1889–90.
Pierre Bonnard. The Terrace at Vernon. c. 1920–39.
57 11/16 x 76 1/2 in.
Wassily Kandinsky. Black Lines (Schwarze Linien). 12/1/1913.
Oil on canvas. 51 × 51-5/8 in.
Sayre cites five ways of using color in representational art:
Local color is the color of objects viewed up close in even lighting
conditions. It is the way we know objects to be. It shows the relationship of
surrounding color in an environment on all objects.
Perceptual color- a color that has changed depending on its quality of lightatmospheric perspective
Optical color a technique in which color mixes in the process of its viewing.
Arbitrary color- not truthful to either optical or local color, often this is used
for expressive purposes
Symbolic Color- Color may symbolize different things to different people and
cultures, in various contexts. For example, in the US, a red hexagon means
“STOP.” In Western culture, red might also call to mind “death,” “blood,”
“anger” or “love.”