VISUAL ARTS

Human’s creative activity that can be seen and delight

the eyes.
Elements of Visual Arts
• Straight Lines: Forms- a combination of different lines into
closed or open geometrical shapes.
1. Vertical
2. Horizontal
3. Diagonal
• Curved Lines
1. Circle
2. Lunette
3. Oblong
4. Ellipse
Space
& Perspectiv

Space is the area in which art is

organized. Perspective is representative of
volume of space or a 3-D object on a flat
surface (above, Escher, right, Da Vinci)
Perspective
• To adjust and express the distance and depth of the object of the
artwork
• Distant appearance of the object
COLORS
• Property of light
• It express emotions
• Hue- refers to the color itself
o Primary- blue, red, yellow
o Secondary- orange, green, violet
• Related Color harmonies
o Orange Family- orange, tan, brown etc.
• Contrast color harmonies
o Disagreement of hues
o Opposition of hues
• Value
o Relative lightness or darkness of a color
o Provides an impact on lightning and shadowing
• Intensity
ANISH KAPOOR
MORRIS LOUIS
WARM COLOR
COOL COLOR PAINTINGS
COOL AND WARM COLOR ARE MIXED TOGETHER
TEXTURE
• Visual appearance of things
• Characteristics of the surface of the art work
• Sense perception
• Significant in artworks like sculpture and painting
• Commercially important in skin, clothes, jewelry and other objects
Texture
The tactile (touchable) qualities of an
object, actual or implied (right, Bernini
and left, Rauschenberg)
Value
Value refers to
the relative level
or darkness or
lightness of a
color in terms of
contrast (left,
Raphael)
Nicholas Nixon
Kenneth Josephson
Brett Weston
Chiaroscuro or light and shadow
• Using light and shade
• Without the use of color
HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT
of VISUAL ART
• Historical Development of Visual Arts
1. Stone Age
a. Cave paintings
b. Colored ore
c. Magical purpose
2. Antiquity: Skill or Technique
a. Greeks and Romans- referred to as classical arts
b. Greeks techne (work or technical skills, fashioning of object,
mimesis-imitation of reality and mythological)
c. Romans (ars-technique or method of working)
Prehistoric Art
3. Middle Ages: Craftsmanship
• Christianity dominated the Western World rivaled by Islam in the
East
• Visual art became an educational tool to teach people about God;
• Dominance of illuminated manuscript
• Religious Mosaic
• Houses were ornamented with huge tapestry depicting mythology
• Stained glass window
4. Renaissance: Genius and
Design
• Artist Guilds
• Visual arts became associated with other trades like painters, doctors,
sculptors and metal workers of armors
• Painters and sculptors became associated with poetry as higher art
• Painters became man of letters and philosophy and regarded not just
mere workers but geniuses;
• Disegno-16th century a group of Italian artist regarded sculpture,
painting and architecture as the arts of “design”
• Istoria- narrative paintings valued as the highest form of painting
o It can teach morals to people
o It conveys story
o It conveys idea
5. 17 -19
th th Century: Fine Arts
• Creative freedom of the artist
• Art Academies- allowed an individual to practice Art as a
profession:
 Academy of Fine Arts in France
 French Academy of Fine Arts
• Artist worked for monarchs and nobilities
• Artist could sell their creation to individual collectors
• Lost of aesthetic and artistic quality
• Commercialization of Art Works
• Government sponsored art exhibition
19th Century: Self Expression
• It fought the very institution that established the academies;
• Subject of art works are those that criticize the government;
• Romanticism Movement
• Individuality of the techniques of the Artist;
• Impressionism school
• Modern Commercial Gallery system
• Realism
20thand 21
Century: New Media
st

and New Art Forms

• Some of the new movement destroy or challenge the generic
definition of arts;
• Dada movement
• Combine media
Paintings
• Creative activity that employs or maximized colors from organic substance like
oil or synthetic substances
• Different techniques in paintings:
1. Fresco- the application of paint to wet or fresh plaster
2. Tempera- use of powdered pigment mixed with egg yolks
3. Oil- application of oil based colors
4. Enamel- use of vitreous substance fused by heat-softened wax and resin
5. Water color- employs colored pigment dissolved in water
6. Grisaille- exclusively employs gray scale colors
7. Encaustic- use of dry colors combined with heat-softened wax and resin
8. Acrylic- the use of acrylic paint
MOSAIC
• Technically mosaics are:
1. Surface decorations
2. Tesserae
3. Mostly found in floors, walls and ceilings
4. Combined with sculptures and paintings
Other Visual Arts work
• Tapestry
• Illumination
• Stained Glass
• Printmaking
• Photography