Inside: A curated collection of artworks that exemplify proportion and scale in art—demonstrating how artists manipulate size relationships to create emphasis, balance, and meaning. This resource is part of our comprehensive Elements and Principles of Art series, designed to support and inspire your art lessons.

Proportion and scale are fundamental principles that influence how we perceive and interpret artworks. Whether through realistic representations or exaggerated forms, artists use these concepts to guide the viewer’s eye and convey specific messages.

In this post, you’ll find a variety of artworks showcasing different approaches to proportion and scale, perfect for sparking discussion and analysis in your classroom.

👉 Want a printable to accompany these examples? Grab the free Elements & Principles Pack below. Just click the yellow Download button.

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The Elements & Principles of Art are the foundation of every artwork, but teaching them can be a bore. Wake your students up and engage them with full color artworks, easy to understand definitions, and thought-provoking higher level thinking questions. This versatile resource can be hung in the classroom or used as an art manipulative.

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Explore the full Elements of Art series for more resources and examples to enrich your curriculum.

For ready-to-use classroom activities, check out our printable art interpretation worksheets.

Here are some artworks you can use to teach scale and proportion in art for your elements and principles of art lessons. I will add to this list when I find more, so this is a good one to pin or bookmark! The horizontal images do not contain all of the examples.

Download the Free Elements and Principles Printable Pack

This pack of printables was designed to work in a variety of ways in your classroom when teaching the elements and principles of art. You can print and hang in your classroom as posters/anchor charts or you can cut each element and principle of art in its own individual card to use as a lesson manipulative.

Proportion in Art Examples

Proportion in Art: Good Proportion

• Caravaggio, Still Life with Fruit, ca. 1603

Proportion in Art: Emphasizing Space with Proportion

• Andrew Wyeth, Christina’s World, 1948
• Hiroshige, 107 Fukagawa Susaki and Jūmantsubo (5th Month, 1857) from One Hundred Famous Views of Edo, 1857
• Gustave Caillebotte, Paris: A Rainy Day, 1877
• Pieter Brueghel, Hunters in the Snow, 1565

Out of Proportion Art

• Sir John Everett Millais, The Blind Girl, 1854-56
• André Derain, Portrait of a Man with a Newspaper, 1911-1914
• Songye people, Democratic Republic of Congo, Female Figure, late 1800s-early 1900s
• Fernando Botero, Dancing in Colombia, 1980
• Dorothea Tanning, Eine Kleine Nachtmusik, 1943
• Saul Steinberg, The Fisherman
• Giacometti, Man Pointing, 1947
• Prehistoric, Nude Woman (Venus of Willendorf), c. 28,000-25,000 B.C.E (On ACFK, 5 Artworks to Promote Introspection)
• Parmigianino, Madonna with the Long Neck, 1535-4

Proportion in Art: Manipulating Proportion of Figures for Meaning

• Ben Shahn, We French Workers Warn You, 1942
• Hannah Hoch, Equilibre (Balance), 1925
• Michelangelo, Pieta, 1498-99
• Gerardo Feldstein, All at this Link

Artworks with Things Out of Proportion with Other Things

• Jeff Jordan, Curiosity, 2009
• Francisco Goya, The Colossus, c. 1808
• René Magritte, Les valeurs personnelles (Personal Values), 1952
• Hans Eworth, Allegorical Portrait of Sir John Luttrell, 1550
• N.C. Wyeth, The Giant, 1923

Hierarchical Scale in Art

• Ancient Egypt, Nebamun Hunting in the Marshes, ca. 1350 B.C.E.
• Tanjore style painting from the late 19^th century showing the ten Sikh, Gururs, Bhai Bala, and Bhai Mardana
• Sumer, the Standard of Ur, about 2600-2400 B.C.E.
• Palette of King Narmer, from Hierakonpolis, Egypt, Predynastic, c. 3000-2920 B.C.E
• Benin Plaques, 16th-17th century

Big Scale in Art

• Ron Mueck, A Boy, 2005
• Ron Mueck, A Girl, 2006
• Georgia O’Keeffe, Oriental Poppies, 1928
• The Colossus of Constantine, c. 312-15
• Nazca Earth Drawings
• Chuck Close, Mark, 1978-79
• Henry Beacon and Daniel Chester French, Lincoln Memorial, 1914-22
• Robert Smithson, Spiral Jetty, 1970
• Claes Oldenburg and Coosje van Bruggen, Spoonbridge and Cherry, 1985-88

Small Scale in Art

• Jade Mountain Illustrating the Gathering of Poets at the Lan T’ing Pavilion, 1784
• Diem Chau, Mahjongg
• Yang Yongliang, A Bowl of Taipei, 2012
• Slinkachu, Any Artworks at this Link

Scale in Art: Artworks that Show the Scale of Nature in Relationship to Humans

• Shen Zhou, Poet on a Mountaintop, 1496
• Caspar David Friedrich, Wanderer above the Sea of Fog, c. 1818
• Albert Bierstadt, Valley of the Yosemite, 1864

Elements and Principles Teaching Bundle

This extraordinary bundle includes the best resources for teaching each of the elements and principles—37 worksheets/handouts, 15 lessons (with accompanying PowerPoints and Handouts), 3 ready-to-go art analysis activities, 3 art analysis videos, and 13 elements and principle PDF articles.

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💡 Looking for more comprehensive art appreciation resources?

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There you have it! The best scale and proportion in art examples for your elements and principles of art lessons. Want more elements and principles of art teacher resources? Check out the below posts.

Inside: A curated collection of artworks that exemplify unity in art—demonstrating how artists bring together elements like shape, color, and line to create cohesive and harmonious compositions. This resource is part of our comprehensive Elements and Principles of Art series, designed to support and inspire your art lessons.

Unity is the principle that ties all elements of an artwork together, creating a sense of completeness and harmony. Whether through repetition, proximity, or continuation, artists use unity to guide the viewer’s eye and convey a cohesive message.

In this post, you’ll find a variety of artworks showcasing different techniques to achieve unity, perfect for sparking discussion and analysis in your classroom.

👉 Want a printable to accompany these examples? Grab the free Elements & Principles Pack below.

Free Resource!

* Elements & Principles Printable Pack *

The Elements & Principles of Art are the foundation of every artwork, but teaching them can be a bore. Wake your students up and engage them with full color artworks, easy to understand definitions, and thought-provoking higher level thinking questions. This versatile resource can be hung in the classroom or used as an art manipulative.

Download

Unity in Art

Unity (also called harmony) is an important principle of design that gives the artwork a sense of cohesion or coherence. It is the wholeness or completeness of a picture. Unity and harmony in art are used by artists to tie a composition together and help the composition make sense as a whole piece of art.

The principles of design are ways to organize the elements of art (line, shape, color, form, space, value, texture) to create a wide range of effects. To create unity or harmony in art, artists arrange the similar components and elements of art to create consistency. Unity or harmony can also be created by merging the form and the meaning of the artwork together.

Unity and variety in art are often discussed together, because ultimately an artwork must contain both unity and variety to be a successful work of art, and there must be balance between the two.

“The essence of the beautiful is unity in variety.” – William Somerset Maugham

Unity can be very subtle when done well. A unified artwork will just look right, complete, and pleasing. Principles of art unity is not necessarily just a repetition of the same element over and over again, but it is the pleasing combination of elements to create the big picture.

Botero creates unity in The Musicians with form, shape, color, line, and space.

Download the Free Elements and Principles Printable Pack

This pack of printables was designed to work in a variety of ways in your classroom when teaching the elements and principles of art. You can print and hang in your classroom as posters/anchor charts or you can cut each element and principle of art in its own individual card to use as a lesson manipulative.

Explore the full Elements of Art series for more resources and examples to enrich your curriculum.

For ready-to-use classroom activities, check out our printable art interpretation worksheets.

Examples of Unity in Art Using Shape/Form

• Gustav Klimt, The Kiss, 1907–08
• Wassily Kandinsky, Circles in a Circle, 1923
• Gustave Caillebotte, Fruit Displayed on a Stand, 1881
• Piet Mondrian, Broadway Boogie Woogie, 1942
• Salvador Dali, Galatea of the Spheres, 1952

• Caspar David Friedrich, The life stages (beach picture, beach scene in Wiek), ca. 1834
• Kara Walker, Insurrection! (Our Tools Were Rudimentary, Yet We Pressed On), 2000
• Rene Magritte, Golconda, 1953
• Georges Seurat, A Sunday on La Grande Jette, 1884

• Duccio di Buoninsegna, The Maestà, 1308-1311
• Fernando Botero, The Musicians, 1991
• Giuseppe Arcimboldo, Spring, 1573
• Romare Bearden, The Dove, 1964

Examples of Unity in Art Using Color

• Jasper Johns, Zero-Nine, 1960
• Pablo PIcasso, The Old Guitarist, 1903-04
• Johannes Vermeer, The Art of Painting, 1665-68

Examples of Unity in Art Using Texture

• Claude Monet, Rue Montorgueil in Paris, 1878
• Dante Gabriel Rossetti, Lady Lilith, 1868 (altered 1872-73)
• Paul klee, Ad Parnassum, 1932
• John Biggers, Baptism, 1989

Examples of Unity in Art Using Line

• Ben Shahn, Supermarket, 1957
• Aubrey Beardsley, The Peacock Skirt, 1893
• John Singer Sargent, White Ships, circa 1908
• Pablo Picasso, The Dance of Youth, 1961
• Marcel Duchamp, Nude Descending Staircase, 1912
• Jose Diego Maria Rivera, Sugar Cane, 1931

Examples of Unity in Art Using Style

• Edvard Munch, The Scream, 1893
• Roy Lichtenstein, Explosion from 9, 1967
• Keith Haring, Untitled, 1988
• Paul Cezanne, Mont Sainte-Victoire, 1904-06
• Shen Zhou, Return from a Thousand Li, ca. 1480
• Vincent Van Gogh, Wheatfield with Crows, 1890
• Wayne Thiebaud, Paint Cans, 1990

Examples of Unity in Art Using Architecture

• Athens, Greece, Parthenon, 447 BC – 432 BC
• Rome, Italy, Colosseum, 70-80 AD
• Frank Lloyd Wright, The Guggenheim Museum, 1937

Principles of Art Unity Related Resources

• This article from the Natomas High School Design Department includes more definitions of how to use unity in art.
• Teach harmony and unity in art with a game.

Elements and Principles Teaching Bundle

This extraordinary bundle includes the best resources for teaching each of the elements and principles—37 worksheets/handouts, 15 lessons (with accompanying PowerPoints and Handouts), 3 ready-to-go art analysis activities, 3 art analysis videos, and 13 elements and principle PDF articles.

Buy Now

💡 Looking for more comprehensive art appreciation resources?

Join the Curated Connections Library to access a wealth of lessons, activities, and professional development materials tailored for art educators.
👉 Learn more here

There you have it! The best examples of unity in art for your elements and principles of art lessons. Want more elements and principles of art teacher resources? Check out the below posts.

Inside: A curated collection of texture in art examples—organized by media and type, including both actual and implied texture to spark student curiosity and conversation.

Texture is one of those elements students can almost feel. Whether it’s the thick, tactile brushstrokes of a Van Gogh painting or the illusion of softness in a drawn fabric, texture invites the senses into the visual experience.

In this post, you’ll find a wide range of artworks that demonstrate texture in all its forms—perfect for your next art appreciation lesson, critique, or creative project.

👉 Want a printable to use alongside these artworks? Grab the free Elements & Principles Pack below. Just click the yellow “Download” button.

Free Resource!

* Elements & Principles Printable Pack *

The Elements & Principles of Art are the foundation of every artwork, but teaching them can be a bore. Wake your students up and engage them with full color artworks, easy to understand definitions, and thought-provoking higher level thinking questions. This versatile resource can be hung in the classroom or used as an art manipulative.

Download

This post is part of the Elements of Art series—a comprehensive collection of artwork examples and teaching tools for your classroom.

Want printable resources that pair with these artworks? These art interpretation worksheets are ready to go and perfect for sparking deeper engagement.

Download the Free Elements and Principles Printable Pack

This pack of printables was designed to work in a variety of ways in your classroom when teaching the elements and principles of art. You can print and hang in your classroom as posters/anchor charts or you can cut each element and principle of art in its own individual card to use as a lesson manipulative.

Actual Texture in Art

Actual texture is the physical feel an artwork has. From the silky texture of the paint to the rough texture of stone, artists use texture to add interest, create emphasis and expression, and add depth to their work.

Best Artist that Uses Actual Texture

You absolutely cannot teach actual texture without pulling in the work of Anselm Keifer. In both his sculpture and his paintings, he mixes in all sorts of different textures in art such as glass, sand, dried flowers, ash, broken ceramics, straw, and more. His art is bold, dark, and emotional, and the textures contribute to the mood of his work. He was born in Germany at the tail end of World War II. His art shows his attempt to come to terms with the history of his country. Learn more about his work here.

Actual Texture in Art Examples, Two-Dimensional

• Marcia Gygli King, The Family, from The Culture Series, 2005
• Vincent van Gogh, The Starry Night, 1889
• Anselm Kiefer, Aschenblume, 1983-97
• Justin Gaffrey, Any
• J.M.W. Turner, Rain, Steam, and Speed–The Great Western Railway, 1844
• Iran, Silk Kashan Carpet, 16th century
• Terese Agnew, Portrait of a Textile Worker, 2005

Actual Texture in Sculpture

• Ife, Head, possible a King, 12th-14th century
• Meret Oppenheim, Object, 1936
• Robert Rauschenberg, Monogram, 1955-59
• Constantin Brancusi, Bird in Space, 1925
• Donatello, Penitent Magdalene, 1453-1455
• Michaelangelo, The Awakening Slave (Design for Julius II Tomb), 1536
• Auguste Rodin, Thought Emerging From Matter, 1895
• Benin, Head of an Oba, 18th Century
• Mike Kelley, More Love Hours Than Can Ever Be Repaid and The Wages of Sin, 1987
• Buddhas from the Otagi-Nenbutsi Temple, Kyoto Japan
• Ka’apor culture, Necklace with attached flute, 1955-1962
• Asmat people, Body Mask (Det), mid-20th century
• Fred Wilson, Mining the Museum, Metalwork, 1793-1880

Actual Texture in Architecture

• Maya Lin, Vietnam Memorial, Washington D.C., 1982
• Ancient Egypt, The Great Pyramid of Giza, c. 2580–2560 BCE
• Frank Lloyd Wright, Fallingwater, 1936
• Antoni Gaudi, Sagrada Família, 1882-present
• Cambodia, Angkor Wat Temple, 12th century
• India, Meenakshi Amman Temple, 1623-1655

Visual Texture / Implied Texture

Visual texture in art (also called Implied Texture) is texture that is not actually real. The artist creates the illusion of textures through manipulation of the media.

Best Artist that Uses Visual Texture

There are so many masterful artists who create visual texture, but if I had to pick one, I would go with Albrecht Durer. He’s a master in creating textures in multiple media.

Visual Texture Examples in Painting

• Albrecht Durer, Portrait of Hieronymus Holzschuher, 1526
• Ralph Goings, Ralph’s Diner, 1982
• Artemisia Gentileschi, Judith Slaying Holofernes, 1614
• Max Ernst, Europe After Rain II, 1940-42
• Jan van Eyck, The Arnolfini Portrait, 1434
• Gustave Caillebotte, Place de l’Europe on a Rainy Day, 1876-1877
• Salvador Dalí, Girl at a Window, 1925
• Pieter Claesz, Still Life with a Skull and a Writing Quill, 1628
• Albrecht Durer, Young Hare, 1502
• Jason de Graaf, Oil Paintings (Any)
• Teresa Elliott, Deliverance

Visual Texture Examples in Drawing

• Vija Celmins, Drypoint – Ocean Surface, 1983
• Leonardo da Vinci, Portrait of a Man in Red Chalk, c. 1512
• Samuel Silva, Ballpoint Pen Drawings (Any)
• Armin Mersmann, Eye Drawings

Visual Texture Examples in Sculpture

• Ron Mueck, A Boy, 2005
• Ron Mueck, A Girl, 2006
• R. Fukahori, 3-D Paintings (Any)
• Keng Lye, 3-D Paintings (Any)
• El Anatsui, Dusasa II, 2007

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Elements and Principles Teaching Bundle

This extraordinary bundle includes the best resources for teaching each of the elements and principles—37 worksheets/handouts, 15 lessons (with accompanying PowerPoints and Handouts), 3 ready-to-go art analysis activities, 3 art analysis videos, and 13 elements and principle PDF articles.

Buy Now

There you have it! The best texture in art examples for your elements and principles of art lessons. Want more elements and principles of art teacher resources? Check out the below posts.