Ch. 2: Pictures
I. Introductory Concepts.
A. All pictorial art is two dimensional.
B. Primary illusion: virtual planal space.
C. A painting, for example, is a virtual reality in its own right, regardless of whether or not it "depicts" anything from our temporal reality.
D. Pictorial art may be:
1. Representational: an objective depiction of a recognizable subject from our temporal reality.
2. Abstract: a portrayal of a subject that is removed (abstracted) from its traditional setting or altered in its appearance (and yet usually still recognizable).
3. Non-objective: an interpretive expression of subjective experience; color, shape line, etc. express "feeling" without actually depicting any person, place or thing from our temporal reality.
4. Strictly speaking, all pictures (all art!) is abstraction, in that it interprets human experience in a particular manner. Even representational art is the abstraction of a three-dimensional world on a two-dimensional surface.
5. All art, therefore, is not an imitation "of something;" it is its own image, its own reality.
II. Pictorial Media.
A. Paint/pigment.
1. Watercolor/tempera: water-based, transparent, must be worked while still wet.
a. Fresco: tempera on fresh plaster. the paint is absorbed by the plaster and therefore becomes part of the wall.
b. Examples: Giotto ("The Lamentation"), Raphael ("The School of Athens"), Michelangelo ("The Creation of Adam").
2. Oil: oil-based, opaque, may be worked at virtually any time and may be wiped off, scraped off, or painted over. Requires a "vehicle," such as linseed oil, to make the pigment mobile.
a. Example: Jan van Eyck, 15th century, considered a pioneer in the development and use of oil ("The Wedding of Giovanni Arnolfini").
b. Example: Jan Vermeer, 17th century, "Woman Holding a Balance."
c. Example: Richard Estes, 20th century, photorealism.
B. Printmaking.
1. Relief printing: woodcut, linoleum block. cuts are made on a porous surface.
2. Intaglio printing: engraving, etching. Cuts are made on a metal surface.
3. Primary figure: Albrecht Durer, 15th/16th century.
C. Drawing media.
1. Pencil, pen, brush/ink, etc.
D. Photography.
1. Art or technology?
2. Photography "democratized" the visual image. It became possible for anyone to have a picture of a family member, foreign land, etc., whereas a commissioned painting would cost a fortune.
3. Photography evolved through a variety of styles and applications throughout the 19th and 20th centuries.
a. Studies in the analysis of movement (Muybridge, Eakins).
b. Romantic/sentimental images (Cameron, Robinson).
c. Social realism and documentation (Riis, Lange, Steiglitz).
d. Aesthetic medium (Mappelthorpe, Sherman).
III. Elements of Composition.
A. Line: in pictorial art, line creates mass.
1. Outline.
2. Implied line: the eye is compelled to follow an arrangement of objects or shapes that are placed in a linear pattern.
3. Dynamics of line.
a. Diagonals: dramatic, powerful, imposing.
b. Curves: rhythmic, playful.
c. Verticals: rigid, sacred.
d. Horizontals: serene, calm, peaceful.
B. Color.
1. Primary: red, yellow, blue.
2. Secondary: green, orange, violet.
3. Complementary: opposite sides of the color wheel.
4. Warm (yellow, orange, light earth tones); cold (blue, green, dark earth tones).
C. Compositions can be:
1. Open (extending beyond the boundaries of the frame).
2. Closed (completely within the frame).
D. Perspective.
1. Linear: all lines meet at an established "vanishing point."
2. Aerial (atmospheric): distant objects portrayed as hazy, indistinct.
E. Use of Space.
1. Positive: filled with mass, shapes, etc.
2. Negative: emptiness, void.
IV. Other important terms.
A. Impasto: paint is applied liberally, brushstrokes are very thick.
B. Chiaroscuro: "light and shadow;" the modeling of pigment color to create the illusion of depth and three-dimensional form.
C. Trompe l'oeil: "to fool the eye;" the illusion of space, especially with mural-size landscapes, cityscapes, etc.
V. Important Historical Periods and Artists in 19th and 20th c. Painting
A. Neoclassicism (1750-1850): David, Ingres
B. Romanticism (1800-1850): Delacroix
C. Realism (1800-1850): Courbet
D. Impressionism ((1875-1900): Manet, Monet, Degas
E. Post-Impressionism (1880-1900): van Gogh, Cezanne, Seurat
F. Fauvism (ca. 1905-1908): Matisse
G. Futurism (ca. 1909-1914): Balla, Boccioni
H. Cubism (ca. 1907-1914): Picasso, Braque
I. Expressionism (1900-1920): Kollwitz, Kirchner, Nolde, Kandinsky
J. Dadaism (1916-1922): Duchamp
K. Surrealism (1924 ff.): Dali, Magritte, Miro
L. Abstract Expressionism (1945 ff.): Pollock
M. Pop Art / Op Art (1950s-60s): Hamilton, Warhol, Riley