Art Vocabulary

Art Criticism- Gaining information from works of art.

·         Description: Through which you try to find out what is in the work.

·         Analysis: Through which you discover how the work is organized or put together.

·         Interpretation: Through which you try to determine the feelings, moods, or ideas communicated by the work.

·         Judgment: Through which you make your own decisions about the artistic merit of the work.

Art History- Gaining information about works of art.

·         Description: Through which you try to find out when, where, and by whom the work was done.

·         Analysis: Through which you discover the unique stylistic features of a work of art.

·         Interpretation: Through which you try to determine how the artist was influenced by the world in which he or she lived or worked

·         Judgment: Through which you make a decision about the work’s importance in the history of art.

Aesthetics- The study of nature of beauty and art.

Aesthetician- A scholar who specializes in the study of the nature of beauty and art.

Imitationalists- Favor the realistic representation of subject matter in artworks.

Formalists- Place an importance on how well artists design there works.

Emotionalists- Place most importance on the vivid communication of ideas, feelings, and moods.

Art- Is the unique expression of an idea, experience, or feeling in a well-designed visual form.

Art Patron- Is an individual who sponsors and supports activities in the arts.

Elements of Art- Are the basic components, or building blocks. They consist of color, value, line, texture, shape, form, and space. (Ingredients)

Principles of Art- The different ways the elements can be used in a work of art. The principles of art consist of balance, emphasis, harmony, variety, gradation, movement, rhythm, proportion, and unity. (Chocolate chip cookie recipe)

Unity- Refers to the look and feel of wholeness or oneness in a work of art.

Color- Is an element which is made up of three distinct qualities: hue, intensity, and value.

Hue- Refers to the name of color... 

Intensity- The quality of brightness and purity. Bright vs. Dull. A hue’s intensity can be affected by adding its compliment. A 50/50 mixture of true compliments = gray.

Value- Refers to that hue’s lightness and darkness. A hue’s value can be affected by adding white or black.

Shade- is hue plus black.

Tint- is hue plus white.  

Primary Colors- Red, yellow, and blue. These are called primary colors because they can be mixed to make all other colors, but they cannot be made by mixing other colors.

Secondary Colors- Orange, green, and violet. Each of the secondary colors is made by mixing two primary colors in equal amounts.

Intermediate(Tertiary) Colors- A primary color plus a secondary color.  Refer to the colors found between the primary and secondary colors on the color wheel.

Complimentary Colors- Colors that are opposite each other on the color wheel.  Each color in the pair contains none of the other color.  When mixed in equal amounts they cancel each other and produce gray.

Analogous Colors- Colors that are next to each other on the color wheel and are closely related.

Cool colors- Are those often associated with water and sky and suggest coolness. These are the colors that contain blue, green, and appear on one side of the color wheel opposite the warm colors.

Warm Colors- Are often associated with fire and sun and suggest warmth. These are colors that contain red and yellow and appear on one side of the color wheel opposite to cool colors. Cool colors appear to recede in the background, while warm colors seem to advance.

Value- Light vs. Dark.

Line- A continuous mark made on some surface by a moving point. Also the path of a dot through space.

Contour Line- A type of line which shows the important interior ridges and edges, or contours of an object.

Linear- Having to do with a line.

Painterly- De-emphasizing line.

Edge- Where two things meet.

Vertical- Strait up and down, suggests strength and stability.

Horizontal- Side to side, suggests calmness.

Diagonal- Suggests tension.

Curved- Suggests flowing movement.

Axis Line- An imaginary line that is traced through an object or several objects in a picture.

Texture- Is the element of art that refers to the way things feel, or look as if they might feel if touched.

Shape- An area clearly set off by one or more of the other visual elements such as color, value, line, texture, and space.

Form- Is an object with three dimensions.

Space- The distance or area between, around, above, below, or within things.

Perspective- The illusion of depth.

·         Overlapping the shapes in a work.

·         Making distant shapes smaller and closer shapes larger.

·         Placing distant shapes higher and closer shapes lower in picture.

·         Using less detail in distant shapes and greater detail on closer shapes.

·         Using duller, less intense hues for shapes in the distance.

·         Coloring distant shapes with hues that appear more blue to suggest the layers of atmosphere between the viewer and those shapes.

·         Slanting the horizontal lines of shapes (buildings and other objects) to make them appear to extend back in to space.(Linear Perspective)

Balance- Refers to a way of combining elements to add a feeling of equilibrium or stability to a work of art.

Symmetrical Balance- A formal balance in which two halves of a work are identical. One half mirrors exactly the other half.

Asymmetrical Balance- Is more informal and takes into account such qualities as hue, intensity, and value, in addition to size and shape. All these qualities have an affect on the apparent weight of objects in a work of art and can be arranged to achieve a “felt” balance.

Radial Balance- occurs when objects are positioned around a central point.

Emphasis- Or contrast, is a way of combining elements to stress the differences between those elements.

Harmony- Refers to the way of combining similar elements in an artwork to accent their similarities.

Variety- is a way of combining elements in involved ways to create intricate and complicated relationships. It is achieved through diversity and change.

Gradation- Refers to a way of combining elements by using a series of gradual changes in those elements.

Movement- Is the principle of art used to create the look and feeling of action and to guide the viewer’s eye throughout the work of art.

Rhythm- Is created by the careful placement of repeated elements in a work of art to cause a visual tempo or beat.

Proportion- Is the principle of art concerned with the relationship of certain elements to the whole and to each other.

Style- The artist’s personal way of using the elements and principles of art to express feelings and ideas.

Criteria-  Standards for judgment.