AP ART HISTORY
What I Need To Know
ELEMENTS OF ART
AND
PRINCIPLES OF DESIGN
ART ELEMENTS
 Line – A point in motion , continuous outline (contour line)
 Shape- Line that encloses a space
 Texture- The literal or visual illusion of how a surface feels. Can
be used to create value in replacement of shading, can create
patter/ rhythm
 Value- The darkness or lightness of a hue
 Form- third dimensional rendition of a shape, can be created with
the use of value
 Space- The area around and between an object…Positive takes up
space / negative does not
 Color- Light reflected or emitted from an object to the eye.
Intensity or saturation, Tint and shade, cool (blue, green, violet)
and warm (red,orange,yellow)
Elements in Depth

Line can be suggested or implied by edges of planes or juxtaposition. Implied line. Line
can also guide the eye through an art work. Decorative

Shape can be repeated or varied to create visual texture, negative/positive space shapes.

Delicate understanding of materials can lead to realistic execution of visual surface
texture.

Form as element differs from ART FORM which refers to the type of art.

Every color has a large range of possible values…depending on the lighting situation even
yellow can be darker in value than “black”. Values can create a visual push and pull.

Color is the most complex. Colors can convey an emotion, manipulate the viewer etc.

Space is used by many masters in order to convey a desired emotion or visual stability or
lack thereof. Perspective and foreshortening can create the illusion of depth
Materials, Media and Process
Drawing
• Pencil- graphite
• Charcoal
• Ink
• Quill and pen
• Brush drawing
• Oil pastels
• Soft pastels
Painting
• Acrylic
• Watercolor and Gouache
• Ink painting
• Oils
• Oil pastels
• Pigment and hot wax Encaustic
• Frescoes
• Tempera
• Spray paint
Graphic arts
• Mesopotamian – picture
symbols, Egyptian
Hieroglyphics
• Typography- printed
letters
• Logos
•
•
•
•
Digital design
Illustration
Layout design
Web design
Printmaking (limited editions)
Relief- carving away non
printing
Intaglio- thin cut into metal or
Plexiglas for printing
Planography- lithography- on
stone and silkscreen (non
reverse)
Monotypes and monoprintsoriginal is copy
Photography
Film
Performance art
Digital Art
Installation
3D
Readymades- Appropriation
artist taking over pre-existing image
Changing meaning or purpose
Architecture
Post- and-lintel
Hypostyle hall
Corbeled arch
Aqueduct
Principles of Design

Balance- The distribution of Art Elements to create an even visual weight.

Rhythm- Created through the use of repeated art elements, Visual flow.

Repetition- To reuse a certain image or element various times through out a work of
art.

Movement- Using art elements to make the eye move throughout the work. How the
eye moves.

Pattern- arrangement of repeated or alternated elements of art.

Emphasis (Focal Point)- The use of art elements to create a sense of visual importance
to a given object or area in a work of art. Juxtaposition, location, size, color….

Variety- Alternating the use of certain art elements to maintain visual interest.

Proportion or scale- The relationship between objects with relation to their size,
number…

Unity- Visual harmony, where all parts of the work are working together to create
aesthetics.
HOW TO CRITIQUE ART
Art Criticism Steps
 Describe- What do you see. What materials were used, what
elements, principles of design, size of work, art style and genre.
NO OPINIONS
 Formal analysis- Explore the use of the Principles of Design and
provide examples of use.
 Interpretation- Meaning or message (what is the artist saying)
in the work. Provide evidence.
 Judgement- Evaluation of work, is it of good quality and
successful? Why? How does it compare to other similar works.
Provide supporting evidence.
WHAT I NEED TO KNOW
HOW TO DO
Differentiate components of form, function, content
and/ or context of a work of art.
BREAKDOWN
 Form- The scheme followed in shaping an artistic
work.
 Content- subject matter . The circumstances that
form the setting for an event statement or idea and in
terms of which it can be fully understood.
 Function- The purpose or activity for which a work of
art exists or is used.
Continued

Identification- Being able to assign a work of art or distinguish it from a given period or artist

Formal Analysis- Close inspection of an artists use of Art Elements ( same as in critique)

Stylistic analysis- Design element similarities which may resemble a certain artistic approach,
manner or period. Some quality must be shared by every member of the group. (personal, due to
environment, resources available, time or event)

Contextual analysis- Similar to observation of formal elements on visual characteristics but w/
the addition of deeper research in attempt to connect the works formal achievements to
Historical, religious, cultural purposes and meaning. Questions to ask…..Formal analysis, who
made it, when and where, Patronage, and or social purpose, cultural meaning/ significance.

Thinking Conceptually (Art as a metaphor)- How do some works suggest or promote large ideas
other than the visual themes?

Interpreting Iconography- Images or symbolisms used in a work and its possible interpretations.

Artist intention/ meaning of the work- Why, how, where, when was the work created ?

Synthesizing different ideas- on visual objects (compare – similarities and differences/ ContrastHow different when looked at juxtaposed to the other.

Techniques and History of making art
Intro to Work Through Critique Process
HOMELEARNING ASSIGNMENT
Statues of votive figures, from the
Square Temple at Eshnunna. (Modern
Tell Asmar, Iraq) Sumerian c. 2700
B.C.E Gypsum inlaid with shell and
black limestone.
San Vital, Justinian Panel.
Ravenna, Italy. Early Byzantine
Europe. C. 526-547 C.E. Brick,
marble, and stone veneer;
mosaic
Les Demoiselles d'Avignon.
Pablo Picasso
Museum of Modern Art
Cubism
1907 – Oil paint
GLOBAL PREHISTORY
PREHISTORIC ART
PALEOLITHIC ART 30,000 B.C.E- 8000 B.C.E
in the Near East; later in the rest of the world
Neolithic Art 8,000 B.C.E- 3000 B.C.E.
in the Near East ; later in the rest of the world
Visual Examples
Drawing in Prehistoric Art
Fun fact: Cave was named after Apollo moon landing
found during same time.
Hist.
Wonderwerk Cave in Nambian, Africa some of the
oldest works found. Work was portable
Theme?
The species are uncertain
Animal Facing Left, Apollo 11 Stones.
The Charcoal used in the animal facing left stone
Namibia. c. 25,500-25,300 B.C.E
dates around 23,000 B.C.E
Charcoal on stone
Subject was always animals in Paleolithic
How ?
Prehistoric depiction of animal always in profile
Visual Examples
Painting in Prehistoric Art
Great Hall of the Bulls. Lascaux, France.
Paleolithic Europe. 15,000-13000 B.C.E
Rock Painting
Cultural comparisons
- Tomb of the Triclinium
- Leonardo DaVinci Last
Supper
- Walker, Darkytown
Rebellion
How?
-Paint made from natural products, charcoal, iron ore, plants
-Some figures overlap
-Scaffolding evidence to reach higher areas of cave.
-walls were scrapped to even surface
-paint bound and lamps with animal fat
-Flat stones used as palettes
What?
-650 paintings of- cows horses bulls and deer
Where?
-Hundreds of feet from entrance of cave
Profile, Frontal and diagonal view of horns eyes and hooves- some
appear pregnant.
-Caves not dwelling – nomads follow animals (some evidence of
mouth of cave used as shelter)
Why?
-Used to ensure successful hunt
-Ancestral animal worship
-Shamanism- shamans (contact forces of nature through trance)
CLASS ASSIGNMENT
CAVE IS WHERE THE ART IS
(start drawing once you finish reading)
 This week be bad…no animal…me
hungry… me need food. I need
idea..better. I hunt. I plan. I think. Animal
be big. I want….many animal. Please I
need……..my family need. We all hungry. I
draw. I get animal……
Cross- Cultural connection/ comparison
Tomb of the Triclinium, C. 480-470 B.C.E., Tufa and
Frescoe, Tarquinia, Italy
Fun Fact:
-Named after an ancient Roman dining
table, which appears in the fresco
What?
- (couples) Ancient manner of eating in
reclined pose
- Rural setting by depicting trees and
shrubbery
- Possible funeral banquet, emotion is
celebration of dead
- Circles may represent time on
checkerboard ceiling
How?
-Ancient convention of painting men in
darker color than women
Where?
Italy, Etruscan funerary paintings about
280 still exstant (could be of Greek
influence..but due to less Greek paintings
left hard to prove.
Cross-cultural cont.
Kara, Walker, Darkytown Rebellion, 2001,
cut paper and projection on wall,
Collection Musee d’Art Moderne GrandDuc Jean, Luxembourg
How? Technique
-Draws images w/ greasy white pencil or soft
pastel crayon on large pieces of black paper;
cuts paper w/ knife
Images stick on wall w/ wax
Traditional silhouette forms
Overhead projector throws light
Peoples shadow mingle with work
People become part of the piece
What?
Exploration of African American in the
antebellum south (South Carolina period between the
War of 1812, and the American Civil War, )
Teenager holds flag resembling colonial ship
sail man has his leg cut off woman having
abortion another woman cares for newboen
Cross-cultural cont.
Depicts great moment of moment when Jesus says “one of you
will betray me” (Matthew 26:21)
Leonardo da Vinci, The last Supper, 1494-1498, Tempera and oil,
Santa Maria delle Grazie, Milan
Who?
Commissioned by Sforza of Milan for
the refectory or dining hall of a
Dominican abbey
What?
Relationship between the friars eating
and a Biblical meal
How?
Oil and tempera, to attempt greater
chiaroscuro but paint started to peel
off in Leo’s lifetime
Many restorations
Apostles grouped in three and three
windows symbolizing the Trinity
Where?
On a wall, only work of Leonardo da
Vinci that remains in situ
Running Horned Woman 6,000-4000
B.C.E
rock painting, Tassili n’Ajjer, Algeria
Aka elephant
mask, c.
nineteenth to
twentieth
century, wood,
woven raffia,
cloth, and beads
Where?
-Algeria, more than 15,000 drawings and
engravings found at this site.
-At one time the area was grass lands; climate
changes have turned it into desert
How?
Some drawings are naturalistic some abstract
and some Negroid features some Caucasian
features
Depicts live stock cows sheep wildlife giraffes
lions humans hunting harvesting
Composite view of the body
Dots may reflects body paint applied for ritual
The entire site was probably painted by many
different groups over a large expanse of time
Visual example
Sculpture in Prehistoric Art
Camelid sacrum in the shape of a
canine, 14,000- 7,000 B.C.E ., bone,
National Museum of Anthropology,
Mexico
Where?
-From Tequixquiac, Mexico
-Bone sculpture from a camel- like animal
-Sacrum is the triangular bone at the base of
the spine
How?
-Bone has been worked to create the image of
a dog or wolf
-One natural form used to take the shape of
another
-Carved to represent a mammal’s skull
-Mesoamerican idea that a sacrum is a
“second skull”
When?
Found in 1870
Visual example
Anthropomorphic stele, fourth
millennium B.C.E., sandstone Pergamon
Museum, Berlin
Sculpture in Prehistoric Art
When?
-One of the earliest known
works of art from Arabia
Where?
-Found in an area that had
extensive ancient trade
roots
Why?
-Religious or burial purpose
What?
-Belted robe from which
hangs a double bladed knife
or sword
-Anthropomorphic
resembles human form but
not in itself human
Visual example
Beaker with ibex motifs.
Susa, Iran 4200-3500
B.C.E. painted terra cotta
Where?
Sculpture in Prehistoric Art
-Found near burial site, but not with human
remains
-Made in Susa, in Southwestern Iran
-Found with hundreds of baskets, bowls, and
metallic items
How?
-Use of potter’s wheel, a technological advance
-Thin walls of pot
What?
-Frieze of stylized aquatic birds on top ; below
stylized running dogs with long narrow bodies
-Oversized horns abstract stylized motif
-In the middle of horns is a clan symbol of family
ownership
Why?
-Perhaps the image identifies the deceased as
belonging to a particular group or family
Tlatilco Female Figures c. 1200900 B.C.E, ceramic, Princeton
University Art Museum,
Princeton, New Jersey
Where?
Tlatilco, Mexico, noted for pottery
What?
Many shapes and forms: male, female,
couples, etc.
Female figures show elaborate details
of hair styles, clothing, and body
ornaments
Many show deformities including twoheaded females: possible signification
of a cluster of conjoined or Siamese
twins; stillborn
Theories that they show bifacial
images, and therefore would show the
first evidence of congenital defects
May have had shamanistic function
Style:flipper-like arms; huge thighs,
pronounced hips, narrow waists,
unclothed except for jewelry; arms
extend from the body
terra-cotta fragment. lapita, from the
solomon islands,
Art Movements

Surrealism
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Cubism
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Realism
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Abstract
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Impressionism
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Expressionism
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Modern
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Post modern
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Abstract expressionism
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Dada
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Op Art
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Futurism
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Deconstructivism
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Minimalism
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Mannerism
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Political
Art Periods