Art Chapter 4 Flashcards

Study Notes

8 key terms for analyzing visual experiences: line, shape, mass, light, value, color, texture, and space.
20th century additions to visual analysis: time and motion.

A line is a path traced by a moving point, acting as symbols in writing.
Artists utilize lines as symbols to convey ideas and emotions.
Primary functions of a line include defining the borders of form and indicating direction and motion.
Contour lines define perceived 3-D boundaries; outlines define 2-D shapes.
Our eyes naturally follow line patterns, which can suggest movement and direction.

Thomas Eakins' "Biglin Brothers Racing" uses horizontal and diagonal lines to create visual power.
"Raft of the Medusa" by Théodore Géricault exemplifies linear movement in painting.

Shape and mass are categorized into geometric (structured) and organic (natural) types.
Two-dimensional forms occupy areas with specific boundaries; three-dimensional forms occupy volumes of space.
Figures are the shapes we focus on, while ground is the surrounding visual information.

Positive shapes are perceived as figures, and negative shapes are part of the ground.
Implied shapes unify a composition, while implied light helps perceive spatial relationships.
Light and shadow model shapes, giving them a 3-D appearance, as seen in Manuel Alvarez Bravo's "The Visit."
Value refers to shades of light and dark; every color has a value.

Chiaroscuro, an Italian term for light and dark, was notably used by da Vinci.
Color influences psychological and physiological responses; colors have distinct effects (e.g., red stimulates appetite, blue lowers blood pressure).
Isaac Newton's color theory (1666) explains how light refracts into various colors through prisms.
Color wheels represent the spectrum of colors: primary (red, yellow, blue), secondary (orange, green, purple), and intermediate colors.

Key color properties include hue (the name of the color), value (lightness or darkness), and intensity (brightness or dullness).
A palette is a surface where artists mix pigments; Camille Pissarro exemplified this in "Palette with a Landscape."