Study of Art

Introduction
Basic Concepts, Historical and
Formal Characteristics of Art
Compiled by Melisa Ramos de Hoyos
A r t
Intimate expression of a human beings
life experience, which communicates a
universal concept.
it should mirror reality
it must be pleasing to the eye, even if it is not
realistic
it should express something that others can
understand (ideas, beliefs and feelings)


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A r t
Meaning [different things in different times]
Language [styles and forms of expression]
Artists have an individual life experience to express and a
particular way to express it.
Intention and purpose
A work of art has an intention that originates from a
definite occasion and has a definite purpose.
Standards of beauty
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Art History
The study of art that helps us understand:
why an artist worked in a particular way or aimed at certain
effects
it places the artist and the work of art in a specific
environment, so the spectator can have a better
comprehension of the artists intention.

it is a good way of sharpening our eyes for the particular
characteristics of works of art, and of thereby increasing
our sensitivity to the finer shades of difference.
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1. Rubens: Portrait of his son Nicholas
1620, Vienna Albertina
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2. Drer: Portrait of his Mother
1514, Berlin, Germany
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3. (left) Mezzolo Da Forli: Angel (Detail)
1480, Vatican
(right) Memling: Angels (Detail)
1490, Antwerp, Belgium
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Art History:
Terms
Style - A common
language expressed
in works of
contemporary*
artists.
* living or occurring at the same
time
Period
chronological
classification of
common style
features, as well as
the differences that
reflect a style
development.
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Art History:
Terms
Style: artists in every age expressed in their work a
meaning of some sort intelligible to themselves and
others. One can get at that meaning only by setting a
particular work in relation to others like it that were
made about the same time.
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Period: that works of art from one period look
different from those of other periods leads us to infer
that something changes. That something can only be
the points of view of the human makers of the works
of art with respect to the meaning of life and of art.
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4. (left) Guido Reni: Head of Christ (Detail)
1640, Louvre, Paris, France
(right) Tuscan Master: Head of Christ (Detail)
1270, Florence, Italy
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5. (left) Drer: A Hare
1502, Vienna, Albertina
6. (right) Rembrandt: An Elephant
1637, Vienna, Albertina
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Art History:
Historical Dimension
A works peculiar significance, quality
and acceptance are a function of the
time of its making.
Work
Of
Art
Style
Period
Point of Origin
Influence (events, persons)
School (time-place-style classification)
Intention &
Purpose
Meaning
&
Development
Artists Biography
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Art History:
Other Approaches

Iconography study of the subject of
matter and symbolism in works of art.
It classifies in terms of themes rather than styles,
and follows the development of subject matter.
Its often valuable in tracing influences and in
assigning dates and places of origin.
12
7. (left) Caravaggio: St. Mathew (Rejected version)
1598, Kaiser-Friedrich Museum, Berlin
(right) Caravaggio: St. Mathew (Accepted version)
1600, Rome, Italy
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Art History:
Other Approaches

Historical Context political, social,
economic, scientific, technological and
intellectual background that accompanies and
influences the specific art-historical events.

It analyzes all the facts that influence and
become part of a work of art, in which they
are reflected the work of art is after all a
historical document.
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8. (left) Grciault: Horse-racing at Epsom
1821, Louvre, Paris
9. (right) Edweard Muybridge: A Galloping Horse in Motion
1872, London, Great Britain
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Art Language
Technique: the process of shaping
specific materials with specific tools,
each with its own potentialities and
limitations.
Composition: overall organization
and relationship among the formal
elements, according to the principles
of art.
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Art Language:
Formal Elements
Space: the way a work of art is
organized to interact with the spectator.
real the area a work of art physically
occupies.
illusion the representation of it in a two-
dimensional image.
Open or closed space the sensation of
space a work of art transmits.
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Art Language:
Formal Elements
Space elements:
Plane or Area flat surface having a
direction in space.
Mass bulk, density and weight of matter
in space.
Volume space organized, divided or
enclosed by mass.
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Art Language:
Formal Elements
Line: a path traced by a moving point
that has expressive qualities
the formal qualities of lines also convey an expressive
character because we identify them with our body and
our experience of nature.
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Types of lines:
Regular lines
Lines in relation to each other
Irregular lines
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Bridget Riley, Kiss (1961), Blaze 1 (1962),
Arrest 1 (1965) and Orient 4 (1970).
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Art Language:
Formal Elements
Depth:
Symbolic the use of overlapping objects
or playing with proportion and scales.
Illusion representation of perspective.
Real three-dimensional work.
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Art Language:
Formal Elements
Perspective: method of organizing forms
in space or the illusion of depth.
Linear or one-point perspective
Foreshortened
Aerial [illusion of distance created by blurred contours and reduced intensity
of colors]

Illusion of
perspective
orthogonals
vanishing
point
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Linear Perspective
Ideal City, Piero della Francesca, c.1470
Linear
Perspective
Betrothal of the Virgin,
Raphael, 1504
Aerial Perspective
Art Language:
Formal Elements
Light: the use of or its representation
in a work of art.
Real (natural or artificial)
Symbolic
Color:
Physical properties hue (color), value (brightness
or tone), intensity (saturation)
Expressive qualities bright/dark,
warm/cold
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Color
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Art Language:
Formal Elements
Texture: the surface characteristics of
an object or material.
Real part of the material or technique
used by the artist.
Represented
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Principles of Art
The relationship among the formal
elements, that follows an intention of
conveying a specific expression with
specific effects.
balance
harmony
contrast
emphasis
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rhythm
proportion
gradation
Fine Arts
Performance Arts music, theatre,
dance, poetry.
Visual (Plastic) Arts architecture,
painting, sculpture.
Recent Artistic Expressions:
Happenings, Performance, Installations,
Graphic Arts, Photography, Films, etc.
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Minor or Applied Arts
The design or decoration of functional
objects that have an aesthetic intention
Done by hand or by machine: pottery,
embroidery, terracotta, textiles, inlaid
woodwork, marquetry, embossment,
porcelain, jewelry, etc.
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Fine Arts
Architecture: groupings of enclosed
space and enclosing masses, with a
purpose function of the structure. Its
construction, materials and design are
correlated to the space and mass.
Basic Structural Elements: column,
pillar, wall, arch, vault, dome, roof.
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Fine Arts
Sculpture: a three-dimensional
representation of human or natural
forms or embodiment of visions and
ideals.
Kinds of sculpture: freestanding, high
relief (figures or design project boldly),
low or bas-relief (project slightly),
monumental, figurines or statuettes.
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Fine Arts
Painting: a two-dimensional surface
on which the artist creates a
representation or unique interpretation
of the optical world.
Pictorial representations can be abstract
or figurative.
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Conclusion
The artists express their life experience
through their interpretations of the world that
surrounds them. This expression is mainly
intuitive and follow no fixed rules. Even
though specific formal laws have been
formulated, a poor artists achieves nothing by
them.
Art history helps us understand better and
appreciate the esthetic qualities a specific
work of art.
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Foot notes:
1. Gombrich, E.H. The Story of Art (USA, Phaidon Press Limited, 1989),
p. 18
2. Gardner, Louise. Art Through the Ages (USA, Harcourt Brace
Jovanovich, 1980), p. 3
3. Gardner, Louise. Op. cit. p. 3
4. Ibidem, pp. 5-6
5. Schneider Adams, Laurie. A History of Western Art ( USA, McGraw-
Hill, 2001), pp. 12-13
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List of Images
Taken from: Gombrich, E.H. The Story of Art
(USA, Phaidon Press Limited, 1989)

1. p. 2
2. p. 2
3. p. 5
4. p. 6
5. p. 7
6. p. 7
7. p. 13
8. p. 10
9. p. 11
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Bibliography
Gardner, Louise. 1980. Art Through the
Ages. USA: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich.
Gombrich, E.H. 1989. The Story of Art
USA: Phaidon Press Limited.
Mittler, Gene A. 2000. Art in Focus.
USA: Glenco/McGraw-Hill.
Schneider Adams, Laurie. A History of
Western Art ( USA, McGraw-Hill, 2001)
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