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Please review Duccio's Annunciation of the Death of the Virgin

Duccio attempts to grasp the principles of perspective intuitively and to create a realistic space in which to place his figures, but he does not quite succeed. Although the walls and ceiling beans all converge at a single vanishing point, there are various other others that seem to converge on no vanishing point at all. Also, in true perspective, the top and bottom of the reading stand would not be parallel as they are in the painting.

Define Figure Ground Reversal /use examples

Figure-ground reversal exists when a shape could be seen as either figure or ground. It is not clear which is the negative shape and which is the positive shape. One example is the Rubin Vase. At first glance, the figure appears to be a black vase resting on a white ground. But the image also contains the figure of two heads resting on a black ground.

What is the goal of Henry Matisse painting Harmony in Red?

In Harmony in Red, Matisse's goal was to draw attention to elements of the composition other than its verisimilitude, or the apparent "truth" of its representation of reality. In other words, the artist sought to draw attention to the act of imagination that created the painting, not its subject matter. For instance, in the painting, Matisse has almost completely eliminated any sense of three-dimensionality by uniting the different spaces of the painting in one large field of uniform color and design. The wallpaper and tablecloth are made of the same fabric, shapes are repeated throughout, and the window can be read as a window opening or the corner of a painting.

How does Steve DiBenedetto's Deliverance demonstrate space?

One way he demonstrates space is by changing the shapes of the objects. Since objects close to us appear large than objects farther away, the juxtaposition of a large and a small helicopter suggests deep space between them. Overlapping images also creates the illusion of space: the helicopters appear to be closer to us than the red launching pad below. A sense of deep space is further suggest because we are looking down on the scene. The use of line also creates space; finer lines of the round pad pull the eye inward. In addition, the presence of a shadow supplies a visual clue that the figures possess dimensionality.

What is the significance of George's Seurat painting La Chahut (The Can - Can)

Seurat employed the technique of pointillism in his painting La Chahut. He believed that the eye of the perceiver would be able to mix colors optically instead of mixing the colors on his palette. He strongly believed that if he placed complements side by side, the intensity of the color would be dramatically enhanced. However, to Seurat's dismay, most viewers found the painting La Chahut to be "lusterless" and "murky". This is because there is a rather limited zone in which the viewer can optically mix the pointillist dots. The closer one moves to the painting, the more it breaks down into abstract dots; and the farther one is from the painting, the more the colors become muddy, turning almost brown

Who were the artists that used Symbolic Tools in developing their art work?

Vincent van Gogh is one artist that used color to symbolize different things. For instance, in his painting the night cafe, van Gogh empoys red and green to his own expressive ends. He used the complements to create a sense of visual tension and emotional imbalance, thus representing the cafe as a place where one can ruin oneself, run mad, or commit a crime. Kandinsky also used color symbolically throughout his paintings. As in Black Lines, Kandinsky used blue to represent a heavenly color, and yellow as the color of the earth, and green as a mixture of the two, making green passive and static. Furthermore, he believed red stimulates and excites, and the complementary pair of red and green juxtaposes the passive and the active.

medium

a liquid that makes paint easier to manipulate

mass/form

a solid that occupies a three dimensional volume, measured in terms of height, width, and depth

perspective

a system known to the greeks and romans but not mathematically codified until the renaissance that in the simplest terms allows the picture plane to function as a window throughout which a specific scene is presented to the viewer

shape

a two dimensional area, its boundaries can be measured in terms of height and width

how can one lower the intensity of a hue

adding to it either gray or the hue opposite it on the color wheel; can also add a medium to the hue

hatching

an area of closely spaced parallel lines or hatches

arbitrary color

colors that are not "true" to either their optical or local colors

highlights

directly reflect the light source, indicated by white

intermediate colors

mixtures of a primary and a neighboring secondary color

chiaroscuro

one of the chief tools employed by artists of the renaissance to render the effects of light; refers to the balance of light and shade in a picture

cross hatching

one set of hatches is crosseed at an angle by a second and sometimes a third set

secondary colors

orange, green, and violet; mixture of 2 primary colors

Describe the difference between shape and form

shape is a two dimensional area, or its boundaries can be measured in terms of height and width. form or mass is a solid that occupies a three dimensional volume, and it is measured in terms of height, width, and depth.

positive shapes

the central figure of the artwork

local colors

the color of objects viewed close up in even lighting conditions, the color we "know" an object to be

atmospheric/aerial perspective

the quality of the atmosphere between large objects, such as mountains, and us changes their appearance

relative value

the relative level of lightness or darkness of an area or object

negative shapes

what is around the central figure

tint

when white is added to the basic hue, or color

monochromatic

when artists limit their palette to a single color

vantage point

where the viewer is positioned

intensity/saturation

a function of a colors relative brightness or dullness

polychromatic

when an artist employs a wide variety of values and intensities

diagonal recession

when the vanishing pint is to one side or the other

negative space

empty spaces that acquire a sense of volume and form by means of the outline or frame that surrounds them

one point linear perspective

lines are drawn on the picture plane in such a way as to represent parallel lines receding to a single point on the viewers horizon (vanishing point)

perceptual color

the color as perceived by the eye, changed by the effects of light and atmosphere

foreshortening

the dimensions of the closer extremities are adjusted in order to make up for the distortions created by the point of view

picture plane

the flat surface of the canvas

primary colors

red, yellow, and blue

complementary color schemes

consists of hues that lie opposite each other on the color wheel

How does Paul Strand's Geometric Backyard and Julie Mehretu's Berlin Platze develop 3-D on a 2-D surface?

Both Strand and Mehretu play with perspective in order to develop 3-D on a 2-D surface. In Geometric Backyard, Strand photographed his backyard from a downward view. After years of living in this townhouse, one day Strand suddenly noticed the abstraction of walls, pavement, and hanging sheets, which were all animated by the play of light and dark. Thus, upon noticing this abstracted view, Strand photographed it and used his perspective to develop 3-D on a flat surface. Mehretu also uses perspective to represent actual depth of space on a flat surface. Her painting is composed of different layers of painting as well as different perspectives of the Berlin public squares to create the illusion of real space on the canvas.

How does Gustave Caillebotte create illusion of real space in his painting Place de l' Europe on a Rainy Day

Caillebotte uses perspective to create a complex composition and to create the illusion of real space in his painting. A series of multiple vanishing points organize a complex array of parallel lines emanating from the intersection of the streets. Caillebotte also makes use of implied lines from the pedestrians' movements across the street and down the sidewalk in both directions, as well as the line of sight created by the gaze of the couple walking towards the viewer. Finally, he imposes order on this scene by dividing the canvas into four equal rectangles formed by the lamppost and the horizon line.

Review how each artist used light to represent space and form. Leonardo's Madonna of the Rocks and Dan Flavin, building.

Dan Flavin worked exclusively with fluorescent fixtures and tubes. Flavin transformed and manipulated the viewer's experience of interior space by using fluorescent lights to color the room both optically and emotionally. Flavin thought of the fluorescent lights as working together with the architecture to form a single, unified work of art. Leonardo Da Vinci uses the idea of atmospheric perspective in his Madonna of the Rocks. Although the rocks in the distance are approximately the same size as those that are closer, Da Vinci recognized that the atmospheres changed them, and so he painted the rocks that are farther away blue instead of brown. Da Vinci's extensive use of clarity, precision, and contrast between light and dark help to create the illusion of deep space in his painting.

How does each artist represent various color schemes in their works, Jane Hammond, Seurat and Carlos Cruz-Diez?

Hammond makes use of a analogous color scheme that consists of yellows, oranges, and reds in varying degrees of intensity and value, punctuated with an occasional touch of green. Thus, Hammond's Fallen is a decidedly warm work of art. However, there is not just visual warmth in Hammond's artwork as Hammond inscribed the names of soldiers killed in Iraq on the leaves. In the sheer warmth and beauty of Fallen, Hammond was able to offer solace to the families that had lost loved ones in the war. Seurat attempted to harmonize his complementary colors rather than create a sense of tension with them. He placed complements side by side-mostly blues and oranges-but instead of keeping them separate, he used pointilism in an attempt to allows the viewer to mix the colors optically. He believed that in doing so, the intensity of the color would be dramatically enhanced. Carlos Cruz-Diez immerses the visitor in environments saturated by a single color; thus the viewer is exposed to a completely foreign experience of color. Chromosaturation, in particular, is an interactive space composed of three color chambers-red, green and blue. As the viewer moves from one chamber to the next, an after-image of the previous visual saturation shocks the retina, leading the spectator to this idea that color is light.

Judith and Maidservant with the Head of Holofernes by Artemisia Gentileschi shows the artist mastery of the technique called. Please review Artemisia painting and information very carefully

In her painting, Artemisia takes the technique of chiaroscuro to a whole new level with her utilization of a technique called tenebrism. Tenebrism makes use of large areas of dark contrasting sharply with smaller brightly illuminated areas. So, competing against the very deep shadows in Gentileschi's painting are dramatic spots of light. For example, the figures are illuminated in a strong artificial spotlight in order to depict them as important and heroic. Also, Judith's outstretched hand casts a shadow across her face, revealing a source of light from the left and invoking our silence. This shadow helps to create a sense of danger to the audience.

How does Paul Colin's Figure of a Woman use light to represent space and form?

In his Figure of a Woman, Colin has employed the techniques of chiaroscuro to model his figure. Chiaroscuro refers to the balance of light and shade in a picture, which is especially useful when representing space and form. So, in Colin's painting, drawing on light beige paper, he has indicated shadow by means of black crayon and has created the impression of light with white crayon.

Mary Cassatt's painting The Lodge demonstrate her ability to manipulate light and color to emphasize?

In the painting, there is a strict division between light and dark. The woman's neck between the hat's strap and her collar create two strong light-and-dark diagonals. A sort of angularity is thus introduced into the painting, which helps to emphasize the horizontal quality of the woman's profile and gaze as she stares out at the other loges through her binoculars. Furthermore, the dramatic division between light and dark defines itself as a division between male and female spaces. However, because Cassatt's woman's face and hand enter the space of light, she becomes as active a spectator as the male across the way.

Read and review the importance of Mantegna The Dead Christ point of view

Mantegna wanted to avoid the effects that are present in the enormous feet that reach toward the viewer in Man with Big Shoes. In order to avoid such an effect, Mantegna employed foreshortening to represent Christ's body. In foreshortening, the dimensions of the closer extremities are adjusted in order to make up for the distortion created by the point of view. Essentially, foreshortening is a means of countering the laws of perspective so that the potentially grotesque view of objects seen from a certain angle seem more natural and less disorientating.

How does Michelangelo represent form in his drawing Satyr?

Michaelangelo uses extensively hatching and cross-hatching in his drawing Satyr in order to create a sense of volume and form. The hollows of the satyr's face are tightly cross-hatched while the most prominent aspects of the satyr's face-such as the highlights at the top of his nose and cheekbone-are almost completely free of line. By employing line, Michaelangelo creates a sense of volume in his drawing.

Turner's painting Rain, Stream, and Speed represent two forms of perspective to express depth.

One form of perspective used is linear perspective. For example, the diagonal lines of two bridges converge on a vanishing pint on the horizon. However, the most important form of perspective used is atmospheric perspective. Turner's light is at once so opaque that it conceals everything behind it and so deep that is seems to stretch beyond the limits of vision. This light and atmosphere that dominates the linear elements and creates a sense of depth within the painting. Thus, the linear perspective describes the physical reality while the aerial perspective reveals a greater spiritual reality.

How does the author describe Chuck Close's painting Stanley?

The author describes Close's painting as "layered" pointillism. Like all of his paintings, this piece is based on a photograph, which is then overlaid with a grid that is then placed on the canvas. What makes Close's painting unique is that he is not so much interested in representing the person whose portrait he is painting as he is in reproducing the completely abstract design that occurs in each square of the grid. His painting is made up of thousands of little square paintings; and each of these "micro-paintings" is composed as a small target, an arrangement of two to four concentric circles. Up close, it is hard to see anything but the design in the square, but as one moves farther away the sitter's features emerge with greater and greater clarity.

What is the significance of the Feast Making Spoon?

The bowl, which is nearly a foot in length and called the "belly pregnant with rice", represents the generosity of the most hospitable woman of the clan, who is known as the wunkirle. The woman that gives the most aways is named the wunkirle, and the men sing in her honor. The wunkirle then carries the spoons around at festivals. Thus, the spoons presents the power of the imagination to transform an everyday object into a symbolically charged container of social good.

spectrum

bands of different colors as a result from light passing through a prism

analogous color schemes

composed of hues that neighbor each other on the color wheel

what are the 3 basic areas of shadow

the shadow proper, the core of the shadow (darkest area on the object itself), the cast shadow (the darkest area of all)

ground

the surface upon which the work is made

modeling

the use of chiaroscuro to represent light falling across a curved or rounded surface

vanishing point

the viewers horizon

shade

when black is added to the basic hue, or color

frontal recession

when the vanishing point in directly across from the viewers vantage point

two point linear perspective

when there are two vanishing points in a composition

simultaneous contrast

when two complementary colors are placed next to each, they appear to be more intense and bright

additive process

when we mis all the colors together in light, we end up with white light

subtractive process

when we mix all the colors together in painting, we end up with black, the absence of color