Universal Principles

of

ART

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 © 2015 Rockport Publishers

First published in the United States of America in 2015 by

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right owners. All images in this book have been reproduced with the knowledge and prior consent of the artists
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or otherwise, arising from the contents of this publication. Every effort has been made to ensure that credits
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resolve inaccurate or missing information in a subsequent reprinting of the book.

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

ISBN: 978-1-63159-030-6

Digital edition published in 2015

eISBN: 978-1-62788-558-4

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Parks, John A., 1952-
Universal principles of art : 100 key concepts for understanding, analyzing, and practicing art / John A A
Parks.
pages cm
ISBN 978-1-63159-030-6 (paperback)
1. Art--Dictionaries. I. Title.
N33.P38 2014
703--dc23
2014025501

Design: Bryn Freeman

Cover Images: Grande Odalisque by Jean Auguste Dominique Ingres; Portrait of Picasso by Juan Gris;
Noc sculpture, Nigeria; Nine Jackies by Andy Warhol (image courtesy of Alamy).

Printed in China

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 Universal Principles
of

ART
100 Key Concepts for
Understanding, Analyzing, and Practicing Art
John A. Parks

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 UNIVERSAL PRINCIPLES OF ART

PREFACE
As a professional artist and a teacher of many years at the Aesthetic pleasure may have grown from evolutionary pres-
School of Visual Arts in New York, I sometimes find myself sures to become part of our very nature, but it has also
guiding a group of students around a museum. been taken up by the development of our cultures and
transformed into something immensely diverse and com-
They are often bewildered. plex. The history of ideas, religious beliefs, cultural practices,
technological advances, and sheer ingenuity have prolifer-
In the space of a few minutes we may come across
ated a dizzying variety of artworks. This book provides a
Renaissance angels, fearsome tribal masks, a canvas dis-
clear and concise account of how a number of key ideas,
playing nothing more than a geometric shape on a white
techniques, cultural contexts, and creative inspiration have
ground, Impressionist views of sunny afternoons, photo-
combined to bring into being a broad array of artworks. It is
realist paintings of Californian diners, and artworks that are
the book I would like to put into my students’ hands as they
simply typewritten sheets of instructions.
wander through the museum or talk earnestly about art in
How can I begin to explain to my students what these prod- the studio.
ucts have in common and how they function as works of art?
Above all, I would like my students to feel that understand-
How can I convey what ideas, techniques, practices, super-
ing art is not an intellectual exercise, but an introduction
stitions, stylistic developments, and cultural contexts were in
to joy. Art is a way of conveying feeling, of relating to other
play when they were made? And how can I do it in a way
human beings' ways of being in the world, of sharing expe-
that is simple, direct, and accessible? Then there is the most
rience and insights, of manufacturing pleasure. It can be
mysterious question of all: Why is all this stuff here in the first
provocative, charming, cathartic, beautiful, deeply moving,
place? What is it that has driven so many people throughout
sexy, cerebral, humorous, spiritual, or sensational. In fact it
history to keep on making art?
can access and transmit the entire range of feelings in ways
I begin by pointing out the extraordinary fact that every that are continually fresh and engaging. It is the very best
human culture makes art, from the most remote preliter- and most extraordinary thing that human beings do.
ate tribe to the most educated western elites. Our abilities
and drive to make art undoubtedly arose from evolution-
ary necessity. A number of surveys, conducted over many
cultures, have identified a marked preference for paintings
of savannah-like landscapes, with rolling grassland, trees,
and water. Evolutionary psychologists point out that this is
an image of the kind of landscapes in Africa in which our
forebears lived during the Pleistocene epoch. It is the ideal
environment in which hunter-gatherer tribes might expect
to prosper. Similarly, qualities such as balance and symme-
try, as well as certain ratios related to the human body, may
be attractive because they are evidence of fitness traits in
humans. The delicate aesthetic senses we deploy today
may have emerged from our ability to discern good mating
choices in prehistory.

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 UNIVERSAL PRINCIPLES OF ART

CONTENTS Preface. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

1 Abstraction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10

2 Allegory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

3 Ambiguity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

4 Appropriation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .16

5 Areas of Competence . . . . . . . . . .18

6 Authenticity and Outsider Art . . . 20

7 Autobiography . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22

8 Balance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24

9 Beauty . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26

10 Boundaries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28

11 Brush Techniques . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30

12 Chance. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32

13 Classicism and Renaissance . . . . 34

14 Collage and Assemblage . . . . . . 36

15 Color as Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38

16 Color as Limit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40

17 Color Theory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42

18 Composition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44

19 Conceptual Art . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46

20 Consistency of Visual Language. . 48

21 Craft . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50

22 Creativity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52

23 Cross-Cultural Fertilization . . . . . 54

24 Cubism . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56

25 Dada . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58

26 Decoration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60

27 Distortion. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62

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 28 Distribution . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64 57 Op Art . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .122 86 Style and Stylishness . . . . . . . 178

29 Drawing Language . . . . . . . . . . 66 58 Overload . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .124 87 Successive Approximation . . 180

30 The Emotive Object . . . . . . . . . 68 59 Performance Art . . . . . . . . . . . .126 88 Sufficiency of Means . . . . . . . .182

31 Erotic Art . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70 60 Perspective . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .128 89 Surrealism . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .184

32 Expression in the Abstract . . . 72 61 Plasticity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .130 90 Symbols . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .186

33 Fantasy and Visionary Art. . . . .74 62 Politics and Polemics . . . . . . . .132 91 Symmetry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 187

34 Finish . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76 63 Prepare and Develop . . . . . . . .134 92 Temporary Art . . . . . . . . . . . . . .188

35 Formal Innovation . . . . . . . . . . . 78 64 Printmaking. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .136 93 Texture . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .190

36 Form Rendered . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80 65 Process as Meaning . . . . . . . . .138 94 Theme . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .192

37 Gender . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82 66 Proportion and Ratio . . . . . . . .140 95 Tone as Structure . . . . . . . . . . .194

38 Harmony . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84 67 Quality . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .142 96 Touch Communicates . . . . . . .196

39 Hierarchical Proportion . . . . . . 86 68 Quoting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .144 97 Tribal Art . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .198

40 Imagination . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88 69 Readymades. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .146 98 Trompe l’Oeil . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 200

41 Installation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90 70 Realism . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .148 99 Underpainting . . . . . . . . . . . . . 202

42 Intentionality . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92 71 Religiosity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .150 100 Video Art . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 204

43 Interactive Art . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94 72 Repetition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .152 Credits . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 206

44 Juxtaposition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96 73 Representation . . . . . . . . . . . . .154 About the Author. . . . . . . . . . . 208

45 Kinetic Art . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98 74 Restraint . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .156 Acknowledgments . . . . . . . . . 208

46 Land Art . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100 75 Rhythm. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .158

47 Layers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .102 76 Romanticism . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .160

48 Linear Basics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .104 77 Scale. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .162

49 Mannerism . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .106 78 Semiotics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .164

50 Mass . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108 79 Semiotics 2: Deconstruction . .165

51 Materials as Art . . . . . . . . . . . . . 110 80 Sensitivity and Sensibility . . . .166

52 Minimalism . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112 81 Shape . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .168

53 Mixed Media and Multimedia . . 114 82 Shock . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .170

54 Motif . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116 83 Simplification . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 172

55 Movement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 118 84 Space and Volume . . . . . . . . . . 174

56 Narrative . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .120 85 Spectacle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 176

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 UNIVERSAL PRINCIPLES OF ART

INTRODUCTION
The visual arts are unique in that they form a nexus where The arrangement of the chapters is alphabetical for the
craft, technology, philosophy, and the imagination come purpose of easy access and reference. Most chapters take
together to make something that is both wonderful and up two facing pages: The first page explains the subject
necessary. This book provides an account of how one in succinct and straightforward language. The facing page
hundred powerful ideas and principles intersect with the displays illustrations that demonstrate the principle at work.
practice of making art. The number, of course, is not defini-
tive, and many more chapters could be included. The ideas Although I have tried to find examples from as broad a
presented range from very broad principles, such as har- range of art as possible, you will quickly note that they are
mony or rhythm, to more precise and local ideas, such as heavily weighted toward Western art. This is the tradition
Mannerism or Minimalism. I have given a clear and concise that has generated the most diverse and active change in
presentation of these ideas and have provided for many of recent centuries. The principles, however, apply to all cul-
them an account of the strategies that artists have used to tures. Indeed, one of the fascinating things about art is
bring them into play. that, although it emerges from a cultural matrix, it is readily
understood across many cultures. French Impressionism
The book will be of considerable use to artists who wish is popular in Japan, just as Japanese prints have a ready
to understand and explore the art of the past and get a following in Europe. Tribal art is collected in New York, and
sense of what kinds of original enterprises are possible Shakespeare is performed in Africa. Art is a universal human
in the future. For the art student, it will provide a rich and utterance, and as we share it around the globe with plea-
varied focus for discussion and learning as well as a stimu- sure and passion, we are all enriched immeasurably.
lating look at how physical work in the studio relates to the
play of ideas within the culture at large. For the art lover,
it will provide a valuable additional frame of reference and
an enjoyable, informative, and provocative companion in
exploring the pleasures of art.

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 1 ABSTRACTION

THE DISTANCING OF AN IDEA FROM OBJECTIVE REFERENTS

Abstract, or nonrepresentational art, emerged in the early twentieth century as a radical 1 Kasimir Malevich (1879–1935)
idea. When used in philosophy, the word refers to the distancing of an idea from objec- Black Square on White Ground,
tive referents so that it becomes a distillation of thought. Abstraction came about in art 1915, Oil on linen, 31 5/16 × 315/16 in
through a similar process of distancing, as various artists began to present simplified, or (79.5 × 79.5 cm)
distilled, notions of the objective world.
In Russia, the Constructivists, led by
Malevich, began to make abstract art
of great geometric austerity by 1915.
A series of art movements—starting with Today, abstract art covers a huge range
Impressionism in the 1870s and con- of different kinds of artworks in both 2 Wassily Kandinsky (1866–1944)
tinuing through Postimpressionism to two and three dimensions. Some of the Improvisation 27 (Garden of
Cubism in the 1920s—gradually shifted abstract or nonobjective qualities that Love II), 1912, Oil on canvas,
the focus in art away from the task of can be manipulated by artists are color, 473/8 × 55¼ in (120.3 × 140.3 cm)
representation and toward the making of form, space, volume, geometry, texture,
Kandinsky was amongst the first art-
artworks that were entirely autonomous. weight, balance, presence, scale, decora- ists to make purely abstract works.
As early as 1907, the Fauvist artists of Paris tion, rhythm, and movement. This painting was shown at the
were producing works in which the repre- famous Armory Show in New York in
sentational subject matter was little more 1913, where new ideas in European
than a motif on which to hang adventur- art were seen in the Americas for the
first time.
ous explorations of non-natural color. By
1910, the Cubists were making paintings in
which classical space had been replaced
by a shallow pictorial space that sug-
gested multiple viewpoints. During World
War I, Dadaist artists in Zurich began
making artworks that challenged cul-
tural expectations on all fronts; works
by Hans Arp (1886–1966), for example,
featured nonobjective sculpted reliefs.
Exactly who was the first artist to do
entirely abstract works is open to some
question. The most popular candidate is
Wassily Kandinsky (1866–1944), whose
paintings moved away from simplified and
flattened allusions to figurative subjects
to become compositions of autonomous
floating forms by 1912.

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 2

ABSTRACTION | 11

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 2 ALLEGORY

ABSTRACT IDEAS COMMUNICATED WITH CONCRETE IMAGES

Allegory is a device whereby abstract ideas can be communicated using images of 1 Titian (c. 1488–1576)
the concrete world. Elements, whether figures or objects, in a painting or sculpture are Allegory of Age Governed by
endowed with symbolic meaning. Their relationships and interactions combine to create Prudence, 1565–70, Oil on canvas,
more complex meanings. 30 × 27 in (76.2 × 68.6 cm)

The success of an allegorical work natu- As in most allegorical paintings, the

rally depends on the audience’s ability to meaning offered here is complex and
recognize the identities and correspond- open to a number of interpretations. Part
ing symbolic meanings of each of the of the pleasure of contemplating such a
elements within the work. A famous exam- work involves reflecting on the possible
ple is Titian’s Allegory of Age Governed multiplicity of meanings. For instance, we
by Prudence. Here, the three human know that in this painting the old man is a
heads represent the past, present, and self-portrait of Titian (c. 1488–1576), while
future. They also represent the three the middle-aged man is his son, and the
ages of man: youth, maturity, and old youth is his nephew. The painting might be
age. Beneath them three animal heads seen as a cautionary image in which the
symbolize the three stages of life and artist is telling his family not to make the
give us new information about them. The same mistakes that he did. On the other
head beneath the young man is an eager hand, the painting might just be a general
puppy. Beneath the middle-aged man is observation about the increase of wisdom
a powerful lion, while beneath the old man and circumspection that so often comes
a large and aging wolf stands with its with age. Or again, the painting may refer
ears back. Above the figures is an inscrip- to the more narrow idea that artistic judg-
tion in Latin: EX PRAETERITO/PRAESENS ment and discrimination become better
PRUDENTER AGIT/NE FUTURA ACTIONE with age.
DETURPET (“From [the experience of] the
Although allegory was a popular form
past, the present acts prudently, lest it
of painting during the Renaissance and
spoil future actions”).
Baroque periods, it has long fallen out of
favor and played little role in the devel-
opment of modern art. This is no doubt
because the moderns, with their interest
in abstraction and visual purity, found
allegory to be too literary.
See also: Symbols on page 186

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 1

ALLEGORY | 13

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 3 AMBIGUITY

LEAVING THE WORK OPEN TO DIVERSE INTERPRETATION

Sometimes a work of art acquires strength by projecting a structure or meaning 1 Necker Cube
that is ambiguous.
The cube can be read as being seen
from above or from below. There are
insufficient cues to tell the viewer
VARIETIES i
Ambiguity of meaning which way is meant.
The sense or import of the artwork
i
Perceptual ambiguity is ambiguous. The viewer is pre-
A representation of a three-dimensional 2 William Hogarth (1697–1764)
sented with an ongoing conundrum
formation that can be interpreted in False Perspective, c. 1750,
because symbols, narrative action, Engraving 8 1/8 × 613/16 in
alternative ways. The classic example or other cues do not coalesce (20.6 × 17.3 cm)
is the Necker cube, a drawing of a around a clear idea. This was a
cube that can be seen as occupying favorite strategy of the French artist The artist plays various amusing
space in two alternative ways. The Balthus (1908–2001) whose paintings games with spatial ambiguity.
most notable artist to explore per- often present narrative scenarios of
ceptual ambiguity was M. C. Escher indeterminate meaning.
(1898–1972). In many of his works, 3 Balthus (1908–2001)
See also: Surrealism on page 184; Allegory The Mountain, 1936–37, Oil on can-
ambiguities of both recognition and
vas, 98 × 144 in (248.9 × 365.8 cm)
spatial construction are presented in on page 12
endlessly playful and provocative ways. The meaning of the painting remains
tantalizingly ambiguous.
i
Ambiguity of recognition
A representational element has more
than one interpretation due to inade-
quate or confusing cues. A shadowy
shape might be a human head or
an apple, for instance. The surreal-
ist artist Yves Tanguy (1900–1955)
made many paintings in which he
rendered forms that had ambiguous
and confusing identities, deliberately
presenting the viewer with a sense
of puzzlement and mystery.

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 2

3 AMBIGUITY | 15

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 4 APPROPRIATION

PRESENTING THE WORK OF OTHERS IN A NEW CONTEXT

Appropriation is the act of taking work by another artist and presenting it in a new context as 1 Richard Pettibone (1938–)
original. The intention is to highlight the radical idea that art is something whose meaning is Andy Warhol. Flowers. 1964, 1965,
as much defined by its context as by anything built into, or contained by, an artwork. This pro- Acrylic and silkscreen ink on canvas,
cess of appropriation and re-presentation is known as recontexualization. It naturally invites 8¼ × 6¼ in (21 × 16 cm)
questions about the nature of originality, authorship, authenticity, and uniqueness.
Pettibone exhibited many miniature
versions of famous works of art as
his own work.

Wholesale appropriation of an artwork is Richard Prince (1949–) made photo-

very different from quoting another work of graphs from billboards used to advertise
art within a new one, a maneuver that goes Marlborough cigarettes during the 1970s
back through many centuries. It also differs and ’80s. Many other artists made artworks
from the appropriation of other objects or in which appropriation was accompanied
images for use as elements within a work by some physical transformation. Jeff
of art, as with collage or in many works Koons (1955–) made a number of works in
of the Pop Art era in which advertising which he took an image by another pho-
and packaging imagery was imported into tographer and had it made into a sculpture.
painting and sculpture. Appropriation is
Not surprisingly, artists who engage in
more closely related to the art of the ready-
appropriation have often been sued by
made but is different because it involves
the makers of the original image for copy-
the reuse of a work that was intended to
right infringement. The estate of Walker
be an artwork to begin with.
Evans gained possession of Levine’s pho-
The foremost exponent of what became tographs to prevent them from being sold.
known as “appropriation art” was Sherrie
See also: Quoting on page 144; Readymades
Levine (1947–), whose output in the 1980s
on page 146; Collage and Assemblage on
featured several exhibitions presenting the
page 36; Conceptual Art on page 46
more or less unaltered work of other art-
ists. In a 1980 exhibition in New York titled
After Walker Evans, she presented a set of
photographs of a printed catalog of pho-
tos by Walker Evans, the Depression-era
photographer. Other projects by Levine
included a series of photographs of images
of paintings by Van Gogh and a remake of
Marcel Duchamp’s readymade Fountain
(see page 147).

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 1

APPROPRIATION | 17

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 5 AREAS OF COMPETENCE

EVERY MEDIUM HAS AREAS IN WHICH IT EXCELS

The “area of competence” is the range of usefulness of a particular medium. The idea 1 Edgar Degas (1834–1917)
is that certain kinds of expression are more suited to one medium than another. Thus, Woman Bathing, 1886, Pastel on
marble is excellent for making sculptures that explore volume and figural representation paper, 27½ × 27½ in (70 × 70 cm)
but is not much good for expressing color relationships. Silverpoint is perfect for making
The area of competence of pastel
delicate and precise drawings but is not suited to making powerful expressionist works.
is to allow the combination of linear
It follows that the selection of a particular medium for a particular task is an important drawing with the layering of rich
decision and can greatly affect the success of an artistic enterprise. The decision by color. This perfectly suited Degas’s
Edgar Degas (1834–1917) to abandon oil painting and work in pastel enabled him to trans- style and needs.
fer the fine qualities of his drawing into a colored medium, obtaining results that would
have been impossible in oil.

A poor decision about choice of medi- Sometimes positive results can come from
ums can lead to disastrous results. The forcing one medium into another area of
most famous example is the decision by competence. The photorealist painters of
Leonardo da Vinci (1452–1519) to use the 1960s and ’70s, for example, trans-
tempera rather than true fresco for his ferred the ability of the photograph to make
painting of the Last Supper at Santa Maria a perfect mechanical rendering to the
delle Grazie in Milan. He wanted to transfer medium of painting. In effect, they spent
the delicate layered rendering of his easel months doing what the camera can do in
paintings to the large scale of the wall and less than a second. This brought to light
didn’t want to deal with the fast drying time new ideas about what painting is and might
of fresco. Unfortunately, the paint immedi- be. It also called into question the nature of
ately began to flake and peel. artistic agency by presenting the artist as
merely equivalent to a machine.

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 6 AUTHENTICITY AND OUTSIDER ART

THE POWER OF ART MADE OUTSIDE THE CULTURAL MAINSTREAM

In 1922, Hans Prinzhorn, a German doctor, published Bildnerei der Geisteskranken (The 1 Henry Darger (1892–1973)
Artistry of the Insane), a study of the art of hundreds of mental patients whose work At Five Norma Catherine. But
the doctor had collected. This book influenced some of the leading artists of the time, Are Retaken, Mid-20th century,
including Franz Marc (1880–1916), Paul Klee (1879–1940), Jean Dubuffet (1901–85), and Max Watercolor, pencil, carbon tracing,
and collage on pieced paper,
Ernst (1891–1976). Dubuffet was so fascinated that he went on to form a movement called
23 × 36¾ in (58.4 × 93.4 cm)
“Art Brut,” which championed the art of the insane and other people working in isolation,
untouched by the mainstream art world. “Those works created from solitude and from
pure and authentic creative impulses—where the worries of competition, acclaim, and
social promotion do not interfere—are, because of these very facts, more precious than
the productions of professionals,” he wrote.

“Outsider art” was coined by the critic The growth in interest in outsider art
Roger Cardinal in 1972, as an English has led to a lively market for its products
equivalent of “Art Brut.” Interest spread, and much dispute about what does and
and soon discoveries were made all does not constitute the authentic out-
over the world of individuals whose pro- sider. In practice, it is hard to be entirely
duction matched the criteria. In 1973, for cut off from the cultural mainstream and
instance, the work of American artist the products of most such artists betray
Henry Darger (1892–1973) was unearthed at least some external influence. There
shortly after his death. He had lived in one is also considerable contention about
room for thirty years, producing nearly the merits of such art. Much of it tends
one hundred large and elaborate draw- to be obsessive, repetitive, and aesthet-
ings showing battles between a violent ically marginal.
body of soldiers and a group of brave
and stalwart children called “The Vivian
Girls.” The style was curious, obsessive,
and compelling, and continues to attract
considerable interest.

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 7 AUTOBIOGRAPHY

THE ARTIST AS SUBJECT

In the fifteenth century, artists discovered the power of art as an autobiographical 1 Vincent van Gogh (1853–90)
record. Painters such as Masaccio (1401–28) and Andrea Mantegna (1431–1506) occasion- Self-Portrait, 1889, Oil on canvas,
ally slipped their own image into a crowd of figures in a religious painting. The Flemish 22½ × 17¼ in (57.2 × 43.8 cm)
artist Jan Van Eyck (1395–1441) included a tiny self-portrait in the reflection of a convex
In his short career, Van Gogh painted
mirror in his famous Arnolfini Wedding. Entire paintings devoted to self-portraiture were
himself thirty-seven times, chronicling
rare. Albrecht Dürer (1471–1528) twice painted himself with great attention to detail, and his stylistic growth from a somewhat
there are fine self-portrait drawings by Giovanni Bellini (c. 1430–1516) and Leonardo da clumsy tonal painter to a vibrant and
Vinci (1452–1519). powerful expressionist master.

2 Rembrandt van Rijn (1606–79)

Rembrandt (1606–79) painted himself Twentieth-century artists tended to con- Self-Portrait Frowning, c. 1630,
more than forty times and made more centrate more on manipulating the image of Etching, 2 13/16 × 2 3/8 in (7.2 × 6.1 cm)
than thirty etchings of his own image. self than on quiet reflection. Pablo Picasso
These works comprise one of the most (1881–1973) explored his own presence and 3 Egon Schiele (1890–1918)
remarkable visual records of the progress behavior in numerous works, taking on Self-Portrait with Lampfruit, 1912,
of a single life. The youthful and sensi- roles as matador, Zeus, artist, lover, and Oil on canvas, 12 11/16 × 1511/16 in
tive face of the early work grows into the many others. In postwar art, the work of the (32.2 × 39.8 cm)
confident and successful portrait painter. English painter Lucian Freud (1922–2011)
The Austrian painter Egon Schiele
Later, after many reversals, the stooping, provides an almost unbroken record, not
made numerous drawings and
lined visage carries the weight of expe- only of the artist’s own image, but also of a paintings of himself that explored
rience, wisdom, and regret. Rembrandt shifting cast of family and friends. nudity, sexuality, and shifting ideas
also plays games with his image, dressing of self-image.
himself up in exotic costumes, adopting
strange facial expressions, and generally
mugging for the viewer.

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 8 BALANCE

A COMPOSITIONAL PLEASURE

A sense of balance can be one of the paramount intentions in composing a work of art 1 Alexander Calder (1898–1976)
and a source of pleasure for the viewer. Balance is generally a compositional quality Little Spider, 1940, Sheet metal
that can be achieved in many different ways. In looking at a painting, the eye tends to and wire
assign varying senses of weight to elements within the composition and enjoys a more
In this mobile, one counterweight
satisfactory experience when they seem to be balanced across the painting around
balances an entire set of elements to
an axis. Of course, balance can always be achieved by a purely symmetrical composi- create a charming descriptive piece.
tion, but usually this feels less interesting than the possibilities involved in balancing
asymmetrical elements.
2 Johannes Vermeer (1632–75)
Woman Holding a Balance, c. 1664,
Oil on Canvas, 15 5/8 × 14 in
When elements are dynamic—that is, In sculpture, balance becomes a real (39.7 × 35.5 cm)
they feel as though they are in move- and very physical issue and is often a
A woman holds a delicate gold
ment—the eye is more satisfied when requirement for a work to stay upright
balance while the vertical line of the
their strengths and directions balance at all. In classical figure sculpture, the frame behind her exactly bisects
out within the composition. There will consideration of balance was integral to the canvas. The painting celebrates
always remain a certain amount of sub- engineering a free-standing figure. Some balance both in its composition and
jective assessment when it comes to modern kinetic sculpture, particularly the subject matter.
judging qualities such as balance, force, subgenre of mobiles, is built around the
tension, or weight in a composition. notion of balance. In mobiles, developed
The assignment of weight to a particular most notably by the American artist
element can be affected by the following: Alexander Calder (1898–1976), moving
elements are arranged around a set of
i
Scale fulcrums so that they float in a circular
Larger elements are read as heavier. fashion with any moving air around them.
i
Color Various games are played with the dis-
Saturated color is usually read as parate densities of materials, color, and
heavier than unsaturated color. scale to achieve all manner of variations
within the work.
i
Tone
Darker elements generally feel See also: Composition on page 44
heavier than lighter elements.
i
Strength of shape
Assertive shapes generally feel
heavier than amorphous shapes.
i
Relationships within the picture
The sense of weight attached to an
element can be affected by its rela-
tionship with other elements within
the picture.

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 9 BEAUTY

THE AESTHETIC RESPONSE

The idea that a work of art should be beautiful or should in some way offer the expe- 1 Leonardo da Vinci (1452–1519)
rience of beauty is widely held. But just exactly what beauty is and what objects and Vitruvian Man, c. 1490,
artifacts can or cannot be considered beautiful are questions that have been debated Pen and ink on paper, 14 × 10 in
since ancient times. Moreover, we extend the judgment of beauty to a broad array of (35.6 cm × 25.4 cm)
subjects, including landscapes, physiognomy, and mathematical proofs. We might well
ask what it is exactly that all these things share. Is it possible to identify the compo- 2 Raphael (1483–1520)
nents of beauty? To what extent is our comprehension of beauty conditioned by the Madonna with the Infant Christ
culture in which we are immersed, and to what extent is it an innate response to certain and John the Baptist, 1506,
stimuli? And then is beauty, after all, a necessary quality for a successful work of art? Oil on panel, 44½ × 34 7/8 in
Can we have art without beauty? (113 cm × 88.5 cm)

Art of the Italian Renaissance was

influenced by Aristotle’s compo-
nents of beauty: order, symmetry,
The ongoing debate is known as aesthet- Sigmund Freud (1856–1929) writes in
and definiteness (clarity). Usually a
ics, a branch of philosophy whose name Civilization and Its Discontents: “All sense of balance was substituted
derives from the Greek aisthetikos, mean- that seems certain is its derivation for symmetry. Here the perfectly
ing esthetic, sensitive, sentient. Here are from the field of sexual feeling. The rendered forms and highly ordered
some of the principal points of view put love of beauty seems a perfect exam- composition convey a feeling that is
forward by a few of the world’s great minds: ple of an impulse inhibited in its aim. both exquisite and serene.
‘Beauty’ and ‘attraction’ are originally
Plato (427–347 BCE) felt that we attributes of the sexual object.”
perceive an object as beautiful
because it partakes of an ideal form A Darwinian theory of beauty has been
of beauty that exists in some sort of proposed by evolutionary psycholo-
higher plane. He identified some of the gists, most notably by Dennis Dutton
components of beauty as proportion, (1944–2010). He rejected the idea that
harmony, and unity of its parts. beauty is a learned cultural phenom-
enon citing the fact that many great
Aristotle (387–322 BCE) discusses works of art find favor in diverse
beauty in his Metaphysics and declared cultures. Rather, the appreciation of
that its universal constituents were beauty is an adaptive trait common to
order, symmetry, and definiteness. all humans. “Beauty,” says Dutton, “is
nature’s way of acting at a distance so
Vitruvius (c. 80–15 BCE) proposed, in to speak. You can’t expect to eat an
his Ten Works on Architecture, a theory adaptive landscape. It would hardly do
of beauty based on the idea that nature to eat a baby or a lover. So nature’s
provides in its designs certain propor- trick is to make them beautiful, to
tions that are universally beautiful. This have them exert a kind of magnetism,
Roman architect cited in particular the to give you the pleasure of simply
ideal proportions of a human body as looking at them.”
the most desirable basis for structuring
beautiful buildings and objects. Vitru- See also: Proportion and Ratio on page 140
vius’ ideas were rediscovered in the
fifteenth century and had a large influ-
ence on the Renaissance: Leonardo da
Vinci and others reconstructed images
of the so-called “Vitruvean Man.” 1

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 10 BOUNDARIES

HOW ART IS SEPARATED FROM THE WORLD

One of the defining characteristics of artworks is that they are separated from the world 1 Carrigagulla Stone Circle, Ireland
by an implied or formal boundary. This is true in all cultures. Tribal artworks are usu- Photo: Cecil @ English Language
ally physical objects or are confined to the objects or structures on which they are Wikipedia
painted. In Western painting, the picture frame formalizes the separation of the art-
Many preliterate cultures demarcate
work from its surroundings. Mural painting is necessarily defined by the wall or ceiling
boundaries within which religious
space that it takes up, while manuscript paintings are held within the pages of a book. rites and magical events take place.
Western sculpture developed the plinth, essentially a formal stage on which the work
could be displayed. Sculpture in architectural settings was often contained within niches
or was otherwise combined with the fabric of the architecture. In Asian art, the hand- 2 Anonymous Artist
scroll became formalized over many centuries into a form of display that encourages an Picture Frame Workshop, c. 1900,
Oil on canvas, 116 13/16 × 94 in
almost ceremonial viewing of the artwork. There is also a tradition of resetting artworks
(296.7 × 238.7 cm)
into ever-larger handscrolls as the artist’s friends or successive owners add comments,
poems, or words of appreciation to the area surrounding it.

In the late twentieth century, a number It appears that contemplating an artwork

of artists sought to blur or dispense requires that we see it as something
with the boundaries of the artwork. For separate from other parts of life, that it
instance, various kinds of installation art provides a realm set apart in which the
occupy spaces that the audience can imagination and sensibilities might roam.
walk through. Similarly, in theater and This arrangement is both convenient and
some performance art, there have been salutary. If the artwork were to become
attempts at incorporating the audience in too much of the world, the effect might
the action, negating the usual separation be confusing and destabilizing.
of viewer and artwork. But once again,
even these immersive experiences exist
within the confines of a theater or gallery
space. Modern sculpture rarely uses a
plinth but usually projects a clear enough
set of boundaries.

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 11 BRUSH TECHNIQUES

THE EVOLVED USES OF THE MOST POPULAR ART-MAKING TOOL

Almost all painting in both the Eastern and Western traditions is accomplished with 1 Duccio (1255–1319)
brushes. Over the centuries, a variety of brushing techniques have evolved — ways Madonna, c. 1280, Tempera on wood,
of handling and delivering paint that give differing results, facilitate a wide variety of 36 × 23 in (91.4 × 58.4 cm)
expression, and allow a broad selection of finishes.
A delicate elongated stippling of the
paint is used to build subtle tonal
transitions across the flesh.
i
Glazing i
Knocking Down
Paint, usually oil or acrylic, is applied A line or edge of wet paint is partially 2 Gustave Caillebotte (1848–94)
in semitransparent layers. Each layer obscured and softened by pulling Paris: A Rainy Day (Detail), 1877,
is allowed to dry before the next is the end of a brush through it in a Oil on canvas, 83½ × 108¾ in
applied, allowing for great depth crisscross fashion. (212.2 × 276.2 cm)
and richness of tone and color. A
i
Dragging Scumbling is used to achieve broken
soft brush is used and layers can be
A brushstroke pulls one color into layers of paint.
modified using a fan brush.
another, dragging both along the sur-
i
Stippling face to create a kind of active blend.
3 Gustave Courbet (1819–77)
Paint is applied in small, even strokes
i
Dry Brush Source of a Mountain Stream, 1876,
so that tonal and color gradations Oil on canvas, 17 7/8 × 23¼ in
Only a very small amount of paint is
can be created in a delicately broken (45.4 × 59.1 cm)
taken up. The end of the brush is then
surface. Although laborious, this tech-
dragged along the surface so that the
nique offers the possibility of close A heavy impasto is applied over thin-
paint is only picked up by its texture, ner layers of paint.
and positive control of tone and color
creating a semitransparent layer.
and the creation of rich surfaces. Stip-
pling is ideal for fast-drying mediums i
Flooding 4 Dragging. Yellow is pulled across a
such as tempera or acrylic. This is usually a watercolor technique layer of wet blue paint with a stiff
where the artist uses a mop brush to bristle brush, creating a lively green.
i
Impasto
apply a large amount of watery paint
Paint is applied in heavy, opaque
that floods into an area.
layers, which often involves painting 5 Knocking down a line
wet-into-wet. This is can be a risky See also: Underpainting on page 202
and very physical technique, allowing
for heavy surfaces and expressive
use of the brush.
i
Scumbling
Paint is built with an array of open
marks pulled over the surface in a
loose and uneven way to create a
soft, broken and active surface. This is
often used as a layering technique that
allows for the color of one surface to
be visible through the one above.

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5
3
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 12 CHANCE

SURRENDERING CONTROL

Artists are usually interested in control, the skilled and thoughtful manipulation of a 1 Hans Arp (1886–1966)
medium. But the actions of chance have always played some role in art making, and Squares and Rectangles Arranged
in the last one hundred years some artists have embraced uncertainties for a variety according to the Laws of Chance,
of purposes. 1917, Torn and pasted paper,
19 1/8 × 13 5/8 in (48.5 × 34.6 cm)

The Dadaist artist Hans Arp tore

up pieces of paper and let them
APPROACHES i
Access to the unconscious
fall onto the floor to create chance
Some artists, particularly the Surre- compositions.
i
Useful accident alists, expressed an almost mystical
The handling of any physical belief in the actions of chance, sug-
medium incorporates a certain gesting that incorporating chance
element of chance. The painter can events puts the work in touch with
never be quite sure about how a the unconscious mind. This idea
particular wet brushstroke will look, was influenced by Sigmund Freud’s
and the sculptor can never guarantee view that accidents precipitated by
exactly what is going to happen with individuals are not accidents at all
the next strike of his or her chisel. In but rather expressions of uncon-
a sense the artist is always a little bit scious desires.
in the hands of chance and will nego-
tiate many small “accidents” during i
Conceptual
the creation of a work. For instance, Some artists contend that art does
in a very brushy style of painting, not have to be made by the artist
the ongoing creation of accidents but can be, instead, something
followed by a decision about whether whose fabrication the artist simply
to keep, modify, or erase them can be mediates. This is part of a broader
a deliberate strategy. strain of modernism that dissents
from the Romantic claim that art
i
Generation of subject matter is, or should be, a projection of the
Some modern artists have embraced personality and identity of the artist.
a more direct role of chance, incor- Using chance to make the work
porating random occurrences as removes the personality of the artist
features of their works. Marcel from the equation altogether.
Duchamp (1887–1968), for example,
invented arbitrary rules for determin- See also: Process as Meaning on page 138
ing how parts of his The Large Glass
would look based on the chance
formations of a falling piece of string.

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 13 CLASSICISM AND RENAISSANCE

THE TENETS OF THE GRECO-ROMAN WORLD RECUR THROUGHOUT THE CENTURIES

Classicism is a recurring tendency in art defined by an adherence to the qualities of ancient 1 Temple of Hephaestus,
Greek and Roman art, including clarity, orderliness, restraint, harmony, and a certain can- Athens, Greece
non of proportions. Although classicism emerged at various times during the Middle Ages, Photo: Guillaume Piolle
the Renaissance brought about its most impressive flowering. The rediscovery of artifacts
and texts from the ancient world led Italian artists to embrace classical ideals both visually
2 Reclining Dionysos, from Parthenon
and intellectually. An interest in mathematics, proportions, and clarity of form were com- east pediment, c. 447–433 BCE
bined with ideas about naturalism in representation and humanism in terms of philosophy. Photo: Marie-Lan Nguyen
In addition, ancient techniques, particularly bronze casting, were rediscovered.

3 Jaques-Louis David (1748–1825)

Oath of the Horatii, 1786, Oil on
Classicism continued into the seven- i
Restraint canvas, 51¼ × 65 5/8 in
teenth century in a more rigorous fashion Classic art prefers stateliness of (130.2 × 166.7 cm)
when painters, such as Nicolas Poussin movement and understatement of
This Neoclassical masterpiece
(1594–1665), used carefully structured drama. Even in a sculpture of athletic exhibits all the features of the
geometric compositions, orderly inter- movement, such as the Discobolus style: clarity and simplicity of form,
vals, stately rhythms, and rigidly edited of the Greek sculptor Myron, the orderliness of composition, and
content. Classicism reappeared toward rhythm is restrained. somewhat static action.
the end of the eighteenth century in a
i
Harmony
guise that is generally referred to as
Unity of structure was one of the
Neoclassicism. Reacting to the organic
ideals of classical art, and harmoni-
and sometimes decorative painters of the
ous proportions, relationships, and
late Baroque period, the French painter
color are prized.
Jacques-Louis David (1748–1825) intro-
duced a new severity based on classical i
Idealism
structures and ideals. Revivals of classi- A strain of platonic idealism—the
cism continued with the Pre-Raphaelites sense that ideal forms exist else-
in the 1850s, and again in the modern era where of which forms in this world
when art of the 1920s, particularly that of are an incomplete reflection—per-
Picasso, introduced a classicizing strain meates classical art. The drive to
into modernism. simplification of form, particularly of
the human body, may in part arise
from this idea.
CHARACTERISTICS
See also: Beauty on page 26; Harmony
i
Proportions on page 84; Proportion and Ratio on page
Classicism tends to revisit proportions, 140
such as the Golden Mean, as well as a
rather stately sense of interval.
i
Clarity
Aristotle named clarity, or definite-
ness, as one of the components of
beauty, and classical art epitomizes
clarity and readability of form.

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 14 COLLAGE AND ASSEMBLAGE

BRINGING THE REAL WORLD INTO THE ARTWORK

The construction of pictures from disparate elements, often printed matter or photo- 1 Georges Braque (1882–1963)
graphs, is known as “collage.” In sculpture the same approach is known as “assemblage,” Man with Pipe, 1912, Charcoal
and differs only in that three-dimensional objects are collected and combined. In both and collage on paper, 24.5 x 19 in
cases, artists can select their source material to secure scale, color, texture, and content (62 x 48.6 cm)
to their liking. Collaged items can also be combined with traditional art-making media.
2 Kathy Bruce
Specific Hungers, 2012, Collage on
paper, 9 × 10 in (22.9 × 25.4 cm)
STRATEGIES i
Colored paper or prints can be col-
laged to form decorative or figurative
i
Images from disparate sources can be compositions, an approach known as 3 Reginald Case (1937–2009)
readily combined to create disjointed “découpage.” Dream, 2006, Assemblage,
and challenging juxtapositions. 17 × 25 × 4 in (43.2 × 63.5 × 10.2 cm)
i
The texture of paper and other
i
Decorative formations can be made, materials can be important, for
in which elements are arranged into instance, in the combining of crepe
patterns. paper, foil, tracing paper, and corru-
gated cardboard.
i
Photographs and photographic frag-
ments can be combined to create i
Collaged elements may be com-
an entirely new scene, an approach bined with paint or other traditional
known as “photomontage.” media to make all manner of sur-
faces. Paint can be used to create
i
Collage elements can be selected
visual unity, to adjust the color, to
for their adherence to a particular
make a commentary about other
look or vision and then combined.
parts of the collage, or simply to add
In this case artists extend their
excitement and intrigue. Sometimes
vision through selection.
a work that is essentially a painting
or drawing is augmented by small
amounts of collage.

HISTORY
Collage in some forms was used in ancient Chinese art, and arguably, to a certain
extent in medieval art and Victorian interior design. However, it was not until the
advent of modernism at the beginning of the twentieth century that collage came
to the fore. Both Picasso and Georges Braque (1882–1963) included elements of
newspaper text and other found objects in their Cubist works. The German artist
Kurt Schwitters (1887–1948) turned it into a poetic form by placing found ephemera
within elegantly designed compositions. Collage was a favorite of the Surrealists and
played a major role in the art of the American Surrealist Joseph Cornell (1903–72).
See also: Surrealism on page 184

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 15 COLOR AS LIGHT

USING COLOR TO RECREATE THE SENSATION OF LIGHT

In the 1870s, a group of French painters that included Claude Monet (1840–1926) and 1 Michel Eugène Chevreul (1786–1889)
Pierre Renoir (1841–1919) found a new way to recreate the sensation of light. They were Diagram of a color wheel, 1855
dubbed “Impressionists.” Up until then, almost all painters since the Renaissance had
created light by describing tonal changes across forms and by building paintings along
2 Claude Monet (1840–1926)
largely tonal lines. The Impressionists found that if they used small patches of brilliant
Woman with a Parasol—Madame
color and built them into surfaces in which they alternated the color temperature, they Monet and Her Son, 1875, Oil on
could create a vivid sense of outdoor light. In looking at such paintings, the viewer’s eye canvas, 39 3/8 × 317/8 in (100 × 81 cm)
reconstitutes the color while retaining the lively action of the individual hues.
Monet presents a woman backlit by
the sun so that her shadowed figure
is vibrant with reflected light. To
In the 1890s, another group of French STRATEGIES achieve this effect, he paints blues
painters, the Pointillists, built on the dis- over soft warm browns throughout
the figure’s costume. The blues alter-
coveries of Impressionism and applied a i
Two colors placed close together will
nate between warmer violet blues
more systematic approach, creating light give an impression of a third color and cooler turquoise blues. Under the
by building areas of color with tiny, uni- when seen from a distance. forearm the color shifts to a yellow as
form dots of paint. the costume picks up light reflecting
i
Every color in a visual field affects
upwards from the grass. There is
While the development of this new our perception of every other color also a temperature alternation in the
approach grew from the interest in plein air in the field. Colors are experienced in parasol, where the right hand side is
(“open air”) painting in the nineteenth cen- relation to each other. a warm yellow green that becomes a
tury, it was also influenced by new scientific cooler blue green in the middle before
i
The alternation of color temperature, shifting to a warmer brown green
discoveries in optics, color, and percep-
warm and cool, contributes to the on the left. The small broken marks
tion. The work of physicist Hermann von
sensation of light. throughout allow the color to remain
Helmholz (1821–94) was particularly impor- active and clear.
tant and was popularized by the writings i
It is possible to exaggerate the satu-
of Michel Eugène Chevreul (1786–1889). ration of color in a visual field in order
Chevreul published a color wheel showing to achieve a more powerful experi-
opposing colors and intermediaries. He ence of light.
wrote considerably about color relation-
ships and about the effects of juxtaposing
brilliant small areas of color to create an RED
REDDISH VIOLET
impression of more complex color. ORANGE RED

ORANGE VIOLET

ORANGE VIOLET
YELLOW BLUE

YELLOW BLUE

YELLOWISH GREENISH
38 | UNIVERSAL PRINCIPLES OF ART 1 GREEN BLUE
GREEN

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ET

VIOLET
BLUE

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 16 COLOR AS LIMIT

A LIMITED COLOR RANGE YIELDS EXPRESSIVE POSSIBILITIES

Limiting the color range within a painting can allow the creation of a work that has a 1 John A. Parks (1952–)
distinctive identity, look, or atmosphere. By forcing a constrained range of color to cre- Self Portrait, 2013, Oil on Linen,
ate a fully rendered world, the painter can often create striking and sometimes highly 18 × 14 in (45.7 × 35.6 cm)
emotive effects.
Computer adjusted color limits show
some of the expressive possibilities
inherent in limiting color within an
image.
Limiting the color range within a work does Perhaps the most extreme example of
not preclude representational or realist a limited palette is that of the Swedish
approaches. Creating an illusion requires painter Anders Zorn (1860–1920), who 2 The Zorn Palette
that color relationships displayed in the used only four colors: cadmium red
world are transferred to the canvas. These medium, yellow ochre, ivory black, and The entire palette is mixed from
relationships can be maintained even when white. Nonetheless, he succeeded in cre- three colors and white. (Chart by
Michael Lynn Adams)
the range of colors is restricted. Thus if we ating a very full impression of the world,
were to paint only with reds, we would be while sustaining a somewhat cool and
able to decide which was the yellowest red clear feel to the light. 3 Anders Zorn (1860–1920)
and even which was the greenest red. We Omnibus, 1891–2, Oil on canvas,
See also: Color as Light on page 38; Color
could then construct an image that inti- 39 1/8 × 26 in (99.5 × 66 cm)
Theory on page 42; Restraint on page 156
mated the entire color world. But the result
would be curious and perhaps evocative.
Many artists have limited their palettes in
order to achieve a certain look and feel
in the final image. Rembrandt painted with
a palette limited to browns and blacks
with an earthy yellow. This guaranteed
warm harmony in the work and a kind of
earthy stability that reinforced the sense
of solidity and thoughtfulness in his paint-
ing. Similarly, the English artist Gwen
John (1876–1939) worked with a palette of
ochres and siennas, with just the occa-
sional use of blue. The resultant generally
warm harmonies give a sense of quiet and
reflective calm to the work.

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2 3

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 17 COLOR THEORY

UNDERSTANDING THE EXPERIENCE OF COLOR

From the Renaissance onward, artists and scientists sought a conceptual framework 1 Subtractive color with cyan,
for understanding color perception. Both Alberti and Leonardo da Vinci wrote on the magenta, and yellow inks. The center
subject, but it wasn’t until Sir Isaac Newton’s Opticks was published in 1704 that the should technically be black but
scientific world joined the search in earnest. imperfections in ink formulations
require that a black is also used in
color printing.

Arriving at a useful model of color relation- i
Lightness 2 A section of the Munsell color model
ships was made more difficult because How light or dark a color is.
reflective color (subtractive color), the
i
Chroma
kind experienced looking at a painting,
The amount of color, or degree of
combines in a very different way from that
saturation.
of pure colored light (additive color). Red,
green, and blue pigments mix together i
Hue
to make a dark gray; conversely, red, The position on the color wheel.
green, and blue light wavelengths com- In order to model color relationships,
bine together to make white light. This Munsell proposed a sphere in which the
is because pigments, when they reflect hues of the color wheel form the equator.
light, absorb one or more of the color Lightness is represented by the north and
wavelengths. A red pigment, for instance, south poles, with white at the top and
absorbs all the wavelengths except red, black at the bottom. Chroma is at its max-
which it reflects back. If the primary-colored imum at the equator and progressively
pigments are mixed together, they absorb lessens toward the center of the sphere.
every color and leave only gray. By dividing the sphere into sections and
In the nineteenth century, useful color employing a labeling system, Munsell’s
models began to emerge, and a standard model allowed for the precise specifica-
color wheel was implemented in which tion and recognition of colors. This had
primary colors stand opposite each other many industrial uses in cases where color
and are known as “complementaries.” The consistency was required or specification
relatively crude understanding of these of colors had to be communicated from
relationships, projected in The Laws place to place.
of Simultaneous Contrast by Eugene The development of color theory also
Chevreul in 1839, was superseded at the played a central role in the invention of
close of the century by the sophisticated color printing. The most effective triad of
Munsell Color System.
Albert Henry Munsell (1858–1918) was an
color in inks is cyan, magenta, and yellow.
In printing, these are joined by a black to Y
American scientist who used experiments make the CMYK process colors.
with human subjects to make a model of
how color is perceived. He identified three
properties of color:

M C

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 Value

Hue

Chroma
Yellow-Red
Red-Purple Red
Yellow

Purple

Green-Yellow

Green
Blue
Purple-Blue
Blue-Green

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 18 COMPOSITION

THE ARTWORK AS AN ARRANGEMENT OF ELEMENTS

A work of art can be considered as a group of distinct elements that may be arranged 1 Théodore Géricault (1791–1824)
by the artist in a fashion that furthers his or her artistic intentions. While compositional The Charging Chasseur, 1812,
strategies are limitless in number and dependent on the intentions of the artist, there are Oil on canvas, 137 ×  105  in
a number of basic approaches that yield predictable results. (348 ×  266.7 cm)

Dynamic composition. The artist

places his central image diagonally
on the canvas and creates powerful
COMPOSITION BY GEOMETRY DYNAMIC COMPOSITION curving movements going upwards
In this approach, the artist applies a sta- Elements within a composition can pos- from bottom left toward top right.
These are opposed by the backwards
ble geometric pattern to the work and sess many qualities that af fect how
and downwards glance of the rider, an
then places the principal elements to they function, especially when the artist example of dominant identity where
align with it. While almost any geometric wishes to achieve a sense of balance or the viewer assigns great importance
pattern will achieve stability, some tend dynamic stasis. to the actions of a human being.
to make for more interesting or more i
Weight
pleasing compositions. A dark element with a strident outline 2 Édouard Manet (1832–83)
i
The Golden Mean may feel “heavier” than a lightly tinted Olympia, 1863, Oil on canvas,
This is a ratio of 1:1.618. Division of a element with an amorphous outline. 511/8 x 74 7/8 in (130 x 190 cm)
work by this ratio tends to convey a i
Direction Geometric. Manet organizes his
sense of harmony. (See Proportion Some elements will be perceived composition as a powerful two-
and Ratio on page 140.) dimensional design of interlocking
as moving in a particular direction
i
The Rule of Thirds because of their outline and dark and light shapes. The viewer’s
eye is drawn swiftly to the hard and
Dividing the canvas into three placement within the composition.
somewhat indifferent gaze of the sub-
equal lengths both horizontally and A simple example is an elongated ject, whose face is starkly silhouetted
vertically allows for the placement of triangle that will feel as though it is against the dark wallpaper behind her.
elements off center. This will avoid moving toward its apex.
placements that bisect the image. i
Dominant identity 3 Raphael (1483–1520)
i
Dominant triangle Some elements will command Saint Catherine of Alexandria,
This is a simple idea in which the greater attention and weight simply 1508, Oil on poplar wood,
main elements of the composition because of their literal identity. A 28 × 20 5/8 in (71 × 53 cm)
form a triangle. human figure, for instance, will seize
the viewer’s attention and therefore 4
i
Grid Katsushika Hokusai (1760–1849)
obtain, almost automatically, a pow- Yoshitsune Falls, 1833, Ink and color
A grid of any proportion can help to
erful role in the composition. on paper, Woodblock print,
stabilize a large composition.
13 5/8 × 9½ in (34.6 × 24.2 cm)
i
Spiral
Arranging elements around a spiral Spiral composition. Two artists from
is an excellent way of securing con- very different traditions and eras
both base their compositions on a
trolled movement in a composition.
spiral. In the Hokusai, the eye moves
downwards with the flowing water
to find the human action just a little
below the midpoint of the print—two
men are washing a horse. In the
Raphael, the eye moves upwards
through the figure and follows the
saint’s gaze to the golden light ema-
nating from the heavens.

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 19 CONCEPTUAL ART

IDEAS AS ART

An artwork can be simply an idea or something generated totally by an idea, an approach 1 Art & Language
known as conceptual art. Although examples of such artworks go back at least to the No Secret Painting XI, 2007,
readymades of Marcel Duchamp in the early twentieth century, conceptual art emerged Painting and text: Part 1 (painting)
as an identifiable movement only in the 1960s. In Art Forum, in 1967, American artist Sol 2 × 2 1/16 in (5.1 × 5.2 cm); Part 2 (text)
3½ × 2 5/8 in (9 × 6.7 cm) © the artist;
Lewitt wrote, “In conceptual art, the idea or concept is the most important aspect of
Courtesy, Lisson Gallery, London
the work. When an artist uses a conceptual form of art, it means that all of the planning
and decisions are made beforehand and the execution is a perfunctory affair. The idea
becomes a machine that makes the art.”

STRATEGIES i
Designation
The artist designates an object
i
Imaginary works
or occurrence in the world as an
The artist supplies a description of
artwork. For example, in 1960, Dutch
something that would be impossible
artist Stanley Broun declared that
or very difficult to fabricate. The
all the shoe stores in Amsterdam
audience engages the work through
constituted his art object.
imaginative contemplation.
i
Document
i
Philosophical examination
An event, object, or activity is doc-
The artist gives up the task of
umented, and the documentation
making objects in favor of a
is then exhibited as evidence of an
philosophical examination of the
artwork that can be contemplated
nature of art and art practice. This
but which may no longer exist.
approach is favored by the English
group Art and Language. They pub- i
Political/social statement
lished magazines and articles from The artist employs the forum of the
the late 1960s onward in which they art exhibit in order to focus attention
applied the methods of linguistic on a political or social issue. In 1971,
philosophy to pursue a semantic artist Hans Haacke presented Real
investigation of art. Time Social System, an investigation
into the real estate holdings and
i
Instruction list
commercial practices of a wealthy
The artist invents the artwork as
New York family, as an exhibit at the
a concept and provides a list of
Guggenheim Museum. The museum
instructions whereby anyone can
abruptly cancelled the exhibition.
fabricate it. In this approach, the art
object is demystified; it is no longer
imbued with the aura of unique-
ness that is traditionally associated
with a work of art. For instance,
Sol Lewitt (1928–2007) made many
wall drawings that exist as lists of
instructions. They continue to be
executed after the artist’s death.

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 20 CONSISTENCY OF VISUAL LANGUAGE

COHERENCE REQUIRES UNITY OF EXPRESSION

Consistency of language throughout a In the modern world, an artist will some- 1 Francis Picabia (1879–1953)
work of art is nearly always necessary if times break with the idea of consistency Idyll, 1927, Oil on canvas,
it is to be coherent. For example, it will be of language for effect. For example, [dimensions unknown]
hard to make a representational painting Francis Picabia (1879–1953) often com-
read well if half of it is in black and white bined a tonal image with a linear drawing
and the other half in color. Tonal and color to create a kind of two-tier presentation
structure must be consistent to sustain an in his works. The English artist Patrick
illusion. The same principle applies to han- Caulfield (1936–2005) sometimes inserted
dling. It is nearly impossible, for example, a passage of painting in a photoreal-
to develop a unified painting in which part ist style into works that were otherwise
of the picture is executed in heavy brush- executed in a simplified cartoon style. In
strokes and the rest of it is painted in very these cases it is the concept of the piece
small and delicate brushstrokes. Similarly, that becomes the unifying element, the
it is hard to combine flawless rendering audacity and surprise of the discontinuity.
with other parts of a painting executed in
a broken impressionistic style. This leads
us to consider the idea that we generally
require some form of unity to be present
throughout a work of art, a principle that
goes back to Aristotle’s Poetics. More
recently, the writer Somerset Maugham
observed, “The essence of the beautiful is
unity in variety.”

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 21 CRAFT

SKILL, EXPERTISE, AND WORKMANSHIP

Craft is the physical skill and expertise developed to perform a particular task. From the 1 William Morris (1834–96)
ancient world onward, the production of artworks was inseparable from the mastery of The Golden Legend, 1892,
crafts, including carving, painting, weaving, and metalworking. In both Asia and Europe, Woodcut title, 1115/16 × 8 9/16 in
crafts were passed through a system of apprenticeship, and in Medieval Europe, this (30.3 × 21.7 cm)
system was formalized into guilds, associations of craftsmen that regulated their own
trades. Even though academies of art began to appear in the late sixteenth century, 2 Edward Burne-Jones (1833–98) and
the apprenticeship system, with its emphasis on craftsmanship, survived and flourished William Morris (1834–96)
almost until modern times. David’s Charge to Solomon, 1882,
Stained-glass, about 80 × 80 in
(200 × 200 cm)

From the Romantic era onward, there Ruskin was a great champion of the desir- The Arts and Crafts movement
was a growing recognition that art and ability of craft and craftsmanship, which inspired the painter Burne-Jones to
engage in traditional crafts such as
craft were not exactly synonymous. In he closely related to his ideas about ideal
stained glass.
England, Joseph Mallord William Turner’s societies in which such activity would
decision to drop the traditional buildup play an integral role. Inspired by this phi-
of brown underpainting in favor of open losophy, the Arts and Crafts movement
and direct techniques dispensed with was formed, centered on the enormous
the laborious task of crafting carefully talents of William Morris (1834-96). He
rendered forms. The matter came to a founded a company in London in 1861
head when the American painter James that promoted simple, mostly flat design
Whistler (1834–1903) began to paint very and such ideas as “truth to materials.” He
loose and sketchy pictures in the 1870s. and his followers revived traditional crafts
He was criticized by the critic John and looked to indigenous English folk art,
Ruskin (1819–1900) who accused him of medieval design, and vernacular archi-
“flinging a pot of paint in the public’s tecture for inspiration. This philosophy
face.” Whistler sued, and the public was spawned movements in both Europe and
treated to a formal trial on the relation- the United States, including the Wiener
ship of craft to art. Whistler prevailed, Werkstätte in Austria, a collective that
albeit with negligible damages. sought to integrate craft, art, and design.
With the advent of modernism, craft has
become increasingly divorced from the fine
arts. Dadaist and Expressionist artists often
used deliberately crude techniques. Most
art movements have adopted crafting that
is simply sufficient to the task at hand. With
Conceptual Art and its promotion of the pri-
macy of ideas over objects, the importance
of craftsmanship disappears altogether.
Postmodern artists, such as Jeff Koons
(1955–) and Damien Hirst (1965–), often have
their artworks made by somebody else.
See also: Sufficiency of Means on page 182

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 22 CREATIVITY

ANALYZING THE PROCESS OF MAKING SOMETHING NEW

Creativity, the generation of new ideas, insights, and previously unimagined images and 1 Paul Klee (1879–1940)
artifacts, is usually thought of as central to the making of art. It is a surprisingly recent idea. Cat and Bird, 1928, Oil and ink on
Greek philosophy regarded the visual arts as largely imitative, while inspiration for poetry gessoed canvas, mounted on wood,
was provided by the Muses or the Gods. It wasn’t until the Renaissance that creation 15 × 21 in (38.1 × 53.3 cm)
began to be seen as a characteristic of human beings, and not until the beginning of the
Romantic era that any serious thinking was applied to the function of the imagination. Any 2 Paul Klee (1879–1940)
useful consideration of the creative process did not emerge until the end of the nineteenth Lamb, 1920, Oil and pen and ink on
century, and the first good attempt at analyzing it only appeared in 1926, when Graham cardboard, 16 × 12 3/8 in
Wallas (1858–1932) published The Art of Thought. He proposed the following model: (40.7 × 31.5 cm)

Klee combined the visual language

of various early twentieth century art
Preparation i
Bisociation movements, including Expressionism,
Surrealism, and Cubism, in a highly
An initial assessment of a problem This model was proposed by Arthur
personal manner. He produced
Koestler (1905–83) to describe a modest-sized paintings in vast quan-
Incubation process by which conceptual frame- tities, following an intuitive path of
A waiting period while the mind works from two different matrices freely associated imagery, rich color,
absorbs the task of thought are combined. Common and varied handling. A fountain of
examples of this phenomenon occur creativity, he left behind more than
Intimation nine thousand works of art.
with analogies, metaphors, compari-
A sense that there is a solution sons, and jokes.
Illumination i
Honing theory
A creative insight occurs First proposed by psychologist Liane
Gabora, this theory regards creativ-
Verification ity as a product of a “self-mending,
Examination of the solution’s success self-organizing” process, whereby
humans continually adjust their
Since Wallas, several more models for the worldview, or gestalt, to accord with
creative process have been proposed: new facts or experiences. “Creative
i
Divergent thinking individuals wrestle with issues or
J. P. Guilford (1897–1987) advanced ideas that are, for them, ill-defined,
a distinction between convergent or in a state of potentiality, which
and divergent thinking. Convergent become well-defined in the process
thinking is a process that focuses of considering them from different
on a particular problem and seeks perspectives, or contexts.”*
to arrive at one correct solution.
Divergent thinking attempts to Most accounts of creativity report on the
look at a problem from a variety of role of time away from considering a prob-
points of view and seeks multiple lem. As Einstein once observed, “Creativity
answers. Such thinking is inherently is the residue of time wasted.”
more creative.

*Gabora, L. (2011) “Problem Solving as the Recognition and Actualization of Potentiality,”

Report from Dagstuhl Seminar 11351, page 104.

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2
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 23 CROSS-CULTURAL FERTILIZATION

CULTURES INSPIRE EACH OTHER WHEN THEY MEET

One of the continual driving forces in the ongoing evolution of art is the energy that occurs 1 François Boucher (1703–70)
when the works of one culture become available to another. For instance, the Romans were The Chinese Garden (Detail), 1742,
heavily influenced by Greek sculpture. In the colonial era, imported artworks from China and Oil on canvas, 15 15/16 × 18 7/8 in
India seized the attention of European artists. Rococo artists, such as François Boucher (40.5 × 48 cm)
(1703–70), made designs based on Chinese textiles and paintings during the resulting chi-
noiserie craze of the eighteenth century. Similarly, in the 1850s, when Japan was opened to 2 M. V. Dhurandhar (1867–1944)
European traders, the following influx of Japanese prints and artifacts fueled a revolution Untitled, 1941, Watercolor on paper,
in design and painting. Vincent Van Gogh was directly influenced by Japanese prints, of 19 3/16 × 12½ in (48.8 × 31.8 cm)
which he had a large collection. At the close of the nineteenth century, an expanded flow
of artifacts from Africa and the Pacific influenced Picasso and many other artists, inspiring
a taste for simplified, or even brutal, forms and a new sense of the dramatic in painting
and sculpture. Paul Gauguin (1848–1903) even went to live in Polynesia, absorbing native
forms and imagery into his work. In the twentieth century, the German Expressionists were
intrigued by tribal forms. Emil Nolde (1867-1956) took a long trip to the Pacific and made
many paintings based on imagery he had collected there.

The cross-cultural flow is rarely one-way. With the advent of the Internet and the
Japanese printmaking was heavily influ- global availability of information, it is
enced by European art in the second unclear how much culture will remain local
half of the nineteenth century. European at all. Hybridization of forms and ideas
conventions, such as perspective, tonal can now happen in a much shorter time
rendering, and classical organization were frame, and the dialogue between nations
introduced, creating a new hybrid form and cultures now occurs at a rate never
of art. Similarly, Indian miniature paint- before possible.
ing absorbed European approaches and
devices as Indian artists became aware of
European art during the British rule.

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 24 CUBISM

THE LANGUAGE OF MULTIPLE VIEWPOINTS

Cubism was a movement that emerged in Paris around 1907 and profoundly altered the 1 Pablo Picasso (1881–1973)
way artists thought about the nature of painting and its ability to represent the world. Les Demoiselles d’Avignon, 1907,
Inspired in part by the paintings of Paul Cézanne (1839–1906), whose work incorporated Oil on canvas, 96 × 92 in
shifting points of view, the Cubists constructed images that combined multiple view- (243.9 ×  233.7 cm)
points in a shallow picture space. By abandoning traditional perspectival space and
continuous description of form, they asserted a new autonomy for painting, freeing it 2 Diego Rivera (1886–1957)
from the task of conventional representation. In sculpture, the recombination of frac- Still Life, 1915, Oil on canvas,
tured forms introduced similar possibilities in three dimensions. 31¼ × 25 1/8 in (79.4 × 64.1 cm)

3 Juan Gris (1887–1927)

Pablo Picasso (1881–1973) is generally i
Composition and design Portrait of Pablo Picasso, 1912,
credited with the first Cubist painting, The foregoing processes still left the Oil on canvas, 36¾ × 29¼
(93.3 × 74.4 cm)
Les Demoiselles d’Avignon. Other prom- Cubists with traditional challenges
inent Cubists include Georges Braques in terms of composition and design.
(1882–1963), Juan Gris (1887–1927), and It might be argued that the aes-
Albert Gleizes (1881–1953). thetic attraction of painters such as
Picasso, Braque, and Gris, was their
innate taste and almost classical
COMPONENTS sense of interval and proportion.
i
Simplification i
Color restriction
Subjects are generally reduced to Early Cubist painting tended to use
simpler versions built from straight restricted palettes to create a more
lines, cubes, circles, or cones. unified surface. Later on, some of the
i
Fracturing Cubist painters, particularly Robert
Simplified outlines of the subject are Delauney (1885–1941), experimented
broken up so that only partial views with richer color.
of each element are visible. i
Time
i
Shallow planes The ability to show multiple view-
Elements formed of fractured out- points also allowed for viewpoints
lines of the subject are presented from different times. The time-lapse
as the edges of planes. These are photography of Eadweard Muybridge
rendered simply using a tonal shift (1830–1904) had already inspired
across them. The effect is to sug- a number of painters, and Cubism
gest a shallow space both in front now provided a way to deploy its
of and behind the picture plane. discoveries. Marcel Duchamp’s Nude
Descending the Staircase (see page
i
Recombination
119) is a prime example. The Italian
Elements are recombined so that multi-
Futurists, much influenced by Cubism,
ple viewpoints are melded together to
made broad use of this approach.
form a single image in which the viewer
can move smoothly from one outline i
Surface
to the next. Cubist painters tried The relative flatness of Cubist
a number of different approaches painting allowed for the inclusion
to this, including the suggestion of of collaged elements and textured
translucency of the elements. paint surfaces.

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 25 DADA

NONSENSE, NON-ART, AND CREATIVE MAYHEM LEAD TO NEW VITALITY IN ART

In 1916, a group of artists working in Zurich, Switzerland, named themselves by the non- 1 Hugo Ball performing at the
sense word “Dada.” Meeting in and around the Café Voltaire, they promoted an art of Café Votaire
rejection and extreme behavior, using poetry, theater, painting, and sculpture to mount
an attack on what they saw as the entrenched bourgeois values that had driven Europe
2 Hannah Höch (1889–1978)
into World War I. Led by the poet Tristan Tzara (1896–1963), along with artists Hugo
Cut with the Dada Kitchen Knife
Ball (1886–1927), Hannah Höch (1889–1978), Francis Picabia (1879–1953), and others, the through the Last Weimar Beer-
movement embraced the irrational and nonsensical in an exuberant and highly experi- Belly Cultural Epoch in Germany,
mental fashion. Performances included simultaneous poetry (two poems being read at 1919, Collage on paper, 5611/16 × 357/16 in
the same time), cacophonous music, and nonsensical plays. German artist Hans Richter (144 × 90 cm)
(1886–1976) observed that Dada was not art but “anti-art.”

Paradoxically, this attack on art created a STRATEGIES

liberated artistic environment in which new
forms emerged that would have far-reaching i
Irrationality
effects on later twentieth-century art. Poetry, performances, and artworks
Performance art, photomontage, multimedia that deliberately undermine common
events, readymades, and assemblage all sense challenged the rational under-
had their start with Dada. The movement pinnings of bourgeois culture.
promoted itself over the next few years i
Spontaneity
with publications and manifestos that Artworks and events embraced
allowed it to spread throughout Europe spontaneous behavior and extempo-
and into the United States. In Berlin, in raneous outpourings.
1920, the First International Dadaist Fair
i
Novelty
opened, an exhibition of more than 200
New experimental forms, such as
works by artists including Francis Picabia,
readymades, photomontage, and
Otto Dix, Max Ernst, and others. In New
multimedia, emerged from a willing-
York, Marcel Duchamp’s seminal work
ness to accept anything as art.
Fountain (see page 147) was a direct prod-
uct of Dadaist influence. i
Humor
Dadaist poetry and commentary
adopted humor and a sense of the
absurd to ridicule and undermine
prevailing cultural values.
i
Politics
Dadaists vehemently opposed the
political structures in France and
Germany that had brought about the
war. They supported communist ide-
als for ending private property and
transferring power to the masses.

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 26 DECORATION

THE PLEASURES OF ADORNMENT

Art that is intended to simply please the eye, to adorn a surface, or to act as ornamentation 1 Sidney Parkinson (1745–71)
is generally referred to as “decorative.” Much, but not all, decorative art deploys pattern, a Tatoo, Maori, published 1784, proba-
repeated motif that forms a geometric regularity. Pattern making and its use to adorn sur- bly sketched in 1769, Engraving,
faces appears in much tribal art and forms one of the most basic behaviors in art making. 13 3/16 × 10¼ in (33.5 × 26 cm)
Moreover, some patterns and habits of decoration are identified with particular groups of
The artist drew this image during
people and specific periods in their history. Decorative elements, such as the Greek key Captain Cook’s first exploration of
pattern and the French fleur-de-lis, have become emblematic of entire cultures. New Zealand.

2 William Morris (1834–96)

The arts of some cultures have been BASIC PATTERN TYPES Design for Tulip and Willow, 1873,
dominated by the decorative instinct. Watercolor on paper
Celtic and a considerable amount of i
Grid
medieval art are overwhelmingly decora- A motif is repeated tile fashion in A repeat motif
tive, while Islamic religious art is almost horizontal, vertical, or diagonal rows.
entirely decorative. In the Western tradi- i
Repeat 3 Friday Mosque, Herat, Afghanistan
tion, decorative art extends not merely to A more complex motif is designed so
architectural and textile surfaces, but also that it can repeat, with one side of
to body art, religious artifacts, fashion the motif fitting into the other side of 4 Linsdisfarne Gospels, Saint
Matthew, 8th century, Ink, pigments,
design, and landscape design. In most of its next appearance.
and gold on vellum
these arts, decorative elements are often
i
Stripes
integrated into structural design and form
Parallel lines are repeated, usually in
an active component of the look and feel
various colors.
of the artifact.
i
Meander
A single line runs continuously and
repeats the same motif. The Greek
key pattern is the most famous
example.
i
Other regularities
Nature provides examples of patterns
formed from spirals, fractals, and
other regularities or near-regularities,
such as the cracking induced by
shrinkage in mudflats or the undula-
tions of sand dunes.

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 27 DISTORTION

BENDING, TWISTING, STRETCHING, AND PULLING

Distorting a form, a figure, or a face is one of the most dramatic and powerful statements 1 Fang mask, Gabon, Wood,
an artist can make. Many approaches are possible. 26 in (66 cm) high

2 Edvard Munch (1863–1944)

i
Facial distortion i
Spatial distortion Self-Portrait with a Bottle of Wine,
In much tribal art, images of the Perspectival space can be distorted 1906, Oil on canvas, 43 5/16 × 47¼ in
human head are subject to gross or skewed by adjusting the geom- (110 × 120 cm)
distortions. Eyes are often fantas- etry. This can create surprising or The artist distorts the perspective so
tically large, while teeth or noses alarming shifts in space. Edvard that it closes in on the sitter and is
may be prominent or nonexistent. Munch (1863–1944) sometimes used somewhat unstable on the right.
The effect can be deeply disturbing, this strategy to create a sense
even frightening. Modern Western of alienation and unease. Similar
caricaturists routinely distort the results, in a harder style, were
head, exaggerating features of pub- achieved by the American Surrealist
lic figures as a form of humor. artist George Tooker (1920–2011).
i
Figural distortion i
Distortion as style
Byzantine artists routinely elon- Some artists adopt a distorted
gated figures, particularly on the notion of form and space as an
walls of churches, to create a sense individual style. The Columbian artist
of presence. The Cretan artist El Fernando Botero (1932–) paints all
Greco (1541–1614), borrowed from the figures in his paintings as though
this tradition and brought the power they were enormously fat. He has
of elongated forms into Spanish made a whole career out of playing
painting with highly expressive endless games with this one idea.
effect. The German Expressionist
painters of the twentieth century
often brutally distorted figures for
dramatic effect. The French painter
Balthus (1908–2001) experimented
with full-length portraits in which
hands and feet were impossibly tiny
and foreheads flat. More whimsical
artists, such as Britain’s Stanley
Spencer (1891–1959), also distorted
figures, often conveying a kind of
awkward and simple charm.

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 28 DISTRIBUTION

ARRANGEMENT ACROSS A SURFACE

The way in which elements are distributed across a surface is an important consider- 1 Anonymous artist,
ation in composition, particularly in abstract painting. This is especially true when the Kata-gami, umbrellas, water and
elements are small relative to the area of the canvas. Elements can be clustered or scat- pine needle clusters, late nineteenth
tered, concentrated or dispersed. The viewer’s eye tends to rush toward concentrations century, stencil, mulberry paper,
lacquer made from persimmon juice,
and moves more slowly in sparse areas. This makes a wide range of dynamics possible
silk thread, 321 mm, 12.64 × 16.73 in
in which the eye is pulled or pushed in various directions. (32.1 × 42.5 cm)

2 Claude Monet (1840–1926)

Composition by distribution can be com- The idea of distribution can also be impor- Waterlilies, 1920–26, Oil on canvas,
bined with other ideas. Elements can tant in organizing the color in a painting. 86 3/16 × 237 in (219 × 602 cm)
be set up in shapes or laid out in lines The placement and grouping of related col-
to suggest movement or convey mean- ors within a composition can greatly affect In this mural, Monet orchestrates the
natural distribution of water lilies
ing. Further reinforcement of these ideas their appearance and function.
into clusters, pulling the viewer’s
can be achieved with the nature of the eye along the surface of the picture.
See also: Composition on page 44
elements themselves. A narrow, pointed The simple use of perspective allows
shape, for instance, will tend to create a the artist to achieve an intimation
greater sense of movement and direction of depth even as the painting itself
than a soft, amorphous shape. remains essentially flat.

Careful control of distribution can con-

fer extra properties on the elements in
the work. They can be made to appear
“sticky”—to have the tendency to stick
together—or they can be made to feel
airy and free floating.

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 29 DRAWING LANGUAGE

THE SYNTAX OF DESCRIPTION

In the Western tradition, drawing is a complex array of approaches to description and 1 Albrecht Dürer (1471–1528)
notation. The choice of a particular technique or strategy depends on the artist’s inten- Female Nude Praying,
tion for the work. 1497-1500, Pen and brown ink on laid
paper, 8 7/16 × 5 3/8 in (21.5 × 13.7 cm)

The artist combines outline with contour

i
Tone hatching that builds into a loose tonal
STRATEGIES rendering. The varied weight of the line
Tone is built into the shadows to
i
Simple outline contributes to the sense of space and
create an illusion of light. This can be movement.
A line is drawn around the shape of
achieved in many materials, includ-
an object. It can be modulated in
ing charcoal, conté crayon, pencil,
thickness, continuity, and strength 2 Albrecht Dürer (1471–1528)
and wash (see Tone as Structure on
of movement (see Linear Basics on Two Studies of an Elderly Man’s
page 194).
page 104). Head, 17th century, After Sir Peter
i
Line and tone Paul Rubens, Pen and brown ink with
i
Contour brown wash on laid paper,
Simple linear description can be
Lines are drawn along the contours 7 5/8 × 5 11/16 in (19.4 × 14.5 cm)
combined with areas of tone to cre-
of a form, describing the interior in
ate a hybrid form of great flexibility.
more or less the same way that a The form is laid out with a pen line
The most popular way of doing this and the tonal areas are then estab-
contour map operates. This allows
is by combining pen lines with mono- lished with a wash. In some sections,
the artist to make a precise descrip-
chrome watercolor wash. both contour hatching and wash are
tion of form, an approach often used in combination.
favored by sculptors. i
Colored pencil
Modern colored pencil technology
i
Hatching
allows for the addition of color to
Multiple lines are drawn closely
any of the approaches listed above.
together in parallel to create areas
Hatching or crosshatching with a
of tone. The lightness or darkness of
variety of hues allows the artist to
the tone depends on the concentra-
build rich and subtle areas of color.
tion of hatched lines. This technique
is often used in etching and pen i
Pastel
and ink. The lines can also be built Pastel techniques can combine the
in crisscross fashion, a technique strengths of drawing and painting.
called cross-hatching. Pastels create a much denser sur-
face than colored pencils and can be
i
Contour hatching
built in successive layers to achieve a
This is a combination of contour
richness rivaling that of paint (see the
drawing and hatching in which
Degas pastel on page 19).
contour lines are placed only in the
shadows and built running across
each other in crisscross fashion.
This allows for both the accurate
description of volume and the
creation of a strong tonal illusion. It
was a technique much favored by
Renaissance draftsmen and became
the basic vocabulary of engraving.

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 30 THE EMOTIVE OBJECT

THE ARTWORK ELICITS AN EMOTIONAL RESPONSE

The work of art can itself become an emotive force. When the artist seeks to create a 1 Ernst Ludwig Kirchner (1880–1938)
powerful emotional reaction in the viewer, the enterprise is referred to as “expressionist.” Qualen der Liebe, 1915, Color wood-
A variety of approaches and techniques can be used and combined to achieve this. cut from two blocks on wove paper,
13 1/16 × 8 9/16 in (33.2 × 21.7 cm)

Kirchner uses distorted form, unnat-

i
Exaggeration or distortion of the i
Severe angular shifts ural color, and a dynamic angular
composition to create a work that
form of the subject The creation of acute angular
projects a powerful and disturbing
The artist might elongate, twist, relationships between elements in a energy.
compress, stretch, or otherwise dis- painting or sculpture tends to bring
tort the subject, creating an uneasy about a dynamic sense of unease.
relationship to a normal realist 2 Edvard Munch (1863–1944)
i
Use of strong and non-natural color The Scream, 1893, Oil, Tempera and
representation.
This can cause a visceral response Pastel on Cardboard,
i
Use of disturbing subject matter in the viewer. 36 ×  28 7/8  in (91.4 cm ×  73.3 cm)
The artist might depict subjects that
i
Heavy and stressed surfaces Munch uses a heavy and brutally
incorporate emotionally charged
The surface of the painting or sculp- insistent line in combination with
themes, such as violence, alienation,
ture can be made to feel stressed distorted form and unnatural color
and sexuality. to create one of the most famously
through heavy impasto, energetic
i
Use of heavy and very physical line brushing, or the addition of other disturbing images of the modern
era. The deliberate flattening of the
A heavy, wide line can carry a sense materials into the paint.
image allows the artist to connect
of weightiness and even brutality. the line running through the right
side of the figure with the lines
running into the landscape, thereby
combining the two elements in an
unnerving fashion.

2 Vincent Van Gogh (1853–90)

Wheatfield with Cypresses, 1889,
Oil on canvas, 29 ×  36¾  in
(73 ×  93.4 cm)

The artist uses heavy line, abrupt

HISTORY angular changes, and exaggerated
color to create a sense of energetic
Modern expressionism begins with Vincent Van Gogh and was taken up by the movement and unease.
Norwegian artist Edvard Munch. A broader Expressionist movement began in
Germany early in the twentieth century. Its principal exponents were Ernst Ludwig
Kirchner (1880–1938), Erich Heckel (1883–1970), and Max Beckmann (1884–1950). In
France, the work of Georges Rouault (1871–1958) and Chaim Soutine (1893–1943)
also followed expressionist lines. In the 1980s, a Neo-Expressionist movement
emerged, again primarily in Germany, championed by artists such as Anselm Kiefer
(1945–) and Georg Baselitz (1938–).
See also: Touch Communicates on page 196; Texture on page 190; Linear Basics on
page 104

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 31 EROTIC ART

THE AESTHETICS AND POLITICS OF DESIRE

An image can be sexually interesting in its own right, and erotic artworks appear in more 1 Egon Schiele (1890 –1918)
or less all cultures, both ancient and modern. Excavations at Pompeii, for instance, have Young Woman Resting on Both
unearthed troves of sexually explicit frescos. Elbows, 1917, Black chalk and
gouache on paper, 17 7/16 × 11 5/16 in
(44.3 × 28.7 cm)

In post–Roman Western art there is a Limiting erotic imagery to the context

history of unease with erotic imagery, of classical subjects, at least in pub- 2 Betty Tompkins (1945– )
Kiss Painting #4, 2012, Oil on canvas,
attributable perhaps to the way in which licly acceptable art, continued until the
60 × 72 in (152.4 × 182.9 cm)
Christian religious practice sought to con- nineteenth century. With the advent of Courtesy of Gallerie Radolphe
trol and contain sexual behavior. Erotic modernism this understanding dissolved. Jansen, Brussels
works appear in medieval art only in dis- The writings of Freud and his followers at
creet places, hidden under choir seats the end of the nineteenth century brought
or relegated to obscure corners of illumi- a new focus on sexuality and called
nated manuscripts. In the Renaissance, into question norms of social and sex-
artists made sexually explicit images, ual behavior. In Paris, Manet painted Le
but they were generally displayed only Dejéuner sur l’Herbe, deliberately remov-
in private. Eroticism was acceptable in ing a classical nude from its “safe” setting
publicly displayed imagery that related to by surrounding her with men in modern
the classical past, and a certain canon of dress (see page 145). A few years later in
scenes illustrating the sexual behavior of Vienna, Gustav Klimt (1862–1918) and then
classical deities came into being. Many Egon Schiele (1890–1918) began to make
artists painted Jupiter and Io, Leda and images that were newly raw and explicit.
the Swan, or simply displayed a comely
Although there are many examples of
nude Venus. The arrival of printmaking
erotic imager y in t wentieth-centur y
threatened to open new markets for erot-
American art, it didn’t become mainstream
ica. Giulio Romano (1499–1546) was quite
until pinup photographs and provoca-
safe in making a series of erotic drawings
tive movie stills found their way into pop
for a private client, but when Marcantonio
art in the 1960s. In the 1970s and ’80s,
Raimondi (1480–1534) made engravings
the advent of the gay rights movement
of them under the title I Modi, the pope
freed photographer Robert Mapplethorpe
ordered the works confiscated and
(1946–1989) to make powerful homoerotic
Raimondi jailed.
photographs. Today the art world, and the
wider culture, is more tolerant than ever
of sexual content. Contemporary paint-
ers such as John Currin (1962–) and Lisa
Yuskavage (1962–) have enjoyed enor-
mous success with paintings that explore
erotic fantasies in graphic detail.

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 32 EXPRESSION IN THE ABSTRACT

TRANSMITTING FEELING THROUGH NON-OBJECTIVE IMAGERY

Art can elicit a powerful emotional response from the viewer by using abstract rather 1 Willem de Kooning (1904–97)
than figurative means. Abstract Expressionism, a 1950s American-based art movement, Rosy-Fingered Dawn at Louse
was the first to explore the possibilities of this approach. Its principal exponents were Point, 1963, Oil on canvas, 80 × 70 in
Willem De Kooning (1904–97), Jackson Pollock (1912–56), and Robert Motherwell (1915–91). (203.5 × 177.8 cm)
These painters stripped down and fragmented figurative elements, remaking them as
dynamic visual features composed of paint marks, drips, splashes, and heavily built sur-
faces. This new vocabulary was deployed in large-scale canvases creating a flattened
pictorial space and bringing about a whole new form of painting.

STRATEGIES i
Surface tension

Expressive elements can be com-
i
Mark making through gesture posed across a surface so that the
Large, energetic, and dynamic brush entire painting feels taut and present.
marks can record and even drama-
tize the physical gestures used to i
Suggestion
make them. This can have an imme- While keeping a painting abstract, it
diate visceral effect on the viewer. is possible to deploy elements that
suggest or hint at representational
i
Scale counterparts.
The sheer size and scope of an
abstract painting can have an See also: The Emotive Object on page 68;
overwhelming physical and psycho- Texture on page 190
logical impact.
i
Texture
Heavy impasto paint or addition
of textural materials to the paint
increases the physical presence and
insistence of a painting.
i
Color and tone
Very high tonal contrast can be used
for dramatic effect. Color palettes
can be manipulated to achieve dis-
turbing, mysterious, disquieting, or
uncomfortable effects.

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 33 FANTASY AND VISIONARY ART

INVENTING NEW WORLDS

In fantasy art, the artist renders a credible and coherent image of a world that does not, 1 William Blake (1757–1827)
and in many cases cannot, exist. There has always been some element of fantasy at play The Great Red Dragon and the
in Western painting, particularly in religious and allegorical painting. However, fantasy Woman Dressed with the Sun,
as a genre first gained real currency with the advent of the Romantic movement toward 1805–10, Watercolor on paper,
15¾ × 12 13/16 in (40 × 32.5 cm)
the end of the eighteenth century, when a new interest in the powers of the imagination
and the autonomy of the artist as creator came to the fore. Goya (1746–1828) made many
fantastic works in which he explored sometimes alarming and highly personal imag- 2 Gustave Moreau (1826–98)
ery. In the same period, the Swiss artist Henry Fuseli (1741–1825) and the English artist Oedipus and the Sphinx, 1864,
William Blake (1757–1827) also pursued fantastic imagery. Fantasy again enjoyed cur- Oil on canvas, 81¼ x 41¼ in
rency toward the end of the nineteenth century when Symbolist artists like Gustave (206.4 × 104.8 cm)
Moreau (1826–98) and later James Ensor (1860–1949) used avant-garde painting styles
to conjure highly personal and sometimes disturbing images.

In the twentieth century, the Surrealist APPROACHES

movement embraced fantasy techniques
to explore images that were connected i
Anthropomorphism
with the workings of the unconscious mind. Animals and objects take on human
Other artists deployed fantasy from time to characteristics.
time, perhaps most notably Marc Chagall i
Otherworldly settings
(1887–1985), who combined a kind of Fantasy worlds often feature height-
lyrical open cubist style with fantastic ened color, unnatural lighting, and
elements. Since World War II, fantasy art flora and fauna unknown on earth.
has largely remained in the realm of illus-
i
Improbable or
tration, where highly rendered imagery is
impossible happenings
at a premium for certain genres of popular
Gravity may be suspended, humans
literature, science fiction, science fantasy,
and objects may behave or respond
comic books, and animated films.
in unnatural or unexpected ways.
Visionary art is a subgenre of fantasy
i
Recombination
art in which the artist creates images
Features or denizens of the natural
that purport to show religious revela-
world may be recombined. Fairies,
tion or apocalyptic scenarios that may
for instance, are miniature humans
have a religious dimension. The work of
with wings. Centaurs are a combina-
William Blake, with its highly personal
tion of men and horses.
and idiosyncratic religious imagery, fits
into this category. i
Theatrical illumination
Visionary art, in particular, often
makes use of strikingly powerful
light sources, generally emanating
from above.

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 34 FINISH

POLISHING TO PERFECTION

“Finish” in art refers to the final polishing-up of a work, especially when it implies the 1 Lawrence Alma-Tadema (1836–1912)
last manipulation to secure a seamless illusion in representational painting. A painting by Unconscious Rivals, 1893, Oil on
Jean Auguste Domnique Ingres (1780–1867), with its flawlessly executed rendering and canvas, 17¾ × 24 5/8 in
fine glazing, would be considered to have “finish.” This kind of crafting and its ambition to (45.1 × 62.6 cm)
obtain a dazzling illusion honed to perfection was seen as a highly desirable component of
Typical of late Victorian English
Neoclassical and academic painting in the nineteenth century. Conversely, painters of the painting, this work combines a high
Romantic persuasion preferred more open and direct painting styles that did not embrace finish with a strong literal narrative.
a sense of finish and could be left in a somewhat raw state.

Whether finish is desirable in a contem- TECHNIQUES

porary work depends in large part on the
intention of the artist and the thrust of the Techniques used are different for painting
piece. A photorealist painting will demand and sculpture.
a high finish, while an expressionist work i
Painting
will usually find it unnecessary and coun- Layers of glaze or thin paint are built
terproductive. In general, modernism up and blended with a fan brush
avoided highly finished painting, associat- to achieve almost photographic
ing it with the academies and outmoded smoothness. The finished work may
styles of painting that sought to produce then be varnished, sometimes with
high quality history paintings and fine por- several coats, to give a completely
traiture in previous centuries. For the most smooth surface.
part, the moderns adopted a sense of ade-
i
Sculpture
quacy in craftsmanship (see Sufficiency
Depending on the material, sculp-
of Means on page 182). However, some
ture can be polished and coated in
postmodern painters have revisited finish
a wide variety of ways to create a
for effect. The erotic works of John Currin
smooth and seamless finish.
(1962–) use a high finish in a way that
brings to mind fashion photography
and certain kinds of pornography. The
German artist Gerhard Richter (1932–) has
explored a kind of dead commercial finish
in some of his representational paintings.

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 35 FORMAL INNOVATION

GROUND-BREAKING ARTWORKS CAN CHANGE THE WHOLE GAME

From time to time, an artwork is produced that radically changes the formal means by 1 Pietro Perugino (1446–1523)
which art may be made. Such changes usually signal not only a change in style and The Gift of the Keys to Saint Peter,
technical possibilities, but also broader cultural shifts. For example, development of fully 1481-2, Fresco, 11 × 18 ft
rendered perspectival space in fifteenth-century Italy was not only an extraordinary formal (3.4 × 5.5 m), Sistine Chapel
innovation, it also heralded a broader intellectual and scientific movement, evidenced by
The mastery of perspective was one
humanistic ideals, new discoveries in mathematics, and a fresh spirit of intellectual enquiry. of the great formal innovations in
Western art.

Not all formal innovations are quite so From the late nineteenth century onward,
radical, but they are always important. the pace of formal innovation acceler-
Caravaggio’s development of a highly ated as social and political change
theatrical presentation of human drama, also began to move at a faster pace.
clothed in a newly pungent sense of real- Postimpressionism, Symbolism, Fauvism,
ism, was both shocking and persuasive to Cubism, Futurism, Orphism, Dadaism,
his audience at the end of the sixteenth Surrealism, and Expressionism each pre-
century. Similarly, the Romantics Joseph sented new formal innovations all within a
Mallord William Turner (1789–1862), John space of fifty years or so. The second half
Constable (1776–1837), Francesço Goya of the twentieth century was no less pro-
(1748–1828), and Èugene Delacroix (1798– lific. The advent of Abstract Expressionist
1863) introduced innovations in which painting constituted another quite radical
spontaneity, open brushing, and highly innovation in the way that painting can
flexible compositions replaced more sta- function and be appreciated. Similarly,
ble and calculated approaches to painting, Minimalism and Conceptualism also mark
reflecting a sea change in sensibility entirely new beginnings for art making,
across an entire culture. offering new visual languages, means of
The next great formal innovation was presentation, and aesthetics.
Impressionism in the 1870s, one of the It is worth noting that formal innovation
most profound shifts in representational is nearly always associated with art of
language, in which artists discovered a the highest quality. On the other hand,
whole new way to recreate a sense of formal innovation is not a prerequisite for
light in painting. Again this came at a time good art and is still a comparatively rare
of enormous social, political, intellectual, phenomenon.
and cultural upheaval. New discoveries in
science and optics combined with a new
sense of the nature of art and the role of
the artist to bring this about.

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 36 FORM RENDERED

DESCRIBING THREE-DIMENSIONAL FORM IN TWO DIMENSIONS

Rendering three-dimensional forms on a two-dimensional surface is one of the central 1 Jean Auguste Domnique Ingres
recurring tasks of representational painting. While both ancient and medieval painters (1780–1867)
made some headway with rendering, it wasn’t until the Renaissance that artists finally The Grand Odalisque, 1814,
discovered how to make a completely comprehensive and consistent description of form Oil on canvas, 35 13/16 × 63¾ in
(91 × 162 cm)
in space. An early example is The Marriage of the Arnolfini by Jan Van Eyck (1390–1441),
painted in 1432. The artist has succeeded in meshing extremely credible drawing with
meticulous tracking of the tonal and color changes across all the various forms in the
painting. In Italy, artists made a similar journey from an essentially linear art to a fully
rendered version of three-dimensional form. The High Renaissance found Michelangelo, 2 Ingres left unfinished this second
Raphael, and Leonardo da Vinci all demonstrating mastery of rendering. version of The Grand Odalisque,
revealing his underpainting tech-
nique. Color would have been added
in glazes on top of this monochrome
rendering.
In practice, successful rendering of form TECHNIQUES
relies on three interlocking tasks. First,
the drawing or outline must be accu- i
Monochrome underpainting
rate. Second, the tonal change across Painting an image in a monochrome,
the form as the light strikes it must be usually a muted warm color, allows
recorded accurately. Third, the color for adjustment of drawing and
change across the form must be tracked tone before the business of color
with some precision. is addressed. The color is applied
on top in glazes or with stippling so
One of the features of rendering that that a sense of the underpainting
presents the most difficulty is the change is transmitted from beneath. This
of color with the play of light across the usually results in a more powerful
form. When a form is illuminated, the sense of form.
viewer perceives the color to be different
at each point on the object. Usually it is i
Grayscale and palette control
not sufficient when rendering a form to Academic painters often found it
simply adjust the tone of the local color. advantageous to lay out a grayscale
It is rather necessary to secure a sense on the palette and then mix color in
of the changes of the optical or per- strings or runs, using the grayscale
ceived color. to accurately measure the tonal
position of the color.
See also: Underpainting on page 202
i
Finish
Rendering smooth forms, such as
flesh or fabric, can require soft gra-
dations that involve blending painted
surfaces. Traditionally, artists use a
fan brush to achieve this, dragging
the very top of the paint surface in
multiple directions with a light touch.

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 37 GENDER

AN ESSENTIAL BIOLOGICAL DISTINCTION AFFECTS WHO PARTICIPATES IN ART AND HOW

Since the inception of the feminist movement in the 1960s, there has been much discus- 1 Claudia DeMonte (1947–)
sion about the nature of art made by women and the level of participation of women in Abundance: Shoes, 2011, Cast
art. The basic questions are as follows: bronze, 8.5 × 6 in (21.6 × 15.2 cm)

Demonte addresses issues of female

fetish in a playful but direct manner.
i
Is there a difference between the art women have achieved major recognition,
made by men and women? their art compares in quality and style
i
Given that women have been histor- to the best of their male contemporar-
ically underrepresented in the arts, ies. In her seminal 1971 essay, “Why Are
does this show that a male-dominated There No Great Women Artists?” Linda
culture has consistently discounted Nochlin argues that over the centuries
the qualities or concerns of women’s women have not been admitted to the
art? Or does it mean that in their apprenticeships and schooling required
traditional (and biological) roles as to achieve the highest standards of art.
mothers, women have not had the How then to bring more women into the
time, freedom, and professional art world? That challenge was taken up
access to gain the skills and experi- by Judy Chicago (1939–), the most prom-
ence needed to achieve excellence? inent feminist artist of the 1970s. While
i
What steps can be taken to increase teaching a women-only class at Fresno
the representation of women in the arts? State College, she opened private studio
space for her students and encouraged
The answer to the first question has been close cooperation and networking to
studied in some depth in large-scale stud- develop and promote their art. Similarly,
ies of children’s drawings. These provide many organizations sprang up during
overwhelming evidence that boys and the 1970s to promote women’s art. Since
girls consistently display marked dif- then, new generations of female artists
ferences in drawing and that these are have embraced careers in art, but lists of
almost entirely content based. Boys tend top-selling artists continue to be domi-
to draw more active, violent, and machine nated by men.
images, often embracing war. Girls tend to
draw more passive activities and choose
more natural subjects, such as flowers
and landscapes.
While such findings are not disputed,
many feminists contend that gender
roles are assigned by societal pressure.
This view is somewhat undermined by
evidence that unsupervised children
self-organize into gender groups and that
the establishment of gender identity is
an important part of socialization. How
far childhood differences in art making
extend into adulthood is open to question.
Certainly the difference is far less marked,
if it exists at all. In those few cases where

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 38 HARMONY

ELEMENTS WORKING TOGETHER FOR THE GOOD OF THE WHOLE

Harmony is achieved in a work of art when all its parts are integrated into a whole in 1 Georges Seurat (1859–91)
which the relationships between the elements are mutually beneficial and aesthetically The Seine at the Grande Jatte,
pleasing. In music, harmony is a result of certain mathematical relationships between 1888, Oil on canvas, 25 9/16 × 32 5/16 in
notes. Mathematical relationships can also play a role in visual harmony where variations (65 × 82 cm)
in shapes, areas, and angles have some sort of mathematical consistency. Similarly, col-
An example of triadic harmony where
ors that stand in an orderly relationship to each other within a color solid will tend to greens are balanced by blues and
feel more harmonious than those in a disorderly relationship. However, perception of a beige (yellow-orange). The sense
color can be influenced by a great many factors, including context, personal association, of harmony is enhanced by the
minute variations in color purity, saturation, and hue, all of which make a scientific recipe inclusion of warm and cool versions
for harmony all but impossible. In the last resort, harmony is an aesthetic response, a of each hue.
judgment of feeling as much as an objective measure.
2 Robert Delaunay (1885–1941)
Nude Woman Reading, 1920,
Oil on canvas, 3613/16 × 32 3/16 in
The obverse of harmony is discordancy, i
Color (93.5 × 81.7 cm)
which results when relationships are dis- There are many theories of harmo-
ordered, chaotic, or stridently opposed. nious color, most of which involve Soft interlocking shapes form a
Discordancy is sometimes exploited by the application of simple geometries harmonious grouping. The color forms
visual artists for effect. Henri Matisse (1869– to a color wheel or color solid. The a simple harmony in which the major
pairs of complimentaries—blue/orange,
1954) deployed discordant color in many of most simple of these is the use
yellow/violet, and red/green—
his paintings during the Fauvist era. of complementary colors, which are balanced.
will give a dynamic balance to a
composition. A slightly less active
STRATEGIES harmony is achieved with a so-called
i
Shapes “split complementary” where, say, a
Groupings of shapes that have sim- red is replaced by a red-violet and
ilar characteristics will tend to form a red-orange and placed within a
harmonious compositions. composition opposed to a green.
Applying other geometric shapes to
i
Proportions
a color wheel, such as rectangles or
Elements that differ in scale by
triangles, also yield simple harmo-
ratios that are consistent will tend to
nies. For a quieter effect, artists
confer harmony. Similarly, intervals
can choose analogous harmonies,
within a composition that stand in
arrangements of colors that are very
simple and consistent proportions to
close together on the color wheel.
each other will also confer a sense
of clarity and harmony. i
Association
Harmony by association is most
often achieved with color where a
palette that is associated with, say,
autumn conveys a sense of order
because the viewer makes the same
association and accepts the combi-
nation as natural.

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 39 HIERARCHICAL PROPORTION

THE IMPORTANCE OF RELATIVE SIZE

Hierarchical proportion is a convention in representational art in which figures are scaled 1 Mayan carving from Cancun showing
relative to their importance or social status. Thus, in Egyptian art, pharaohs are generally the ruler Tajal Chan Ahk
shown as larger figures than their surrounding attendants. This convention extended for
millennia across much of the world’s art, including Mayan, Persian, Indian, Carolingian,
2 Duccio (1255–1319)
and Gothic art. Even in the Sienese painting of Duccio (1255–1319), the central religious
Maestà, c. 1308-11, Tempera and
figures in compositions are painted on a larger scale than the lower status attendants. gold on panel, 84 × 157 in
This convention meshed well with other narrative advantages of a flat or shallow picture (213 × 400 cm)
space. Objects need not be made larger or smaller depending on their distance from the
viewer. And they can be stacked up to be seen in full, rather than being obliged to stand
behind other elements.

When perspective arrived in the first part With the advent of modernism and a new
of the fifteenth century, the determination interest in flat pictorial space, only a few
of scale was fixed by the geometry of the artists have chosen to revisit the idea of
piece and new means had to be found hierarchical proportion. These include
to differentiate the status of figures in a Marc Chagall (1887–1985), in whose works
composition. Artists quickly developed a relative proportion and even the forces
vocabulary of placement, lighting, ges- of gravity are often sacrificed to poetic
ture, and clothing to indicate the relative license. It also appears in the work of the
importance of their subjects. Columbian artist Fernando Botero (1932–),
where it is sometimes used rhetorically to
poke fun at the status of the ruling elite.

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 40 IMAGINATION

A FACULTY THAT INVENTS AND ORGANIZES

Imagination is a faculty that allows us to generate mental pictures, ideas, and sensa- 1 Samuel Palmer (1805–81)
tions that do not exist in the world and in some cases cannot exist. These abilities are Harvesters by Firelight, 1830, Pen
unique to human beings and no doubt emerged from evolutionary pressures allowing us and black ink with watercolor and
to predict outcomes of all manner of events, both social and mechanical, and to project gouache on wove paper,
115/16 × 14 7/16 in (28.7 × 36.7 cm)
desirable strategies for survival.

2 Joseph Mallord William Turner

(1789–1862)
Today we tend to link imaginative and Coleridge felt that this molding and uni- The Evening of the Deluge,
creative powers and to value them as fying power of the imagination was so c. 1843, Oil on canvas,
the engine that underpins much artistic important that he coined a new word 29 15/16 × 29 15/16 in (76 × 76 cm)
endeavor. This was not always so. Prior for it: “esemplastic.” This was radical
to the late seventeenth century, the word because it presented the idea, central to Both these nineteenth-century artists
presented imaginative transforma-
was generally paired with “fancy” and the Romantic movement, that art is not
tions of landscape in which elements
thought of as a somewhat mechanical fac- generated from nature or artistic prece- were simplified and then subsumed
ulty capable of recombining information dent, nor was it merely reflective of ideal into an organic and spirited vision.
already experienced. It was also associ- Platonic realms, but rather comes directly
ated with memory and its ability to revive from an individual human being.
past impressions in the mind. A product
See also: Fantasy and Visionary Art on page
of fancy might occur with, say, the com-
74; Creativity on page 52; Romanticism on
bination of a man and a horse, creating a
page 160
centaur. These kinds of inventions, often
referred to as “grotesques,” were seen as
entertaining but not central to art making.
From the Renaissance onward, most
thinkers regarded the rational mind as the
most noble and desirable part of human
thought, even when it came to the pro-
duction of artworks. This changed with
the advent of the Romantic movement
and in particular with the writings of the
English poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge
(1772–1834). In his Biographia Literararia
of 1817, Coleridge makes a powerful case
for the imagination, observing that it not
only invents but also combines elements
in a way that is coherent and compelling.
In other words, he gives to the imagination
the creative powers needed to produce
works of art. “It dissolves, diffuses, dissi-
pates, in order to recreate; or where this
process is rendered impossible, yet still at
all events it struggles to idealise and unify.
It is essentially vital, even as all objects (as
objects) are essentially fixed and dead.”

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 41 INSTALLATION

SCULPTURE BECOMES ENVIRONMENT

Installation art is a genre in which the artist creates a complete or partial environment. 1 Judy Pfaff installation at the Rose
As such, it moves away from the traditional concept of sculpture as an object to be con- Gallery, Brandeis University, 1995,
templated by a viewer; the sculpture now surrounds and involves the viewer completely. String, tree trunk, tree roots, rope

With its interest in the transformation of i
Video

the appearance and feel of interior spaces, Installations involving video screens
installation art rubs shoulders with the dis- continue to proliferate as the tech-
ciplines of architecture, interior design, and nology improves. Projected images
theater. Many installations share certain can provide an almost unlimited
features with fairground entertainment array of experience and reference.
and other popular forms of diversion.
i
Interactive
The audience is invited to partici-
OPTIONS pate. This might involve providing
structures to climb on, or slides,
i
Transformation swings, and other obstacles to be
An interior essentially becomes negotiated. Computer consoles can
something else: An art gallery also offer the opportunity to interact
becomes a bar or a living room, or in different ways. Motion detectors
an empty room becomes a garden. and other electronic devices can
i
Color Enclosure allow the audience to affect the
A space is transformed by color. artwork in prescribed ways.
i
Lighting i
Space
A space is redefined by light or Elements are deployed to make pal-
its absence. pable or to define a space. One artist
has filled rooms with balloons, obliging
i
Sound
the viewer to press through the space.
Sound ambience can create a
String and other lightweight elements
powerful sense of place, create a
can be used to make palpable the
particular mood, or bring other asso-
physical space of an interior.
ciations to mind.
See also: Land Art on page 100; Video on
page 204; Interactive Art on page 94

Although the term “installation art” did not appear as a description until the late 1960s, the genre goes back at least to Dadaism
and the early work of Marcel Duchamp (1887–1968) and Kurt Schwitters (1887–1948). In 1937, for instance, Duchamp designed an
exhibition of Surrealist art by hanging twelve hundred sacks of coal from the ceiling of the elegant Galerie des Beaux Arts. The
paintings were attached to a series of discarded revolving doors. On the opening night the lights were turned off and visitors
were handed flashlights to find their way through the exhibit.
See also: Conceptual Art on page 46

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 42 INTENTIONALITY

THE ARTIST PLANS AN OUTCOME AND PROCEEDS ACCORDINGLY

Intentionality is the idea that works of art are an expression of an intention on the part of 1 Peter Paul Rubens (1577–1640)
artists to achieve specific results. For instance, artists may be seeking to create works Descent from the Cross, 1611–14, Oil
that impart a sense of mystery, present an entirely satisfying experience of color har- on panel, 165 5/8 × 126 in
mony, or deliver a highly resolved experience of a set of forms. Whatever their intentions, (420.6 × 320 cm)
artists will employ the formal means at their disposal in order to achieve them. Choices
The intentions of the artist are fairly
about composition, color organization, simplification, visual language, and other tools will clear in this large-scale Baroque
be aligned in service of the overall intention. Central to this idea is the notion that art can work. The central panel of an altar-
be used to communicate and persuade and that formal means can be marshaled and piece, the painting is designed to
content edited to achieve this. elicit a strong emotional response
and close association with the
subject on the part of the viewer. As
part of the campaign of the Counter-
The antithesis to this point of view is one Many artists report a sense of distancing Reformation, the picture seeks to
use theatrical effect and luxurious
that holds that artists undergo a process from the creative process. The poet T. S.
presentation to retain allegiance to
of discovery or exploration in making a Elliot (1888–1965) said he felt that he was the Roman Catholic faith. To realize
work of art and that the resulting artwork merely present at the creation of a poem. his intentions, the artist uses a pow-
emerges with its own authority. In a more The Swiss French painter and sculptor erful composition with a descending
extreme case, we might argue that some Alberto Giacometti (1901–66) maintained arc that reinforces the downward
artists undertake an activity by which that the works he created were merely the carriage of the body of the dead
Christ. High contrast lighting creates
something is completed that they didn’t by-products of an unsuccessful attempt
drama. He has deployed acidic color
necessarily intend to be a work of art but to achieve something else—namely a to emphasize the lifelessness of the
which is, nonetheless, regarded by others resolved and coherent vision of the space corpse. Meanwhile, the facial expres-
as a work of art. around him. This point of view acknowl- sions and postures of the figures are
edges that artistic insights are rarely linear carefully observed in order to convey
developments of straightforward ideas the emotional nature of the scene.
and that the creative act is more usually
governed by intuitive processes. For this
reason, many artists adopt procedures
that allow for serendipitous events in the
hopes of avoiding the lure of straightfor-
ward, intentional achievements.

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 43 INTERACTIVE ART

THE AUDIENCE PARTICIPATES WITH THE ARTIST IN CREATING THE ARTWORK

Interactive art is a contemporary genre in which the audience is invited to participate in an 1 Birthe Blauth
artwork, effecting change in its appearance, outcome, and meaning. By giving the audi- The Gift, 2011, Video projection and
ence this authority, the work departs radically from a long tradition of authorial control. computer operated sensors
New technologies, such as electronic sensors, video, computer networking, and a variety
A viewer sits at a table and reaches
of display and input techniques, offer a vast range of possibilities. At the same time, some
out to take a gift from a figure on a
of the most successful interactive artworks have used very simple technical means. projected video. A movement sensor
shifts the video frame so that the
figure releases the gift.

METHODS i
Sensor responsive

The movements or physical attrib-
i
Static input
utes of the audience are picked up
The audience is invited to make sug-
by sensors and the data used to
gestions or provide guidance for the
affect the appearance or behavior
future progress of an artwork under
of an artwork. A particular move-
construction. The artist follows this
ment by an audience member, for
guidance as he or she continues to
instance, might change the content
make the work.
and movement of a video display. Or
i
Physical interaction the proximity of an audience mem-
The audience is invited to touch, ber may cause a sculpture to move
move, and manipulate a physical or otherwise respond.
object or objects. For example, in
i
Performance interaction
Half the Air in a Given Space, by
Audiences are often invited to
Martin Creed (1968–), a gallery space
interact with, or become part of,
is filled with thousands of balloons
performance art pieces. This can be
of the same color. The audience is
as simple as the traditional theater’s
obliged to push through them to
invitation for an audience member
negotiate the space. Many artists
to step up on the stage or it might
have also constructed environments
involve the actions and behavior of
that make use of traditional play-
the entire audience.
ground experiences, such as slides,
swings, and distorting mirrors to The above strategies are often combined.
engage the audience in an immer- For example, physical interaction can read-
sive experience. ily be meshed with sensor technologies.
i
Co-building See also: Performance Art on page 126;
The audience is invited to contribute Video on page 204
to the construction of an artwork.
This could be as simple as taking
up a brush and paint to work on a
canvas, or as complex as making
web-based changes to a graphic or
multimedia work.

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 44 JUXTAPOSITION

THE DYNAMICS OF BRINGING DISPARATE ELEMENTS TOGETHER

Juxtaposition is a procedure in which one element is placed next to another in such a 1 René Magritte (1898–1967)
way that a new dynamic takes place. This is particularly effective where the literal mean- Son of Man, 1964, Oil on canvas,
ing of an element combines with that of another to make a new meaning. Juxtaposition 45 5/8  ×  35  in (116 ×  89  cm)
can also be a purely optical or abstract strategy in which shapes, colors, or textures are
placed next to each other to create new relationships.

IN ACTION i
Poetic
The Surrealist discovery of the
i
Subversion
power of nonsensical juxtapositions
An image of a train is quite com-
quickly gave rise to the understand-
monplace, but if it is juxtaposed
ing that juxtapositions can be used
with an image of, say, a jellyfish,
to convey quite nuanced meanings.
the viewer will experience a sense
The American artist Joseph Cornell
of surprise and perhaps unease
(1903–72), for instance, used very
as he or she attempts to make
carefully selected images which,
sense of the combined image. The
when juxtaposed to each other, cre-
expected norms of the viewer’s
ated a sense of wistful and poetic
world are upended. The possibili-
charm.
ties of subverting meaning through
juxtaposition were pursued strongly i
Polemic
by the Surrealists, a twentieth- A specific political or sociological
century movement that sought to point can be made by juxtapos-
expose and explore the workings ing one image with another. In his
of the unconscious mind through Vietnam era painting F-111 (see page
art. André Breton (1896–1966), the 133), James Rosenquist (1933–)
founder of the movement, quoted juxtaposed images of American
the nineteenth-century poet the consumerism with a depiction of a
Comte de Lautréamont when he fighter bomber, deliberately inviting
described a startling juxtaposition the viewer to consider the connec-
“as beautiful as the encounter of an tion between the two.
umbrella and a sewing machine on a i
Positive association
dissecting table.” A technique often used in adver-
i
Dramatic effect tising. For instance, the image of a
Many classical and religious paint- healthy, young athlete will be paired
ings rely on creating drama through with an image of a beer bottle. The
juxtaposition. There are many depic- viewer is invited to associate the
tions (e.g., Caravaggio, Guido Reni, positive qualities of the healthy ath-
Carlo Dolci) of the severed head of letic life with beer drinking.
John the Baptist held by a delicate See also: Surrealism on page 184
and very feminine Salome. The juxta-
position of gruesome violence with
female beauty becomes a potent
source of frisson and interest.

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 45 KINETIC ART

MOVEMENT IN REAL TIME OFFERS NEW OPTIONS FOR EXPRESSION

Kinetic art is a term that describes artworks that actually move. Fine artists became 1 David Beck (1954–)
interested in movement toward the end of the nineteenth century when photography Trigger Fish, 2002, Boxwood, mother
began to reveal the secret appearance of objects in motion. It wasn’t until the twentieth of pearl, brass, 8 × 3¼ × 3¼ in
century, however, that artists began to make works that incorporated real motion. The (20.3 × 8.3 × 8.3 cm) 
Russian artist Naum Gabo (1890–1977) is generally thought to have made the first kinetic
The American artist David Beck
sculpture, Standing Wave, in 1920. This consists of a single piece of metal placed verti- makes small-scale sculptures whose
cally and made to oscillate by a mechanism in its base. The resulting waveform encloses elaborate mechanics hark back
a three-dimensional space. to the clockwork curiosities of the
eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.
Meanwhile, the bizarre, idiosyncratic,
and sometimes disturbing quality of
Other artists soon took up the task, includ- Later twentieth-century artists experi- the subject matter marks them as
ing fellow Russians Alexander Rodchenko mented with a wide variety of approaches thoroughly modern.
(1891–1956) and Vladimir Tatlin (1885–1953). to kinetic art. The Swiss artist Jean
It fell to an American artist, Alexander Tinguely (1925–91) became famous for a
Calder (1898–1976), to develop the idea into number of sculptures that were designed
a fully fledged art form when he invented to self-destruct. Made from an improbable
the mobile. His mobiles come in two forms: conglomeration of disused machine parts
object mobiles and suspended mobiles. An and discarded materials, these sculptures
object mobile is usually based on the floor had deliberately short lives, suggesting
and consists of a central form from which a radical and nihilistic view about the
mobile forms are projected. A suspended role of art and indeed the nature of life.
mobile hangs from the ceiling or a projec- Gentle movement of sculptural elements
tion from the wall. Elements are hung from has been incorporated into the work of
cross beams that are carefully balanced George Rickey (1907–2002), Jesús Soto
so that they move gently with surrounding (1923–2005), and many others. It is fair to
air currents. Calder’s output of such works say that some degree of actual movement
was enormous, and his approach varied is now an acceptable part of the vocabu-
from highly geometric pieces to forthright lary of sculpture. Continued improvement
representational works (see page 24). in technical options, including robotic
devices, servo-motors, computerized
feedback, electronic sensors, and light-
weight materials, offer ever wider scope
to kinetic artists.
See also: Movement on page 118

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 46 LAND ART

TRANSFORMING THE GREAT OUTDOORS

Site-specific outdoor art is generally known as land art. Although humans have made out- 1 Alastair Noble (1953–)
door constructions since prehistoric times, often for religious purposes, the practice of Mapping Arcadia. Cazenovia and
making pure art in this way dates from the late 1960s. One of the first practitioners was the Topography of Place, 2009,
Michael Heizer (1944–), a California artist who began to make simple ephemeral works in Flags, string 
the desert, often consisting of groups of geometric trenches dug into the desert floor.
A contour map of the Stone Quarry
These would be photographed and the resulting documentation displayed in a gallery or Art Park in Cazenovia, New York, is
museum. Heizer was quickly joined in this kind of enterprise by Walter de Maria (1935–2013), reproduced on the ground mapped
Robert Smithson (1938–73), and a host of lesser lights. It soon became clear that gestures out in red flags. The artist uses the
made out in the landscape could occupy an interesting niche between the then-active move- topography of the place as the sub-
ments of Minimalism and Conceptual Art. Minimalism had opened the way for extremely ject matter of the piece, reflecting
the landscape back on itself.
stripped-down artworks, and Conceptualism had pioneered the taste for art as documen-
tation of an artwork that wasn’t present or, in some cases, didn’t exist at all.

By the early 1970s, a decided taste for Meanwhile, land artists elsewhere, partic-
gigantism emerged. Robert Smithson’s ularly in Britain, adopted an approach that
Spiral Jetty involved moving around displayed more sensitivity to nature and
nearly 5,000 tons (4,536 metric tons) of place. English artist Richard Long (1945–)
dirt along the shores of the Great Salt based most of his projects on the idea of
Lake. In 1969–70 Heizer created Double taking certain kinds of walks. Artworks
Negative, a piece consisting of two made during these outings are ephem-
trenches cut into the eastern edge of eral, site-specific constructions usually
Mormon Mesa in Utah whose total length involving lines of stones or circles made
is 1,500 feet (457 m), each trench being from materials lying about. Later artists
some 50 feet (15.3 m) wide by 30 feet (9 m) such as Alastair Noble (1953–) have con-
deep. More than 250,000 tons of rock tinued to make works that are ephemeral
were removed to achieve this, and the and reflective of the landscape in which
piece is quite visible from outer space. they are placed.
Walter de Maria created Lightning Field See also: Minimalism on page 112;
in 1977, a 1 mile (0.6 km) by 1 kilometer Conceptual Art on page 46
(5/8 mile) grid consisting of 400 steel rods
that attract spectacular effects during
thunderstorms.

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 47 LAYERS

SHALLOW SPACE, VEILS, AND OVERLAPS

With the development of abstract art in the twentieth century, it became clear that one of 1 Joan Thorne
the principle features of an abstract painting vocabulary would be layering. Successive Yangon, 2013, Oil on canvas,
applications of paint can be construed by the viewer as elements lying within a shallow 60 × 69 in (152.4 × 175.3 cm)
depth close to the picture plane. By manipulating the transparency of the paint, the color,
Layers in both transparent and
and the way that elements overlap each other, painters are able to control the sense of
opaque paint create a sense of
space and the dynamics of the painting across the surface. Cubist art, which generally shifting depth. The artist is able to
sought to manipulate the shallow “picture space” of a painting by using selectively drawn confer different senses of movement
edges of elements, also used layering to augment the space. Later artists relied on lay- for each layer, setting up a lively
ering alone. The spatial effects arising from layering paint were particularly important pictorial experience for the viewer.
for the American Abstract Expressionists. Painters such as Jackson Pollock (1912–56),
Willem De Kooning (1904–97), Adolph Gottlieb (1903–74), and others built paintings by
layering paint marks to create highly charged spatial relationships.

STRATEGIES i
Overlapping
Elements painted in opaque paint
i
Transparency can be overlapped in layers to create
Layers of semitransparent paint built a wide range of effects.
on top of one another will tend to
create an automatic sense of depth. i
Mixed media
Paint can be combined with collaged
i
Color elements to create a physical layering.
By manipulating the color in succes-
sive layers of transparent paint, the See also: Brush Techniques on page 30
artist can create rich translucencies
that can take on a remarkable feel-
ing of depth.

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 48 LINEAR BASICS

LINE IS THE MOST BASIC AND MOST VERSATILE VISUAL ELEMENT

Line is a primal and fundamental component of visual thought. Some of the earliest 1 Sir Anthony van Dyck (1599–1641)
known works of art are line drawings of seals on a cave wall in Nerja, Spain, that are Two Seated Male Figures,
approximately 42,000 years old. The construction of a line requires the most simple Pen and black ink on buff laid paper,
of mechanical means: a point is moved across a surface leaving behind a long, narrow 3 15/16 × 3 1/16 in (10 × 7.7 cm)
mark. Almost all tribal cultures make images with lines, sometimes incised into a sur-
Van Dyke uses a pen line to suggest
face and sometimes drawn onto surfaces with a variety of implements and mediums. It the pose of two figures in prepara-
appears, therefore, that the formation of representational shapes using combinations of tion for a composition. Here line is
lines is a very basic human behavior. used as shorthand for more elabo-
rate rendering to come later. There
is considerable pleasure in the free
movement and energy of the line.
In more complex cultures, line has achieved i
To create dynamic movement by using
enormous descriptive and expressive the “pull” of the line. The viewer appre- 2 Vincent van Gogh (1853–1890)
power. In Western art, various qualities hends the way the line was made and Ploughman in the Fields
of line are admired, including clarity, pre- interprets the speed of travel. near Arles, 1888, Reed pen and
cision, stylishness, fluidity, flexibility, and brown ink over graphite on wove
i
To create a powerful sense of expres- paper, 9 15/16 × 137/16 in (25.3 × 34.1 cm)
strength. Matisse, one of the great masters sion by exaggerating the weight and
of line, observed, “Drawing is like making movement of the line. Here Van Gogh uses line in multiple
an expressive gesture with the advantage ways. It creates movement, particu-
of permanence.” i
To suggest three-dimensional space. larly in the trees where the “pull” of
the line carries the eye upwards along
In practice, line can be used in a great i
To create a patina or texture.
twisting paths. Line is also used here
variety of ways: i
To transmit the touch or “hand” of to suggest three-dimensional space,
the artist. building textures by massing lines of
i
To create simple divisions.
various qualities.
i
To construct shapes and designs. i
To describe form by delineating
contours.
i
To make letterforms, signs, 3 Laxe dos carballos petroglyph,
and symbols. i
To build into tone through hatching. in Campo Lameiro, Galicia,
4 th –2nd millennium BCE
i
To render or suggest form by using i
To be used in combination with tone
varying weight in the line. or color, offering limitless possibilities. Drawings made by incising designs
into rock faces (petroglyphs) are one
of the earliest uses of line.

4 Eugène Delacroix (1798–1863)

Charioteers, Pen and black ink with
black wash on wove paper,
16 3/16 × 14 9/16 in (17.3 × 37 cm)

One of the great romantic artists,

Delacroix uses an energetic line
and a fast open technique to
infuse his composition with dyna-
mism and movement.

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1 3

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 49 MANNERISM

TRADING BEAUTY AND REPOSE FOR EXCITEMENT AND MOVEMENT

Mannerism is a style that emerged immediately after the High Renaissance in Italy and 1 Jacopo Pontormo (1494–1557)
lasted from about 1520 to 1580. It might best be thought of as both a reaction to, and Joseph in Egypt, 1518, Oil on canvas,
an extension of, the perfection and repose of the High Renaissance style exemplified by 17 5/16 × 19 5/16 in (44 × 49 cm)
Raphael, Leonardo, and Michelangelo. In the work of those masters, clarity of form, clas-
Pontormo’s composition breaks away
sical repose, and a balance of naturalism and idealism had reached a pitch that was hard
from the repose of High Renaissance
to improve. With Raphael’s death in 1520, a younger generation of artists began to make models by introducing frenetic move-
works that dramatized aspects of classicism in ways that were sometimes surprising and ment and sweeping lines. Figures are
disturbing. Compositions became more disorganized, oppositions of forms and colors elongated unnaturally and postures
more strident, and certain exaggerations, such as the elongation of forms, came to the are somewhat forced.
fore. The overall effect, in paintings by artists such as Jacopo Pontormo (1494–1557) and
Giulio Romano (1499–1546), is somewhat enervated, frenetic, and uncomfortable. The style
2 Angelo Bronzino (1503–72)
was developed into something more ornate and more literary as the century developed, Allegory of the Triumph of Venus,
with painters taking on more complex iconography to appeal to their educated clientele. 1540–45, Oil on panel,
57½ × 45 5/8 in (146 × 116 cm)

Distortion of some of the figures

COMPONENTS i
Space is combined with highly finished
Unlike the smooth, continuous modeling and unnatural gestures to
i
Distortion space of High Renaissance painting, give a curiously artificial quality to
Forms are often elongated. Mannerist painting often presents the image.
i
Contorted poses flattened or discontinuous space.
Figures are sometimes posed in i
Quoting
ways that would be all but impos- Mannerist painters were fond of
sible for a human body to assume. quoting other artists. Their work
i
Rendering often derived more inspiration from
The rendering of forms is usually previous art than it did from nature.
very careful even when the forms
themselves are distorted. The later Mannerism is perhaps the best example
Mannerism of Bronzino (1503–72) of what might be termed “The Iron Law
displays unparalleled artistry and of Styles.” Any style, even one as sublime
sensitivity in the rendering. as the High Renaissance, will eventually
be replaced by another. Mannerism itself
i
Coolness was superseded in the 1580s by a new
Particularly in portraits, Mannerist realist style championed by Caravaggio
paintings present people as distant (1571–1610). Each generation finds a way to
and aloof. make art that speaks to its own sense of
i
Compositions the world.
Mannerist paintings often present
disjointed compositions in which the
narrative is sometimes difficult to
ascertain at first sight.

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 50 MASS

SOLIDITY, WEIGHT, AND VOLUME

In art, the term “mass” is used to describe a perceived quality of solidity and weight 1 Moai at Rano Raraku, Easter Island,
combined with a sense of volume. One of the enormous sculpted stone heads of Easter Stone
Island would certainly be said to have mass. In sculpture, mass is quite physical and
is usually more spectacular with an increase in scale. This quality can be an important
2 Diego Vélazquez (1599–1660)
feature of the expressive power of an artwork. Auguste Rodin’s (1840–1917) sculpture of
Water Seller of Seville, 1618, Oil on
Balzac for example, depends on the concentrated mass in the upper half of the body canvas, 41 × 31 in (105  ×  78.7  cm)
combined with the upwards lift of the overlarge head. We get an impression of weighti-
ness increasing as we move up the body, so that at last the great forehead and its
piercing intelligence take center stage. 3 Auguste Rodin (1840–1917)
Monument to Balzac, 1891–97,
Bronze, 9 ft 3 in × 4 ft × 3 ft 5 in
(2.82 × 1.22 × 1.04 m)
Mass can also play an important role in pic- In abstract painting, elements can be
torial compositions. In Diego Vélasquez’s endowed with a sense of mass through the
(1599–1660) Water Seller of Seville, the layering of paint and the choice of shape
mass of the glass goblet as it changes and color. Robert Motherwell’s (1915–91)
hands becomes the focal point of the Spanish Elegy series, for example, uses
painting. Meanwhile, the greater mass of heavy black paint built into foreboding
the stone jars is mirrored by the massive shapes to create a series of apparently
solidity of the water seller himself. massive elements suspended uneasily
across the canvas.
In painting, a sense of mass can be com-
municated by a number of devices:
i
A low viewpoint will tend to increase
the sense of scale and weight of
a subject.
i
Powerful contrast and the use of
“key” lights can enhance a sense of
volume and weight.
i
Some colors inherently contribute
to a sense of mass: browns, blacks,
deep reds. Other colors tend to
diminish a sense of mass: pinks
and yellows.

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 51 MATERIALS AS ART

ART CAN BE GENERATED THROUGH ENGAGEMENT WITH A PARTICULAR MATERIAL

In the late twentieth century, a number of artists began to make work whose central 1 Liza Lou (1969–)
feature was the behavior of the medium in which they worked. Thus the New York painter Kitchen, 1991–96, Glass beads
Morris Louis (1912–62) made pictures in which he poured thin layers of paint onto large
swaths of unprimed canvas. The resulting pictures are fundamentally demonstrations of In this life-size kitchen, all the sur-
faces are created with beadwork,
how paint behaves under these circumstances, staining and spreading to create soft-
an example of a look and enterprise
edged veils. This approach was expanded upon by the painter Paul Jenkins (1923–2012), driven by a medium, in this case that
who devised an array of mechanical means to pour and mix paint onto a surface, reveal- of traditional beading techniques.
ing sometimes surprising properties of the material. The artist has continued to use bead-
work for her sculpture even as it has
become more abstract and minimal.

A more aggressive approach was taken The rather prosaic substance of concrete is
by Lawrence Poons (1937–) in the 1970s central to many of the sculptures of Rachel
when he began to pour large quantities Whiteread (1963–), in which its capacity
of very thick paint onto canvases. The to pour, fill, and set hard is used to render
paint was allowed to move freely as suc- palpable interior volumes that are usually
cessive colors were combined, building to filled with air. A more challenging example
three-dimensional surfaces. is the work of Dan Flavin (1933–96), who
made many artworks using commercial flu-
In a rather different vein, the gargantuan
orescent light fixtures. The resulting pieces
steel sculptures of Richard Serra (1939–)
incorporate both the fixtures and the light
are dependent on the physical proper-
envelopes they engender.
ties of enormous steel plates. They rely
in large part simply on the behavior and In the work of all these artists there runs
appearance of medium. the idea that the artwork gains authority
by promoting, exploring, and dramatizing
the characteristic behavior and appear-
ance of a medium.

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 52 MINIMALISM

ART STRIPPED BARE

Minimalism is a broad art movement that emerged at the end of the 1950s, in part as a 1 Donald Judd (1928–94)
reaction to the foregoing style of Abstract Expressionism. It is characterized by artworks Untitled, 1991, Stainless steel with
that seek to strip away the traditional endeavors of art such as personal expression, nar- red Plexiglas
rative content, aesthetic engagement, compositional hierarchies, or symbolic meaning.
Instead, Minimalist artists asserted the primacy of the object itself and the importance of
the experience of the object for the viewer unmediated by the artist. Amongst the most
important practitioners of Minimalism are Donald Judd (1928–94), Frank Stella (1936–),
Carl Andre (1935–), Sol LeWitt (1928–2007), and Robert Morris (1931–).

STRATEGIES i
Repetition of elements

By repeating simple elements in
i
Use of simple geometric shapes rows or grids, the artwork avoids
or forms any suggestion of hierarchy, com-
Frank Stella’s early paintings, for positional balance, or meaning. The
instance, consist of parallel stripes parts of an artwork, said Donald
with narrow, bare strips between Judd, should be “just one thing
them painted on thick, shaped can- after another.”
vases that reflect the formation of
the stripes. Sol LeWitt made sculp- i
Use of techniques that do not
tures that consisted entirely of open display the touch or hand of the
cubes made from wood strips and individual artist
painted white. “The most interesting Impersonality is an important com-
characteristic of the cube,” he wrote, ponent of Minimalism. Flat painting
“is that it is relatively uninteresting.” techniques together with mechan-
ically ruled edges and lines avoid
i
Use of primary colors recording the artist’s brushstroke
Any emotive or referential qualities of and touch. Similarly, in sculpture,
color are neutralized by using simple, industrial techniques of fabrication
pure hues. remove the possibility of a physical
i
Use of industrial or trace of the artist.
non-art materials
By deploying media not usually In practice, it turned out to be very difficult
associated with art, such as concrete to remove all aesthetic and expressive
or aluminum, artworks can avoid qualities from artworks even when they
provoking traditional responses. consisted of little more than geometric
Carl Andre, for example, used metal shapes or forms. The cool, clean products
squares placed on the floor. of Minimalism and the equally cool gallery
and museum spaces in which they were
displayed quickly developed into a new
“look” or style.

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 53 MIXED MEDIA AND MULTIMEDIA

COMBINING MATERIALS AND MEDIUMS FOR STRIKING EFFECTS

One of the features of modern Western art is its embrace of combinations of media. 1 Edgar Degas (1834–1917)
Traditionally, artists have worked in one medium at a time, but in the mid-nineteenth Little Dancer Aged Fourteen,
century, a new taste for experimentation began. Edgar Degas (1834–1917), for example, 1878–81, Yellow wax, hair, ribbon,
combined monoprints with pastel to create a hybrid form. The twentieth century saw linen bodice, satin shoes, muslin
tutu, wood base, 38 15/16 × 13 11/16 ×
a broadening of this approach. Pablo Picasso (1881–1973) and Georges Braque (1882–
13 7/8 in (98.9 × 34.7 × 35.2 cm)
1963) combined collage and painting while Paul Klee (1879–1940) often combined pen
and ink, watercolor, collage, and oil in the same work. Later in the century, several Pop
artists, including Robert Rauschenberg (1925–2008) and Andy Warhol (1928–87), com-
bined silkscreen images with acrylic paint.

This approach of combining various more One of multimedia’s more spectacular

or less traditional media in the same work practitioners in recent years is the English
is known as “mixed media.” It requires artist and filmmaker Peter Greenaway
some technical care to avoid using materi- (1942–). At the 2009 Venice Biennale,
als that will not do well together over time. he staged a work using a life-size repro-
For instance, applying acrylic paint over dry duction of The Wedding at Cana, a large
oil paint will eventually result in the crack- painting by Paolo Veronese (1528–88). The
ing of the acrylic. The temptation to use event took place at the convent of San
ephemeral collage materials, say, printed Giorgio Maggiore, where the painting was
matter on low quality paper, can result in first installed in 1562. (It was removed by
discoloration over time and perhaps the Napoleon and now hangs in the Louvre.) A
eventual disintegration of the work. fifty-minute presentation involved project-
ing digital imagery onto the reproduction
The term “multimedia” is more contempo-
and surrounding walls, including diagrams
rary and refers to artworks that combine
that revealed compositional structures
quite disparate disciplines. A piece might
and other geometries. Close-ups of the
combine handwritten text with video,
various figures were also projected while
stereo sound, and various sculptural ele-
a soundtrack played imaginary conversa-
ments. Like other experimental forms,
tions of the more than a hundred wedding
such as installation art and performance
guests figured in the painting.
art, multimedia is extremely open. It may
or may not be interactive. It may be linear,
running uninterruptedly for a set time, or it
may be static or sporadic.

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 54 MOTIF

A RECURRING IDEA

A motif is an element in a composition or design that can be used repeatedly for deco- 1 Wassily Kandinsky (1866–1944)
rative, structural, or iconographic purposes. A motif can be representational or abstract, Points, 1920, Oil on canvas,
and it can be endowed with symbolic meaning. Motifs can be repeated in multiple art- 43 7/16 × 36 1/8 in (110.3 × 91.8 cm)
works and often recur throughout the life’s work of an individual artist.
2 Claude Monet (1840–1926)
Waterloo Bridge, London, at Dusk,
1904, Oil on canvas,
APPROACHES i
Symbolic
25 7/8 × 40 in (65.7 × 101.6 cm)
A motif is given symbolic signifi-
i
Decorative cance and then deployed as part
The motif as an individual element of a composition to carry a precise 3 Claude Monet (1840–1926)
is repeated within a strict geometry meaning. For example, in Christian Waterloo Bridge, London, at
to form a decorative whole. This is art, a lamb generally signifies Christ. Sunset, 1904, Oil on canvas,
most usually the case in textile or Symbolic motifs may also be more 25 13/16 × 36½ in (65.6 × 92.7 cm)
wallpaper design. personal and harder to interpret. Monet paints the same scene under
i
Structural The German artist Max Beckmann different light conditions. The subject
A motif is repeated within a compo- (1884–1950) used a recurring set of matter becomes a motif.
sition to create or reinforce a stable motifs throughout his life, including
structure. The Russian artist Wass- horns, masked faces, and crowns.
ily Kandinsky (1866–1944) used a Their exact meaning is not clear.
variety of abstract motifs, triangles, i
Narrative
points, lines, and circles to construct A motif is given a particular meaning
numerous compositions. A somewhat within a narrative context and then
different approach was pursued reused to carry the narrative for-
by Claude Monet (1840–1926) when ward. This is usually used in works
he did paintings in series. He used that show multiple scenes within a
repeated motifs to provide a stable single setting.
structure within which he could
explore the changing effects of light
on an individual subject. Thus one
series features a group of haystacks,
another features a particular view of
Rouen Cathedral, and yet another, a
line of poplar trees.

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 55 MOVEMENT

THE REWARDS OF DESCRIBING MOVEMENT WITH A STATIC MEDIUM

Although inherently static, painting and sculpture do sometimes try to convey a sense 1 Eadweard Muybridge (1830–1904)
of movement. In classical and Baroque painting, figures were often depicted in motion, Boys Playing Leapfrog, 1883–86,
and the sense of motion was often increased by the use of devices such as flowing Collotype, 6 3/8 × 17¼ in (16.2 × 43.8 cm)
lines running through the composition as well as the literal depiction of moving forms.
Muybridge’s photographs revolution-
In the early twentieth century, the Italian Futurists Filippo Marinetti (1876–1944), Gino
ized the way people thought about
Severini (1883–1966), Umberto Boccioni (1882–1916), and Giacomo Balla (1871–1958) used movement. His influence was felt by
stop-motion images to convey the dynamics of motion, which were much influenced the Cubists and Futurists, as well as
by the photographs of Eadweard Muybridge (1830–1904). Muybridge pioneered stop- by Marcel Duchamp and later artists,
motion photographic techniques and made an exhaustive exploration of both human such as the British Expressionist
and animal movement. The Futurists were also influenced by the chronophotography of Francis Bacon (1909 – 92).
Etienne-Jules Marey (1830–1904). Marey’s technique involved a camera that took twelve
exposures in one second, which were then printed together on a single plate.
2 Joseph Mallord William Turner
(1775–1851)
Calais Pier, 1803, Oil on canvas,
67¾ × 94½ in (172 × 240 cm)
The advent of the motion picture largely OPTIONS
shifted movement into the realm of another Turner brilliantly captures the violent
art form. Even so, many modern artists i
Dynamic movements within movement of wind and waves by run-
have mimicked the effects of photographic the composition ning powerful swirling lines through
blur and stop-motion. Other photographic the composition.
i
The depiction of forms or figures that
effects such as cropping, as well as new
are clearly in motion
information from photography about how 3 Umberto Boccioni (1882–1916)
various creatures and objects actually i
Overlayed or sequential Elasticity, 1912, Oil on canvas,
appear when in motion, has added consid- stop-action images 39 3/8 × 39 3/8 in (100 × 100 cm)
erably to the vocabulary of movement. i
The rendering of photographic
The Italian Futurist Boccioni attempts
effects associated with motion, such to describe the movements of people
as edge blur, dragged forms, and and vehicles in the city with multiple
cropping brushstrokes that emulate the effect
of stop-motion photography.
(For artworks that incorporate real move-
ment, see Kinetic Art on page 98.)
4 Marcel Duchamp (1887–1968)
Nude Descending a Staircase. No. 2,
1912, Oil on canvas, 57 7/8 × 35 1/8 in
(147 × 89.2 cm)

Exhibited at the Armory Show in New

York in 1913, the painting caused a
sensation. Using devices familiar to
Cubist and Futurist art, the painting
tracks the motion of a naked model
moving down a staircase. The simpli-
fied forms reduce the human figure
to a machinelike entity.

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 56 NARRATIVE

VISUAL STORY TELLING

Narrative or storytelling can be highly effective in painting and sculpture. Because the image 1 William Hogarth (1697–1764)
is static, however, narrative strategies are very different from those of film or literature. Stories A Rake’s Progress, 1732–35,
unfold over time so painting and sculpture are obliged to find ways of suggesting the pas- Oil on canvas, 24 5/8 × 29½ in
sage of time and the continuity of action. The main techniques are as follows: (62.6 x 74.9 cm)

One of a series of eight paint-

ings showing the dissolution of a
spendthrift young gentleman who
i
Single scene i
Panoramic
squanders his inheritance on prosti-
One moment in the narrative is Multiple events take place within a tutes, alcohol, and gambling.
depicted. The selection is usually a single scene. However, they do not
pivotal moment in a story. Most nar- show repeated views of the same
rative art follows this pattern, from characters but rather events within 2 Apollodorus of Damascus
Greek amphorae to Renaissance a broader unfolding drama. This Battle against the Dacians. Retreat
by the Dacians into the Mountains,
religious paintings. was a technique more often used
Trajan’s Column, 113 CE, Bas relief,
in ancient art to depict the prog-
i
Continuous scene Height of base: 5 ft 7 in (1.7 m);
ress of a war or ongoing doings of Height of shaft: 88 ft 3 in (26.9 m);
A narrative continues through
various gods. Diameter of shaft: 12 ft (3.7 m)
various events within a single frame.
Ancient examples include the i
Progression in location A series of historical events are
metope on the Parthenon, Trajan’s Multiple events take place within a shown in sequence in a spiral
Column, and the Bayeux Tapestry. single scene at a specific location. ascending the column.
The idea is to show a sequence of
i
Multi-scene
actions in time at a particular place.
Multiple events within a narrative
are depicted in a single scene, with i
Sequential framing
characters making repeated appear- Each event is placed within its own
ances. While this can sometimes tax frame and the frames are arranged
the viewer who is trying to discern in sequence. This is the technique
the sequence, it has the advantage of comic books, manga, and graphic
of simultaneity. Various components novels. Many variations are possible,
of a story can be experienced at the including variety of shape, orien-
same time. tation, and size of frames; images
that break out of frames; addition
of speech balloons, verbal sound
cues, and accompanying narrative or
descriptive text.

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 57 OP ART

PERCEPTUAL TRICKERY YIELDS VISUAL EXCITEMENT

“Op art” is a contraction of the term “optical art,” and applies to art that creates a percep- 1 Bridget Riley (1931–)
tual illusion or visual disturbance on the surface of the canvas. This is usually achieved Zephyr, 1976, Acrylic on linen,
by deploying various kinds of geometry in which the viewer’s eye is confused when 88 3/8 × 42¼ in (224.5 × 107.3 cm)
figure/ground relationships compete, or when improbable perspectival distortions are
displayed. Thus in Brigitte Riley’s painting Zephyr of 1976, closely packed wavy lines
2 Vasarely paintings at auction
cover the canvas creating a shimmer in the viewer’s eye that conveys both a sense of
movement and an illusion of rippling space on the surface of the canvas.

Interest in optical effects goes back at i
Perspectival

least to the 1920s, when Marcel Duchamp Lines or shapes are arranged so that
(1887–1968) experimented with rotat- they appear to shift in three-
ing discs painted with spirals to create dimensional space close to the surface
powerful illusions. In the 1930s, Victor of the canvas.
Vasarely (1906–97) produced works that i
Chromatic
created a sense of spatial distortion on Colored shapes or lines can be made
the surface of the canvas using black and to appear to shimmer or fluctuate,
white geometric formations. In the United particularly when saturated color of
States, the postwar paintings of Joseph similar tonality is juxtaposed.
Albers (1888–1976) with their concentra-
tion of perceptual relationships between i
Pattern sequencing
color and geometry were particularly A motif is progressively altered as
influential. The term “Op Art” was coined it is arranged in a pattern to bring
in Time Magazine in 1964, when a more about an illusion of movement and
powerful interest was emerging in such spatial position. This is a form par-
art. The Responsive Eye, an exhibition at ticularly favored by the Argentinian
the Museum of Modern Art in New York artist Julio le Parc.
in 1965, brought together the major prac- i
Moiré
titioners of the form, including Victor A three-dimensional form is created in
Vasarely, Bridget Riley (1931–), Jesús Soto which densely packed grid formations
(1923–2005), Yaacov Agam (1928–), Julio are placed over one another creating
Le Parc (1928–) and François Morellet a spatial illusion that shifts as the
(1926–). viewer moves in front of the work.

These strategies can be elaborated and

IN PRACTICE combined with each other or with other
i
Linear elements to create endless possibilities.
Closely packed, nearly parallel
See also: Trompe l’Oeil on page 200
lines, usually in black and white, are
arranged in formations, waves, or
zigzags to provoke a sense of move-
ment and shimmer.

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 58 OVERLOAD

PACKING AN ARTWORK WITH INFORMATION

A work of art can sometimes be made A number of modern artists have deployed 1 Pieter Aertsen (1508–75)
more compelling and engaging by increas- a sense of overload as a positive strategy. Butcher’s Stall with the Flight into
ing the amount and density of information The very quality of surfeit and the almost Egypt, 1551, Oil on wood panel,
it displays. Overloading an image, creat- unpleasant sense of claustrophobia that 48½ × 59 in (123.2 × 149.9 cm)
ing a surfeit of incident and interest, can results from it take on an expressive roll
The painting dazzles with a wealth
be a spectacular but also a somewhat in the work of artists such as Audrey Flack of descriptive detail, but the key
primitive strategy. Some early northern (1931–) or Donald Roller Wilson (1938–). narrative, the flight of the Holy Family
European art delighted in a great wealth of into Egypt, is all but obliterated by
Overload is not limited to representational
visual information, packing each part of a the visual pyrotechnics.
art and may be equally applied to abstract
composition with dazzling rendering and
or decorative art.
elaborately crafted detail. Such artworks
often suffer from the negative feature of
overload—the lack of clarity that results
from the absence of a clear hierarchy of
importance within the image.

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 59 PERFORMANCE ART

THE ARTIST BECOMES THE ARTWORK

Performance art is a modern form in which the artist is the focus for a live interaction 1 Krzysztof Zarebski (1939–)
with an audience. The form is extremely open and may incorporate speech, singing, act- BEBECHY, 2012, Performance/
ing, dance, props, multimedia displays, other performers, music—in fact, almost anything installation, Space Womb Gallery,
the artist cares to dream up. Such events generally differ from theater in that they rarely New York (KESHER V Performance
Art Event)
seek to simply entertain, nor do they follow traditional conventions of stage narrative.
Photo: Zosia Zeleska-Bobrowski
On the other hand, there are times when performance art is indistinguishable from such
mainstream forms as dance, stand-up comedy, poetry reading, mime, and circus.
2 Nadja Verena Marcin
Zero Gravity, Video-still of perfor-
mance, Tampa, Florida, 2013
Although the term “performance art” i
Time extension Photograph: Violetta D'Agata
wasn’t coined until the 1960s, the prac- Some performance artists have Sponsored by WARP & Aurora
tice goes back to the Dada movement put on pieces of enormous length, Aerospace
in Zurich, in 1916, when a group of young ignoring the customary time frame
The artist recites lines from
artists gave performances at the Café of traditional theater. At an exhibition Nietzsche while undergoing zero
Voltaire often featuring simultaneous at New York’s Museum of Modern gravity in a diving aircraft.
poetry, cacophonous music, and other Art, Marina Abramovic staged a work
kinds of provocative behavior. The idea called The Artist is Present, in which
that art was generated in real time, that she sat for more than seven hundred
it couldn’t be bought and sold, and that it hours in the lobby, inviting visitors to
could address immediate ideas and issues, sit and face her.
all came about at this time. i
Disorienting behavior
The 1960s found the form taken up by the The artist behaves in ways that are
Fluxus group, an association of interna- hard or impossible to decipher.
tional artists who arranged performances i
Autobiography
around the world, often involving the The artist uses speech, movement,
American composer John Cage (1912– and perhaps multimedia to present
92). Famous practitioners in recent years an autobiography. The openness of
include Yoko Ono (1933–), Chris Burden form allows for any kind of innova-
(1946-), Eric Bagosian (1953–) and Marina tion in storytelling, acting-out, and
Abramovic (1946–). self-revelation.
See also: Dada on page 58
APPROACHES
i
Audience participation
Individuals or groups are invited to
enter into the performance.
i
Body as medium
Artists use their own bodies as
vehicles. For instance, in 1971 the
artist Christ Burden had an assis-
tant shoot him in the arm from a
distance of about 16 feet (5 m) in
front of a live audience.

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 60 PERSPECTIVE

A SOPHISTICATED CONVENTION FOR DESCRIBING THREE-DIMENSIONAL SPACE

Perspective is the principal convention whereby a uniformly coherent three-dimensional 1 Albrecht Dürer (1471–1528)
space can be depicted on a flat surface. It is conceived as follows: The viewer looks at a Perspective apparatus, 1525,
scene from a fixed point. Between the viewer and the scene is a defined flat plane. This Woodblock print 3 × 8 7/16 in
plane corresponds to the picture and is known as the “picture plane.” Rays of light from (7.7 × 21.4 cm)
the subject pass through this plane on their way to the viewer’s eye. If their points of
Dürer published a treatise on per-
passage through the plane are recorded and reproduced, the resultant image is identical spective in which he showed several
to the viewer’s experience of the real scene. kinds of apparatus for achieving a
correct perspective drawing. Here
the artist holds his eye at a fixed
viewpoint defined by a pointed
A number of features immediately become i
Parallel lines receding at ninety column. The picture plane is a wired
evident from this approach: degrees horizontally to the viewer will grid beyond which lies the subject.
appear to meet on the horizon line. The artist has drawn a grid on his
i
Objects that are more distant will paper in the same proportions as
appear to be smaller. i
Multiple vanishing points can be con- that of the picture plane. He then
tained within the same work. marks off key points of the subject
i
Objects lying obliquely to the viewing on his paper as they appear to him
angle will appear to be distorted i
When drawing simple cubic forms, viewed through the grid.
because they will get smaller in it is possible from some viewpoints
the plane extending away from to achieve an image with a single
the viewer but remain stable in the vanishing point. More complex 2 A viewer (v) observes three poles
of identical height—(a), (b), and (c)—
plane standing at right angles to the constructions might involve two
standing at different distances. As
viewer. Thus a circle will appear as vanishing points, while works that the light crosses the picture plane
an ellipse. This effect is known as incorporate all three axes will have (p), the pole that is farthest away
“foreshortening.” three vanishing points. creates the shortest image.
i
Parallel lines not lying in the same
plane as the picture will appear to LIMITATIONS 3 Single-point perspective is demon-
get closer together as they recede strated in the real world. Planes
and eventually appear to join. The Perspective does not accommodate the receding at right angles to the picture
point at which they join is known as distortions of image that occur on the plane appear to meet at the horizon.
the “vanishing point.” edge of a wide viewing angle. It is also
limited to representing the world from a
single fixed viewpoint.

HISTORY
Perspective as a system was not known in ancient cultures, although both Greeks and Romans created some depth in their paintings
by overlapping images. Medieval artists were aware that distant objects could be represented as smaller than closer objects, but they
lacked an optical theory that could codify the phenomenon. The first person to fully comprehend perspective was the Renaissance
architect Filippo Brunelleschi (1377–1446) in about 1413. According to artist and art historian Giorgio Vasari (1511–74), in his book Lives of
the Artists, Brunelleschi first discovered vanishing points when he did a painting of buildings in Florence by working on top of a mirror.
The entire theoretical basis of perspective was later published by Leon Battista Alberti (1404–72) in his De Pictura in 1436.

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2
a b c p v

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 61 PLASTICITY

THE MEDIUM TAKES ON THE QUALITIES OF THE SUBJECT

Plasticity is the process by which a medium takes on the properties of the substance 1 Diego Velázquez (1599–1660)
that it represents. The most common and effective examples of plasticity occur in paint- Portrait of a Bufoon with a Dog,
ing when the artist manipulates the layering and fluid properties of the paint so that the (Detail) c. 1650, Oil on canvas,
paint film itself takes on a fleshlike appearance. This is very apparent in many Baroque- 55 7/8 × 42 1/8 in (142 × 107 cm)
era paintings by artists such as Rembrandt, Velasquez, and Rubens. It has also been
The artist uses lively layers of
used to spectacular effect by a number of contemporary artists, including Lucian Freud brushing to recreate the texture
(1922–2011) and Jenny Saville (1970–). and density of the clothing with
paint itself.

Plasticity is not limited to the rendering of In sculpture, artists such as Antonio

flesh, and the history of painting is full of Canova (1757–1852) were able to manip-
ravishing examples in which the physical ulate the polished delicacy of marble
handling of the paint takes on the qualities to become an extraordinary equivalent
of such subjects as silk, satin, lacework, for flesh. Sculpture also offers the artist
masonry, and foliage. John Constable the option of using multiple materials in
(1776–1837) was able to lay on paint so a single work in order to render a more
that it feels like clumps of leaves, grass, powerful sense of the varying natures of
or rocks. Many passages of painting by elements within the subject.
Velasquez use heavy brushing to remake Plasticity is not the same property as
buckles, embroidered clothing, elabo- direct mimicry or trompe l’oeil. It is pos-
rate hair styles and rich fabrics. Still life sible, as in the case of waxworks, to build
painters such as Jean-Baptiste-Siméon a sculpture that will more or less deceive
Chardin (1699–1779) and Luis Meléndez the eye and be taken for the subject itself.
(1716–1780) built rich paint surfaces that But with plasticity, viewers are invited
in themselves provide equivalents for the to enjoy the spectacle of transmutation
variety of densities and textures within taking place, to entertain the notion that
their subjects. what they are looking at is the subject as
built in the medium.
See also: Trompe l’Oeil on page 200

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 62 POLITICS AND POLEMICS

ART CAN SOMETIMES ADVOCATE, TAKE A POSITION, OR PERSUADE

From time to time, artworks have taken on a powerful voice in public debate. However, 1 Françesco Goya (1746–1828)
since political crises tend to be a product of a particular time and place, they rarely make Esto es peor, Plate 37, The
lasting subject matter for painting or sculpture. Here are a number of potent polemical Disasters of War series, 1810–20,
images that have stood the test of time. Etching, 9¾ × 13 3/8 in (24.8 × 34 cm)

The title means “This is worse.” A

mutilated corpse is left speared
The Disasters of War, 1810–20. Françesco Guernica, 1939. Pablo Picasso (1881–1973). to a bush as a warning to others.
Goya (1746–1828). A suite of etchings that Picasso uses a highly personal vocabulary Reprisals and killings of civilians were
makes a ferocious attack on the brutal- of images developed through his cubist a feature of the Peninsular Wars.
ity and debasement that war inevitably adventures and subsequent involvement
generates. The images use a deadpan with more classical imagery. The elements 2 Théodore Géricault (1791–1824)
descriptive style and bitingly sarcastic stand in a shallow space arranged so that The Raft of the Medusa, 1818–19, Oil
titles to bring the events depicted uncom- their powerful graphic shapes have max- on canvas, 16 ft 1 in × 23 ft 7 in
fortably close to the viewer. imum dramatic effect. The painting is an (4.9 × 7.2 m)
outraged response to the bombing of the
The Raft of the Medusa, 1868–9. Théodore The painting reflected public anger
town of Guernica in northern Spain by
Géricault (1791–1824). The artist used all at the officers of a French naval
right-wing forces armed by Germany.
the new weapons of romantic painting to ship who abandoned their cargo of
make a potent political image: energetic F-111, 1964. James Rosenquist (1933–). passengers to a makeshift raft while
paint handling, enormous scale, active fig- Executed in the style of billboard paint- seizing the lifeboats for themselves.
ures in unusual and somewhat contorted ing at the height of the Vietnam War, the
poses, along with dramatic elements such 86-foot (26.2 m)–long picture depicts 3 James Rosenquist (1933–)
as corpses and wounded flesh. an F-111 fighter-bomber juxtaposed with F-111, 1964–5, Oil on canvas with
images of consumerism. aluminum, 23 sections, 10 × 86 ft
Execution of the Emperor Maximilian, (3 × 26.2 m)
1867–9. Édouard Manet (1832–83). Manet
used flattened space and graphic strength The painting points out the complicity
to convey the machinelike brutality of the between middle-class consumerism
execution. Maximilian was placed on the and the U.S. war machine.
Mexican throne by Napoleon III after French
troops intervened in Mexican politics in the
1860s. Opposed by local forces, his regime
eventually collapsed and he was caught
and shot. The Mexican firing squad wears
European-style uniforms, giving a deliber-
ately generic quality to the action.

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 63 PREPARE AND DEVELOP

PLANNING PRACTICES AND TECHNIQUES

Many artists engage in planning and developmental stages for works of art. Although 1 Giovanni Battista Tiepolo (1690–1770)
approaches to such planning can be infinitely various, a number of methods have proved Saint Clemens modello for an
fruitful and popular over the centuries. Ideas can be worked up in rough sketches, draw- altarpiece, c. 1730–35, Oil on canvas,
ings, finished drawings, and even full-scale rough versions of the more finished work to 27 3/16 × 215/8 in (69 × 55 cm)
come. In Italian Renaissance art, cartoons, or full-scale drawings, were used in prepa-
ration for frescos and other large-scale works such as tapestries or murals. The use of 2 Jean-Baptiste Carpeaux (1827–75)
sketchbooks began almost as soon as paper became available, and they continue to be Maquette for monument at
widely used by artists as a private space where ideas can be explored and problems Valenciennes, 1863–64, Plaster
solved. Sculptors often make preparatory models, called maquettes, for large sculptures.
3 John Constable (1776–1837)
Dedham Lock sketch, 1819, Oil on
paper laid on canvas, 8¾ × 10¾ in
Preparatory stages can also include pre- i
Color (22.2 x 27.3 cm)
sentation pieces for client approval prior A color sketch can be made to
to going on to the finished work. Small- explore color distribution, balance,
scale renderings for approval of proposed and activity.
projects were known as modellos in Italian i
Engineering
art. The same term was used for architec- Sculptors may use maquettes to
tural models of proposed buildings. determine balance, giving them a
Some of the components of an artwork sense of how the work might be
that can be resolved in a preparatory stage: engineered successfully.
i
Conception i
Scale and balance
The artist will often toy with a basic Full-scale color sketches give a good
idea for a work in sketch stage. sense of how a painting is going
Initial sketches can sometimes be to feel and look. John Constable
thumbnails, tiny blocked outlines of (1776–1837), for instance, did full-size
an idea. oil sketches. With their loose han-
dling and strong brushing, they are
i
Placement
now sometimes more prized than his
Sketches and drawings allow the
finished work.
artist to move elements around with
ease. Artists may use tracing paper Some of the most intriguing and inter-
or visualization paper to manipulate esting insights into the work of individual
multiple layers. artists come from their sketchbooks and
i
Tone drawings. Prior to the modern era, such
A tonal sketch allows the artist to things were rarely exhibited; consequently,
think about the distribution of tone they often provide a window into the pri-
within the work. vate realm of the artist.

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 64 PRINTMAKING

REPRODUCTION BROADENS THE AUDIENCE FOR ART

Printmaking creates multiple impressions, allowing wider dissemination and lower cost. 1 Torii Kiyomasu (c. 1690–1720)
Since the mid-nineteenth century, artists have numbered and signed their prints, creat- Kabuki actor Ichikawa Danjuro in
ing limited editions. the role of Takenuki Goro,
c. 1690–1710, Woodblock print on
silk, 21½ × 12½ in (54.7 × 32 cm)

PRINCIPAL METHODS Mezzotint. The artist prepares the

2 Lucas Cranach the Elder (1472–1553)
surface with a tool that makes
i
Relief thousands of tiny holes. These hold
Venus and Cupid, 1506, Woodcut in
The artist carves into a surface or red on laid paper, 115/16 × 7 13/16 in
the ink to make a rich dark tone. The (28.7 × 19.8 cm)
“matrix,” removing areas that are to artist makes the image by burnishing
remain white in the final image. The into this prepared surface. The more
matrix is then inked and paper placed he flattens it, the less ink it will hold 3 Jacques Callot (1592–1635)
on top. This is pressed onto the and the lighter it will print. Franca Trippa and Fritellino,
surface either with a barren or by run- c. 1622, Etching, 2 13/16 × 3 9/16 in
ning it through a press. Woodblock i
Planographic (7.1 × 9.1 cm)
and linocut are relief techniques. The surface of the matrix is changed
by the action of chemicals to make
i
Intaglio parts of it resist inking. The main
The artist makes a cut into the sur- technique is lithography, which pro-
face of a metal plate. ceeds thus:
Engraving. The line is gouged using 1. Image is drawn with a greasy
a very sharp engraving tool. The crayon onto a limestone or pre-
surface is inked and then wiped pared aluminum matrix.
clean so that only the line retains the
ink. It is then transferred onto paper 2. Matrix is bathed in acid, fixing
in a press. the grease to the surface.
Etching. The plate is covered with 3. Matrix is covered with water,
thin wax ground. The artist draws on which is resisted by the areas
the ground with a needle, removing where grease was applied.
the wax. The plate is then bathed 4. Ink is applied to the matrix and
in acid which bites into the surface adheres only to the parts that
where the wax has been removed. were greasy
The plate is then inked and printed
like an engraving. Paper is pressed onto the surface in
a press, transferring a replica of the
Drypoint. The artist uses a sharp tool initial drawing.
to scratch the surface of the plate,
raising a burr on the edge of the line. i
Stencil
Inking and printing proceed as with Ink is pressed through a stencil
engraving. This gives a rich, warm to make a clearly outlined shape.
line but since the burr is fragile it will In silkscreen printing, a fine mesh
only yield a few good impressions. screen is used to allow ink to be
smoothly pushed through with a
squeegee.

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 65 PROCESS AS MEANING

ART WORKS CAN BE ENGENDERED BY ENGAGING IN PRESCRIBED PHYSICAL PROCESSES

Instead of engaging in complex, intuitive decision making in producing a work of art, 1 Jackson Pollock (1912–56)
some contemporary artists have chosen to adopt an approach of simply carrying out Autumn Rhythm Number 30, 1950,
a mechanical process. The American painter Jackson Pollock (1912–56) abandoned his Oil on canvas, 105 × 207 in
early figurative work to make pictures by swinging paint across large canvases using (266.7 × 525.8 cm)
brushes held well away from the surface to form long swirling arcs of splattered pigment.
The resultant formations derive from the largely serendipitous distribution of the paint. 2 Robert Morris (1931–)
Various sculptors quickly followed Pollock’s example, most notably Robert Morris (1931–), Untitled, 1973, Brown felt
who produced many works in which the end product is defined by the physical process
it took to make it. Works in felt, for example, might be folded, cut, and moved in various Several pieces of felt are draped in
defined ways until the work is deemed to be finished. sequence over a pole. The form of
the work is simply a result of carry-
ing out this process.

One compelling idea behind the notion The drawback of this idea is that it jetti-
of art as process is that artworks are the sons most of the notions of what many
result of the movements of the human find interesting in art—the control of medi-
body, that they are necessarily defined by ums and elements in ways that transform
our physiology and our mechanical prow- our experience of the world and provide
ess. It invites us to make artworks that do various kinds of aesthetic pleasure.
not carry the traditional baggage of art,
the requirements that it hold meaning,
convey the intentions of the artist, and
provide complex kinds of aesthetic plea-
sure. Writing about such works in 1952,
the critic Howard Rosenberg observed,
“What was to go on the canvas was not
a picture but an event. The big moment
came when it was decided to paint ‘just
to paint.’ The gesture on the canvas was a
gesture of liberation from value—political,
aesthetic, moral.”

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 66 PROPORTION AND RATIO

MATHEMATICS MEETS AESTHETICS

Proportion and ratios are integral to the way in which elements relate to each other within 1 According to Jan Tschichold (1902–
an artwork and play a vital role in the success of representational constructs. 74) in his The Form of the Book, many
medieval prayer books used the
Golden Mean. Here, the page ratio
is 2:3 and the text proportion is the
Proportion is the relationship in size RATIOS AND THE GOLDEN MEAN Golden Mean.
between one element and another or
between an element and the whole work. A ratio is a mathematical expression of
the relationship between one measure- 2 Albrecht Dürer (1471–1528)
Proportions can be a key factor in convey- Proportions of the Female Body,
ing a sense of identity both to geometric ment and another. A ratio of two to one
c. 1512, Woodblock print,
shapes and to representational elements. is expressed as 2:1 and means that one
11 5/16 × 7 15/16 in (28.8 × 20.2 cm)
The proportions of the human body, for element is twice the size of the other.
instance, while somewhat variable, will Since the Greek mathematician Euclid Dürer explored many ideas about the
have to fall within certain limits to be cited it, a ratio called “The Golden Mean” proportions of the human body in his
has fascinated artists and scientists alike. 1528 treatise Four Books on Human
credible. The Roman architect Vitruvius Proportion.
(c. 80–15 BCE) suggested that a canon of It is defined as the ratio between two
beauty could be deduced from the pro- elements in which the proportion of the
portions of the human body, an idea that larger of the two to the sum of the whole
a number of Renaissance artists took up is the same as the proportion of the
(see Beauty on page 26). smaller to the larger. This turns out to be
an irrational number, 1:1.6803…
Knowledge of proportions also helps
artists to “scale up” a work, often from For centuries, artists have felt that this
a sketch to a full-sized piece. The usual ratio is inherently attractive and there
method is to draw a grid over the sketch are a number of artworks, particularly
and then draw a grid in the same propor- from the Renaissance, where it has cer-
tions on the larger canvas. The drawing tainly been used. The Italian writer Luca
can then be easily transferred by eye. Pacioli (1445–1517) dubbed it the “Divine
Proportion” in his 1507 book, De Divina
Proportione. On the other hand, claims
that both the Parthenon and the Mona Lisa
were designed according to the Golden
Mean are not true. In modern times, Le
Corbusier (1887–1965) was attracted to
the ratio and used it as the basis for his
modular system of architecture.
See also: Perspective on page 128;
Composition on page 44

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 67 QUALITY

ASSESSING THE RELATIVE VALUE OF ARTISTS AND ARTWORKS

When we look at a work of art, we not only experience it, we also often pass judgment on 1 Paul Gauguin (1848–1903)
it. We deem it to be good or bad, better or worse. We compare it favorably or unfavorably Parau na te Varua ino (Words of
to other works of art by the same artist and to those of other artists. In other words, we the Devil), 1892, Oil on canvas,
make a judgment as to the quality of the work of art we are looking at. The basis on which 36 1/8 × 26 15/16 in (91.8 × 68.4 cm)
such a judgment is made can be hard to define or pin down. It will also be somewhat
different for each work of art we look at. 2 Paul Sérusier (1864–1927)
Farmhouse at Le Pouldu, 1890, Oil
on canvas, 28 3/8 × 23 5/8 in
(72 × 60 cm)
The judgment of quality is, therefore, Although there is obviously considerable
something of a moving target. It can shift subjectivity involved in a judgment of History has judged Gauguin to be a
depending on the understanding and quality, it does appear that at any given better painter than his contempo-
selective framework of the viewer, and it time a community of taste will coalesce rary Sérusier.
can shift with the fashions and collective around a particular view. Most people
judgments of the day. The history of art agree today that Vincent Van Gogh was
is strewn with reputations that were once a great artist, a view that was not appar-
elevated and are now all but forgotten. ent during his lifetime. Over long periods
of time, judgments of quality concern-
What is it, then, that we are really doing
ing individual artists tend to settle into a
when we say that one work of art is better
broad consensus. The pantheon of great
than another or one artist is better than
artists from Massacio, to Michelangelo, to
another? Perhaps we are recognizing that
Monet seems unlikely to be changed in
some works of art function far better than
the future in any radical way. Meanwhile,
others. They deliver on what they set out
the reputations of thousands of lesser
to do in ways that are more imaginative,
artists will continue to rise and fall with
more surprising, and more satisfying.
the shifting tides of taste and context.

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 68 QUOTING

REFERRING TO ANOTHER WORK OF ART ALLOWS FOR REFINEMENT OF MEANING

Quoting another work of art can lead to more precise and nuanced meaning as well as 1 Marcantonio Raimondi (1480–1534)
richer expression. Quoted images can be adjusted or reworked in a variety of ways in The Judgment of Paris, 1515, After
accordance with a wide range of possible intentions. Raphael, Copper engraving,
11 11/16 × 17 3/16 in (29.7 × 43.7 cm)

i
Ironic i
Supportive 2 Édouard Manet (1832–83)

Le Déjeuner sur l’herbe, 1862–3,
Changing the appearance and Quoting another work of art can
Oil on canvas, 82 × 104 in
context of a quoted image in order imply a closeness of intention and (208.3 × 264.2 cm)
to lampoon or otherwise undercut spirit with the artist making the
its meaning. quote. The central group in Manet’s painting
is a direct quote of a famous image in
i
Humorous i
Theoretical a painting by Raphael as transcribed
The reworking of a famous image, The artist making the quote may in an engraving by Raimondi. The
preferably one that has gravity, can wish to explore the way in which the fact that Manet is using a classical
be extremely amusing. quoted image operates in a contem- quote to make a contemporary image
porary setting. This is part of the reinforces the transgressive nature of
i
Subversive the subject matter.
strategy of the Appropriationists, a
Using an iconic image in such a way
contemporary art movement (see
that it subverts the social and politi-
Appropriation on page 16).
cal constructs of the day.

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 69 READYMADES

DESIGNATING AN OBJECT AS AN ARTWORK

Although an artwork is usually defined as a product of human agency, a number of mod- 1 Marcel Duchamp (1887–1968)
ern artists have contended that any object whatsoever can be presented or designated Fountain, 1917, Porcelain urinal,
as a work of art. Such objects are known as “readymades.” 24 × 14 × 19 in (61 × 35.6 × 48.3 cm)
Photographed by Alfred Steiglitz

The first appearance of this idea occurred In general, this is the rationale used ever
in 1917, when Marcel Duchamp (1887–1968) since by practitioners of this kind of art.
famously exhibited, or tried to exhibit, a For them, the intellectual act of recogni-
porcelain urinal as a sculpture. The occa- tion and designation is the making of the
sion was an exhibition of the Society of art. The form of readymade continues to
Independent Artists in New York, and the have currency, most notably in the British
sculpture was submitted under the pseu- artist Tracey Emin’s infamous 1998 work
donym “R. Mutt.” Even though Duchamp My Bed, which consists of the artist’s
sat on the selection committee of the unmade bed and various artifacts and
society, the work was rejected. Duchamp detritus from her bedroom.
resigned in protest. The work was sub- Readymades are often combined within
sequently photographed in the studio of artworks, providing a bridge to the art
Alfred Stieglitz and became something of assemblage, the sculptural version
of a cause célèbre when the New York of collage.
Dadaist magazine The Blind Man pub-
lished an editorial making a compelling The very openness of the genre of ready-
case for the new art form: “Whether Mr. mades is also a considerable weakness.
Mutt made the fountain with his own hands When anything or everything might be
or not has no importance. He CHOSE it. designated an artwork, the line between
He took an article of life, placed it so that what is and isn’t art becomes confusing,
its useful significance disappeared under and the means by which a viewer might
the new title and point of view—created a engage and enjoy the art can become
new thought for that object.” unclear.
See also: Conceptual Art on page 46;
Dada on page 58

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 70 REALISM

CLAIMING AN OBJECTIVE VIEW OF THE WORLD

More than simply representation, realism is the idea that the artwork presents a neutral 1 Caravaggio (1571–1610)
and inclusive view of the world. The viewer is persuaded that he is being shown the Judith Beheading Holofernes,
world as it actually is. This is an idea that emerges perennially in art. In the late sixteenth 1598–9, Oil on canvas, 57 1/8 × 76 3/8 in
century, Caravaggio (1571–1610) shocked and galvanized his viewers by using common (145 × 195 cm)
people as models and including such realistic details as dirty fingernails and soiled
clothing. Realism emerged again in the mid-nineteenth century as a powerful antidote 2 George Bellows (1882–1925)
to the foregoing Romantic movement. Artists such as Gustave Courbet (1819–77) began New York, 1911, Oil on canvas,
to paint the life of French peasants in an unadorned and matter-of-fact manner, belying 42 × 60 in (106.7 × 152.4 cm)
previous idealized stereotypes and, to some extent, shocking their audience. The advent
of photography in the latter half of the nineteenth century gave a new authority to the
idea of a neutrally “real” image of the world.

The adoption of a realist stance was par- The idea that realist art presents a non-
ticularly strong in American painting in the selective, non-filtered view of the world is
late nineteenth and early twentieth centu- rarely borne out in fact. Choice of view-
ries, a time when many artists began their point, subject matter, scale, and medium,
careers as illustrators for newspapers allow an artist considerable opportunity
and magazines. Winslow Homer (1836–1910) to skew the sense of an image, promote
covered the Civil War for Harper’s Magazine a particular point of view, or orchestrate
before launching on a career as a painter in other expressive qualities. As such, claims
which he projected a new sense of clarity of neutral realism are often deceptive.
and unfiltered seeing. Early twentieth-
century artists such as John Sloane
(1871–1951), Everett Shinn (1876–1953), and
George Bellows (1882–1925) began as
newspaper illustrators and went on to
paint the life of common people. Dubbed
the “Ashcan School,” they used realist
techniques to further the idea that art
could be used as part of the political and
social discussion about poverty and the
conditions under which the poor were
obliged to live.
Realism again appeared powerfully in the
late 1960s and early ’70s with the emer-
gence of so-called “superreal” painting.
Inspired by the foregoing Pop Art move-
ment, painters such as Richard Estes
(1932–), Malcolm Morley (1931–), and Chuck
Close (1940–) made pictures that sought
to outdo the dazzling richness and speci-
ficity of large-scale color photographs.

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 71 RELIGIOSITY

BELIEF IN THE SUPERNATURAL AS A SOURCE OF INSPIRATION

The religious impulse has been the motivating factor for a vast number of works of art. 1 Christ the Saviour (Pantokrator),
Most tribal art appears to have a religious or devotional intention, and much ancient 6 th century, Encaustic on panel,
art revolves around religious practices. Western art was largely religious until the 33 1/16 × 17 7/8 in (84 × 45.5 cm), Saint
Renaissance and wasn’t dominated by secular art until the nineteenth century. Indeed Catherine's Monastery, Mount Sinai
it might be possible to argue that the respect that is accorded to artworks in the con-
temporary world is part of the legacy of artworks as a focus of devotion. We might infer, 2 Emil Nolde (1867–1956)
therefore, that the making of images in tribal societies is an expression of a universal The Burial, 1915, Oil on canvas,
human drive to externalize and thereby control forces that remain mysterious and per- 38 3/16 × 45¼ (97 × 115 cm)
haps threatening.
In an increasingly secular twentieth
century, some artists were still moti-
vated by religious feeling. Here Nolde
In some cases, religious images become In more sophisticated art, religious imag- deploys the newly-forged language
of Expressionism to re-imagine
so closely identified with their subjects ery often concerns itself with the depiction
one of the key scenes of the New
that the popular audience has difficulty of the stories and myths associated with Testament.
separating the two. Thus the intense ven- a particular religion. In Western art, art-
eration of some works of art, including ists of the Baroque era, particularly those
many Christian icons and sculptures, that associated with the Counter-Reformation, 2 Gandhara Buddha,
become objects of worship in their own found new ways to project religious feel- 1st to 2nd century CE, 43 in (110 cm)
right. Such works are sometimes associ- ing. Carravagio (1571–1610) deployed highly
ated with miraculous cures, visions, and theatrical lighting and a stark realism to
other supernatural occurrences. draw his viewers into well-known biblical
scenes. Sir Peter Paul Rubens (1577–1640)
Religious imagery often tends to the
deployed scale, movement, and spectacu-
iconic and the symmetrical. The colossal
lar rendering to project a sense of dazzling
heads of Easter Island, the beautifully sim-
richness and splendor to make his altar-
plified sculpture of Cycladic art, the Great
pieces compelling for a popular audience
Sphinx of Giza, or the myriad statues of
(see page 93).
the Buddha exhibit symmetry or near
symmetry. Clearly humans infer a quality See also: Symmetry on page 187
of presence from symmetry that relates
to our own symmetrical construction. The
quintessential Christian image of Christ
on the Cross is also close to symmetrical.

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 72 REPETITION

REPEATING IMAGES CREATES NEW AVENUES OF EXPRESSION

Repetition of images or elements within images can endow them with new authority, 1 Andy Warhol (1928–87)
sense, or meaning. Although repeated images have always been used in decorative Nine Jackies, 1964, Acrylic and
enterprises, repetition as an option for expression in the fine arts emerged with modern- silkscreen on canvas, 65 × 53 × 2 in
ism, beginning perhaps with the series paintings of Claude Monet (1840–1926). Using a (165.1 × 134.6 × 5.1 cm)
variety of motifs, including poplar trees, haystacks, and water lilies, Monet explored the
At first glance this work presents
play of light on the same subject under varying conditions and times of day. The resulting a banal repeat of the iconic image
paintings shift the viewer’s attention from an appreciation of the subject as remade by of Jacqueline Kennedy in which the
the artist to a concentration on the technical and perceptual work of the artist as he pro- principal interest is the break of the
ceeds with the series. These works presage twentieth-century abstract art in which the repeat color in the last two images.
artwork becomes its own subject. Repetition has since been taken up by many artists, The work takes on a more porten-
tous quality when we realize that
including Andy Warhol (1928–87), Arman (1928–2005), Damien Hirst (1965–), and others.
it shows a photograph taken just
minutes before the president was
assassinated. He is visible in the
background, particularly in the last
STRATEGIES i
Breaking the repeat two images.
Deploying repeated images and then
i
Redundancy breaking the repeat by introducing
Repetition is often effective when variation is a strategy that operates by
it suggests redundancy. In Andy undermining the viewer’s expectations.
Warhol’s flower paintings, the
repeated image of a desirable object i
Repetition as power
undermines that very desirability, The repeated image or element can
suggesting that it is endlessly avail- take on a sense of power or omni-
able and essentially vacuous, merely presence. The British artist Antony
another consumer item capable of Gormley (1950–) has made works
infinite manufacture. where many copies of bronze figures
are placed in an environment, taking
i
Decorative on an uneasy quality of omnipresence.
Repeated images can readily
become decorative. i
Formal motif
Repeated images can provide a
i
Disposability predictable and stable structure
Repetition is strongly associated with to support the exploration of other
modern printing and manufacturing variables available to the artwork.
techniques and, therefore, often
carries a sense of transience, cheap- i
Transformation
ness, and disposability. The Cuban It is possible to repeat images in such
artist Félix González-Torres (1957–96) a way that they become entirely trans-
made a number of works in which he formed. The artist Arman has made
heaped cheaply manufactured items, many works in which he takes num-
such as wrapped candies, in museum bers of identical objects and welds
spaces and invited visitors to take them together, entirely transforming
them if they wished. It was a strategy their appearance and undermining
that undermined the “sacredness” of their original use. Here, the act of rep-
the art object and the idea that qual- etition brings into question the identity
ity and aesthetic value are invested in of the object and the relationship
an object. between appearance and purpose.

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 73 REPRESENTATION

THE IMAGE STANDS IN FOR THE REAL THING

Representation is a convention in painting and sculpture whereby a flat image or a 1 Willendorf Venus, c. 20,000 BCE,
three-dimensional form is understood to stand in for a visual experience of something Limestone, 4½ in (10.8 cm) high
in the real world.
One of the earliest surviving art-
works, the Willendorf Venus may
have had a role as a ritualistic
Translating a visual experience is central symbol of fertility.
PHILOSOPHY Photo: Don Hitchcock
to the activity of representational art.
The nature of the translation and how it Both Aristotle and Plato discussed rep-
affects the viewers’ perception of the resentation. Aristotle considered it to be
2 Amedeo Modigliani (1884–1920)
subject becomes a powerful way in which natural to human beings and necessary for
Chaim Soutine, 1917, Oil on canvas,
expression may be achieved. Subjects their comprehension of the world. Plato, on 36 1/8 × 23½ in (91.7 × 59.7 cm)
may be simplified, distorted, or rebuilt in the other hand, asserted that representa-
various ways. The viewers’ comparisons tion involves the creation of illusions that Modigliani deploys the new visual
may or may not say truthful things about language pioneered by Cubism. He
of their experiences of the real world with dispenses with perspective and ren-
their apprehension of its representation in the world. As such, representations have
dered form using instead a flattened
a work of art provides the ground for a the capacity to lead the viewer astray. The
space and stylized outline.
wide variety of meaning and expression. potential deceptiveness of represen-
tation and its ability to mold perception
has emerged as a perennial issue in the 3 Praxiteles
HISTORY modern world. Advertising, propaganda, Hermes Carrying the Infant
and the fine arts are areas in which both Dionysius, 4 th century BCE, Marble,
The origins of representational art extend 7½ ft (2.1 m) high
visual and verbal representations are
back into prehistory with cave paintings
manipulated to shift the perception and The Greek sculptor’s comprehension
and simple sculpture. With the emergence
understanding of the viewer. of the nuance and complexity of the
of more advanced cultures, representa-
human form remains a high point in
tions became more elaborate. Egyptian See also: Realism on page 148
representational art.
art developed complex iconography
based on flat designs in which humans,
supernatural beings, and physical objects 4 Raphael (1483–1520)
could be shown and manipulated. More The School of Athens, 1509, Fresco,
16 ft 5 in × 25 ft 3 in (5 ×  7.7  m),
comprehensive and naturalistic represen-
Apostolic Palace, Vatican City
tations of the human form appear in Greek
culture and reach a level of unparalleled By 1500, artists had mastered both
sophistication around 400 BCE. Roman art perspective and elaborate rendering
in general pursued a taste for naturalism, of three-dimensional form, enabling
particularly in sculpture. Medieval art saw extremely comprehensive represen-
tations of the visible world.
a return to flatter and more linear repre-
sentation, while the Renaissance ushered
in an entirely more comprehensive set of
tools, including perspective, to enable a
much fuller representation of the world.
Contemporary artists deploy a wide vari-
ety of representational approaches, from
crude and primitive expressions to flaw-
less photographic realism.

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 74 RESTRAINT

THE POWER OF HOLDING BACK

Restraint can be a very powerful idea in painting and sculpture. Unlike film or illustration, 1 Eugène Carrière (1849–1906)
which often seek to entertain and dazzle, fine art can work well when the viewer feels Alphonse Daudet, 1893, Lithograph
that something is withheld or understated. This can involve simplifying forms, omitting 15 5/8 × 12 3/16 in (39.7 × 30.9 cm)
details, or simply being suggestive.
2 Gwen John (1876–1939)
The Convalescent, 1923–4,
Oil on canvas, 16¼ × 13 5/16 in
The power of restraint can be seen in APPROACHES (41.3 × 33.8 cm)
the work of the French artist Eugene
Carriére (1849–1906), who adopted a i
Severely pared-down information and
style in which he worked in monochrome, stripping-out of detail.
sketching heads in loose brush marks
i
A limited palette forcing a few colors
with soft edges in such a way that the
to do the work of many to convey a
image almost dissolves into the space
sense of quiet.
around it. The results evoke a sense
of mystery as viewers strain to recon- i
Non-showy, quiet execution, such as
struct the subject from the minimal and evenness of brushing and avoidance
somewhat imprecise information they of showy technique.
are provided. Similarly, James McNeill i
Choice of subject matter that avoids
Whistler (1834–1903), particularly in his considerable visual drama.
Nocturnes, painted his subjects with
a limited set of information and clues. i
Introduction of deliberate ambiguities
Again the results are atmospheric and in the form of disguised edges or
suggestive, while the somewhat ethereal the selection of shapes that are not
qualities of his work, combined with ele- readily readable.
gant proportioning, convey considerable See also: Color as Limit on page 40;
aesthetic pleasure. Minimalism on page 112; Simplification on
Restraint also worked well for the English page 172; Ambiguity on page 14
painter Gwen John (1876–1939), who
made pictures using a subimpressionist
approach in which a very limited color
palet te was deployed in small, fairly
even, paint strokes. The resulting paint-
ings acquire a feeling of reticence and
thoughtful contemplation.
A sense of restraint undoubtedly plays a
role in the aesthetic pleasure afforded by
much minimal art.

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 75 RHYTHM

THE VISUAL COUNTERPART OF A MUSICAL ATTRIBUTE

Usually a musical concept, rhythm has strong visual counterparts and can sometimes 1 Melissa Meyer (1947–)
be central to a work of art. A sense of dynamic movement working rhythmically across a Dassin, 2012, Oil on canvas,
surface can be compelling on its own or can provide an underpinning for a more complex 80 × 78 in (203.2 × 198.1 cm)
work. Rhythm in visual art is generally a linear quality. In Michelangelo’s Last Judgment,
Rhythmic patterns run through a
the linear organization proceeds in a rhythmic fashion from top to bottom, carrying the
loosely repeated motif to contribute
viewer’s eye down toward hell. In purer form, rhythmic motifs can be found in many tribal a lively movement to the image.
artifacts and is sometimes used in a decorative fashion to embellish objects.

While rhythm was usually only a second- STRATEGIES

ary consideration in much art before the
modern era, a number of twentieth-century i
Conformation
artists explored rhythm as a central con- A linear rhythmic movement is
cern. Henri Matisse (1869–1954) made many established and elements within
paintings in which the composition is built the work are drawn or sculpted to
on rhythmic linear statements (see page conform to it.
183). Hans Richter (1888–1976) produced i
Compositional
a large body of work in which he explored Elements are placed so that they set
visual counterparts for musical structures, up a sense of regular movement or
using abstract elements in both painting rhythm throughout the work. Often
and film. His 1921 film, Rhythmus 21, is con- this involves repetition of some kind,
sidered to be one of the first abstract films. with rhythm emerging from the way
Rhythmic movements also interested the the elements are sequenced.
Abstract Expressionists, and both Jackson
i
Illusional
Pollock (1912–56) and Willem de Kooning
Closely packed formations of lines or
(1904–97) used the word in the titles of
geometric shapes can be organized
paintings. The close association of Abstract
to create an optical illusion of move-
Expressionism and jazz certainly inspired
ment or rhythm (see Op Art on page
this crossover. Rhythm is also a feature in
122).
the Op Art paintings of Brigitte Riley (1931–),
Victor Vasarely (1906–97), and others.

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 76 ROMANTICISM

SPONTENAITY, FEELINGS, IMAGINATION, AND GENIUS

Romanticism was a broad intellectual and artistic movement that swept over Europe 1 Eugène Delacroix (1798–1863)
between the 1770s and the 1850s. Essentially a reaction against the rationalism of the Liberty Leading the People, 1830,
Enlightenment and the harsh realities of the Industrial Revolution, it championed an art that Oil on canvas, 102 3/8 × 127 15/16 in
was driven by the emotions and generated from the personality, feelings, and imagination (260 × 325 cm)
of the artist. It was particularly interested in the heightened emotions to be experienced
With its powerful diagonals,
in the presence of untamed nature: fear, awe, and transcendental wonder. The great poet heroic poses, sense of action, and
of the era, William Wordsworth, said that poetry should be “the spontaneous overflow of dramatic subject matter complete
powerful feelings.” Unlike the classicists, who delighted in order and clarity, the Romantics with corpses and smoke, this work
opposed rules and measurement and embraced the free reign of the artist’s spirit. They is a quintessential product of the
prized originality and spontaneity and cultivated the notion of the artistic genius, the ideal Romantic era.
of an artist working alone and producing extraordinary and revolutionary work. The great
painters of the movement were Joseph Mallord William Turner (1789–1862), Francesço Goya
(1746–1828), Théodore Géricault (1791–1824), and Eugène Delacroix (1798–1863).

STYLISTIC FEATURES i
Emotive subject matter

Subjects that would engage the
i
Composition hearts of the audience were favored.
Fluid and dynamic compositions Géricault’s masterpiece, The Raft of
favoring motion rather than repose. the Medusa (see page 133), drama-
i
Technique tizes a human disaster for maximum
Direct brushing and fast execution effect.
generated from spontaneous energy. i
Exoticism
i
Drama Part of the program of Romanticism
Powerful lighting, strong contrast, was the desire to escape the then
and active movements of figures. nascent industrialization, with
its crowded cities and filthy air.
i
Nature
Delacroix, in particular, sought out
Romantics prized the experience of
exotic subjects, traveling to North
strong emotions in front of nature.
Africa and making many paintings of
Turner, for instance, reputedly
traditional Arab life.
strapped himself to the mast of a
ship in a storm so that he could later See also: Creativity on page 52; Imagination
paint the experience. He also sought on page 88
out highly dramatic views in the Alps
to obtain the greatest sense of awe
and wonder.

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 77 SCALE

SIZE AFFECTS MEANING AND EXPRESSION

The choice of scale can greatly affect the way that a work of art is experienced. Scale 1 Colossal Head of Constantine,
plays a considerable role in the kind of expression, feel, or almost any other intention c. 312 CE
that the artist is attempting to realize. Some scales are more appropriate to certain
kinds of expression. The original sculpture stood some
40 feet (12.2 m) high. Here, the
enormous size was used to project
imperial power.
i
Miniature i
Large
Very tiny works can exhibit quali- Here, the physical presence of a 2 Nicholas Hilliard (c. 1547–1619)
ties of compression, delicacy, and work can become its most over- Self-Portrait, 1577, Watercolor on
refinement of technique, as well as whelming feature. Yards of color on vellum put down on card, 1 5/8 in
considerable intimacy. The presenta- canvas or a sculpture that is much (41 mm) diameter
tion of an image on a small scale can larger than the viewer can be impos-
itself feel magical. Miniature works ing and may elicit a more powerful
also offer portability, a quality prized and physical response. The artist
by portrait miniaturists since the claims authority merely by adopting
Elizabethan era. such a scale. If the artist is inclined
to rhetorical flourishes or theatrical
i
Small
effects, they may be most effective
Works of a modest scale invite
at this scale.
intimacy. They can also present the
touch of the artist very well since the i
Gargantuan
scale of mark to that of the whole A number of artists, mostly working
work is usually somewhat larger. For in variations of land art, have pushed
artists with a delicate touch, a mod- the idea of scale to improbable
est scale can be a good choice. boundaries. Robert Smithson’s Spiral
Jetty, a construction on the shores
i
Medium
of the Great Salt Lake, involved
As the size of a work increases, its
moving thousands of tons of rock.
physical presence becomes more
Here, art intersects with engineering,
of a factor. Heavier paint and more
pushing the limits of what can be
theatrical subject matter may work
conceived as an art object.
better at a medium scale. Figure
paintings or sculptures will tend to See also: Land Art on page 100
feel more present the closer they get
to the actual size of a human being.

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 78 SEMIOTICS

A MODERN THEORY OF MEANING

Modern philosophy has given birth to a theory known as semiotics, or the doctrine of 1 David Teniers the Younger (1610–1690)
signs, which has developed a sophisticated set of ideas about the nature of meaning Two Peasants with a Glass of Wine,
and representation. Semiotics is essentially a broadening of linguistic philosophy to c. 1645, Oil on panel, 9 1/8 × 71/8 in
encompass means of communication other than language, including visual artifacts. The (23.2 × 18.1 cm)
principle exponents of this approach include Ferdinand de Saussure (1857–1913) and
Charles Sanders Peirce (1839–1914). 2 Osias Beert the Elder (1580–1624)
Dishes with Oysters, Fruit, and
Wine, c. 1620–1625, Oil on panel,
20 13/16 x 28 7/8 in (52.9 x 73.4 cm)
Semioticians hold that all thought takes The philosopher and critic Roland Barthes
place in terms of signs, which may only (1915–80) used a semiotic approach to In these two seventeenth-century
be interpreted accurately within the broad reveal what he called secondary signs, or Flemish paintings, a glass of wine is
cultural context in which they are manu- connotations, in cultural imagery. Thus a seen in very different contexts and
therefore takes on different mean-
factured. They assert that meaning in art representation of a bottle of wine might
ings. In the Teniers, it is an agent
is not held within an individual art object be attached to an image of good health of inebriation, part of the cheerfully
but is shared between all the signs and and conviviality. This would ignore the colorful peasant life that Teniers is
products of a culture. In order to under- negative connotations of inebriation and presenting for our entertainment.
stand a representation, the viewer needs potential societal damage. In the Beert, the wine glass forms
to have an experience of the subject or part of an elegant presentation of
high-quality food. It has become an
similar subjects and an experience of the
accessory of the good life, and an
world of signs particular to that culture. agent of high-class pleasure.
In the extreme view, some philosophers
hold that all human intercourse is simply
the exchange of signs within a culturally
determined system. Signs are the means
by which we experience meaning, and
individual signs only acquire meaning in
so far as they stand in relation with other
signs. As the French philosopher Jacques
Derrida (1930–2004) put it, “there is noth-
ing outside the text” (“il n’y a pas de
hors-texte”). Here the word “text” refers to
any cultural artifact.

1 2

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 79 SEMIOTICS 2: DECONSTRUCTION

A CRITICAL TECHNIQUE EXPOSES THE MANIPULATION OF MEANING

Semiotics has come to have great influence in the art world by providing a new critical 3 Gerret Willemsz Heda (1625–1649)
tool known as “deconstruction.” Jacques Derrida asserted that all “texts,” by which he Still Life with Ham, c. 1650, Oil on
meant any cultural artifact, create meaning by projecting opposites, such as body-soul, panel, 38¾ × 32½ in (98.5 × 82.5 cm)
passivity-activity, sensible-intelligible, or receptivity-spontaneity. Derrida maintained that
such values were not, in fact, true opposites, but constituted instead what he called a
“violent” domination of one of the two values. Their dynamic opposition invites the appre-
hension or acceptance of what might be called a false “middle value.” As such, they are
used, in some sense surreptitiously, to impose the normative cultural and political values
of the time upon the reader or viewer.

The task of the philosopher, and presum- Although useful, deconstruction as a critical
ably also the critic, is to undertake what method has severe limitations. In seeking to
Derrida termed a process, of “decon- identify signs, and through them explore
struction.” In this process the critic meaning, it ignores aesthetic qualities that
engages in exposing the nonrelevant lie at the heart of much art and its appre-
nature of the assumed opposites within ciation. Deconstruction cannot address
the text and substitutes other signs that the idea that the function of a work of art is
provide a new and more useful meaning. often not to convey meaning at all, but to
In other words, the critic exposes the provide an experience of pleasure.
connections between signs that function
to distort or shift meanings in directions
desirable to those who use them. For
example, a seventeenth-century Flemish
still life laden with food and fine glass-
ware might be “deconstructed” as an
assertion of the values of the era’s newly
wealthy middle class, promoting the
desirability of abundance over scarcity,
high quality food over simple food, lux-
ury items over coarse and cheap items.
The deconstructionist critic might assert
that the piece ignores other possibilities,
such as modesty, efficiency, restraint,
and the desirability of sharing wealth to
include the poor and needy.

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 80 SENSITIVITY AND SENSIBILITY

A DESIRABLE QUALITY AND A USEFUL PERSONALITY TRAIT

One of the most powerful things that art “Sensibility,” on the other hand, is a word 1 Antoine Watteau (1684–1721)
can do is to communicate sensitivity. The that refers to that quality in an individual A Man Reclining and a Woman
artist alerts the viewer to fine distinctions that allows him or her to respond with Seated on the Ground, c. 1716, Red,
in the perception of various features of feeling to people, the world, or works of black, and white chalk on brown laid
paper, 9½ × 14 1/8 in (24.1 × 35.9 cm)
the world. These can include color, tex- art. An artistic sensibility is a quality that
ture, line, tone, touch, and atmosphere. allows you to appreciate works of art and Watteau’s drawing displays exquisite
Jean Auguste Domnique Ingres’s graph- perhaps to make them. Similarly, a poetic sensitivity to line and touch, using
ite drawings are exquisitely sensitive sensibility would allow one to appreciate chalk with delicacy and liveliness. In
to nuances of shape and form and also poetry and perhaps have the ability to addition, he is supremely alert to the
display a great sensitivity to more narra- write it. nuance of posture and movement.
The tonal distinctions across the
tive qualities, such as carriage, posture,
white dress are also very fine.
and character. The paintings of Pierre
Bonnard (1867–1947), with their delicate,
hesitant touch and richly graduated
color, display an extraordinary sensitivity
to color interaction and surface touch.
The conté crayon drawings of Georges
Seurat (1859–1951) (see page 195) display
a refined sensitivity to minute changes in
tonal value. In looking at such works, the
viewer shares in a state of heightened
sensitivity and is thereby enriched and
pleasured.

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 81 SHAPE

A PRIMAL CONCEPT

Shape is one of the basic building blocks of our visual world. A shape is a discrete or sep- 1 Unknown artist
arated formation of edges that is perceived as an individual element. Part of our makeup Goethe facing a grave
as humans is that we apply our powers of recognition to shapes we are presented with. monument, 1780, Cut paper,
We are prone to find shapes that have meaning to us, such as faces, figures, and animals. 9 13/16 × 6 11/16 in (25 × 17 cm)
We are also sensitive to geometric formations and regularities. Our proclivity to try to
attach recognizable referents to indeterminate shapes is used in psychological practice 2 Don Voisine (1952–)
in the famous Rorschach test in which individuals are asked to describe what imagery Tilt, 2013, Oil on wood panel,
they can find in a series of ink blots. 16 × 12 in (40.6 × 30.5)

OPTIONS the same composition of nested

squares over hundreds of pictures
i
Silhouette in which a plethora of color ideas
This approach was named after were explored.
Étienne de Silhouette (1709–67),
a French finance minister whose i
Formal minimalism
austerity budget made his name The presentation of a single shape
synonymous with things cheap. became a hallmark of some minimal-
Making shadow portraits was ist work. Here, the completeness of a
becoming popular as a cheap way single shape, the idea that it is sim-
of securing a likeness in the second ply a single thought, no more and no
half of the eighteenth century. In a less, gives such work an intriguing
conventional silhouette, the subject authority. The work of the American
is presented as a flat black shape on painter Ellsworth Kelly (1923–) is a
a clean white background. This form prime example.
presents a number of advantages. i
Decorative
While the outside of the shape is very The ability of flat shape to provide
specific, its interior is unmodulated pleasing and engaging decorative
and therefore always somewhat mys- design has sometimes invaded the
terious and suggestive. world of painting. Artists such as
i
Geometric abstraction Raoul Dufy (1877–1953) and Henri
The presentation of geometric Matisse (1869–1954) made pictures
shapes, sometimes in rigidly formal in which fluidity of shape, stylish-
compositions, allows for the cre- ness, and suggestiveness were
ation of paintings that explore the combined in ways that were elegant,
relationship of shape and color. This sensual, and entertaining.
is particularly true of art that came
out of the Bauhaus, a German art
school active between the world
wars that championed the rela-
tionship of art and design. Joseph
Albers’s long series of paintings
Homage to the Square repeated

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 82 SHOCK

SHAKING UP THE STATUS QUO

One of the potential strengths of a work of art is its power to shock, a feat that is usually 1 Andres Serrano (1950–)
accomplished by flouting a social convention or breaking a taboo. The artwork trans- Piss Christ, 1987, Cibachrome print
gresses the cultural norms of the community or culture in which it is made and therefore mounted on Plexiglas, 40 × 37¾ in
faces ostracism. It may go on to garner support, in which case it will have functioned (101.6 x 96 cm)
to shift the culture’s conception of what is acceptable to its members. Otherwise it will
This photograph of a plastic crucifix
soon be consigned to oblivion. Shock art has the added potential of making the artist submerged in the artist’s urine
notorious and sometimes very famous. appeared at the Sensation exhibition
at the Brooklyn Museum in 1999.
The show elicited a lawsuit from the
mayor of New York.
A classic example is Manet’s Olympia, In the late twentieth century, there was
of 1863, a nude portrait of a well-known something of a vogue for artists who
courtesan painted in a manner that had set out to deliberately shock the public.
previously been reserved for classical In 1999, the Sensation exhibition at the
subjects (see Composition on page 45). Brooklyn Museum in New York included a
Here, Manet was exposing the mores work by Andres Serrano (1950–) entitled
of the wealthy, removing the scrim that Piss Christ, a photograph of a crucifix
polite society placed between itself and placed in a container of the artist’s urine.
its vices. Similarly, in 1913 the French art- In the same exhibition, British artist Chris
ist Marcel Duchamp exhibited Nude Ofili (1968–) exhibited The Holy Virgin Mary,
Descending the Staircase at the Armory an image of the Madonna fabricated from
Show in New York (see Movement on elephant dung and including images of
page 118). Painted in a loose version of female genitalia torn from pornographic
the Cubist style, the work shows a naked magazines. Both artists enjoyed enor-
woman in stop-action poses as she walks mous publicity. Whether their works will
down the staircase. Society at the time retain any lasting interest remains to be
found the idea of a nude in motion uncom- seen. The inherent problem with shock as
fortably suggestive. a strategy in art is that it wears off very
quickly, leaving the work exposed to more
thoughtful examination.

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 83 SIMPLIFICATION

REDUCING A STATEMENT TO ITS FUNDAMENTALS

Simplifying form, or editing complex situations into a readable set of forms or ideas, is 1 Cycladic female figurine, c. 2300
one of the foundational strategies of art. Many tribal cultures pursue an art based on BCE, Marble, 6 13/16 in (17.3 cm) high
severe simplification, and ancient civilizations generally rendered figures and settings
as simplified formations. More sophisticated simplification occurred in the Renaissance,
2 Piero della Francesca (1415–92)
particularly in the work of Piero della Francesca (1415–92), whose deep interest in
The Baptism of Christ, c. 1450,
Euclidean geometry led him to reduce forms towards the condition of geometric solids. Tempera on panel, 65¾ × 4511/16 in
A great deal of modern abstract art involves the reduction of appearances to sets of (167 × 116 cm)
simple forms. For example, the French artist Fernand Léger (1881–1955) reduced both
human and machine forms to highly simplified motifs, which he then built into almost
entirely flat compositions.

The process of simplification can be bro- The kind of expression that emerges
ken down into four stages: from a process of simplification can vary.
Constantin Brancusi (1876–1957) made
i
Objective
sculptures based on natural subjects
The subject is examined carefully.
that were reduced to simplified shapes
i
Analytic of great beauty, projecting a kind of
The central and distinguishing fea- purity of insight and sensual warmth.
tures of the subject are identified. On the other hand, many Expressionists,
i
Reductive such as Max Beckmann (1884–1950), sim-
Extraneous, unnecessary, confus- plified motifs to reveal a vision that was
ing, and distracting information is disturbing and at times brutal. Other art-
stripped away. ists, such as the Italian painter Giorgio
Morandi (1890–1964), deployed a process
i
Synthetic of simplification in order to yield a quiet
The remaining information is com- and suggestive vision. Rather than dic-
bined to make a new image that tate any one point of view, simplification
exhibits clarity and coherence. allows the artist to reveal his vision and
Simplification can be applied to any ele- present it in a concentrated, persuasive,
ment or feature of an artwork. Color can and accessible fashion.
be simplified, as can form, shape, mark, See also: Sufficiency of Means on page
and line. The process can be applied 182; Abstraction on page 10; Minimalism
equally to a contemporary video instal- on page 112
lation as it can be to an oil painting or a
monumental sculpture.

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 84 SPACE AND VOLUME

AN INVISIBLE ELEMENT CAN BE MANIPULATED, CONTAINED, AND DEFINED

The control of space and volume is central to much Western sculpture and is fundamental 1 Ely Cathedral (Interior),
to the art of architecture. The idea that space can be manipulated so that its presence Cambridgeshire, England
and shape become expressive is seen in the art of sculptors as diverse as Michelangelo
(1475–1564) and Alberto Giacometti (1901–66). The representation of space and volume on a The space is designed to move the
viewer’s eye upward, creating a
two-dimensional surface has also been a primary concern in painting over many centuries.
sense of awe and wonder.

2 Giovanni Paolo Panini (1691–1765)

Beacuse volume and space are largely In architecture, control of volume is the Interior of the Pantheon, Rome,
invisible, we comprehend them through immediate result of designing even the c. 1734, Oil on canvas, 50 3/8 × 39 in
the arrangement of surfaces, points, and simplest building. The long tradition of (128 × 99 cm)
colors. The manipulation of these elements religious architecture has bequeathed a
allows the artist to control the viewer’s large vocabulary of ways in which space The artist distorts the perspective
to provide a heightened experience
experience of space. can be managed and effects of hierarchy
of space.
and theatricality can be achieved. The tall,
Sculptural concerns with volume undoubt-
narrow volumes of the naves of gothic
edly begin with figurative sculpture.
cathedrals, for instance, with their soaring
Renaissance artists strove to achieve
arches, contrive to make the viewer look
an apprehension of clarity in volume and
upwards and heavenwards. Meanwhile,
space while understanding some of the
domestic spaces can be designed to feel
expressive possibilities inherent in con-
elegant, cozy, quaint, calming, inviting, or
trolling these elements.
many other qualities. In public and busi-
Modern sculptors, freed from the require- ness settings, modern architects control
ments of naturalistic description, have space to convey everything from splen-
been more adventurous in exploring these dor and opulence in an opera house foyer
possibilities. Space can feel squeezed, to a utilitarian business atmosphere in
open-ended, curved, structured, oppres- cubical office space.
sive, vast, or indeterminate. The English
See also: Mass on page 108
artist Henry Moore (1898–1986) made many
sculptures in which he abstracted the
human form in such a way that an inordi-
nate amount of spatial volume is made
palpable for the viewer. The Minimalist art-
ist Sol Lewitt (1928–2007) made sculptures
that were nothing more or less than sim-
ple frame structures of cubes that defined
space and volume in a quasi-scientific and
deliberately banal fashion. More spectac-
ularly, the American artist Richard Serra
(1939–) has made works in which narrow
volumes of space are contained within
monumental curving walls of steel, creating
a sense of oppression and even danger.

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 85 SPECTACLE

KNOCKING THE VIEWER’S SOCKS OFF

Art can sometimes become spectacle when it seeks primarily to bedazzle, entertain, or 1 Jeff Koons (1955–)
overwhelm the viewer. This has generally been the province of religious art and occa- Puppy, 1992, 488 × 327 × 358 in
sionally secular public art. The interiors of many religious buildings, including mosques, (1,240 × 830 × 910 cm), Steel frame-
Indian temples, and Western churches, are adorned with decorative or narrative imagery, work coated with fresh flowers.
Installed at the Guggenheim
amassed and displayed in a way intended to dazzle its audience. This kind of theatri-
Museum, Bilbao, Spain.
cality reached a zenith in Europe during the Counter-Reformation, when the Catholic
Church instituted a policy of using alluring decorative schemes to attract and maintain
its congregation. Rubens (1577–1640), in particular, became adept at creating spectacu-
lar altarpieces in which dynamic compositions, dramatic lighting, and powerful rendering
were united to make an extraordinary impression on those who saw them (see page 93).
Church decoration later in the Baroque era, such as that undertaken by the Tiepolo fam-
ily, engaged in trompe-l’oeil and perspectival distortions to create images that attempted
to transport the viewer to an entirely different spatial realm (see page 200).

The strain of modernism that embraced The problem with spectacle as art is
abstraction generally avoided spectacle that its impression on the audience is
in favor of quieter forms. In recent years, all too often very short-lived. Once view-
however, new endeavors in installation ers become acclimated to the scale and
and land art and new technical possibili- splendor of the production, they will look
ties in multimedia and interactive art have for more lasting interest or else simply
spawned a greater interest in spectacle as turn away.
art. The architecture of Frank Gehry (1929–),
particularly his Guggenheim Museum,
Bilbao, Spain, presents the building as a
spectacle of undulating and curving metal-
lic roof lines. Enormous outdoor sculptures,
such as Puppy by Jeff Koons (1955–), a
giant steel framework shaped like a dog
and festooned with thousands of flowers,
are designed to engage and overwhelm
the immediate attention of the viewer.
Other examples would include Rudolph
Stingel’s 2013 installation at Venice’s
Palazzo Grassi, whose every surface was
covered with enormous photo prints of a
Persian carpet. Many of the artworks of
Christo (1935–), involving wrapping whole
buildings or natural areas, invite consider-
ation primarily as spectacle.

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 86 STYLE AND STYLISHNESS

GROUPING ART ACCORDING TO MANNER AND LOOK

In the art world, “style” essentially means “in the manner of,” and applies to the charac- 1 Antoine Bourdelle (1861–1929)
teristic look and feel of the work of a particular artist or era. For instance, we talk about The Meditation of Apollo and the
“Louis XVI style,” meaning the look and feel of that monarch’s era. Or we can talk about Nine Muses, 1910–12,
the style of Rembrandt, meaning the look and feel of that master’s work. Some styles Bas-relief, 11 ft 6 in × 49 ft 10 in
(3.5 × 15.2 m)
are not attached to any one artist but refer to a vein of art making that runs through an
era. Art historians sometimes like to organize the history of art into distinct movements, An example of the style of Art Deco.
each of which exhibits a particular style or group of styles. Thus, we can talk about the
style of Mannerist painting or Baroque painting or Romantic painting. Such styles may
be further broken down into regional variations or variations within the time frame of the 2 Sir Anthony van Dyke (1599–1641)
style, such as Florentine Renaissance style as opposed to Roman Renaissance style, or Charles I out Hunting, 1635,
Oil on canvas, 107 1/8 × 83½ in
late Baroque style as opposed to early Baroque style.
(272 × 212 cm)

3 Aubrey Beardsley (1872–98)

The emergence of styles in art seems to be diminishing, implying that his work has Salome and John, 1892, Pen and ink
be a natural result of artists working at the merely to do with surface appearance. on paper, 8 13/16 × 6 3/16 in
same time, in the same geographic area, There are, however, exceptions. A portrait (22.3 × 15.7 cm)
and with similar influences and ideas. by Van Dyke (1599–1641) might be seen as
Styles continually change and mutate as stylish and also be an excellent painting; An example of the style of
Art Nouveau.
new ideas, concerns, looks, and features likewise a portrait by Whistler (1834–1903)
are invented or embraced. two centuries later. In both cases, these
great artists were seeking to reflect the
“Stylish,” has a narrower meaning. A work
style, dress, and presentation of an upper
of art is said to be stylish when it exhibits
class that was very much concerned with
a fashionable elegance delivered with a
surface and appearance. They painted
seemingly effortless surety and aplomb.
their subjects in a way that entered into
It is a quality attached to presentation
the sense of insouciance and ease that
and is generally thought of as something
those classes prized as qualities of
that doesn’t have a lot of substance. Fine
behavior and appearance.
artists are not happy to be known as styl-
ish unless it is central to their ambitions.
Thus, a society portrait painter might be
happy to be stylish, which would imply
that his manner is warmly acceptable to
those with a taste in current fashion. A
“serious” artist might find the sobriquet to

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 87 SUCCESSIVE APPROXIMATION

THE ARTWORK AS A JOURNEY

Successive approximation is a process whereby the artist makes statements that he 1 Jean-Honoré Fragonard (1732–1806)
or she then continually corrects, gradually arriving at the finished statement. The work Don Quixote Attacking the
alternates between creative generation and critical assessment. It proceeds as both a Biscayan, 1780s, Brush with brown
response to the subject matter and a response to what has already been achieved in and gray washes over charcoal on
laid paper, 16 5/16 × 115/16 in
the work.
(41.4 × 28.7 cm)

2 Alberto Giacometti (1901–66)

This process can be glimpsed in many Similarly, the Swiss artist Alberto Giacometti Portrait of Annette, 1961, Oil on can-
old master drawings where the artist has (1901–66), working later in the twentieth vas, 45 5/8 × 35¼ in (115.9 × 89.5 cm)
launched into the work but then adjusted century, made drawings, paintings, and
his first statements in a continuous process. sculpture that engaged in a long process
In a drawing by Jean-Honoré Fragonard of approximation and correction. For this 3 Paul Cézanne (1839–1906)
At the Water’s Edge, c. 1890,
(1732–1806) illustrating a scene from Don artist, the process created a gloriously
Oil on canvas, 28¾ × 36 7/16 in
Quixote, multiple marks and erasures are deep and unearthly sense of space in (73 × 92.5 cm)
visible, recording the struggle of the artist to drawings and paintings and a strangely
arrive at a successful composition. Similarly, thin and attenuated set of forms in his
in many paintings from the Romantic era, sculpture. In both cases, the artist saw
by artists such as Joseph Mallord William the works as unfinished. For him the
Turner (1789–1862), John Constable (1776– process of successive approximation
1837), and Eugène Delacroix (1798–1863), it remained open ended. “That’s the terrible
is possible to see that the artist has made thing,” he said, “the more one works on a
numerous changes during the course of the picture, the more impossible it becomes
work as he pushes both drawing and color to finish it.”
into position.
Prior to the late nineteenth century, artists
would conceal the process of successive
approximation in their finished work. The
idea that the work of art could incorpo-
rate the record of these changes in the
final state gradually took hold during
Impressionism, with its immediate and
fresh technique. The Postimpressionists
took things further. In the mature works
of Paul Cézanne (1839–1906), the artist
stood in front of his subject matter, usu-
ally a landscape or still life, and made
numerous attempts to record exactly
where he perceived the locations of var-
ious elements in his composition to be.
“Painting from nature is not copying the
object,” he once observed, “it is realizing
one’s sensations.” As he turned his head
or moved slightly, his perception of loca-
tion shifted. The painting becomes the
sum of its attempted approximations.

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 88 SUFFICIENCY OF MEANS

ECONOMY YIELDS EXPRESSIVE RICHES

Sufficiency of means is the idea that the This principle is sometimes expressed by 1 William-Adolphe Bouguereau
work of art is strongest when it achieves its the idea “Less is more,” a phrase first coined (1825–1905)
desired result in the most economical fash- by the English poet Robert Browning in Nymphs and Satyr, 1873, Oil on can-
ion possible. Each component, whether it his poem about the Renaissance painter vas, 102 3/8 × 70 7/8 in (260 × 180 cm)
be color, line, layering, or tone, is deployed in Andrea del Sarto (1486–1530). The opposite
a fashion that allows it to simply achieve its is true of the so-called “pompier style” aca- 2 Henri Matisse (1869–1954)
task and no more. Often this idea involves demic paintings of late nineteenth-century La Danse, 1909, Oil on canvas,
considerable editing, the removal of extra- France, where painters such as William- 102¼ × 153 9/16 in (259.7 × 390.1 cm)
neous material that is not germane to the Adophe Bouguereau (1825–1905) and
success of the artwork. Unnecessary detail, Jean-Léon Gérôme (1825–1905) indulged in Two paintings separated by thirty
years address similar subject
overplayed drama, excessive elements, a surfeit of descriptive drama and showy
matter in very different ways. The
tiresome overworking, theatrical flourishes illusionism to the detriment of the narrative Bouguereau is tediously rendered
might all be jettisoned so that the primary force of their paintings. Compare this to an and over described, while the
purpose of the artwork comes to the fore. earlier Neoclassical painting by Jacque- Matisse brilliantly reduces the sub-
Louis David (1748–1825) (see Classicsm ject to its essence.
and Rennissance on page 34) where
every element fulfills an exact function
within the composition, or to later modern-
ist works where nonessential description
is usually stripped away.
See also: Restraint on page 156

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 89 SURREALISM

MINING THE UNCONSCIOUS

Surrealism, a European art movement that developed in the years after World War I, 1 Max Ernst (1891–1976)
promoted the idea that the unconscious, nonrational mind was the appropriate guiding The Antipape, 1941–42, Oil on can-
force in art. The movement’s leader, André Breton (1896–1966), was inspired in part by his vas, 63¼ × 50 in (160.8 × 127 cm)
role as an army psychologist during the war where he used some of the ideas of Sigmund
Freud in his work with shell-shock victims. Freud regarded the dream as a means of
access to the subconscious mind. The Surrealists also found other ways to make the
unconscious accessible. For the writers, this involved “automatic writing,” and for the
visual artists, techniques such as frottage and decalcomania allowed for similar results.

Whether Surrealist artworks do actually i
Decalcomania

reveal the subconscious mind is an open A technique in which paint films
question. The movement did, however, are built up on paper and then
expand the range of what is possible pressed onto canvas. Once the
and acceptable in art and explored new paper is pulled away the paint is left
vocabularies in visual production. on the canvas in often surprising
formations. The artist then works to
discover images suggested by these
METHODOLOGY chance formations of the paint.
i
Automatic writing and drawing i
Juxtaposition
A technique in which the artist puts The idea that unlikely combinations
himself into a sort of passive trance of images can yield subversive and
and allows his hand to move without poetic meanings. André Breton
control on the paper. This was a described it in 1924 as “a juxtapo-
practice first used by “spiritists” in sition of two more or less distant
the nineteenth century. realities. The more the relationship
i
Frottage between the two juxtaposed reali-
A technique in which the artist ties is distant and true, the stronger
places a sheet of paper over a tex- the image will be—the greater its
tured surface and makes a rubbing. emotional power and poetic reality.”
She then looks at the image and See also: Juxtaposition on page 96
allows it to suggest shapes and
images which can then be worked
up. The word “frottage” was appro-
priated by the Surrealists from its
traditional use in French as a refer-
ence to sexual rubbing.

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 90 SYMBOLS

BROADLY ACCEPTED REFERENTS

A symbol is a visual element that stands for something else. It may depict the thing 1 Hans Holbein the Younger (1497–1543)
that it represents, but this is not a requirement. It is merely necessary that there is an The Ambassadors, 1533, Oil on oak,
understanding within the culture in which it is produced as to the meaning of the symbol. 81½ × 82½ in (209.5 × 207 cm)
Almost anything can be symbolized, including ideas, the elements, danger, groups, or
nations. For example, a yellow triangle often symbolizes a road hazard, a linear repre-
2 Keith Haring (1958–90)
sentation of a fish symbolizes Christianity, and a hammer and sickle together symbolize Tuttomondo Wall Painting, 1989,
Communism. Religious symbols, such as the cross or the Star of David, readily commu- detail, Pisa, Italy
nicate their meaning to a wide audience, while national symbols, in the form of flags, are
used throughout the world. Internationally recognized symbols for poison, radioactivity,
and quarantine are immensely valuable.

In the visual arts, the manipulation of sym- Symbols can be used in a more basic
bols allows artists to convey meaning fashion, as letters or numerals, to refer
in many ways. Symbols are sometimes to sounds, intellectual constructs, or lan-
placed within otherwise descriptive or guage systems. There appears to be a
narrative paintings to clarify and reinforce close relationship between the develop-
their meaning. Thus, in Raphael’s Saint ment of symbols and the emergence of
Catherine of Alexandria (page 45), the written language. Egyptian hieroglyphs,
wheel on which the saint is leaning is for instance, began with pictographs—
symbolic of her death. She was broken collections of representations of objects
on a wheel. A more complex exam- and simple ideas—then gradually became
ple is found in The Ambassadors by less descriptive and more symbolic as
Hans Holbein the Younger (1497–1543), they were incorporated into the syntax
painted in 1533. A portrait of two promi- of language.
nent ambassadors to the English court, A number of modern painters have played
the work includes a wealth of symbols with the possibilities offered by simple
relating to scientific and religious ideas and even primitive symbols. Keith Haring
and includes an anamorphic (stretched (1958–90) evolved a visually potent series
out) representation of a skull, the tradi- of symbols that he often deployed as
tional symbol of death. graffiti in public places.
When a painting functions primarily as an See also: Allegory on page 112
interplay between various symbolic ele-
ments, it is known as an allegory.
1

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 91 SYMMETRY

THE JOYS OF PERFECT BALANCE

Symmetry is a quality of ideal balance, where each half of a picture or sculpture is a perfect 3 The Taj Mahal, 1632–53
mirror image of the other. In art, symmetry is generally vertical, which is to say that the
central axis runs from top to bottom of the artwork. This is known as “bilateral symmetry.” An essay in quiet presence based on
exact symmetry.

Symmetrical images convey a sense of The downside of symmetry is that its very
frontality and stability and can be par- stability can lead to a lack of drama. The
ticularly powerful in creating a sense of eye can be somewhat bored looking at
presence. Because the human body is an exactly balanced image that repeats
more or less symmetrical, we perhaps the same information on either side of an
associate symmetry with the presence of axis. This sets up the possibility of explor-
another being. ing near-symmetry, the idea that the eye
is interested in an image that promises
This quality of presence conveyed by sym-
symmetry but then delivers subtle dif-
metrical images has been used over the
ferences between the two sides of the
millennia in religious art. There are many
image.
examples, ranging from Byzantine, medi-
eval, Renaissance, and Baroque paintings, Symmetry plays a larger role in the decora-
where a religious figure or part thereof is tive arts and in architecture and furniture
presented symmetrically. The central image design. The advantages of symmetry in
of Christianity, the cross, is a symmetrical decorative schemes is self-evident, while
image, as is the Star of David. Similarly, in the construction of buildings around a
tribal cultures, masks, costumes, and sculp- central axis offers opportunities for bal-
ture are often symmetrical, suggesting and anced aesthetics and ease of use. In the
conveying presences both human and design of religious structures, the sense
supernatural. This quality was exploited to of presence offered by symmetry clearly
great effect by the American painter Mark plays a role.
Rothko (1903–70), whose abstract paintings See also: Balance on page 24; Religiosity
presented soft-edged rectangles in verti- on page 150
cally symmetrical arrangements.

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 92 TEMPORARY ART

IGNORING POSTERITY

Temporary, or ephemeral art, is designed to last for a limited period of time. Over the cen- 1 Steven Siegel (1953–)
turies, artists have often made temporary or occasional works, but in general, artworks New Geology #2, 1992, Newsprint,
have been regarded as precious objects and constructed with an eye toward perma- 5 × 10 × 10 ft (1.5 × 3 × 3 m)
nence. In the twentieth century, however, some artists made works that were designed
The artist amasses a simple and
to change, decay, or collapse altogether in relatively short periods of time. The impetus
massive geometric form from
for this approach grew out of anti-art movements such as Dadaism in the early twentieth layered newspapers. The sculpture
century. It gained new strength from the Land Art and Conceptual Art movements in then decays over a number of years
the 1960s and ’70s, whose adherents subscribed to the notion that the most important and is slowly subsumed into the
component of an artwork is not an object but rather an idea. natural environment.

VARIETIES i
Works that are designed to

actively self-destruct
i
Works that undergo a process of The artist Jean Tinguely (1925–91)
natural decay made a number of kinetic sculp-
The German artist Dieter Roth (1930– tures that physically destroyed
98), for example, made a number themselves. In a rather different
of biodegradable sculptures using approach, the Swiss artist Urs
foodstuffs ranging from cheese to Fischer (1973–) has made elaborate
sausage meat. figurative sculptures from candle
i
Works that can only be entertained wax. Wicks are placed in them and
at a location for a limited period lit, allowing the sculpture to slowly
The French artist Christo (1935–), for melt and disintegrate.
instance, made many site-specific See also: Conceptual Art on page 46;
works that were announced to run Land Art on page 100
for a specific period before being
dismantled. His Gates, in 2005, was
a construction of 7,503 gates draped
with saffron fabric spread over 23
miles (37 km) of pathways in New
York’s Central Park. It was allowed to
be in place for only two weeks.
i
Works that are constructed in
natural environments that will
eventually obliterate them
Many practitioners of land art pur-
sue forms that are ephemeral. The
English artist Richard Long (1945–)
has made many pieces out of local
materials, piles of stones, and
shapes drawn into the earth that
will have a relatively short lifespan.

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 93 TEXTURE

AN ESSENTIAL ATTRIBUTE AS AN EXPRESSIVE ELEMENT

Both sculpture and painting allow for the creation and use of texture, a feature that can 1 Anselm Kiefer (1945–)
be central to the sense of an artwork. In addition, the art of painting allows for the depic- Dein aschenes Haar Sulamith, 1981,
tion or reproduction of textures. The sensual excitement afforded by texture, whether Oil on canvas with collage,
real or perceived, is increased by the presence of multiple textures. The experience of 51 5/8 × 66 7/8 in (131 × 170 cm)
variety, of moving from one texture to another, allows for the comparison of rough with
smooth, shiny with dull, granulated with grooved. 2 François Boucher (1703–70)
Toilet of Venus, 1751, Oil on canvas,
42 5/8 × 33½ (108.3 × 85.1 cm)

Sculpture offers the greatest opportunity The manipulation of the surface texture of
in deploying texture as an expressive ele- painting begins with Impressionism, when
ment. David Smith (1906–65), for example, thick brushstrokes of broken color make a
would often use a handheld grinder to more assertive surface than traditional
create a highly dramatic and sometimes techniques. The Postimpressionists, in
brutal texture on his works in steel. particular Van Gogh, began to deploy
much heavier paint, displaying an
Painting offers the opportunity to manipu-
entirely more physical brushstroke than
late both real texture on the surface of the
previous painters.
painting and depicted texture within the
picture. Prior to the late nineteenth cen- In the twentieth century, abstract painters
tury, the prevailing convention in Western quickly recognized the creative possibility
art was to make paintings with smooth of texture. Both Picasso and Braque built
surfaces. Many artists, however, embraced textures into their Cubist works, through
texture as a subject. The eighteenth- techniques of collage and through tex-
century French painter François Boucher turing areas of paint by combing it or
(1703–70) used multiple textures in his otherwise working it. In postwar art, many
Toilet of Venus. Satin, silk, velvet, flesh, of the American Abstract Expressionists
polished metal, and stone are included, incorporated texture in their work both by
making a great contribution to the sensual building heavy surfaces and by deploying
nature of the work. additives, such as sand or other materi-
als. In recent years, perhaps the most
dramatic use of texture has come from
the German artist Anselm Kiefer (1945–),
whose large-scale works have deployed
everything, including poured lead, rocks,
stone, and tree branches, to create
immensely powerful textured surfaces.

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 94 THEME

PURSUING AN IDEA

A theme is an overall idea that carries through a work or a series of works. The expres- 1 Domenico Tiepolo (1727–1804)
sion and elaboration of the theme may be the goal of the artist in producing the work. In Frontispiece, 1797, Pen and ink with
other cases, themes emerge as the artist pursues other ideas or ambitions. Themes are wash on paper, 16 × 11½ in
often supported by motifs, repeated elements that can have both symbolic and struc- (40.6 cm × 29.2 cm)
tural value. (See Motif on page 116.)
Punchinello’s Father Brings Home
the Bride, 1797, Pen and ink with
wash on paper, 14 × 18 13/16 in
i
Narrative (35.5 × 47.7 cm)
APPROACHES
A series of works forms a narrative
i
Philosophical Two of the more than a hundred
that displays a theme and varia- drawings that the artist made on the
The artist pursues a theme to tions. Domenico Tiepolo (1727–1804) theme of Punchinello. The inscription
convey an idea. For instance, in The produced a series of more than a in the frontispiece means “An enter-
Disasters of War, (see page 133) a hundred pen and ink drawings on tainment for children.”
series of etchings by Goya (1746– the theme of Punchinello, a rather
1828), the artist pursues the theme hapless, but amusingly clownish,
of the senselessness of violence stock character in the Commedia
brought about by human conflict. dell’Arte. The narrative is extremely
Each image shows an instance of loose, but each image presents a
the theme in action or in some way dramatic situation that reveals and
that relates to the theme. elaborates on the nature and behav-
i
Abstract ior of the central character.
A visual idea is carried through See also: Narrative on page 120; Motif
a number of works and explored on page 116; Politics and Polemics on
through multiple variations. Robert page 132
Motherwell’s series of paintings,
Elegy for the Spanish Republic,
explores variations on a series of
abstract visual motifs in the con-
text of an overall comment on the
demise of the democratic move-
ment in Spain. The artist called
it “a funeral song for something
one cared about.” An even more
abstract example is Joseph Albers’s
series Homage to the Square, in
which the artist explored the theme
of color interaction within a single
geometric composition over several
hundred paintings.

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 95 TONE AS STRUCTURE

TONAL RELATIONSHIPS IN REPRESENTATIONAL ROLES

Tone is the property of relative lightness or darkness of an object. The human eye has an 1 Gray Scale
extraordinary sensitivity to tone, which is registered by an array of sensors on the retina
called rods. Each eye contains approximately 94 million rods, each of which is capable of
recording light levels down to a single photon. 2 Monochrome Tonal Scale

3 This pixelated image shows the

power of tone to secure an illusion.
In painting and drawing, tonal values can i
Tone can be manipulated to consid-
In the second image, the tonal range
be used for a variety of purposes: erable expressive effect. Caravaggio is narrowed but the image remains
(1571–1610) was probably the first art- intact. The tones remain in the same
i
Tone can be used to distinguish
ist to fully exploit the theatrical relationship to each other.
between elements.
qualities of tonal rendering.
i
Tone is employed to create form and Rembrandt (1606–69) often dra-
secure the illusion of consistent light 4 Rembrandt (1606–69)
matically illuminated key elements
The Night Watch, 1642, Oil on can-
throughout a painting or drawing. The within a painting, as did Velázquez vas, 14111/16 × 173¼ in (360 × 440 cm)
artist creates a range of tones from (1599–1660), Eugène Delacroix (1798–
light to dark that correspond to the 1863), and many others. Conversely, The massing of areas of deep tone
range that is displayed in the subject in the late nineteenth century, James allows the artist to guide the viewer’s
matter. As long as the tones in the McNeill Whistler (1834–1903) often attention to the illuminated figures in
painting are established in the same the foreground.
reduced contrast to create a sense
order as they are in the subject, then of elegant calm and wistfulness.
the illusion will work. Extreme contrast is often deployed 5 Georges Seurat (1859–91)
i
To make a tonal illusion function, it is in expressionist works where drama The Artist’s Mother, 1882– 3, Conté
not necessary to re-create the abso- and emotive response are required. crayon on laid paper, 12 × 9 3/16 in
(30.5 × 23.3 cm)
lute value of the tones in the subject Tonal relationships can be established
matter. Rather it is only necessary to independently of color as a gray scale. The artist builds a drawing that is
create the same relationships. The Similarly, monochrome color can be used entirely tonal—no lines are used at
range can therefore be extended or in a purely tonal fashion. all. This is an example of the sugges-
reduced by the artist for particular tive power of tone.
effects. For instance, a subject that
has little contrast can be painted 6 James McNeill Whistler (1834–1903)
with much higher contrast using Symphony in White #1, 1862,
lighter highlights and darker darks. Oil on canvas, 84¼ × 42½ in
(214 × 108 cm)

Whistler uses a background that

is tonally very close to that of the
girl’s dress to create a delightfully
gentle effect.

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 96 TOUCH COMMUNICATES

A PHYSICAL CONNECTION WITH THE ARTIST

Many artworks present traces of the physical touch of the artist in the form of brush- 1 Frans Hals (1580–1666)
strokes, fingermarks, chisel marks, and so forth. The nature of the marks made by an Portrait of a Member of the
artist establish a strong bond with the viewer and provide a conduit for expression. In Haarlem Civic Guard, c. 1636– 38,
looking at a painting, the viewer empathizes with the kind of stroke made and under- Oil on canvas, 337/8 × 27 3/16 in
stands immediately whether it is firm, angry, tender, delicate, rough, strident, or forceful. (86 × 69 cm)
Similarly, in certain kinds of sculpture, the touch of the artist is revealed as clay is pushed
Hals’s warm and sure touch is
around or stone surfaces are carved and chiseled. revealed as he places successive
layers of paint.

Usually the artist’s touch is a secondary The communication of this fundamental, 2 Vincent van Gogh (1853–90)
feature of a work of art, something that is almost biological, information about the The Olive Orchard (Detail), 1889, Oil
displayed while the artist goes about his or artist comes to the fore in much expres- on canvas, 28¾ × 36¼ in
her business. In a painting by Rembrandt sionist art, where the marks made often (73 × 92.1 cm)
(1606–69), the artist is generally working appear to carry a sense of the artist’s state
The energetic, speedy, and intense
to secure form by building tonal and color of mind. Qualities of urgency, obsession, quality of Van Gogh’s attack is matched
relationships. The display of his brush frenetic energy, and exquisite delicacy, by his heavy and luscious touch.
mark is to some extent a byproduct of for instance, can be readily conveyed by
the process of placing and layering paint. a sense of touch. Likewise, negative quali-
Similarly, in an Impressionist painting ties such as heavy-handedness, clumsiness,
where small brush marks laden with color thoughtlessness, and weakness can also be
are being carefully amassed throughout apprehended through touch.
the painting, the artist’s touch and feel will See also: Brush Techniques on page 30
be left visible on the surface, an almost
inevitable result of his or her endeavors.
This allows the viewer to appreciate the
minute physical movements involved in
making the work and thereby to connect
in a visceral way with the artist.

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 97 TRIBAL ART

AN INTEGRATED ROLE FOR ART

“Tribal” art refers to art made by people living in communities that are cut off from, or only 1 Figure with chin resting on
recently acquainted with, the international community. These cultures are nonliterate, his knee, c. 6 th century BCE,
generally organized into small villages, and subsistent on hunting and gathering along Nok sculpture, Nigeria, Terra cotta,
with some small-scale agriculture. Europeans first became interested in the art made by 14¼ in (36.8 cm) high
such peoples in the second half of the nineteenth century when African and Oceanic
artifacts were imported in quantity. Painters, in particular Picasso, were impressed by the
stark power of many of the masks and figures.

A question remains, however, as to whether Most tribal art is integrated into ritualistic
tribal art is actually art at all in the strictly practices or otherwise forms a ceremonial
European sense. It may be that our com- role within the community. Anthropologist
prehension of it is entirely the result of a Alfred Gell suggests that many tribal arti-
Eurocentric outlook that knows little of the facts have a “magical utility,” in which
context in which it was made or the pur- their form and decoration assist with
poses for which it was designed. Moreover, some important task. The decoration on
the artifacts that have been imported are a spear, for instance, may help it to its tar-
generally of the more portable variety. Left get. Or a carved head may hold the spirit
behind are more ephemeral forms, such as of some ancestor. Clearly, without know-
dance, body art, or art made from perish- ing this cultural context, an outsider may
able materials. be hard pressed to fully understand the
nature of the artifact. Conversely, other
authorities contend that tribal art is read-
ily accessible and that qualities such as
rhythm, balance, coloration, and strength
are valued as they are in Western art.
Artworks are generally made by special-
ists within the community and are set
aside as objects of respect, just as they
are in the West. The very large amount of
tribal art that represents the human figure,
or heads, forms a simple, direct connec-
tion with all humans. As the philosopher
Dennis Dutton (1944–2010), in his book
The Art Instinct, points out, “The pas-
sionate, imaginative visions of tribal arts,
expressing as they often do modes of life
and thought which have been abandoned
since contact with Western culture, have
significantly expanded the West’s notion
of how art can mean.” 

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 98 TROMPE L’OEIL

DECEPTION AS ART

Trompe l’oeil is the attempt to deceive the Since the mastery of representational 1 Andrea Pozzo (1642–1709)
viewer’s eye into believing that a repre- techniques achieved in the Renaissance, Fresco, 1703, Jesuit Church, Vienna
sentation is actually the thing itself. This trompe l'oeil has made regular appear-
ambition for perfect imitation goes back to ances. In general its use divides into The creation of illusionistic ceiling
paintings began with Mantegna
Greek art. Aristotle, in The Poetics, writes, three areas:
and Melozzo da Forli in the fifteenth
“The instinct of imitation is implanted
i
Architectural century. By the mid-sixteenth
in man from childhood, one difference century, artists had discovered how
Mural and ceiling paintings attempt
between him and other animals being that to integrate such illusions into the
to convince the viewer that non-
he is the most imitative of living creatures, perspective of architecture. The
existent spaces and architectural spectacular theatricality of such
and through imitation learns his earliest
adornments are present. effects was well suited to the ambi-
lessons; and no less universal is the plea-
tions of the Counter-Reformation and
sure felt in things imitated.” In his Naturalis i
Easel painting
its attempt to attract congregations
Historia, Pliny the Elder tells the tale of Creation of the illusion that elements with visual splendor. Here a faux
a contest between two Greek painters, are projecting out in front of the dome is created in the ceiling. Such
Zeuxis and Parrhasius. Zeuxis painted a picture plane an illusion only works perfectly from
bunch of grapes with such verisimilitude a specific viewpoint.
i
Diversion
that birds swooped down in an attempt An element used as an amusing or
to pluck them. He then asked Parrhasius diverting addition to another work of 2 William Michael Harnett (1848–1892)
to pull aside the curtain covering his own art. A highly realistic fly, for instance, The Old Violin, 1886, Oil on canvas,
painting only to discover that the curtain might be painted on top of a picture 38 × 23 5/8 in (96.5 × 60 cm)
was, in fact, a painted image. Parrhasius or even on the frame.
was declared the winner. “I have deceived Harnett specialized in still life
the birds,” said Zeuxis, “but Parrhasius has See also: Representation on page 154 paintings in which objects appear
to be projected into real space in
deceived Zeuxis.” front of the canvas. He perfected
an approach that first appeared in
seventeenth-century Dutch painting.

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 99 UNDERPAINTING

A VERSATILE TECHNIQUE BESTOWS DEPTH, RICHNESS OF COLOR, AND SOLIDITY

Underpainting is a technique that allows for the creation of greater depth and solidity in a 1 Nanette Fluhr
painting. Although there are many variations, the most common procedure is to execute Demonstration, Oil on canvas
a monochrome version of an image, usually in a warm brown. Another popular option is
simply to use black and white, a procedure known as grisaille. The underpainting may be An initial thin underpainting in a
warm brown establishes the draw-
worked until it is a fairly full account of the image and then allowed to dry. The artist will
ing and the tonal arrangement. A
then build on top of it using glazes, semitransparent layers of paint, or stippled brushing thicker coat of paint is then applied
so that the presence of the underpainting layer is at least partially visible through the on top, building heavily into the
succeeding layers. As the paint builds, the artist manipulates the color and interaction lights but leaving the shadows a
between the upper and lower layers, creating both an increased sense of depth and little more transparent.
added richness of color.
2 Maxfield Parrish (1870–1966)
The Lantern Bearers, 1908, Oil on
canvas on board, 40 × 32 in
Many Renaissance painters preferred a As well as reinforcing the spatial depth
(101.6 × 81.3 cm). Published in
two-stage underpainting beginning with of a painting, monochrome underpaint- Collier’s magazine, December 10, 1910
a thin drawing in a warm earth color fol- ing has other advantages. It allows the
lowed by a tonal rendering in verdaccio, painter to separate the tasks of drawing Parrish uses a brown underpainting
a mixture of mars black and yellow ochre and tonal distribution from that of color. for the foreground figures but no
that forms a dull green hue. This cool This makes the work simpler, increasing underpainting for the lamps or sky.
This results in increased luminosity
layer sitting on top of the warm drawing the artist’s ability to closely control the
for the lamps and sky while the artist
created color activity that readily mim- development of the image. builds subtle glazes of muted color in
icked the play of shadows on flesh. A full the figures and steps to give them a
See also: Form Rendered on page 80
color layer was then worked on top using shadowy density.
glazes or semitransparent paint. This was
the technique that Leonardo da Vinci
used for his Mona Lisa.
Underpainting can also be used to more
dramatic and expressive effect by deploy-
ing more powerful hues. The American
illustrator Maxfield Parrish (1870–1966)
would often begin a work with a mono-
chrome rendering in ultramarine blue.
Once it was dry, he would work on top of it
with multiple layers of glaze so that in the
finished work, a blue glow emanated from
the piece. The effect was suggestive of
magical and otherworldly realms, and per-
fectly reinforced the artist’s imaginative
and visionary transformation of the world.

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 100 VIDEO ART

BRINGING THE SCREEN TO THE ART GALLERY

Video art is a genre that came into being in the late 1960s, when consumer portable video 1 Nam June Paik (1932–2006)
cameras were first manufactured. The form is distinguished from film and television by its Self-Portrait. c. 1982, Video installa-
lack of adherence to traditional expectations of entertainment and diversion. A work of video tion with sculpture
art may very well not have plot, actors, discernible action, or coordinated sound. It may not
even show recognizable imagery at all, or it may deliberately distort or otherwise mutilate the
imagery. Early video artists were interested in challenging the viewer’s assumptions about
what might be presentable on a television screen as well as exploring the expressive possi-
bilities available outside the conventions of commercial film and television.

STRATEGIES i
Abstract
Electronic synthesizers and digi-
i
Real time tal graphic software allow for the
Early video artists quickly discov- creation of video images without the
ered that video enabled extremely use of a camera. Modern comput-
long takes, far longer than a viewer ers can generate and animate both
might normally expect. The idea imagery and text in almost any way
of showing something in real time, imaginable.
however tedious, carried with it a
new kind of authority, the possibility i
Combination
of viewing an unedited world. Bruce Video art can be combined with
Nauman (1941–), for instance, left installation art or even with tradi-
the camera running in his studio tional media, such as sculpture or
overnight, capturing only a few mice painting. Nam June Paik (1932–2006),
and his prowling cat in many hours one of the pioneers of video, made a
of footage. famous piece, TV Buddha, in which
a bronze statue of the Buddha sits
i
Multiple display contemplating a small Sony portable
By 1969, new technology allowed for TV showing an image of this same
the screening of coordinated videos Buddha streamed from a camera
on multiple screens. At this point, above the TV.
the video also became an installa-
tion work and presaged the onset The advent of much cheaper and more
of multimedia presentations. Early powerful video and editing hardware
works, such as Wipe Cycle by Ira and software in the 1990s and 2000s
Schneider, concentrated on mixing gives contemporary artists unbounded
disparate images and moving them possibilities in manipulating imagery
from screen to screen in a more or and sound. The growth of multimedia
less choreographic fashion. technology in which video, audio, large-
screen projection, and live action can be
mixed has, to some extent, subsumed
video art as a form.

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VIDEO ART | 205

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 CREDITS

AMBIGUITY EXPRESSION IN THE ABSTRACT

The Mountain, Balthus. Photo: © Alfonso Vicente / Alamy Rosy-Fingered Dawn at Louse Point, Willem de Kooning.
Photo: © Peter van Evert / Alamy
APPROPRIATION
Andy Warhol Flowers, Richard Pettibone. GENDER
Photo: © Presselect / Alamy Abundance: Shoes, Claudia DeMonte. © The artist.
Photo courtesy of June Kelly Gallery, New York.
AUTHENTICITY AND OUTSIDER ART
Henry Darger image courtesy of the American Folk Art Museum. INSTALLATION
Installation at the Rose Art Gallery, Brandeis University.
Judy Pfaff. Photo: Boston Globe / Getty Images
COLLAGE AND ASSEMBLAGE
Man with Pipe, Georges Braque. Photo: © SuperStock / Alamy
INTERACTIVE ART
Specific Hungers, Kathy Bruce. © The artist.
The Gift, Birthe Blauth. © The artist. Photo courtesy of the artist
Photo courtesy the artist.
and 532 Gallery Thomas Jaeckel, New York.
Dream, Reginald Case. Photo courtesy of Bonnie Case.

JUXTAPOSITION
COLOR AS LIMIT
Son of Man, René Magritte.
The Zorn Palette. Image and photograph courtesy of © Heritage Image Partnership Ltd / Alamy
Michael Lynn Adams.

KINETIC ART
CONCEPTUAL ART
Trigger Fish, David Beck. © The artist. Photo courtesy of Hackett
No Secret Painting XI. Art and Language. © The artist. Mill Gallery, San Francisco, CA.
Photo courtesy of Lisson Gallery, London.

LAND ART
CONSISTENCY OF VISUAL LANGUAGE
Mapping Arcadia, Cazenovia and the Topography of Place,
Idyll, Francis Picabia. Photo: © ACTIVE MUSEUM / Alamy Alastair Noble. Photos courtesy of the artist.

DISTORTION LAYERS
Fang Mask, Gabon. Photo. Marie-Lang Nguyen. Yangon, Joan Thorne. © The artist. Photo courtesy of Sideshow
Released into public domain. Gallery, New York, NY.

EROTIC ART MATERIALS AS ART

Kiss Painting, Betty Tompkins. © The artist. Photo courtesy of Kitchen, Liza Lou. © The artist. Collection of the Whitney Museum
Galerie Rodolphe Janssen, Brussels. Private Collection. of American Art, New York. Photo by Bruce Osborn provided by
the artist.

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 MINIMALISM SUCCESSIVE APPROXIMATION
Untitled, Donald Judd. Photo: © Presselect / Alamy Portrait of Annette, Alberto Giacometti.
Photo: © Peter Horree / Alamy
OP ART
Zephyr, Bridget Riley. Photo: © Daily Mail/Rex / Alamy. SURREALISM
The Antipape, Max Ernst.
Vassarely paintings at auction. Photo: © Press2000 / Alamy
Photo: © Heritage Image Partnership Ltd / Alamy

PERFORMANCE ART
SYMBOLS
BEBECHY, Krzysztof Zarebski. Courtesy of the artist.
Tuttomondo Wall Painting (detail), Keith Haring.
Photo: Zosia Zeleska-Bobrowski.
Photo: © age fotostock / Alamy
Zero Gravity, Nadja Verena Marcin. Courtesy of the artist.
Photo: Violetta D’Agata. Sponsored by WARP & Aurora Aerospace.
TEMPORARY ART
New Geology #2, Steven Siegel. Photo courtesy of Marlborough
POLITICS AND POLEMICS
Gallery, New York, NY.
F-111, James Rosenquist. Photo: © Peter Horree / Alamy

TEXTURE
PROCESS AS MEANING
Dein aschenes Haar Sulamith, Anselm Kiefer.
Autumn Rhythm Number 30, Jackson Pollock. Photo: © Peter Horree / Alamy
Photo: © Peter Horree / Alamy
Untitled, Robert Morris. Image courtesy ARS. UNDERPAINTING
Demonstration, Nanette Fluhr. Photos courtesy of the artist.
REPETITION
Nine Jackies, Andy Warhol. © Peter Horree / Alamy VIDEO ART
Self-Portrait, Nam June Paik. Photo: AFP/Getty Images
RHYTHM
Dassin, Melissa Meyer. © The artist. Photo courtesy of Lennon,
Weinberg Gallery, New York. Private Collection.

SHAPE
Tilt, Don Voisine. © The artist. Photo courtesy of McKenzie Fine
Art, New York.

SHOCK ART
Piss Christ, Andres Serrano. © The artist. Photo Bridgeman
Archive. Many thanks to the artist for waiving his rights fee.

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 ABOUT THE AUTHOR
A highly-regarded painter and widely-published writer on Parks has been a member of the faculty at the School of
art and art techniques, John A. Parks trained at the Royal Visual Arts in New York since 1979, where he has taught
College of Art in London in the 1970s and subsequently courses in painting and drawing at every level, from under-
pursued a career in New York, exhibiting his work with graduate to post-graduate. He began writing about art in
several of the most renowned art galleries in the city. His the early 1990s. His published work has explored a very
painting has received considerable critical acclaim. In The broad array of subjects, ranging from profiles of contem-
New York Times, John Russell dubbed him a “true poet in porary artists such as Lucien Freud and Wayne Thiebaud,
paint,” and Times critic Roberta Smith recently described to historical figures such as Rubens, Raphael, and Whistler.
his work as a “treat to discover.” Parks' paintings are rep- His writings on art technique also cover considerable
resented in a number of museum collections, including the ground, including a major article on the painting technique
Victoria and Albert Museum in London, and the Museum of of Velázquez as well as pieces on quill pen drawing, water-
the Rhode Island School of Design. color, and gouache techniques. Parks makes his home in
Dutchess County, New York.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
I would like to acknowledge the generous help and support Lennon, Weinberg Gallery, New York; and Thomas Jaeckel
from everyone who has contributed to this project. In par- Gallery, New York, for coordinating contact with their art-
ticular, I would like to thank Steven Heller for suggesting ists and providing high-quality reproductions. Lastly, many
my involvement in the first place. I also owe a considerable thanks to my wife, Melanie Marder Parks, for her careful
debt to my editor, Emily Potts, for her highly professional first reading of the manuscript and her many suggestions
and thoughtful guidance. The coordination of the all the and corrections.
reproductions and rights could not have been accom-
plished without the work of Renae Haines and all the
folks at Rockport Publishers. The staff of the libraries of JOHN A. PARKS
the School of Visual Arts and Bard College could not have
been more helpful. Nanette Fluhr was extremely kind to do
a demonstration of underpainting technique, and Michael
Lynn Adams was generous in providing his immaculate
color chart of the Zorn palette. Thank you to all the con-
tributors for being so forthcoming with reproductions. My
gratitude is also due to the staff at Lisson Gallery, London;

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