ArtSpeak 101
Visual Glossary: Defining the Elements of Artistic Design

Instructions

Because there are two main parts to ArtSpeak 101, if you haven't already, read the instructions. If you know what to do, get started...

Sometimes the best way to learn a new concept is to see some examples of it. Below, some of the You Choose artworks have been sorted according to main elements of design. Look at the three pictures for each element to get a personal sense of the term's meaning. If you like, you can see the definitions by clicking on the words themselves, but be warned, the definitions can sometimes be more confusing than helpful. You can also go to a more complete glossary that is part of the 2001 California Visual Arts Content Standards.

When you finish this Visual Glossary, go on to the main ArtSpeak 101 activity.

Important: All images below are © The Fine Arts Museum of San Francisco - http://famsf.org. Did you read and understand the Copyright Agreement?


Color
How do you think color is used to create special effects?
Quitton
Still Life with green
ribbon, fly, and
four American birds

Eduard Quitton
renoir
"L'Algerienne"

Pierre-Auguste Renoir
Rosenthal
Interior of a Woodcarver's Shop

Toby E. Rosenthal


Line
How do you think line creates a different feel to a work of art?
Haley
Berkeley (or North Berkeley)

John Charles Haley
Gutmann
Untitled (Cityscape, New York)

John Gutmann
Daumier
Third Class Carriage

Honoré Daumier


Value
How do you think shading and lighting contribute to a work of art?
Howard
Embarcadero and Clay Street

John Langley Howard
Cole
Peace at Sunset

Thomas Cole
Watteau
The Foursome

Antoine Watteau


Shape & Form
How do you think the shape or form of the main subjects in a painting contributes to the purpose or feeling?
Boldoni
Portrait of Madame X

Giovanni Boldini
Hopper
Portrait of Orleans

Edward Hopper
Obata
Lake Basin in the High Sierra

Chiura Obata


Balance
What do you think are the different ways artists use balance?

A Stag at Sharkey's

George Bellows
David
The Fortune Teller

Jacques-Louis David
Tanka
Mount Fuji
and the Wave

Tanka


Texture
How do you think the texture painters use contributes to the feeling or sense of an artwork?
Gile
Untitled (Landscape)

Selden Connor Gile
Seurat
Eiffel Tower

Georges Seurat
Monet
Water Lilies

Claude Monet


Symmetry & Asymmetry
How do you think symmetry & asymmetry create different feelings in a painting?
Delacroix
A King's Guard

Eugène Delacroix
Demuth
From the Garden of the Chateau

Charles Demuth
Dali
Portrait of Dorothy Spreckels Munn

Salvador Dali


Contrast
How do you think contrast contributes to an artwork?
Rubens
The Tribute Money

Peter Paul Rubens
Bierstadt
Study for
"The Last of the Buffalo"

Albert Bierstadt
Obata
Untitled Landscape (Alma)

Chiura Obata


Rhythm
What special effects do you think rhythm brings to paintings?
Boldoni
Portrait of Mrs. Whitney Warren, Sr.

Giovanni Boldini
Bothwell
Party Waltz

Dorr Bothwell
Gutmann
(Untitled) Forest Scene

John Gutmann


Theme and Variation
How do you think theme and variation make paintings more interesting?
Cezanne
Forest Interior

Paul Cézanne
Peirce
Christine's Land

Waldo Peirce
Sargent
Cloud Study

John Singer Sargent


When you've finished this page,
go on to the main ArtSpeak 101 activity.




December 1995.
Last revised February, 2014
By Tom March, tom at ozline dot com