Art History Introduction

Terms for describing art

Categories of Art

picture (2d images that have height and width), sculpture(3d objects that have height, width, and depth), architecture (utilitarian structures for a specific purpose)

sculpture in the round

free standing sculpture that you can fully walk around

relief sculpture

design carved into/projecting from a background, only one viewing angle (three types)

high relief

forms project far from the background

low relief

forms project slightly from the background

sunken relief

forms etched into background

medium

what the object is made out of

technique

the process of which the art is made

additive method

building up a form from a medium

subtractive method

taking away material from a form

form/formal elements

the visual aspects of a work of art

line

narrow, elongated dash or mark made by a pencil, pen, paintbrush, or chisel (active, static, aggressive, passive, sensual, mechanical, indicates direction, define boundaries, imply volume/mass, used to depict shadow, light, patterns, and texture)

color

combination of pigments used in paintings or the natural colors of a material used by a sculptor/architect

hue

name of the color

value/tonality

degree of lightness or darkness of a color

intensity/saturation

the purity of a color/brightness or dullness

shading

gradual transition from light to dark (create a sense of dimension)

texture

the tactical (perceived) quality of a surface

space

sculpture: unlimited 3d realm in which all material objects are located

painting: illusion of depth on a 2d surface(foreshortening)

proportion

relationship from one part to another, or one part to the whole

composition

how an artist arranges or organizes forms in their artwork

foreground

the first section of the composition

middle ground

the middle section of the composition

background

the back of the composition

balance

distribution of objects within a composition

symmetrical balance

forms distributed equally

asymmetrical balance

forms distributed unequally

radial balance

forms extending equally from the center of a circle