Chapter 2 Visual Communication Subject matter - What the artist is conveying Media - The tools and materials the artist used Craftsmanship - The ability to make objects attractive Design - The grammar, or structure, of visual language

The artist has used the medium of a fabric quilt to depict a series of Biblical images. Can you identify the subject matter of any of these scenes? Harriet Powers, Pictorial Quilt, 1898 American Pierced and appliqued cotton embroidered with plain and metallic yarns, 69” x 105”

Chardin has used the student artist as his subject. What impression is he trying to convey about this laboring student? Jean Baptiste Simeon Chardin, Young Student Drawing, 1738, French Oil on wood, 8.25” x 6.75” (detail)

2.1 Subject Matter: What Is the Art Saying? Subject matter may be things, such as people, objects, landscapes or animals. Subject matter may also be ideas such as war, love, loneliness or joy. Some artists are concerned with purely design aspects of creating art, such as color and proportion. Artists’ attitudes towards subject matter has changed greatly over the course of history and civilization.

Narrative Subjects In narrative paintings the artist is telling a story. Within this large painting, artist Pieter Brueghel included numerous small scenes of peasant life that form a larger story of life in that time and society. Pieter Brueghel, Peasant Wedding, 1566, Netherlandish. Oil on panel, 44” x 63”

Durer has chosen a close-up view of plants as subject matter. There is no narrative “story” being told in this highly detailed image of nature. Albrecht Durer, The Great Piece of Turf, 1503, German. Watercolor on paper, 16 x 12”

Religious Subjects Any religious figure from any religion in the world can be the subject of a work of art. The Mayan maize god pictured here held great significance for the Mayan people. Maize God, 775 AD, Honduras. Limestone, 35 x 31”

Literary Subjects Artists may use literary subjects, such as the Bible, or famous myths and legends on which to base their artwork. This painting illustrates a scene from Washington Irving’s story of Rip Van Winkle, the man who fell asleep for 20 years and awakened to see his village and himself transformed to the point where they did not recognize one another. John Quidor, The Return of Rip van Winkle, 1849, American. Oil on canvas, 40 x 50”

Landscapes Landscapes are paintings of the natural environment, a subject which has engaged artists throughout he centuries. Here the Chinese artist Hsia Kuei used ink on silk to show a misty view of a river and mountain, using a minimum amount of detail to evoke a particular mood. Hsia Kuei, Views from a Thatched Hut, 1230, Chinese. Ink on silk, 11” tall

Cityscapes Views of urban environments, including streets, buildings and activities taking place there are called cityscapes. The French artist Corot painted this view of the Italian city of Venice in He made preparatory sketches and notations before painting this in his studio. Jean-Baptiste Corot, View of Venice, 1834, French. Oil on canvas, 18 x 27”

The Human Figure Artists have used the human figure as subject matter for many reasons over the centuries. The ancient Greeks considered the human figure to be the ideal of beauty, and it was perfectly acceptable to display well- toned and proportioned nudes to be admired by all viewers. The human figure is a complex form that changes dramatically with the slightest shift in weight, or twist in posture. It is also capable of a tremendous range of expression and emotion. Myron, Discus Thrower, Roman marble copy after Greek bronze, 450 BC, life- size

European society has sometimes considered nudity inappropriate for public display in artwork. However, during the period known as the Renaissance the human nude was celebrated; artists were fascinated by a rediscovery of ancient Greek traditions and ideals, including the study and portrayal of the human figure. Peter Paul Rubens, Judgement of Paris, 1629, Flemish. Oil on panel, 57 x 77”

Portraits Portraits come in a variety of sizes and shapes, but have one thing in common—they are representations of people. Typically, a portrait shows the face of a specific person, regardless of whether or not the entire body is also depicted. The pose may vary, as well as any particular action the person may be engaged in. Hans Holbein, one of the world’s great portrait painters, painted England’s Prince Edward VI for the boy’s father, King Henry VIII, in Oil paint on panel, 22 x 17”

Self-Portraits Many artists make pictures of themselves, called self-portraits. Frances Benjamin Johnston, depicted in her 1895 self-portrait photograph, shows herself as an independent and fearless woman.

Historical Subjects Important historical events have long been memorialized by artists. In 1939, African- American artist Hale Woodruff painted a series of murals at Talladega College in Georgia. These images tell the story of the 1839 revolt by Africans imprisoned on the Portuguese slave ship Amistad. Following the slave revolt the ship landed in Connecticut, where the Africans were acquitted, freed, and allowed to return to their homeland. Oil on canvas, 12 x 40,” 1840

Genre Subjects Genre painting refers to images of normal, everyday activities of ordinary people. A king and queen posing on the throne is not a genre subject. Here, French artist Edgar Degas’ painting of laundry workers shows two woman engaged in tedious labor. Oil on canvas, 1876, 26 x 32”

Social Comment An artist with strong political views may want to use artwork as a vehicle for expressing these ideas. Social comment might criticize government leaders, war, or the structure of society. Fernando Botero created this unflattering portrait of the Colombian presidential family in Oil on canvas, 80 x 77”

Still Life Still life refers to images of inanimate objects — things that are not alive and cannot move. Bottles, bowls, fruit, flowers and cloth often appear in these works. Paul Cezanne was a French artist who created this oil painting in 1905; it was one of many still life paintings he made. 32 x 39”

Animals Artists are often intrigued by animals. Nearly all cultures have portrayed birds and mammals with great skill, both in realistic and stylized versions. This Alpaca from the early Inca civilization is made of soldered sheet silver. The artist shows the fine long hair of this wool- producing animal. Undated, 9.5” tall

Expression While some artists paint only what they see with their eyes, others, like El Greco, include their inner feelings about the subject. When personal and emotional feelings are added to a work, it is an expressionist artwork. This oil painting of the Spanish city of Toledo seems mysterious, scary and brooding. 47 x 42 “ 1610

Abstraction Abstraction is the simplification of subject matter into basic, often geometric shapes. Pablo Picasso makes the simplified shapes themselves the subject of his 1928 oil painting. He depicts a table as a simplified shape. The white oval on the right might represent a sculpture in his studio. The two triangles in the center are a container, and pictures hang on the back wall. The artist and his easel are on the left; he has three eyes! 59 x 91”

Nonobjective Painting In the twentieth century, many artist created works which did not refer to any objects in the real world; their fully abstract works were only composed of color, shape and line. American artist Jackson Pollack’s 1947 oil painting, Full Fathom Five, is 51 x 30.”