Exam 1 Visual and Contextual Analysis
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123 Terms
Visual (or formal) analysis
Analysis of the visual and physical aspects of a work of art (or architecture).
most basic method or tool of art history. helps you learn to look carefully and critically and ask yourself the right questions as you interpret works of art.
examine and describe the visual and physical characteristics
Contextual analysis
Framing an understanding of a work of art through historical and cultural context.
time and place in which it was created, and how it reflects the ideas and values of culture, period, region, etc.
Analyze works through a historical lens, to determine what works of art reveal about the time and place in which they were created.
Size (or Scale)
Has size affected the appearance and impression of the work?
Materials (or Medium) and Technique
Of what is the object or monument made? Do the materials affect the form, texture or color of the work?
Composition
How has the artist put together all the elements in the work of art?
Color
Are colors warm or cool? Intense or subdued? What effect do the colors create?
Light and Shadow
How does light function in the work? Does it create the illusion of three-dimensional space?
Space, Mass, and Volume
Does the object depict spatial depth? Is the work two- or three-dimensional?
Perspective and Foreshortening
Is perspective used to give a naturalistic view of the world? is foreshortening used to create the illusion of depth?
to indicate rank or status?
Proportion
Are the proportions of figures and objects within the work naturalistic or "correct"? mathematical?
Line and Contour
Do linear elements dominate the work, or are color and shadow employed more?
Shape and Form
Are the shapes regular, geometric, organic, naturalistic, etc.?
Texture
What is the quality of the surface of a work of art?
Subject Matter/Genre
What is the content depicted in the work? Is it narrative or more symbolic/iconic?
Iconography/Symbolism
The visual images and symbols used in a work of art.
the study or interpretation of them
Time and Place in which a work was created
How does the history and culture of the region affect the work?
Cultural Values and Factors of the time and place
Related to religion, economy, politics, social constructs, philosophy, etc.
Patron, Function, Location, Audience
Do we know who commissioned and/or executed the work? Do we know the work's original purpose or function? original location? how the location affects the work.
Medium
The materials used to create work.
Fresco
Paintings created using pigment dissolved in water and applied to wet plaster. (Italian renaissance)
fast drying time
common in italy for large publlc work
Artist: Giotto
Title: The Lamentation
Approximate Date: 1305-06
Period Style: Italian proto-renaissance
-represents moments after crucifixion as followers of Jesus mourn over his body.
-uses tonal modeling to create illusion of three-dimensionality, mass, and volume.
-uses foreshortening to heighten naturalism. Appears to extend forward or backward.
Oil painting
A medium consisting of pigments suspended in drying oils. (european renaissance)
Artist: Jan Van Eyck
Title: Man in a Red Turban
Approximate Date: 1433
Period Style: early northern european renaissance
-oil paint on wood panel
-uses mirror to observe and represent own image.
Artist: Rogier van der Weyden
Title: Deposition
Approximate Date: 1435
Period Style: early northern european renaissance
-oil on wood panel, 7 x 8.5’
Wood Panel
Painting executed on a rigid support. Before canvas came into general use.
Artist: Leonardo da vinci
Title: Madonna of the Rocks
Approximate Date: 1508
Period Style: Italian high renaissance
-oil on wood panel
-sfumato technique
Canvas
Strong, woven cloth traditionally used by artists as a support.(venetian renaissance)
any size and portable
more easily created for open market.
Scale
Overall physical size of an artwork or objects in the artwork.
Artist: Donatello
Title: David
Approximate Date: c.1440
Period Style: Italian Early renaissance
-cast bronze, 5’
Proportion
The relationship between the different sized components within one whole.
Attribute
An object or item associated with and used to identify particular figures, such as a saint.
Artistic Convention
A generally accepted or traditional way of representing forms in art that develop over centuries.
Composition
The placement and arrangement of the visual elements within a work of art.
ex: people, buildings, objects, etc.
Planes of Space
Any surface area in space, such as the picture plane in two-dimensional art.
foreground, middle ground, background
Foreground
The element of the photo closest to the viewer.
Middle ground
The area in between the foreground and background.
Background
The furthest element away from the viewer.
Foreshortening
The technique of depicting an object or human body in a picture to create an illusion of projection or extension in space.
Spatial Recession
The relationship between objects that appear near and those that seem further away, creating a sense of depth.
Tonal Modeling
Gradation of color to mimic the effects of light and shadow. (renaissance)
Chiaroscuro
The use of light and shadow to create the illusion of light from a specific source shining on figures and objects in a painting.
Volume
A three-dimensional form comprising length, width, and depth.
Mass
A solid body or a grouping of visual elements that compose a solid form.
Line
A contour line that defines the outline of a form without shading.
Renaissance
A period of "rebirth" of humanism and humanist culture in Europe, marking a transition from a God-centered view to a more human-centered view.
Artist: Michelangelo
Title: Pieta
Approximate Date: 1498-1500
Period Style: Italian high renaissance
-marble, 6’
-Rome
-renaissance classical ideal
Renaissance Humanism
Combining the humanist tradition of ancient Greco-Roman culture with Christian Renaissance culture, elevating concepts of aesthetic beauty and geometric proportions.
starts in the 15th century
Artist: Raphael
Title:
School of Athens
Approximate Date:
C.1509-11
Period Style:
Italian high renaissance
-Fresco
-Collection of great minds
-commissioned by pope julius ll, for his studiolo.
-Disegno
Artist: Michelangelo
Title: David
Approximate Date: early 16th century c.1501
Period Style: Italian high renaissance
naturalism
Patron
The person or group of people paying for the image.
Commission
The act of requesting the creation of a piece, often on behalf of another.
Medici
An art-loving family of wealthy bankers who competed for influence and commissioned artworks.
early italian renaissance
Artist: Sandro Botticelli
Title: The birth of Venus
Approximate Date: c.1480
Period Style: Italian renaissance
-tempera on panel
-commissioned by a member of the Medici family.
Renaissance “magnificence”
a virtue in humanist circles. “To do something great”. Custom of wealthy citizens spending large sums of money on public art and building projects and promoting active patronage of the arts by all citizens.
Vitruvius, 10 Books on Architecture
In it, Vitruvius lays out the standard orders of architecture. Including the use of ancient columns, round arches, and barrel vaults.
Mathematically proportional designs, employing such perfect geometrical elements as the circle and the square.
Donor Portrait
A portrait of the person who commissioned the artwork, often used to memorialize the donor and solicit prayers for them.
Triptych
A painting on three panels, hinged together, typically used for religious worship.
work ex: the merode triptych
Artist: Robert Campin
Title: The Merode Triptych
Approximate Date: 1426
Period Style: early northern european renaissance
-triptych
-small in scale, use in private domestic context
L: Donor portraits
center panel: annunciation
R: joseph in workshop
mirror-model of painting
According to the model, aesthetic experiences mirror the art-making process in the sense that the early stages of aesthetic processing correspond to the final stages of art-making; conversely, the late stages of aesthetic processing correspond to the initial stages of art-making.
Artist: Jan Van Eyck
Title: Madonna in a Church
Approximate Date: c. 1425-30
Period Style: early northern european renaissance
-oil on wood panel
-12 x 5.5”
-mirror model painting
stage-model of painting
as if viewing actors on a stage. human- centered view or vanishing point. Best viewed when standing at a particular spot.
Linear Perspective
A mathematical system for creating an illusion of depth on a flat surface by converging parallel lines (orthogonal lines) to a vanishing point.
Horizon Line
The boundary where the sky separates from land or water, representing the viewer's eye level.
Vanishing Point
The point at which receding parallel lines seem to converge in perspective.
Orthogonal Lines
Lines drawn from the corner of an object to the vanishing point in linear perspective drawings.
Artist: Masaccio
Title: The Holy Trinity
Approximate Date: 1425-28
Period Style: Early Italian renaissance
- church of Santa Maria Novella, Florence
-fresco
-22 x 10’
Artist: Pietro Perugino
Title: Delivery of the Keys to Saint Peter
Approximate Date: 1482
Period Style: Early Italian renaissance
-fresco, 10 x 18’
-linear perspective
Artist: Masaccio
Title: Tribute Money
Approximate Date: 1427
Period Style: Early Italian renaissance
-linear perspective, atmospheric perspective, tonal modeling, istoria.
Artist: Leonardo da vinci
Title: The Last Supper
Approximate Date: 1495-98 Period Style: Italian high renaissance
-linear perspective
Atmospheric Perspective
The illusion of depth created by fading colors and reduced detail as objects recede into the distance.
Artist: Raphael
Title: Madonna of the Meadow
Approximate Date: 1505-06
Period Style: Italian high renaissance
-fore, middle, and background
-atmospheric perspective
Classicism
An aesthetic attitude based on principles from ancient Greek and Roman culture, emphasizing form, simplicity, proportion, clarity of structure, and intellectual appeal.
the “ideal”
Artist: Flippo Brunelleschi
Title: Pazzi Chapel facade
Approximate Date: c. 1430
Period Style: Italian early renaissance
-Florence, Italy
-Architectural ideal, classical elements (columns, domes, vaults)
Alberti's On Painting
A book that codified Italian early Renaissance traditions and established rules for good art in the classical model, including the use of linear perspective. (early italian renaissance)
imitate greek and rome
artists have higher knowledge
replicate natural world
Classicism
An architectural ideal that incorporates classical elements such as columns, domes, and vaults.
Classical Prototypes in Art
An original type or form of something that serves as an example for making something new.
Venus Pudica
A modest or chaste representation of the goddess Venus, typically depicted with her legs close together and a hand covering her genital area.
Three Graces
Three goddesses, Aglaia, Euphrosyne, and Thalia, who represent radiance, joy, and flowering respectively. Together, they symbolize an ideal of beauty and grace.
Bilateral Symmetry
Two-sided symmetry, where two halves of a work of art mirror each other.
Decorum
The appropriate gestures and expressions of a figure in a work of art, based on their age, rank, and position.
Istoria
Complex narrative and allegorical subjects that were expanding the repertoire of painters during a certain period.
Sfumato
A technique of fine shading that produces soft, imperceptible transitions between colors and tones, creating softened outlines.
Contrapposto
A standing human figure carrying its weight on one leg, resulting in a relaxed curve in the body.
Genres of Art
Expressionism, Rococo, Impressionism, Surrealism, Pop Art, Abstract, etc.
history paintings
portraiture
History Paintings
Representations of important historical events, often religious or mythological in nature.
Portraiture
Depicting a particular person or group of people in a work of art.
Self-portrait
A portrait of the artist created by the artist themselves.
Artist: Sofonisba Anguissola
Title: self portrait at the easel
Approximate Date: c. 1556
Period Style: Italian high renaissance
Artist: Albrecht Durer
Title: self portrait at age 28
Approximate Date: c. 1500
Period Style: high northern europe renaissance
Artist: Hans Holbein the younger
Title: Portrait of Georg Gisze
Approximate Date: 1532
Period Style: northern high renaissance
Artist: Hans Holbein Title: The French Ambassadors
Approximate Date: 1533
Period Style: northern high renaissance
-memento mori
Equestrian Portrait
A portrait that shows the subject on horseback, often used as a classical prototype by Renaissance artists.
Artist: Donatello
Title: Equestrian portrait of Gattamelata
Approximate Date: c.1450
Period Style: Italian early renaissance
-cast bronze portrait sculpture
Marriage Portrait/Family Portrait
A portrait that depicts a married couple or a family.
Artist: Jan van eyck
Title: The Arnolfini marriage portrait
Approximate Date: 1434f
Period Style: Northern european early renaissance
-oil on wood panel
-mirror model painting
'Mask' and 'Face' in Portraiture
The use of masks and covered faces in art to make the viewer question the identity of the subject.
Face- physical appearance
Mask- social role or perception of a person
Work ex: Portrait of giovanna tornabuoni
Artist: Domenico Ghirlandaio
Title: Portrait of Giovanna Tornabuoni
Approximate Date: c. 1490
Period Style: Italian renaissance
-tempera on wood panel
'Disegno'
The ability to make the drawing and invent the design in art.
linear perspective
calcualted and intellectual approach
Linear Perspective
A calculated and intellectual approach to creating depth and space in a two-dimensional artwork.
'Colorito'
A technique where the artist paints directly onto the canvas, focusing on layering colors to build forms and objects.
Gradual building of forms and objects through color, by layering the medium (typically oil)
Less concerned with linear perspective or detailed sub-structures of human anatomy.
Note 
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