THE ELEMENTS AND
PRINCIPLES OF ART
DESCRIPTION
(continued)
Michelangelo Buonarotti, Captive Slave and Rebellious Slave, 1513-1516
Marble, Musée du Louvre, Paris
THE PRINCIPLES OF ART
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the different ways artists can use each of the
elements of art
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the principles of art are: balance, emphasis,
harmony, variety, movement, rhythm, and
proportion.
BALANCE
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Balance refers to a way of combining
elements to add a feeling of equilibrium or
stability to a work of art.
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Balance can be of three kinds:
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BALANCE
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BALANCE
Symmetrical: two halves of a work are identical
Frida Kahlo, Self-Portrait, 1940, Oil on canvas
Symmetrical: two halves of a work are identical
Asymmetrical: two halves are different
Radial: objects are positioned around a central
point
African, Chibinda Ilunga, mid-19th century, Northeastern
Angola, Chokwe people, Wood, hair, and hide
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Asymmetrical: two halves are different
Precolumbian, Presentation of Captives to a Maya
Ruler, c. A.D. 785, Limestone with traces of paint,
Kimbell Art Museum (Fort Worth)
James Abbott McNeill Whistler, Arrangement in Grey and Black: Portrait
of the Painter's Mother known as "Whistler's Mother," 1871, Oil on canvas
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PRACTICE: BALANCE
BALANCE
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Describe the balance in this work of art.
How does the artist use the elements of art to show balance?
Radial: objects are positioned around a central point
England, 17th century, Charger of Charles II in
the Boscobel Oak, c. 1685, lead-glazed
earthenware with slip decoration,
Rose Window of the Cathedral of Notre Dame of Paris,
interior view, 1163-1345
Edgar Degas, Race Horses, 1885-1888, pastel on panel
PRACTICE: BALANCE
Describe the balance in this work of art.
How does the artist use the elements of art to show balance?
CONTRAST
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Contrast is a way of juxtaposing elements of art to
stress the differences between them.
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Created when two unlike qualities are placed
together.
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Creates excitement and interest.
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An artwork can have high contrast or low contrast
(strong or subtle). High contrast tends towards a
more dramatic effect, while low contrast tends
towards soothing and settling.
Georges Seurat, A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte, 1884-86, Oil on canvas
PRACTICE: CONTRAST
Describe the contrast in this work of art.
How does the artist use the elements of art to show contrast?
PRACTICE:
CONTRAST
Describe the contrast in this
work of art.
How does the artist use the
elements of art to show
contrast?
Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio,
The Crucifixion of Saint Peter,
1600-1601, Oil on canvas
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PRACTICE:
CONTRAST
Describe the contrast in this work of
art.
How does the artist use the elements
of art to show contrast?
Jean-Michel Basquiat, Untitled,
1981, oil on canvas
PRACTICE: EMPHASIS
Describe the emphasis in this work of art.
How does the artist use the elements of art to show emphasis?
EMPHASIS
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Emphasis is a way of combining the elements of art to
give importance or dominance to some feature (or
features) of an artwork
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Contrasting elements often are used to direct and focus
the viewer’s
viewer s attention on the most important parts of a
design.
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Could also be called to “focal point”
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Emphasis can be achieved by: increased size, strong
colour, greater detail, sharp contrast, distorted shape,
placement in the composition, movement of the image
leading the eye to a focal point.
PRACTICE: EMPHASIS
Describe the emphasis in this work of art.
How does the artist use the elements of art to show emphasis?
Francesco Goya, The Shootings of May Third 1808, 1814, Oil on canvas
PRACTICE: EMPHASIS
Describe the emphasis in this work of art.
How does the artist use the elements of art to show emphasis?
Grant Wood, Parson Weems’ Fable, 1939, Oil on canvas, Amon Carter Museum (Fort Worth)
PRACTICE: EMPHASIS
Describe the emphasis in this work of art.
How does the artist use the elements of art to show emphasis?
Jonathan Borofsky, Walking to the Sky, 2004, Stainless steel and painted fiberglass, Nasher Sculpture Center (Dallas)
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PRACTICE: HARMONY
HARMONY also “Unity”
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Harmony refers to a way of combining similar
elements in an artwork to accent their similarities.
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Unity
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works together and looks like it fits.
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It is accomplished through the use of repetitions and
subtle, gradual changes. Complex, intricate
relationships are avoided in favor of a more
uncomplicated, uniform appearance.
PRACTICE: HARMONY
How is this artwork harmonious?
How is this artwork harmonious?
Fernando Botero, The
Musicians 1991,
Musicians,
1991 Oil on
canvas
PRACTICE: HARMONY
How is this artwork harmonious?
David Smith, House in a Landscape, 1945, Steel
PRACTICE: VARIETY
VARIETY
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Variety is a way of combining elements in involved
ways to create intricate and complicated
relationships.
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It is achieved through diversity and change. Variety
occurs when an artist creates something that looks
different from the rest of the artwork.
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Artists turn to this principle when they want to
increase the visual interest of their works.
How did this artist use variety?
Wassily Kandinsky, Composition VII, 1913, Oil on canvas
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PRACTICE:
VARIETY
PRACTICE: VARIETY
How did this artist use variety?
How did this artist use
variety?
Robert Rauschenberg, Tracer, 1963,
Oil and silkscreen ink on canvas
PRACTICE: MOVEMENT
MOVEMENT
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Movement is the principle of art used to create the
look and feeling of action and to guide the viewer’s
eye throughout the work of art.
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Implied Movement is achieved through placement of
elements so that the eye follows a certain path, such
as the curve of a line, the contours of shape, or the
repetition of certain colors, textures, or shapes.
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It creates a look of action and liveliness in the work
of art.
PRACTICE: MOVEMENT
Describe the movement in this work of art.
How does the artist use the elements of art to
show movement?
Describe the movement in this work of
art.
How does the artist use the elements
of art to show movement?
Francisco Goya, The Forge,
c. 1817, Oil on canvas
PRACTICE: MOVEMENT
Describe the movement in this work of
art.
How does the artist use the elements
of art to show movement?
Umberto Boccioni,
Unique Form of Continuity in Space,
1913, Bronze
Vincent Van Gogh, The Starry Night, 1889, Oil on canvas
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PRACTICE: MOVEMENT
Describe the movement in this work of art.
How does the artist use the elements of art to show movement?
RHYTHM
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Closely related to movement, rhythm is
created by the careful placement of repeated
elements in a work of art to cause a visual
tempo or beat.
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These repeated elements invite the viewer’s
eye to jump rapidly or glide smoothly from
one to the next.
Henri Matisse, La Danse (I), 1909, Oil on canvas
PRACTICE: RHYTHM
PRACTICE: RHYTHM
Describe the rhythm in this work of art.
How does the artist use the elements of art to show rhythm?
Describe the rhythm in this work of art.
How does the artist use the elements of art to show rhythm?
Piet Mondrian,
Broadway Boogie Woogie,
1942-1943, Oil on canvas
Marsden Hartley (1877–1943)
American Indian Symbols, 1914
Oil on canvas
Amon Carter Museum, Fort Worth, Texas
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PROPORTION
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Proportion is the principle of art concerned with the
relationship of certain elements to the whole and to
each other.
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The use of proportion may tell about the relative
importance of a particular object or symbol in a work
of art.
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Scale is an element of proportion. It is a comparison
of one entire object in relation to other like objects
PRACTICE: PROPORTION
Describe the proportion in this work of art.
How does the artist use the elements of art to show proportion?
PROPORTION
Leonardo da Vinci, Study of
proportions from Vitruvius's De
Architectura, Pen and ink
PRACTICE: PROPORTION
Describe the proportion in this work of art.
Andrew Wyeth, Christina's World, 1948, Tempera on gessoed panel
PRACTICE: PROPORTION
Describe the proportion in this work of art.
Ben Shahn (American) 1898-1969, Poster
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