Domain Four - Visual Art

Question 1

Balance: Asymmetrical and Symmetrical

Answer 1

Sense of visual stability in a composition - harmonious arrangement of elements in order to create a feeling of equilibrium

Symmetrical = feeling that weight is equally distributed (formal balance)
Asymmetrical = visual emphasis on one side of the composition (informal balance)

Question 2

Contrast

Answer 2

Two things that are opposite - used to show dramatic differences - helps to make objects become apparent to the viewer

can be heavy and light, curved or straight, or positive and negative

Question 3

Emphasis

Answer 3

Draws your eye to a visual focal point - used to help an object stand out and grab your attention

Center of interest

Question 4

Pattern

Answer 4

Objects in a composition that are repeated

regular patterns appear as predicted designs with easily identifiable features so that the viewer can visually recognize what may appear next
Random patterns = no exact predicted design, but can generally predict what’s next

Can use repeating shapes, colors, or lines

Question 5

Unity

Answer 5

Sense that all components of a composition belong together - shape, line, and color appear to fit together as the viewer gazes on the art with nothing left to complete, delete, or change - creates a sense that the art is whole and complete on its own

** intention of every successful artist is to master this

Question 6

Linear perspective

Answer 6

Technique for representing 3D objects on a flat surface / developed during the Renaissance

when converging lines meet at a single vanishing point, all shapes and objects become smaller, giving the illusion of depth and stance

Closer = larger, smaller = more distant

Question 7

Atmospheric perspective

Answer 7

Used to create depth and dimension - use overlapping, color, size, and contrast to reproduce the effects of distant objects

lighter objects lose focus and clarity as they appear farther away

Question 8

Color

Answer 8

Visible light reflected off objects - used to imitate the colors of reflected and refracted light - can be symbolic of mood and emotion

Question 9

Hue

Answer 9

Characteristic feature by which we distinguish one color from another - particular point on the color spectrum

Question 10

Primary colors (1)

Answer 10

Red - yellow - blue

Foundation for the color wheel (hue) and are the only colors that can be mixed to create secondary colors

Question 11

Secondary colors (2)

Answer 11

Orange - green - violet (purple)

Created when mixing two primary colors

Orange = red and yellow
green = yellow and blue
Violet = red and blue

Question 12

Tertiary colors (3)

Answer 12

Mixing secondary colors - when mixed, secondary color tends to be muted/grayish to provide a variation of the secondary color

Question 13

Complementary colors (4)

Answer 13

Pairs of colors that sit opposite one another on the color wheel and do not share any common characteristics

Example: purple - yellow

When mixed, they produce a neutral color such as gray - used to create contrast that can be interpreted as vibrant

Question 14

Value

Answer 14

Lightness or darkness of color - range is from white to black and is changed by adding either white or black - creates mood

Question 15

Intensity

Answer 15

The brilliance or dullness of color

Question 16

Line

Answer 16

Continuous mark that can change direction, length, and width

when joined, they form a shape - can also create an outline, silhouette, or contour - can be straight curved jagged diagonal horizontal vertical, etc

Horizontal = state of rest, continuity, and stability / sense of space

Vertical = sense of strength, rigidity, or height / can suggest spirituality

Diagonal = opposition or movement

Curved = sensual or softening quality

Question 17

Shape (form/contour)

Answer 17

Shapes = continuous line that meets to create a closed shape - have two dimensions (height and width)

Form = three dimensions (height, weight, depth)

contour line creates dimension

Question 18

Texture

Answer 18

The way a composition might actually feel or the way it might apear to feel with our eyes

Question 19

Space

Answer 19

Gives art a feeling of depth - use positive and negative space to influence how an object might appear

negative space = space between or around the object

Question 20

Classical (400 BC - AD 400)

Answer 20

Ancient Greece and Rome

Art encompassed:
	architecture (Parthenon, Coliseum)
	sculpture (ideal form, beauty)
	pottery (black on white, daily life)
	painting (murals, portraits)
	frescoes (pigment with water)

Key characteristics:
	physical beauty
	mathematical
	definite proportion
	celebrated great events

Question 21

Byzantine (400-1400)

Answer 21

Eastern Roman Empire

Key characteristics:
	religious imagery
	mosaics (flat, 2D)
	icons
	elongated bodies
	stylized background
	gold leaf
	mosaics decorated churches
	triptych (three panels)

Question 22

Early Middle Ages (500-1000)

Answer 22

Greco-Roman influence - influence of religion - sacred art - spatially flat - Illustrated Book of Kells

Romanesque architectural style: heavy walls - round, ribbed arches - transept and nave - grand

Question 23

Later Middle Ages (1000-1400)

Answer 23

Gothic art: religious (church was almost sole patron of the arts) - spatially flat - shape of human body used to communicate emotions - manuscript illumination

Gothic architectural style (1200): influenced by Christianity - Age of Chivalry - rapid growth of commerce - led to proliferation of majestic cathedrals (Norte dame) - gothic window (stained glass) - flying buttress (higher, lighter) - towering monuments to God

Frescoes - tempera painting (1400s), with egg tempera as binder - illuminated manuscript vegetable oils

Question 24

Renaissance (1400-1600)

Answer 24

Rebirth of Greco-Roman classical forms - development of cities (Florence) - art patronage: church or court/private collectors - humanism (individuality and self worth) - sculpture (“David”) - art and architecture (Sistine Chapel)

Art influenced by religion - Raphael (unity of subject, style, and technique) - Humanism - depictions of the natural world - study of light and perspective - complex and crowded space

New tech = printing press - use of oils (lasting) - landscapes

Drawings = Michelangelo’s studies

Influence of Northern Europe/Flemish: surface details - realistic light - religious - portraits

Question 25

Baroque (1600-1750)

Answer 25

Foundations in Italy and Germany (regional differences) - influenced by Scientific Revolution (newton, galileo) - Age of Enlightenment - counter-reformation (against Protestantism) - age of absolute monarchs

Characteristics:
complex style
appeal to senses/spectator involvement/drama
strong emotion
emphasis on depth/space
genre scenes (landscapes without people)
movement with grandeur

Rococo (1750s-1800s): influenced by the French Revolution and the Industrial Revolution (drastic societal changes) - salons - carefree lifestyle/high fashion - moved away from Baroque heroic subjects and dark color - moved to more delicate/pale colors - theme of romantic love

Revolt against Rococo: movement toward naturalism and romanticism (1850s)(beauty of nature - senses over intellect) - love of ruins and exotic cultures - new sense of nationalism - uniqueness not conformity

Question 26

Impressionism (1860s-1900) - origins of modern art

Answer 26

Influenced by science (principles of harmony - contrast of colors - reaction of eye in viewing composition) - concern for light and color on object

Experience of the fleeting moment: new techniques allowed for painting outside - rejected themes of the French Salon (not grand subjects but daily life) - emphasis on primary colors and small brush strokes - side-by-side placement of primary colors (optimal mixing) - little white or black

Manet - Monet - Renoir - Cassatt - Degas

Sculpture: Rodin (rebel against the perfect body type) - rough hewn

Neo-Impressionism (pointillism) - tiny dots of primary colors to produce secondary colors - colors placed in scientifically measured dots

Question 27

Post-Impressionism (1880s-1900s)

Answer 27

Characteristics:
paint indoors or outside
emotions through the use of color/swirling color/thick applications
complementary colors
new subject matter
away from the narrow spectrum of viewing

Examples: Van Gogh - Gauguin - Cezanne

Watercolor (transparent) - overpainting

Question 28

Twentieth Century

Answer 28

Fauvism (early 20th) influenced by tech of the early 20th - expansion of color (right from the tube in assertive brush strokes) - discord of color - non-western themes

Cubism (early 20th) traditional subject matter portrayed by overlapping geometric forms (reduced to cubes) - fragmentation of form - influenced by African tribal arts (masks and sculptures) - move towards abstract art (exploration of space and color) - multiple images of one subject on a 2D surface - development o collages - found sculpture

Surrealism (1920s): metaphysical painting - evolved from Dada art (reaction against commonplace and WWI) - workings of the subconscious mind (Freud) through fantastic imagery

Abstract Impressionism (1950s): dribbles, splatters, splashes - everyday objects to apply art - influenced by Navajo sand paintings

“Pop” Art / Popular Art: “why is it art?” reaction against abstract painting - Warhol

American Regional Art (from 1930s/rural art): everyday life - expanded on landscape painting of the 1870s