Please select a work of art (painting or sculpture) and write a 3 page essay on this particular work Please address the following:
Why did you select this particular piece?
Were you familiar with this painting or sculpture prior to taking this class?
In which style was this artwork produced (i.e. Rococo, Impressionism, etc.)
What are some of the ways that this particular work reflects this style, i.e. characteristics, motifs, technique, etc.?
Who created this artwork?
What were some of the forces (historical, cultural, and personal) in the artist’s life that may have influenced and motivated him to produce this work?
Do research and find out as much as you can about the work you have selected and about its creative author.
Discuss your personal reaction to this particular work, does this work play upon your emotions, how does it make you feel?
Does having knowledge about the creator of this piece and why he created this work influence how you view the work and your response to it?
What materials were used and what skills did the artist have that allowed him to create this work?
Provide a formal analysis of the work by examining each of the formal elements of art. Please look at each one of the formal elements of art listed below and provide evidence for each in your chosen work.
Formal Elements of Art:
line
shape
form
tone
texture
pattern
color
composition
Line is the path left by a moving point.
For example, a pencil or a brush dipped in paint.
It can take many forms, ie. horizontal, diagonal or curved.
It can even start off curved and end up horizontal.
It can be used to show different qualities, ie. contours, showing the shape and form of something, feelings or expressions – a short, hard line gives a different feeling than a more flowing one (movement).
A shape is an area enclosed by a line.
It could be just an outline or it could be shaded in.
Shapes can be either geometric, like a circle, square or triangle, or irregular.
When drawing shapes, you must consider the size and position as well as the shape of the area around it.
The shapes created in the spaces between shapes are referred to as negative space.
Form is a three-dimensional shape, such as a cube, sphere or cone.
Sculpture and 3D design are about creating forms.
In 2D artworks, tone and perspective can be used to create an illusion of form.
Tone refers to the lightness or darkness of something. This could be a shade or how dark or light a color appears.
Tone is created by the way light falls on a 3D object.
The parts of the object on which the light is strongest are called highlights and the darker areas are called shadows.
There will a range of tones in between the highlights and shadows.
Texture has to do with the surface quality of something, the way something feels or looks like it feels. There are two types of texture: actual texture and visual texture.
Actual texture really exists, so you can feel it or touch it. You can create actual texture in an artwork by changing the surface, such as sticking different fabrics on to a canvas. Combining different material techniques can create interesting textures.
Visual texture is created using marks to represent actual texture. It gives the illusion of a texture or surface but if you touched it, it would be smooth. You can create visual texture by using different lines, shapes, colors or tones. Think about how different marks can be used to show texture.
Pattern is a design that is created by repeating lines, shapes, tones or colors.
The design used to create a pattern is often referred to as a motif.
Motifs can be simple shapes or complex arrangements.
Patterns can be man-made, like a design on fabric, or natural, such as the markings on animal fur.
Color are attributes and perceptions related to the wavelengths of light.
The property possessed by an object producing different sensations on the eye as a result of the way the object reflects or emits light.
Red, yellow and blue are primary colors, which means they can’t be mixed using other colors.
Other colors can be mixed from these three colors.
Composition in the visual arts, in particular painting, graphic design, photography and sculpture, composition is the placement or arrangement of visual elements or ingredients in a work of art, as distinct from the subject of a work.
It can also be thought of as the organization of the elements of art according to the principles of art.
The term composition means “putting together,” and can apply to any work of art, from music to writing to photography, that is arranged or put together using conscious thought.
An artist may enhance the composition by the manipulation of color with a movement from light to dark or a stark contrast between dark and light, as in the chiaroscuro style used in Baroque painting. Much of Renaissance painting uses a pyramidal construction so that the most important figure is at the apex of the pyramid and lesser figures form the base.
The second essay should be double spaced and does not need to include a bibliography. However, you must cite your sources. If you are directly quoting then your text should be enclosed in quotations “marks;” and if you are paraphrasing, meaning that the text is written using your own words to convey someone else’s ideas/material, then in both cases please be sure to include the author’s name or the first word of the title or site name if no author is provided, enclosed within (parenthesis) immediately following the text being quoted or paraphrased. For example, this architectural work “reflects……” (Smith); or paraphrasing, this architectural work was seen by later generations as evoking that utilitarian approach and spirit that was so uniquely Roman (Smith).
Please include the url’s for the sources you used at the end of your essay on a separate page.
