Elements of Art & Design

• Line - Directs the eye – horizontal, vertical, diagonal, curvy ,zig-zag, etc. It has greater length than width, can be a mark made by a moving
point and can be actual obvious lines or the borders or edges of shapes.
• Shape/Form - A contained area. Can be GEOMETRIC(man-made) ex. Square, triangle, circle, etc.
• Space - The area used or unused in a composition; can contribute to balance within a composition. Use of space can create dimension for the
viewer; the area around, within, or between objects/subjects in an image create perspective; positive and negative space.
• Value - Black and White and all the Grays in between. The darkness or lightness of a color; adding white to a color makes it a tint; adding
black to a color makes it a shade. Can add drama and impact to composition.
Color - can alter the overall mood/ feeling. Hue (refers to the name; i.e. red). Saturation (intensity or amount). Temperature (cool, warm;
measured in Kelvin).
• Texture - The appearance of how a surface feels. Rough, smooth, bumpy, gooey, sharp, etc. Adds interest! Sense of sight and sense of touch
involved.
Principles of Art & Design
The principles of art represent how the artist uses the elements of art  to create an effect and to help convey the artist's intent. 
• Emphasis - Creating a focal point; emphasis in a composition refers to creating points of interest to pull the viewer's eye to important parts of
the body of the work.
• Balance - The impression of stability or equality in a composition. It is often referred to as symmetrical, asymmetrical, or radial.
• Unity/Harmony - Achieved when the components of a work of art are perceived as harmonious, giving the work a sense of completion.
• Contrast - Refers to the opposites and differences in the composition. You can achieve contrast by using different shapes, textures, colors
and values in your work.
• Movement/Rhythm - Refers to the suggestion of motion through the use of various elements. The way elements are arranged to lead the eye
to or from the focal area.
• Pattern/ Repetition - An element that occurs over and over again in a composition. Can repeat the element in a consistent or varying pattern.
• Scale/ Proportion - Refers to the relative size and scale of the various elements in a design; the relationship between objects, or parts, of a
whole.

Impressionism was an art movement that emerged in the second half of the 19 th century among a group of Paris-based artists. The
duration of the impressionist movement itself was quite short, less than 20 years from 1872 to the mid-1880s.

But it had a tremendous impact and influence on the painting styles that followed, such as neo-impressionism, post-impressionism,
fauvism, and cubism—and even the artistic styles and movements of today.

EDOUARD MANET Rue Mosnier Decked With Flags

Edouard Manet (1832-1883) was one of the Edouard Manet, 1878
first 19th century artists to depict Oil on canvas
modern-life subjects. He was a key figure in the
transition from realism to
impressionism, with a number of his works
considered as marking the birth of
modern art.

CLAUDE MONET The Red Boats, Argenteuil

Claude Monet (1840-1926) was one of the Claude Monet, 1875,
founders of the impressionist movement Oil on canvas
along with his friends Auguste Renoir, Alfred
Sisley, and Frédéric Bazille. He was
the most prominent of the group; and is
considered the most influential figure in the
movement. Monet is best known for his
landscape paintings, particularly those
depicting his beloved flower gardens and water
lily ponds at his home in Giverny.

AUGUSTE RENOIR
Auguste Renoir (1841-1919), along with Claude
Monet, was one of the central
figures of the impressionist movement. His early
works were snapshots of real life,
full of sparkling color and light. By the mid-
1880s, however, Renoir broke away from
the impressionist movement to apply a more
disciplined, formal technique to portraits
of actual people and figure paintings.
After the brief yet highly influential period of impressionism, an outgrowth movement known as post-impressionism emerged. The European
artists who were at the forefront of this movement continued using the basic qualities of the impressionists before them—the vivid colors,
heavy brush strokes, and true-to-life subjects. However, they expanded and experimented with these in bold new ways,
like using a geometric approach, fragmenting objects and distorting people’s faces and body parts, and applying colors that were not
necessarily realistic or natural. Two of the foremost post-impressionists were Paul Cézanne and Vincent van Gogh.
PAUL CEZANNE
Paul Cézanne (1839–1906) was a French artist and
post-impressionist painter. His work exemplified the
transition from late 19th-century impressionism to a
new and radically different world of art in the 20th
century—paving the way for the next revolutionary
art movement known as expressionism.

VINCENT VAN GOGH

Vincent van Gogh (1853-1890) was a post-
impressionist painter from The
Netherlands. His works were remarkable for their
strong, heavy brush strokes, intense emotions, and
colors that appeared to almost pulsate with energy.
Van Gogh’s striking style was to have a far-reaching
influence on 20th century art, with his works
becoming among the most recognized in the world.

EXPRESSIONISM

In the early 1900s, there arose in the Western art world a movement that came to be known as expressionism. Expressionist
artists created works with more emotional force, rather than with realistic or natural images. To achieve this, they distorted
outlines, applied strong colors, and exaggerated forms. They worked more with their imagination and feelings, rather than with
what their eyes saw in the physical world.
Among the various styles that arose within the expressionist art movements were: neo primitivism ,
fauvism ,dadaism ,surrealism ,social realism.

Neoprimitivism
Neoprimitivism was an art style that incorporated
elements from the native arts of the South Sea Islanders
and the wood carvings of African tribes which suddenly
became popular at that time. Among the Western artists
who adapted these elements Was Amedeo Modigliani,
who used the oval faces and elongated shapes of African
art in both his sculptures and paintings.

Fauvism
Fauvism was a style that used bold, vibrant colors and
visual distortions. Its
name was derived from les fauves (“wild beasts”),
referring to the group of
French expressionist painters who painted in this style.
Perhaps the most known
among them was Henri Matisse.
 Dadaism was a style characterized by dream fantasies,
memory images, and visual
tricks and surprises—as in the paintings of Marc Chagall
and Giorgio de Chirico below.
Although the works appeared playful, the movement
arose from the pain that a group
of European artists felt after the suffering brought by
World War I. Wishing to protest
against the civilization that had brought on such horrors,
these artists rebelled against established norms and
authorities, and against the traditional styles in art. They
chose the child’s term for hobbyhorse, dada, to refer to
their new “non-style.

Surrealism Persistence of Memory

Surrealism was a style that depicted an illogical, Salvador Dali, 1931
subconscious dream world beyond
the logical, conscious, physical one. Its name came from Oil on canvas
the term “super realism,” with its artworks clearly
expressing a departure from reality—as though the
artists were dreaming, seeing illusions, or experiencing
an altered mental state.
Many surrealist works depicted morbid or gloomy
subjects, as in those by Salvador Dali. Others were quite
playful and even humorous, such as those by Paul Klee.

Social Realism Guernica

The movement known as social realism. Expressed the Pablo Picasso, 1937
artist’s role in social reform. Oil on canvas (Size: 11’ 5 1/2” x 25’ 5 3/4”)
Here, artists used their works to protest against the
injustices, inequalities, immorality, and
ugliness of the human condition.
In different periods of history, social realists
have addressed different issues: war, poverty,
corruption, industrial and environmental hazards, and
more—in the hope of raising people’s
awareness and pushing society to seek reforms.

Abstractionism

Another group of artistic styles emerged at the same time as the expressionist movement. It had the same spirit of freedom of
expression and openness that characterized life in the 20th century, but it differed from expressionism in certain ways. This
group of styles was known as abstractionism.

Cubism
The cubist style derived its name from the cube, a three-
dimensional geometric figure composed of strictly measured
lines, planes, and angles. Cubist artworks were, therefore, a
play of planes and angles on a flat surface. Foremost among
the cubists was Spanish painter/sculptor Pablo Picasso.
Futurism Armored Train
The movement known as futurism began in Italy in the early Gino Severini, 1915
1900s. As the name implies, the futurists created art for a Oil on canvas
fast-paced, machine-propelled age.
They admired the motion, force, speed, and strength of
mechanical forms. Thus, their works depicted the dynamic
sensation of all these—as can be seen in the works of Italian
painter Gino Severini.

Nonobjectivism
The logical geometrical conclusion of abstractionism came in New York City
the style known as nonobjectivism. From the very term Piet Mondrian, 1942
“non-object,” works in this style did not make use of figures Oil on canvas
or even representations of figures. They did not refer to
recognizable objects or forms in the outside world.

Lines, shapes, and colors were used in a

cool, impersonal approach that aimed
for balance, unity, and stability. Colors
were mainly black, white, and the
primaries (red, yellow, and blue).
Foremost among the nonobjectivists was
Dutch painter Piet Mondrian.