The Elements and Principles of Art
The Elements of Art The building blocks or ingredients of art.
LINE A mark with length and direction. Ansel AdamsGustave Caillebotte A continuous mark made on a surface by a moving point.
Pablo Picasso
COLORCOLOR Consists of Hue (another word for color), Intensity (brightness) and Value (lightness or darkness). Henri MatisseAlexander Calder
VALUEVALUE The lightness or darkness of a color. MC Escher Pablo Picasso
SHAPE An enclosed area defined and determined by other art elements; 2-dimensional. Joan Miro
Gustave Caillebotte
FORM The structure of a 3-dimensional object. A triangle is a 2-dimensional shape, but a pyramid is a 3-dimensional form. Jean Arp
Robert Mapplethorpe Claude Monet S P A C E The distance or area between, around, above, below or within things. Positive (filled with something) and Negative (empty areas). Foreground, Middleground and Background (creates DEPTH)
TEXTURE The surface quality or "feel" of an object, its smoothness, roughness, softness, etc. Textures may be actual or implied.
Cecil Buller
The Principles of Art What we use to organize the Elements of Art, or the tools to make art.
BALANCEBALANCE Alexander Calder The way the elements are arranged to create a feeling of stability in a work.
Symmetrical Balance Created when one side of an image mirrors the other (although the sides don’t have to be exactly the same). Leonardo DaVinci
Asymmetrical Balance When the 2 halves are different in composition, (but visual weight of each side is equal). James Whistler
EMPH A SIS The focal point of an image, or one area or thing that stands out. Jim DineGustav Klimt
CONTRAST A notable difference between two things to create interest and tension. Ansel Adams Salvador Dali
Repetition or RHYTHM and MOVEMENT The repetition of elements creates the feeling of movement. Marcel Duchamp
Vincent VanGogh
PATTERNPATTERN The repetition of elements, especially shapes. Gustav Klimt
UNITY When all the elements and principles work together to create a pleasing image. Johannes Vermeer