Getting you started: Terms for Art History

These terms will be used to write your reports and

questionnaires on assigned works of art.
You will need to review this presentation for
every assignment. Terms are explained in it.
But first, about our assignments…
Our first five assignments are called reports. In a report there are three questions.
The first question will ask you for a detailed description of what you see in a work of
art.
The second question will always require you to use a visual element term. You are
required to use only that term. Please do not attempt to alter our assignments. You will earn
fewer points for not following directions.
The third question will ask about the artist or work of art. You will need to do an Internet
search to locate and read information you use to answer the third question.
Here is a second question. What qualities of this visual element term were used in the
assigned work of art?
Here are qualities of the visual element, line...
Line is the most basic of visual elements used by artists when creating a work of art. Line can be found in
almost every work of art. Here are some of the qualities of line that help to define it further. These are the
required qualities to use in your #2 question answers when writing your report.
- straight
- diagonal
- curved
- zig-zag
- broken
- organic
- thick
- thin
The work of art...
Broadway Boogie Woogie

by Mondrian
Qualities of line...
This work of art uses strictly vertical and horizontal lines.

All lines used in this work of art are straight.

They do not vary and are all the same thickness.

Some of these lines are broken and replaced with

squares of color.
More visual element terms presented…
● What follows are more visual element terms you will use in your assignments.
Please note these important qualities about a term. It is important you are
able to identify them and then find them in a work of art.
● I am preparing you with this presentation so you are able to first learn what
they are. So then you can find them. The qualities of term will be what you will
include in your #2 answer in a report.
● If you are ever unable to see the assigned visual element term in a work of art
you are expected to contact me (frank.foster@vvc.edu). Please do not write in
your answer that you could not find it. This is unacceptable and will result in
your not learning and earning a lower score. Please let me help.
Shape:
Shape is defined by an exterior line that creates an outline of something. Shape has no
form. It is flat because it is not defined by light or depth.

Shape is considered two-dimensional containing length and height. Shape can be

classified by being either organic or geometrical. Organic shape is irregular. Here are
some qualities of shape: irregular or organic, squares, rectangles, polygons,
parallelograms, circles and ovals. To repeat, these are shapes. They are shapes
because they lack depth and are two-dimensional.

Do not confuse shape with form. Form will be defined and explained later in this
presentation.
Shape continued…
In Mondrian’s Broadway Boogie Woogie, shape is used. There are simple geometric shapes
Mondrian painted. It is entirely made up of geometrical shapes. These shapes are very basic
and flat. There is no depth in this painting.

The entire painting is a square, equal on all four sides.

Rectangles are used as well as squares.

In each line squares of primary colors create a repeated

pattern. It contains no form and is two-dimensional.

Form vs. shape - Hands by M.C. Escher
Notice how Escher has taken the shape of a hand and has made it more
dimensional by adding highlights and shadows to that shape. This is a two
dimensional drawing but the illusion of three-dimensional form is made possible by
adding highlights and shadows.
Look at it one more time...
Elements of art that Escher’s Hands use...
Escher’s Hands uses organic lines. The lines used to create the hands utilize the
actual shape and curved lines of a hand and fingers. These are organic lines
because they resemble a human hand. Even though Escher drew these lines, he
still is attempting to create a real human hand with all of the qualities you would
see in the shape, form and surface of a real one.

Do not get confused about a human creating an organic work of art. We can
recreate what we see in nature in a work of art. It is still considered organic even if
it is a recreation.
Elements of art that Escher’s Hands use...continued
Form is used because the hand appears to be pushed out of the drawing giving it
the actual mass of a hand. The pencils use straight, diagonal lines. The piece of
paper that the hands are rendered on is turned diagonally, creating triangles on
each side of the work of art. It does not contain color so it is called
monochromatic. The illusion of form is created because of shadows and lighter
tones of gray used make the hand more round and dimensional. You can see dark
shadows cast by the hands indicating a light source. Please see the illustration of
a grayscale when the term tonality is covered.
Form used in architecture:
● Form has depth. Form is called three-dimensional.
● Shape has no dimension and is called two-dimensional because it lacks depth.
● Architecture has form because it requires depth to create an interior space. Architecture
is three-dimensional.
● The simplest of forms that is used to create architecture is a cube. Most homes are
simply cubes with windows and doors. Cube is a quality of form.
● Geometrical form is defined by mathematical terms. Some geometrical form qualities
are cube or cuboid, rectangular cube, rectangular prism, cone, pyramid and
cylinders.
Here is an illustration of a grayscale which illustrates tonality...
White or highlights are at opposite ends of the scale. In the center are grays, from light, to
middle gray, to dark. At the opposite end is black. To render shape into a form you need
highlights (whites), grays and shadows (blacks or dark grays). This is also called tonality.
Tonality contains no color, only tones of white, grays and black.
Black and white photography and tonality:
● Black and white photography is made up of tonality.
● Tonality is defined as a range of tones from black to middle gray to white.
Please see the previous slide as an example of this range.
● All black and white photographs utilize tonality because they contain no color.
● Another name for black and white images is monochromatic.
● Some of the qualities of tonality are whites, highlights, light grays, middle
gray, intermediate grays, dark grays and black.
● When writing about tonality please use these qualities. To repeat, color is not
found in the tonality of a black and white photograph.
● Emotion is not assigned regarding this term.
Here is another work by Escher..
Color - please use this information when writing about the
term color for assignments.
Color is a term that can be defined by the name of each one on a color wheel. Please
examine a color wheel on the next page. It displays the systematic arrangement of color.
Notice the names of colors. Always name each color you see in a work of art. The name
of a color is a quality of color. Use the names of colors in the color wheel. Here are
these qualities:

Primary colors - red, blue and yellow. Secondary colors - orange, violet and green. Tertiary
colors - blue green, yellow green, yellow orange, blue violet, red violet and red orange. Hue
is how pure a color is. Tint is how light a color is or how much white is added to it. Tone is
the darkness of a color or how much gray is added to it. Shade is how much black is added
to color to make it darker.
Please look up terms using the Internet...
Every assignment will require you to use a visual element term. All students are required to look up the
assigned visual element term using a search engine on the Internet. Since this is an online course, you
are required to use the resources of the web to enrich your understanding of visual elements in art. There
are lots of websites that present visual illustrations of these terms. Knowing how to recognize and find
these qualities in the art we study is important. As a student studying art, you are expected to explore the
web and learn from the information it provides.

Important: Do not try to change our assignments by adding or altering a term or quality. Students are
never permitted to change an assignment. The terms presented here are intended to prepare you for
assignments. You are required to use these provided terms in assignments. If you fail to view this
presentation or if you alter what is presented, you are not following directions and will earn a lower score.
Contact your teacher if anything is not clear.