Painting Flashcards
Composition
- Symmetry/asymmetry
- centralised composition? Central axis?
- focal point?
- Geometrical devices? Pyramidal, circles, squares
- Horizontality v. verticality (which features create this)
- Repetition, echoing forms
- Diagonals creating dynamic composition?
- Static composition?
- Use of colour- links, drawing focus, balance
Pictorial Space
- shallow or deep?
- linear perspective? consistent and mathematical or rudimentary and inconsistent? deliberately exploit perspective to produce extreme, disturbing effect (surrealism)
- Scale changes of objects/figures?
- ‘Aerial’ perspective?
- Foreshortening?
- ‘Repoussir’ device: foreground objects lead eye in and back into space
- Clearly overlapping objects?
- Divisions of space? foreground/background, receding planes
- layers through doors or windows?
- Use of mirrors to evoke sense of space?
- Cropped forms indicating extended space beyond frame or frame encloses space neatly?
- Use of light or shade to model forms
- Contained, confined,
- stage-like, deliberate positioning
- naturalistic or imaginary/symbolic space?
- rational or irrational spacing
- Narrative use: clarify understanding, hierarchy, status, relationship between figures
- distorted or surreal space
- definition of forms and figures
Colour
- Polychromatic or monochromatic
- Palette: varied or limited, multiple tones and hues
- Dominated by particular colour(s)?
- Solid or graded? blended tonally from darker to lighter shades or blocky
- Primary colours? Contrasting or Complementary colours?
- Colours clashing or harmonizing?
- Warm or cool tones?
- Overall effect or feel? One overall effect or contrasting sections?
- Clear colour scheme?
- Bright or subdued? Areas of bright colour stand out against muted, dull colours - advance or recede?
- Conventional use? eg. ultramarine in egg tempura
- Symbolic - purple and red for monarchy, white for religion and purity, sensuality?
- Compositional use of colour- draw attention to areas, colour linking, unifying, balancing, structural?
- Atmospheric? evoke certain mood/tone, time of day or season?
- expressive? subdued, muted, dull - sombre, sad, emotionless or peaceful and spiritual. dark - mysterious, sinister, dramatic. Bold, primary- energy, uplifting, angry, dynamic
- Symbolic: red- passion, love, death, pain, blood. black-death, white or pastel- pious, ethereal
- Decorative: enhance decoration and pattern, rich or pastel
- Spatial effect eg. aerial perspective
Light and tone
-Where is light source? behind viewer?
-Natural or artificial light? Lamp or candle?
- Multi-directional or coming from one angle, from what angle?
-Is light all over and dispersed evenly?
-Extreme contrasts? Chiaroscuro
Effect:
-3D modelling in light and shade, tonal gradations or chiaroscuro and directional light give volume
-Compositional or Narrative role: highlighted areas show visual hierarchy or sense of depth and dimension
-Emphasise texture and detail
-Atmospheric effect of light and shade: bright, clear, mysterious, gloomy, hazy, dramatic, sinister, heavenly
-Symbolism- eg. religious
Line and Shape
- Emphasis on line or shape?
- Clear contours, strong or subtle outlines?
- Are shapes separated by lines?
- Quality of line: thick, thin, coloured, impasto, translucent
- Cropped forms indicating space extends past borders/frame or enclosed and neat
- Use of light and shade to create 3D shapes or 2D shapes?
Scale
- Notably large? monumental, public/private, representational, many viewers, seen from below or afar?
- Notably small? personal, intimate, private, valuable, only one or two viewers at a time, close up study, likely to be handled or portable?
- Life-sized?
- Shows depth?
- Symbolic? status/hierarchy
Pattern/Ornament/Decoration
- Fine or rough quality?
- Descriptive? tell us anything about subject, define or describe subject
- Naturalistic? Obey laws of perspective?
- Regular or irregular?
- Geometric or organic?
- Repetition, motifs?
- Figurative or abstract?
- Expressive or symbolic? eg. religious
Subject
Figures:
-Pose: standing, seated, reclining, frontal/behind/profile view, theatrical, posed and staged, awkward, natural, relaxed, stiff, dynamic, twisting, passive, aggressive, assertive
-Gesture: dramatic, emphatic, commanding, directional, questioning, inviting, embracing, distanced, open, closed, defensive, protective
-expression: knowing, concerned, fearful, plain, dramatic, intense
-gaze: where does it go, directly to viewer, engage with other figures in piece, submissive, confident
-multiple figures: engage with each other, tension, where in relation to each other, intimate, loving
-choreography: where are they/objects? foreground, dominate middle ground, far ground in distance, in circle, pyramidal, frieze like, staged and strategically placed or natural, height difference, far or close to each other, narrative in arrangement, hierarchy, segregation in gender, ethnicity, status, how viewer eye directed between figures
Setting:
-inside or outside: windows or doors
-objects or props (what) strategically placed, staged, indicate personality or status etc. of figure, narrative
-shallow or deep pictorial space
-How figures related within space of painting
-Lighting
-multiple settings in one painting
-mysterious, plain
Genres
Historical
mythological
religious: narrative, symbolic, stylised, idealised, individualised, melodramatic, theatrical, awe-inspiring, emotive, calm, serene, ethereal, celebratory, otherworldly, imagined, centralised
Still-life: display of artistic skill, virtuoso techniques, luxury and wealth, lowly, everyday, materialism and possession, mastery of space and volume, symbolic/moral, desire, fantasy
Landscape: idealised, historical, symbolic, pastoral, nature, imagination, urban, industrialised, picturesque, sublime, everyday, mundane, serene, nationalistic.
Portraiture: private or public display, singular or multi-figured, props and clothing, political, intimate, propaganda, marital, full-length, bust, seated
