Elements of Art: Space

Elements of Art

• Space refers to the distances or areas around, between, and within components of a piece
  • Positive space refers to the subject of the piece itself
  • Negative space refers to the empty spaces the artist has created around, between, and within the subjects

Line

• Indicates direction, orientation, movement, and energy
• Characteristics:
  • Vertical line: basic framework of all forms, power, strength, stability, simplicity, and efficiency
  • Horizontal line: creates an impression of serenity and perfect stability, rest, calmness, peace, and repose
  • Jagged line: shows violence, confusion, and conflict
  • Curved line: shows a gradual change of direction and fluidity and signifies subtle form

Shape

• An enclosed space, a bounded two-dimensional form that has both length and width
• Boundaries are defined by other elements of art such as line and space
• Types:
  • Organic shapes: based on natural or living forms, irregular
  • Geometric shapes: based on measured forms, precise, and named (e.g., sphere, cube, pyramid, cone, cylinder)

Form

• Connotes something that is three-dimensional and encloses volume
• Geometric forms: mathematical, precise, and can be named
• Organic forms: free-flowing, curvy, and not symmetrical or easily measurable

Color

• Produced when light, striking an object, is reflected back to the eye
• Characteristics:
  • Hue: refers to the names we assign to a color
  • Saturation: refers to the vividness of a color
  • Value: refers to the lightness or darkness of a color

Principles of Art

• Emphasis: creating points of interest to pull the viewer's eye to important parts of the work
• Balance: sense of stability in the body of work, created by repeating similar shapes and creating a feeling of equal weight
• Harmony: achieved by using similar elements throughout the work, creating an uncomplicated look
• Variety: achieved by using different shapes, textures, colors, and values in the work
• Movement: adds excitement to the work by showing action and directing the viewer's eye throughout the picture plane
• Unity: seen in a painting or drawing when all the parts equal a whole

Art Movements and Styles

• Ancient Greek Art
  • Archaic Period (c.650-500 BCE)
  • Classical Period (c.500-323 BCE)
  • Hellenistic Period (c.323-27 BCE)
• Greek Sculpture
  • Three periods: Archaic, Classical, Hellenistic
  • Famous sculptors: Phidias, Praxiteles, Kritios, Lysippos, Myron
• Greek Architecture
  • Orders: Doric, Ionic, Corinthian
  • Characteristics of each order

Theatre

• Origins in the cult of Dionysus
• Festivals: Rural Dionysia, Lenaia, Anthesteria, City Dionysia
• Competitions: tragedians, actors, and playwrights
• Famous playwrights: Aeschylus, Sophocles, Euripides, Aristophanes
• Aristophanes' comedies: bawdy, obscene, fantastical, or absurd

Aristotle's Poetics

• First systematic treatise on drama
• Elements of drama: plot, character, thought, diction, music, spectacle
• Tragic flaws: hubris, hamartia
• Dramatic structure: anagnorisis, peripeteia, catharsis### Imperial Roman Art
• Characterized by red-colored pottery with glossy surface slips
• Flourished in Italy and Gaul (modern-day France) during the Roman Empire
• Aggrandized the ruler and his family
• Often hearkened back to the Classical art of the past

Late Antique Art

• Characterized by frontality, stiffness of pose and drapery, deeply drilled lines, less naturalism, squat proportion, and lack of individualism
• Important figures are often slightly larger or placed above the rest of the crowd to denote importance
• Red gloss terra sigillata ware with relief decoration was used

Roman Painting

• Roman interiors were lavishly painted and had stucco
• Largest body of evidence comes from Pompeii and Herculaneum
• Roman wall painters preferred natural earth colors such as darker shades of reds, yellow, and browns
• Subjects included portraits, scenes from mythology, architecture, flora, fauna, and even entire gardens, landscapes, and townscapes

Roman Sculpture

• Blended the idealized perfection of earlier Classical Greek sculpture with a greater aspiration for realism
• Mixed in the styles prevalent in Eastern art
• Mostly used marble and bronze
• Sculptures depicted prominent political figures in Rome or wealthy individuals
• Were both manifestations of life and death
• Larger than life sculptures were also carved for gods, emperors, and heroes

Roman Mosaics

• Made with small black, white, and colored squares of marble, tile, glass, pottery, stone, or shells
• Each individual piece measured between 0.5 and 1.5 cm, but fine details were often rendered using even smaller pieces as little as 1mm in size
• Popular subjects included scenes from mythology, gladiator contests, sports, agriculture, hunting, food, flora, and fauna, and sometimes even captured the Romans themselves in detailed and realistic portraits

Roman Architecture

• Continued the legacy left by the earlier Greek architects
• Largely favored marble, especially for state-funded projects
• Various types of marble used, such as Carrara marble from Italy, Parian marble from Paros, Pentelic from Athens, yellow Numidian marble from North Africa, red porphyry from Egypt, and green-veined Carystian marble from Euboea
• Notable architects included Apollodorus of Damascus, Hadrian, Severus, Celer, and Vitruvius

Roman Theatre

• Socio-cultural context: Romans were uninterested in theoretical questions, but were among the greatest engineers, military tacticians, and administrators
• Horace's The Art of Poetry served as a manual on writing good plays
• Playwrights included Livius Andronicus, Gnaeus Naevius, and Titus Maccius Plautus

Roman Republic vs Empire

• Republic: 509-27 BCE, characterized by discipline, economy, endurance, military precision, and loyalty
• Empire: 27 BCE-476 CE, characterized by a shift from representative government to imperial rule

Roman Tragic Playwrights

• Only three recorded Roman tragedians: Quintus Ennius, Marcus Ocuvius, and Lucius Accius
• Fabula crepidata: tragedies based on Greek originals
• Fabula praetexta: tragedies based on Roman subjects

Roman Actors

• Histriones: actors; Cantores: declaimers
• Male actors, while women performed in mimes
• Playwrights left the production at the hands of managers
• Some actors belonged to guilds
• Emphasis shifted to the "star" performer in the 1st century BCE

Art in the Middle Ages

• Occurred from the fall of the Roman Empire in the 5th century CE to the beginning of the Renaissance Period
• The term "Medieval Period" was introduced by Italian humanists to differentiate the 1000-year gap from the Classical Period

Why did the Roman Empire fall?

• Rome suffered against Germanic tribes
• Financial crisis, minimal resources, and depletion of labor force
• Empire was divided into two, leading to administrative and logistical nightmares
• Government was plagued by corrupt officials, and frequent civil wars resulted in the murder of the sitting Emperor and the coronation of a new one

Early Christian Art

• Refers to the painting, sculpture, and architecture from the beginnings of Christianity up to the 6th century CE
• Hidden and symbolic, with the fish (Ichthys) as a symbol for Christ
• Christ as the Alpha and the Omega
• Dove as the Holy Spirit
• 3rd and 4th century catacombs had the earliest identifiably Christian art

The Basilica

• Since Christianity was a mystery religion that demanded initiation to participate in religious practices, Christian architecture put greater emphasis on the interior
• The Christian churches needed large interior spaces to house the growing congregations and to mark the clear separation of the faithful from the unfaithful

The Edict of Milan

• Agreement shifted Christianity from being an illicit, persecuted sect to being welcome and soon dominant

Romanesque Art

• Took shape in the 11th century, initially developing in France then spreading to Spain, England, Flanders, Germany, Italy, and other regions
• Characterized by elongated human forms
• Fresco on the Apse of the Basilica of Saint Angelo in Formis, Italy, showing the enthroned Christ and the symbols of the four Evangelists### Romanesque Period
• The term "Romanesque" was invented by 19th-century art historians to refer specifically to the architecture of the time period, which retained many basic features of Roman architectural style.
• Romanesque art resulted from the great expansion of monasticism in the 10th and 11th centuries, when Europe regained a measure of political stability after the fall of the Roman Empire.
• Characteristics of Romanesque art:
  • Use of semi-circular arches
  • Retention of Roman architectural style features
  • Regional characteristics
• Sculpture:
  • Revival of monumental sculpture in Western Europe after 600 years of dormancy
  • Relief sculpture used to depict biblical history and church doctrine on capitals of columns and doors of churches
  • Natural objects transformed into visionary forms
• Painting:
  • Followed Byzantine Iconographic models
  • Christ in Majesty, the Last Judgment, and scenes from the Life of Christ were common depictions
  • Illuminated manuscripts featured saturated primary colors, limited depth, and abstract backgrounds

Romanesque Architecture

• Characteristics:
  • Massive and solid appearance
  • Use of rounded arches and barrel vaults
  • Small windows and limited light
• Examples:
  • St. Servatius in Maastricht, Netherlands
  • Bamberg Cathedral in Germany
  • Deanery of Maastricht in France

Gothic Art

• Emerged in the 12th century
• Characteristics:
  • Use of pointed arches and ribbed vaults
  • Larger windows and more light
  • Elaborate stone carvings and sculptures
• Illuminated Manuscripts:
  • Handwritten books decorated with gold, silver, or brilliant colors
  • Featured elaborate designs, miniature pictures, and biblical scenes
• Examples:
  • Westminster Abbey Bestiary (c. 1275-1290 CE)
  • The Book of Hours of Jeanne d'Evreux (c. 1324-1328 CE)

Gothic Architecture

• Characteristics:
  • Grand, tall designs with pointed arches and ribbed vaults
  • Use of flying buttresses
  • Light, airy interiors with large windows
  • Decorative gargoyles as waterspouts
• Examples:
  • Chartres Cathedral in France
  • Amiens Cathedral in France
  • Notre-Dame de Reims in France
  • Westminster Abbey in London, UK
  • Canterbury Cathedral in UK
  • Milan Cathedral in Italy