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caravaggio

October 24, 2018 21 Comments

Judith and Holofernes Paintings: A Compare and Contrast Art Lesson

Inside: Art lesson ideas and activities for comparing two Baroque Judith and Holofernes paintings. Which was made by a man and which was painted by a woman?

Judith and Holofernes

Let’s talk about decapitation for a minute.
Did I draw you in with that hook? Whether you rose your eyebrows or nodded with excitement, you’re curious about what I’m going to say next, and your students will be too.

Throughout art history, there are topics and stories that we see repeated time and again by different artists, because they capture the imagination and ignite our emotions. One example of this is Judith and Holofernes paintings based on the story of Judith slaying Holofernes from the Septuagint and the Catholic and Eastern Orthodox Christian Old Testament of the Bible. This story is represented in more than 114 paintings and sculptures!

Judith and Holofernes paintings
*Read more to see artist’s name, Judith Slaying Holofernes, 1614–20

Please note, this post includes Amazon affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

Judith and Holofernes Paintings

To sum up the story, Holofernes, an Assyrian general and our dastardly villain, was tasked by the king to destroy Judith’s hometown, the city of Bethulia. Judith, a beautiful widow, charms and befriends Holofernes and is allowed into Holofernes’ tent because of his desire for her. After he gets drunk and passes out, she chops of his head and carries it away in a basket back to Bethulia to prove to her neighbors that their troubles are over. Bam!

Caravaggio, Judith Beheading Holofernes, 1598-99 Judith and Holofernes paintings
*Read more to see artist’s name, Judith Beheading Holofernes, 1598-99

These two representations of the story are remarkably similar, but the differences stand out. One of my all-time favorite art lessons is to have students compare and contrast these two Judith and Holofernes paintings. It’s a great lesson in looking closely. The longer you can keep a student looking and thinking, the more they will get out of it. Have your students notice the similarities and differences between the colors, lighting, postures, and expressions of the people, actions, lines, and emotions. There’s plenty to keep students exploring and engaged.

(Facebook video not working? Watch on YouTube.)

Discussing Gender in Art

I always follow up the compare and contrast activity with a thought-provoking question: “Which of these paintings was painted by a woman, and which was painted by a man?

Think about it. What do you think the correct answer is? How can you tell one was painted by a woman and one a man?

Notice how the women are painted. In the first one, the woman is strong and determined. She’s got her knee on the bed, really going for it. In the second, the woman is delicate and looks disgusted. She’s leaning away from the action, keeping her distance. Her body language is timid and worried.

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What Do Kids Learn from Looking at Art Poster

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Free Poster

What Do Kids Learn from Looking at Art Poster

Our students learn so much from looking at art. Use this poster in your classroom to remind them of all the skills they’re growing!

Classroom Art Discussion

I’ve led this discussion with countless groups of students–high-schoolers, college students, and adults. Answers and reasons always vary, and there is always an interesting discussion. Even when they get the answer “wrong,” it is still is an interesting way to explore gender and stereotypes. It’s a great way to encourage deep learning about the lives of artists.

The Passion of Artmesia by Susan Vreeland

Are you ready for the correct answer? Did you think about it first?

The first is the woman artist — Artemisia Gentileschi). The second is the man — Caravaggio. Did you get it right?

Gentileschi, a rare woman painter from the past, led a tumultuous life. She painted strong and powerful women, as well as women being oppressed or exposed. Although we tend to connect a woman’s life to her painting more than we do with male painters (see this post about the lives of artists), it’s hard to resist seeing the connection here. As a teenager, she was raped by a friend of her father. At the time, the woman was usually seen at the one to blame. There was a trial and she almost married the man who raped her. You can read about her life in the awesome biographical novel, The Passion of Artemisia by Susan Vreeland. I highly recommend this book. I read it years ago and loved it.

See more of Artemisia Gentileschi’s artwork here.

Art Learning Activities for Judith Slaying Holofernes

  • Compare and contrast the two works. After noticing all the similarities and differences, ask your students which painting was painted by a man and which a woman. Ask them to explain their answer. Use the compare and contrast art activity from the bundle of free art appreciation worksheets to get students thinking. (See photo below.)
  • Study Baroque art to better understand the characteristics of these two works. Use my Baroque lesson that includes this activity along with other compare/contrast activities to teach the main characteristics of Baroque. Buy the lesson here or join the Curated Connections Library to get the lesson materials.
  • Read my post about Exploring Narrative in Art for more activities to support and connect with stories in art.
  • Check out other representations of the story (below) and talk about which paintings depict the story more effectively and what choices artists makes to tell stories.
  • Watch the Khan Academy Smarthistory video about Gentileschi’s version of this story.
  • The following worksheets from my $12 Printable Art Appreciation Worksheets Bundle work well with these artworks: 4 Steps of Art Criticism, Compare and Contrast, Twitter Perspectives, Write a Letter, Formal Analysis–Elements of Art, Charlotte Mason Picture Study, Write a Haiku, and the “I am” Character Poem. Many of these worksheets are also available in my free worksheets bundle for e-mail subscribers.

This post was originally published on October 27, 2014.

Mentioned on the Art Class Curator Podcast…

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Filed Under: Art and Artists
Tagged With: artemisia gentileschi, best of art class curator, caravaggio

 

March 28, 2016 6 Comments

How to Compare and Contrast Art to Teach Art History

Inside: Use these techniques artwork examples to compare and contrast art in your classroom. Art comparison help students see the art in a new way and make the conventions of an art movement more clear and understandable.

If I had to pick my favorite teaching method for art history, it probably would be compare and contrast art. When you place two artworks next to each other, new ways of understanding the art can open up!

Compare and Contrast art

There are multiple ways to compare and contrast art:

  • comparing works of art from the same art movement or period to look for commonalities and shared themes,
  • comparing two depictions of the same subject,
  • comparing works of art from one period with works from the period that came before,
  • and probably many more!

Using Compare and Contrast to Teach Art History

In this post, I focus on comparing works from one period with art from the period that comes before. I love this method because, in addition to reviewing prior knowledge, you teach students to discover the conventions of the art movement or period on their own.

It’s easy to tell students that the conventions of Baroque art are contrasted between light and dark, intimate compositions, use of contemporary everyday models, foreshortening, etc, but they won’t remember it unless they find those things for themselves. When you put a Baroque artwork next to a Renaissance artwork, those conventions become immediately clear.

Use the following artwork pairs to have students better understand and connect with the conventions and themes of the art periods.

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Find the full lesson from this post along with hundreds of other art teaching resources and trainings in the Curated Connections Library. Click here for more information about how to join or enter your email below for a free SPARKworks lesson from the membership!

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Get the Full Lesson!

This Lesson is in The Curated Connections Library!

Find the full lesson from this post along with hundreds of other art teaching resources and trainings in the Curated Connections Library. Click here for more information about how to join or enter your email below for a free SPARKworks lesson from the membership!

Compare and Contrast Art Examples: Renaissance/Baroque

In my Italian Baroque lesson (which you can download as a member of The Curated Connections Library), I have 4 sets of images that I print and have students compare and contrast art in small groups. My favorite set is Leonardo da Vinci’s The Last Supper and Caravaggio’s Supper at Emmaus.

Side by side-The Last Supper and Supper at Emmaus, art comparisons
At left: Caravaggio, Supper at Emmaus, 1601; At right: Leonardo Da Vinci, The Last Supper, 1495

Lead a discussion on these artworks being sure to note the differences in the lighting, the people, the setting/background, the positions of the people, the lines, and the colors.

Compare and Contrast Art Examples: Ancient Rome/Byzantine

After Christianity became the official religion of the Roman Empire, art took a drastic turn from the focus on man to the focus on God. I love to compare this Roman mosaic with the mosaic of Justinian and his attendant.

Justinian and two athletes mosaics, how to compare and contrast art paintings
At left: Mosaic, Church of San Vitale in Ravenna, Italy, Justinian and his Retinue (noblemen, patrons, attendants), 6th Century C.E. At right: Floor mosaic from Baths of Caracalla , Vatican Museums, Rome, Two athletes, c.200-500 C.E.

The differences in subject matter are clear. The Roman artwork glorifies the strength and the body of a man while the Byzantine artwork no longer shows the men with realistic proportions in art. Students will note the differences in body proportions, the use of color and pattern, and the Byzantine complexity vs. the Roman simplicity.

Compare and Contrast Art Examples: Romanesque/Gothic

Romanesque is kind of a weird art period to teach. It is so varied and transitional. Putting a Romanesque building next to a Gothic really trains students to look closely at details and notice the glory and impressive engineering of a Gothic Cathedral!

Gothic architecture comparing artworks
At left: Abbey of la Madaleine, Vézelay, Photo Credit: Delta 51; At right: Cathedral at Reims, Photo Credit: bodoklecksel

Check out this past post on teaching Gothic architecture for more information about this side-by-side.

Resource Library Subscribers: Download the Gothic PowerPoint.

Compare and Contrast Art Examples: Neoclassical/Romantic

The honor and stoicism of Neoclassical art is a great contrast to the emotional turmoil of Romanticism. Compare David’s Oath of the Horatii with Delacroix’s Lady Liberty Leading the People.

compare and contrast art history
At left: Eugene Delacroix, Liberty Leading the People, 1830; At right: Jacques-Louis David, The Oath of the Horatii, 1784

Patriotism and nationalism are key themes in both of these art movements, but this manifested in their art in incredibly different ways. This art comparison works really well too with a poetry writing exercise. Have students write haikus about the paintings, and then compare the language used in each.

Compare and Contrast Art Examples: Impressionism/Post-Impressionism

I find Post-Impressionism a little harder to teach than other art movements. It’s mainly just a collection of artists in this strange transition period between Impressionism and Modern Art. It’s Impressionism but it’s not. It’s Fauvism but it’s not.

compare and contrast art
At left: Claude Monet, Wheatstacks (End of Summer), 1890-91; At right: Vincent van Gogh, The Starry Night, 1889

Putting a Van Gogh next to a Monet works as an art comparison because you can really notice the addition of emotion. I describe Post-Impressionism to my students as Impressionism+Emotion+Bolder, Unrealistic Colors.

Classroom Connection


The compare and contrast art activity from the bundle of free art appreciation worksheets is a great way to get students thinking.

What other artworks do you like to compare and contrast with your students? Please share in the comments!

Filed Under: Art Connection Activities, Art Teacher Tips, Featured
Tagged With: best of art class curator, caravaggio, claude monet, eugene delacroix, jacques-louis david, leonardo da vinci, vincent van gogh

 

September 13, 2015 7 Comments

Exploring Narrative in Art

the Art Curator for Kids - Exploring Narrative in Art-700x1000
the Art Curator for Kids - Exploring Narrative in Art

One of the best ways for a student to connect with art is through narrative or story. Really, it’s not just appropriate for just students–we all connect through narrative. Narrative is how all of us see the world and how we connect with each other. We put together stories in our heads for situations in our lives. We try to fill in the blanks. And when we first see a work of art for the first time, we often go straight to narrative (if the strong emotions in the work don’t grab us first!).

The benefits of including narrative writing in your curriculum are many: from emotional expression to social and cultural awareness and understanding to developing creativity. Hearing others’ stories and telling your own story are powerful.

Art is a natural fit for narrative because much art tells a story, but that story is up for interpretation from the viewer. The story and the art itself changes depending on who is looking at it. The artist leaves us clues and descriptors and emotions, and we are left to put the pieces together. It is exciting and creative and challenging.

I say it is challenging, but really our kids don’t find it as daunting as we do as adults. They are primed for story creating, and all we need to do is help guide them through the process. The rest of this post gives you a step by step guide to exploring narrative through art.

Analyze the Painting: Visual Thinking Strategies

This human focus on the narrative is what led Abigail Housen and Philip Yenawine to develop Visual Thinking Strategies (or VTS). I’ve briefly mentioned them before on the blog here. VTS was created in response to Housen’s stage theory of Aesthetic Development (source). Don’t click away; I won’t bore you with the details, but she discovered that there are five stages of how people interact with artwork. In the first stage or Accountive stage, viewers of art focus on narrative.

Accountive viewers are storytellers. Using their senses, memories, and personal associations, they make concrete observations about a work of art that are woven into a narrative. Here, judgments are based on what is known and what is liked. Emotions color viewers’ comments, as they seem to enter the work of art and become part of its unfolding narrative. (source)

vts image

So, what is VTS?
With VTS, you use three questions only: “What’s going on in this picture?”, “What do you see that makes you say that?”, and “What more can you find?” That’s it! You basically just keep poking and prodding the student for more information and connecting his or her ideas together. Starting with that key question, “What’s going on?” will spark a lot of ideas and stories in the student. The question hints at narrative but doesn’t limit the student’s response. I was really skeptical of this strategy when we discussed it in grad school, but honestly, I find it to be a very effective way of talking about art with students.

Develop the Story

While I think VTS is useful and works very well, sometimes you want to go deeper into the interpretation of the work. Remember, this is YOUR or your student’s story. Don’t look up the “right answer.” Your interpretation is just as correct as whatever you might find to read about the work.

  1. The first step of interpreting narrative in art is fully exploring the painting–taking an inventory of all of the things, emotions, places, actions, and people present in the work. The artist makes a lot of choices that impact the story, so make sure you and your student have discovered and analyzed these choices fully.
  2. Next, you can work together or alone through writing to figure out what happened before the moment depicted in the painting. Figure out the motives and personalities of the characters. What were they doing in painting, and what did they do to get to that point? What were they reacting to? Why were they feeling those emotions? Create a back story.
  3. After developing the back story and present story, create what will happen next. Back up ideas that you have with clues from the painting, but feel free to get creative.
  4. Outline the story and flesh out the details. Study parts of a story to make sure you have all the elements of a good narrative and to connect with your language arts curriculum.

Document the Story and Create

Once you have figured out your story, take it further with one or more of these activities.

  1. Draw, paint, or storyboard the story. Create new paintings of moments in the story before or after the painting in question. Or, create a storyboard with all of the key points illustrated as if preparing for an animated movie on a notecard or a template printed from online.
  2. Write it out. Depending on the age and ability of the student, write out the story. You could have the student write a short story or a screenplay. If your student is unable to write yet, take a video of him or her telling the story out loud or write it down for her.
  3. Act it out. Have students work with other students to put on a play or make a video. Make costumes and props, develop the script, and practice the emotions.
  4. Create a tableau vivant. If you have multiple students, create a series of tableaux vivants, or living pictures. Have them create the story using their bodies with props if you’d like. This is basically like a freeze-frame. You could have them do one point of the story as a freeze-frame which morphs into another freeze frame for the middle of the story which then morphs into the end of the story. Snap pictures of each tableau to document the learning experience. It may sound like a silly activity, but the students I have done this with always get a good laugh out of it and it helps them make a deeper connection with the artwork.

Your Turn!

Let’s try it out. Take a close look at this artwork.

Jacques-Louis David, The Death of Socrates, 1787
Jacques-Louis David, The Death of Socrates, 1787

Develop the story based on clues from the painting, and tell me your story in the comments. 🙂

Get the Full Lesson!

This Lesson is in The Curated Connections Library!

Find the full lesson from this post along with hundreds of other art teaching resources and trainings in the Curated Connections Library. Click here for more information about how to join or enter your email below for a free SPARKworks lesson from the membership!

Join the List

Get the Full Lesson!

This Lesson is in The Curated Connections Library!

Find the full lesson from this post along with hundreds of other art teaching resources and trainings in the Curated Connections Library. Click here for more information about how to join or enter your email below for a free SPARKworks lesson from the membership!

This article was originally published on June 18, 2014.

Filed Under: Art and Artists, Downloads and Resources
Tagged With: bartolome esteban murillo, best of art class curator, caravaggio, eugene delacroix, gian lorenzo bernini, jacques-louis david

 

July 13, 2015 Leave a Comment

Artworks that Show Space

Inside: This is the ultimate list of good space in art examples! The list includes perspective, positive and negative space in art, foreshortening, and much more!

It’s Elements and Principles of Art time again! I’ve been working my way through all of the elements and principles of art in order to give you a one-stop resource to find great example artworks for each element and principle. So far, I’ve completed Line, Color, Shape, Balance, and Emphasis.

Today, we tackle Space. First, check out this other post I wrote about space last year. Then, check out the below list.

I will add to this list when I find more, so this is a good one to pin or bookmark! The horizontal picture collages do not have all the pictures from the categories.

Please note, this post includes Amazon affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

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.

Examples of Space in Art

The Art Curator for Kids -Artworks that Show Space - Vast Space and Overlapping

Space in Art Examples: Vast/Open Space

  • Caspar David Friedrich, Monk by the Sea, 1809
  • Andrew Wyeth, Christina’s World, 1948
  • Maruyama Okyo, Geese Over a Beach, 18th century
  • Sanford R. Gifford, Isola Bella in Lago Maggiore, 1871

Artworks that Show Space using Overlapping

  • John Sloan, South Beach Bathers, 1907-08
  • Horace Pippin, Man on a Bench, 1946
  • Trigo Piula, Ta Tele Gabon, 1988
  • Jacob Lawrence, The Library, 1960

The Art Curator for Kids -Artworks that Show Space - Relative Size and Vertical Position on the Picture PlaceSpace in Art Examples: Relative Size

  • John Sloan, South Beach Bathers, 1907-08
  • Ben Shahn, Italian Landscape, 1943-1944
  • Abraham Bloemaert, Shepherd Boy Pointing at Tobias and the Angel, c. 1625-1630
  • Pierre Adolphe Valette, Albert Square, Manchester, 1910

Artworks that Show Space using Vertical Position on the Picture Plane

  • John Sloan, South Beach Bathers, 1907-08
  • Andrew Wyeth, Christina’s World, 1948
  • Basawan and Chatar Muni, Akbar and the Elephant Hawai, ca. 1590
  • Tom Wesselmann, Still Life #12, 1962
  • Jacob Lawrence, The Library, 1960

The Art Curator for Kids -Artworks that Show Space - Flat Space and ForeshorteningArtworks with Flat/Shallow Space

  • Byzantine, Justinian and his Attendants, Basilica di San Vitale, 547 C.E
  • Giotto, Scrovegni Chapel Frescoes, ca. 1305
  • Henri Matisse, Red Room (Harmony in Red), 1908
  • Juan Gris, Violin and Playing Cards, 1913

Artworks with Foreshortening

  • Caravaggio, Conversion on the Way to Damascus, 1601
  • Andrea Mantegna, Lamentation Over the Dead Christ, c. 1501
  • James Montgomery Flagg, I want you for U.S. Army, c.1917

The Art Curator for Kids -Artworks that Show Space - Linear PerspectiveArtworks with Linear Perspective

  • Masaccio, Trinity, 1427-28
  • Raphael, School of Athens, 1510
  • Meindert Hobbema, The Avenue at Middelharnis, 1689
  • Gustave Caillebotte, The Floor Scrapers, 1875
  • Leonardo da Vinci, Last Supper, 1498
  • Pietro Perugino, Christ Giving the Keys to St. Peter, 1481–1482
  • Dorothea Lange, The Road West, 1938
  • Salvador Dali, The Disintegration of The Persistence of Memory, 1952-54
  • Camille Pissarro, Place du Théâtre Français, Paris: Rain, 1898
  • Charles Sheeler, City Interior, 1936
  • Piero della Francesca, Ideal City, c. 1470
  • Filippo Brunelleschi, Perspective drawing for Church of Santo Spirito in Florence, c. 1428
  • Edith Hayllar, A Summer Shower, 1883
  • Vincent van Gogh, A Corridor in the Asylum, 1889
  • Anselm Kiefer, To the Unknown Painter, 1983

Artworks with Multipoint (2+) Perspective

  • Canaletto, Santa Maria Zobenigo, c.1765
  • Gustave Caillebotte, Paris: A Rainy Day, 1877
  • George Tooker, The Subway, 1950
  • Jan Vredeman de Vries, Studies in Perspective, c. 1604

The Art Curator for Kids -Artworks that Show Space - Aerial Perspective and Isometric Projection

Space in Art Examples: Atmospheric/Aerial Perspective

  • Leonardo da Vinci, Mona Lisa, c. 1503-19
  • Claude Lorrain, Landscape with Ruins, Pastoral Figures, and Trees, c. 1650
  • Albert Bierstadt, Sunrise, Yosemite Valley, c. 1870
  • Sanford R. Gifford, October in the Catskills, 1880
  • Pieter Bruegel the Elder, Hunters in the Snow, 1565
  • Pierre Adolphe Valette, Albert Square, Manchester, 1910

Space in Art Examples: Isometric Projection/Perspective

  • Chinese, Portraits of the Yongzheng Emperor Enjoying Himself during the 8th lunar month, Yongzheng period, 1723—35
  • Yi Eungnok, Scholar’s accoutrements (chaekgeori), c. 1860-1874
  • David Hockney, Self-Portrait With Blue Guitar, 1977

Space in Art Examples: Amplified/Exaggerated Perspective

  • Alexander Rodchenko, At the Telephone, 1928
  • Salvador Dalí, Christ of Saint John of the Cross, 1951
  • Giorgio de Chirico, Mystery and Melancholy of a Street, 1914

The Art Curator for Kids - Space in Art Examples - Positive and Negative SpacePositive and Negative Space in Art

  • Henry Moore, Recumbent Figure, 1938
  • Eadweard Muybridge, Sallie Gardner at a Gallop, 1878
  • Alberto Giacometti, The Cage, 1930-31
  • Keith Haring, Pop Shop IV (Man with Hole), 1989
  • Andy Goldsworthy, Circles, Varied
  • Kenneth Snelson, Needle Tower, 1968
  • Sesshū Tōyō, Haboku-Sansui, 1495
  • Richard Serra, Sequence, 2006
  • Auguste Rodin, The Cathedral, 1908

Remember I will add to this, so don’t forget to pin this post! 🙂

Do you have a great example to teach space? Share it with me in the comments, and I will add it to the list!

There you have it! The best space 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.

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

For more elements and principles of art examples, visit the following resources:

The Art Curator for Kids -Example Artworks that Show Space - The Elements and Principles of Art Series-300The Art Curator for Kids - Example Artworks that Show Line - The Elements and Principles of Art - 300The Art Curator for Kids - Example Artworks that Show Emphasis - The Elements and Principles of Art SeriesElements and Principles of Art - Artworks that Show Proportion in art and ScaleThe Art Curator for Kids - Elements and Principles of Art Series - Artworks that Show Shape - 300The Art Curator for Kids - Why I Hate the Elements and Principles But Teach Them Anyway - 300The Art Curator for Kids - How Artists Depict Space - Masterpiece Monday - John Sloan , South Beach Bathers, 1907-1908, Art Lessons for Kids - Elements of Art Lessons

Filed Under: Elements and Principles of Art
Tagged With: abraham bloemaert, albert bierstadt, alberto giacometti, alexander rodchenko, andrea mantegna, andrew wyeth, andy goldsworthy, anselm keifer, auguste rodin, ben shahn, camille pissarro, canaletto, caravaggio, caspar david friedrich, charles sheeler, claude lorrain, david hockney, dorothea lange, eadward muybridge, edith hayllar, filippo brunelleschi, george tooker, giorgio de chirico, giotto, gustave caillebotte, henri matisse, henry moore, horace pippin, jacob lawrence, james montgomery flagg, jan vredeman de vries, john sloan, juan gris, keith haring, kenneth snelson, leonardo da vinci, maruyama okyo, masaccio, meindert hobbema, michelangelo, piero della francesca, pierre adolphe valette, pieter bruegel, pietro perugino, raphael, richard serra, salvador dali, sanford gifford, sesshū tōyō, tom wesselmann, trigo piula, vincent van gogh, yi eungnok

 

May 31, 2015 1 Comment

Art About Art: 6 Artworks about Other Works of Art

The Art Curator for Kids - Art About Art History - 6 Artsworks that Are About Other Works of Art - These are so much fun!

I’m a big art history nerd, so I love art that references other artworks in funny and interesting ways. Check out these 6 works of art that are about other works of art. These works add something new to the conversation and make us think about the original works of art differently. These works would be a really fun addition to your art and aesthetics lessons with your high school or college art or art history classes.

The Art Curator for Kids - Art About Art History - 6 Artsworks that Are About Other Works of Art - These are so much fun!

For more information about how to talk about art with kids, check out this post on how to look at art with kids for tips on discussion artworks. You can also use my art worksheets with these artworks.

Yasumasa Morimura, Las Meninas Reborn in the Night: Las Meninas renacen de noche IV: Peering at the secret scene behind the artist, 2013

The Art Curator for Kids - Art About Art History - Las Meninas by Diego Velazquez and Yasumasa Morimura


It was close to impossible to pick just one artwork by Yasumasa Morimura! He has done dozens or more of artworks where he adds himself into artworks by Rembrandt, Frida Kahlo, Leonardo da Vinci, Vincent van Gogh, Vermeer, Salvador Dalí, Andy Warhol, and many more! Visit this website to see them all.

I chose this one because it shows another view of the artwork and makes us think about it in different ways. We see what the artist is painting (with the artist’s face on the girl on the painting), and we also see the painting in situ at the Prado Museum in Madrid.

He did other versions of this painting as well. He recreated it with himself as all of the characters and did one with the King and the Queen looking at the painting.

I have seen Yasumasa Morimura be referred to as the Cindy Sherman of Japan. One of Cindy Sherman’s works is down below.

Rene Magritte, Perspective: Madame Récamier by David, 1951

The Art Curator for Kids - Art About Art History - René Magritte and Jacques-Louis David, Madame Récamier

This painting by René Magritte always makes me chuckle. Magritte has a masterful way of making ordinary things amusing. I’m not going to say much about this one, because I’d like you and your students to ponder it on your own.

Cindy Sherman, Untitled (#224), 1990

The Art Curator for Kids - Art About Art History - Cindy Sherman, Untitled 224 and Caravaggio Young Sick Bacchus

Contemporary artist, Cindy Sherman, created a series of historical portraits where she put herself into famous portraits. Young Sick Bacchus by Caravaggio is said to be a self-portrait of the artist as the Roman god of wine, the harvest, theatre, and “ritual madness.”

You can read an interview with Cindy Sherman about the history portrait series on the art:21 website.

Aesthetics Lesson Bundle

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Robert Rauschenberg, Erased de Kooning Drawing, 1953

The Art Curator for Kids - Art About Art History - Erased de Kooning Drawing by Robert Rauschenberg

This artwork is the focus of another one of the Puzzles about Art aesthetics lessons I have written about on the website in the past.

Here’s the text from the activity sheet I used in my college classes about this art. The below text is from Battin, M.P., Fisher, J., Moore, R., and Silvers, A. (1989). Puzzles about art: An aesthetics casebook. New York: St. Martin’s Press.

In 1953, Robert Rauschenberg, a young though not inconsequential artist, asked Willem de Kooning (famous artist) to participate in an art project. De Kooning, who was not only older and much more established than Rauschenberg, but whose works sold for considerable sums of money, agreed to participate and gave Rauschenberg what he considered to be an important drawing which was executed in heavy crayon, grease pencil, ink, and graphite. Rauschenberg spent a month on the work, erasing it completely. Then he placed the de Kooning drawing in a gold leaf frame and hand-lettered the date and title on the drawing: Erased de Kooning Drawing, 1953. Rauschenberg had not only erased de Kooning’s work, but he had also exhibited the “erasure” as his work of art.Has Rauschenberg created a work of art, destroyed one, or perhaps both? Why?“

The de Kooning work from the picture is NOT the one he erased. I included it as an example of a de Kooning drawing so you could have an idea of what it looked it before Rauschenberg erased it.

Guerilla Girls, Do Women Have to Be Naked to Get Into the Met Museum?, 1989–2005

The Art Curator for Kids - Art About Art History - Guerilla Girls and Ingres, La Grande Odalisque

This iconic Guerilla Girls work is not necessarily about Ingres’ painting, but I have included it to show where they got the image from the poster. The Guerilla Girls are an anonymous group of women dedicated to fighting sexism in the art world. They point out injustices and inequalities at museums and galleries with public art pieces, billboards, t-shirts, bumper stickers, handbills, etc. Their protest art is data-driven and often uses humor to make their point.

Marcel Duchamp, L.H.O.O.Q., 1919

The Art Curator for Kids - Art About Art History - Mona Lisa by da Vinci and L.H.O.O.Q. by Duchamp

Marcel Duchamp and the dada art movement questioned the idea of art. What is art? Can you take the most famous painting, make a print of it, add a mustache and a caption, and it still be a work of art? Is art about the idea or the image?

The letters are wordplay. If you say those letters in french quickly, it sounds like you are saying the equivalent of “there is fire down below.”

Thanks for visiting! Which of these do you find the most interesting? What artworks did I miss? Share your thoughts in the comments!

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This Lesson is in The Curated Connections Library!

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Filed Under: Art and Artists
Tagged With: caravaggio, cindy sherman, diego velazquez, guerilla girls, jacques-louis david, jean-auguste-dominique ingres, rene magritte, robert rauschenberg, willem de kooning, yasumasa morimura

 

May 24, 2015 2 Comments

The Best Examples of Emphasis in Art

Here’s another Elements and Principles of Art list to help you in planning your art lessons! Today’s post includes example artworks for emphasis in art.

It was hard to break this one down to categories, because chances are if the artwork shows emphasis well, it usually used more than one element or principle to do so. So, I have put the elements and principles of art that the artist used to show emphasis in art in parenthesis next to the artwork.

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.

Emphasis in Art Examples

The Art Curator for Kids - Example Artworks that Show Emphasis in Art - The Elements and Principles of Art Series
  • Grant Wood, Parson Weems’ Fable, 1939 (Line, Shape)
  • Jonathan Borofsky, Walking to the Sky, 2004 (Line, Movement)
  • Francisco Goya, The Shootings of May Third 1808, 1814 (Value, Color, Line)
  • Jean-Honoré Fragonard, The Swing, 1767 (Complementary Color, Movement)
  • Leonardo da Vinci, The Last Supper, 1494-99 (Balance, Line, Space)
The Art Curator for Kids - Example Artworks that Show Emphasis in Art - The Elements and Principles of Art Series
  • Richard Anuszkiewicz, Deep Magenta Square, 1978 (Color, Line, Shape, Light)
  • Albert Bierstadt, Sunrise on the Matterhorn, after 1875 (Size, Space, Light, Contrast)
  • Georges de La Tour, St. Joseph the Carpenter, c. 1645 (Contrast, Value, Light)
  • Andrew Wyeth, Christina’s World, 1948 (Space)
The Art Curator for Kids - Example Artworks that Show Emphasis in Art - The Elements and Principles of Art Series
  • George C. Ault, Sullivan Street, Abstraction, 1924 (Contrast, Shape, Line, Color, Light)
  • Rembrandt van Rijn, Militia Company of District II under the Command of Captain Frans Banninck Cocq, known as the ‘Night Watch’, 1642 (Line, Value, Movement)
  • Edgar Degas, The Star, ca. 1878 (Shape, Balance, Line, Movement)
  • Andy Goldsworthy, Circles, Varied (Shape, Color, Value)
The Art Curator for Kids - Example Artworks that Show Emphasis in Art - The Elements and Principles of Art Series
  • Ancient Egypt, Nebamun Hunting in the Marshes, ca. 1350 B.C.E. (Scale/Size, Line)
  • Fra Bartolommeo, Savonarola, 16th century (Light, Contrast)
  • Jean Arp, Enak’s Tears (Terrestrial Forms), 1917 (Color, Shape)
  • Caravaggio, The Incredulity of Saint Thomas, 1601-02 (Composition, Line, Contrast, Light, Color)
  • Alexander Calder, Saucers Skirting a Planet, 1968 (Shape, Color)
  • Artemisia Gentileschi, Judith Slaying Holofernes, c.1620 (Line, Movement, Contrast, Value)
  • Gertrude Käsebier, Portrait of Alfred Steiglitz, 1902 (Texture, Value)
  • René Magritte, The Art of Living, 1967 (Shape, Space)

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

The Art Curator for Kids -Example Artworks that Show Space - The Elements and Principles of Art Series-300The Art Curator for Kids - Example Artworks that Show Line - The Elements and Principles of Art - 300The Art Curator for Kids - Example Artworks that Show Emphasis - The Elements and Principles of Art SeriesElements and Principles of Art - Artworks that Show Proportion in art and ScaleThe Art Curator for Kids - Elements and Principles of Art Series - Artworks that Show Shape - 300The Art Curator for Kids - Why I Hate the Elements and Principles But Teach Them Anyway - 300The Art Curator for Kids - How Artists Depict Space - Masterpiece Monday - John Sloan , South Beach Bathers, 1907-1908, Art Lessons for Kids - Elements of Art Lessons

Photo Credits:

  • Bernini’s Apollo and Daphne — Int3gr4te
  • Borofsky’s Walking to the Sky — doreen

Filed Under: Elements and Principles of Art
Tagged With: albert bierstadt, alexander calder, andrew wyeth, andy goldsworthy, artemisia gentileschi, caravaggio, edgar degas, fra bartolommeo, francisco goya, george ault, georges de la tour, gertrude käsebier, gian lorenzo bernini, grant wood, jean arp, jean-honore fragonard, jonathan borofsky, leonardo da vinci, michelangelo, rembrandt, rene magritte, richard anuszkiewicz

 

May 7, 2015 12 Comments

The Ultimate Collection of Color in Art: Examples and Definitions

It’s time again for an Elements and Principles of Art post! This post includes good examples of color in art, divided into categories. This list of examples of color in art contains the following elements of color: warm and cool colors in art, primary color art, complementary colors in art, analogous colors examples, neutral colors in art, and color intensity in art.

Want to check out my color wheel lesson on Color in Art? Click here to purchase the color in art and color wheel lesson.

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.

Examples of Color in Art

The Art Curator for Kids - Color in Art Examples - Primary Color Art

Primary Color Art

The primary colors are red, yellow, and blue. The primary colors are the basis for all other colors. You cannot do anything to mix blue, yellow, or red. They just exist.

  • Piet Mondrian, Broadway Boogie Woogie, 1942-43
  • Mark Rothko, Untitled (Yellow, Red, and Blue), 1953
  • Jacob Lawrence, Workshop (Builders #1), 1972 and many others
  • Cy Twombly, Summer Madness, 1990 (Click link, then click #20)
  • Hans Hofmann, The Golden Wall, 1961
  • Pablo Picasso, Claude and Paloma Playing, 1950
  • Fritz Glarner, Relational Painting No. 64, 1953
  • Roy Lichtenstein, Stepping Out, 1978
  • Ancient Roman, Glass Garland Bowl, late 1st century B.C.E.
  • Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, Ambassadeurs Aristide Bruant in his cabaret, 1892
  • Nicolas Poussin, The Death of Germanicus, 1627

Complementary Colors in Art

Complementary colors in art are opposite each other on the color wheel. They create a lot of contrast in art. Look around in the world, and you will be surprised how often complementary colors are used. What are the sets of complementary colors? The basic complementary color pairings are red and green, purple and yellow, and orange and blue.

  • Wassily Kandinsky, Improvisation 31 (Sea Battle), 1913
  • Pablo Picasso, Woman in Striped Armchair, 1941
  • Rufino Tamayo, Women of Tehuantepec, 1939, Oil on canvas

The Art Curator for Kids - example of color in art - Complementary Colors in Art - Green and Red

Complementary Colors in Art – Red and Green

  • Marc Chagall, I and the Village, 1911
  • Ando Hiroshige, Plum Estate, Kameido From “One Hundred Famous Views of Edo”, 1857
  • Shinobo Ishihara, Test for Color Deficiency
  • Vincent van Gogh, The Night Café, 1888
  • Jan van Eyck, The Arnolfini Portrait, 1434
  • Henri Matisse, Portrait of Madame Matisse (Green Stripe), 1905
  • Pablo Picasso, Woman with Hat, 1962
  • Georgia O’Keeffe, Anything, 1916 (Click link, top right image)
  • Vincent van Gogh, La Berceuse (Woman Rocking a Cradle; Augustin-Alix Pellicot Roulin, 1851-1930), 1889
  • Kay Kurt, Weingummi II, 1973

Complementary Colors in Art - Blue and Orange

Complementary Colors in Art – Blue and Orange

  • Mary Cassatt, Mother and Child, 1890
  • Edgar Degas, Ballerina and Lady with Fan, 1885
  • Claude Monet, Rouen Cathedral, West Façade, Sunlight, 1892
  • Paul Klee, Ad Parnassum, 1932
  • Vincent van Gogh, Self-Portrait, 1889
  • Claude Monet, Impression, Sunrise, 1872
  • Fritz Bultman, Blue I, 1958
  • Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, Portrait of Oscar Wilde, 1895
  • Sandy Skoglund, Revenge of the Goldfish, 1981
  • Stuart Davis, Colonial Cubism, 1954
  • Edvard Munch, The Scream, 1893
  • Arnold Böcklin, Island of the Dead, 1880

artist who use colour - Complementary Colors in Art - Purple and Yellow

Complementary Colors in Art – Purple and Yellow

  • Claude Monet, Water Lilies, 1914-1926
  • Fritz Scholder, Dream Horse G, 1986
  • Henri Matisse, The Dream, 1940
  • Pablo Picasso, Woman with Yellow Hair, 1931 (also red/green)
  • Ray Spillenger, Purple and Yellow, 1963
  • Francis Bacon, Study after Velázquez’s Portrait of Pope Innocent X, 1953
  • Federico Barocci, The Nativity, c. 1597
  • Mark Rothko, Untitled, 1954

The Art Curator for Kids - elements of color in art - Analogous Colors ExamplesAnalogous Colors Examples

Analogous colors are next to each other on the color wheel. They create unity in art because they are made of the same colors. Example sets of analogous colors are blue, blue-green, and green or orange, red-orange, and red.

  • Josef Albers, Homage to the Square: Soft Spoken, 1969
  • Vincent van Gogh, The Olive Trees, 1889
  • Claude Monet, The Water-Lily Pond, 1899
  • Mark Rothko, Untitled (Violet, Black, Orange, Yellow on White and Red), 1949
  • Helen Frankenthaler, Freefall, 1992
  • Ed Paschke, Painted Lady, 1995
  • Giorgio de Chirico, Mystery and Melancholy of a Street, 1914
  • Jean-Honoré Fragonard, Young Girl Reading, c. 1770
  • Geertgen Tot Sint Jans, John the Baptist in the Wilderness, ca. 1490

Warm and Cool Colors in Art

Warm colors are the colors red, orange, and yellow. They are bright and pop out. They create energy and excitement in an artwork. Blue and green are cool colors. These cool colors create a calming energy in an artwork. Violet/purple can be both warm and cool depending on how much red or how much blue is in the violet.

The Art Curator for Kids - Color in Art Examples - Warm Colors in Art

Warm Colors in Art

  • Vincent van Gogh, Sunflowers, 1888
  • Paul Gauguin, Still Life with Mangoes, 1891-1896
  • Mark Rothko, Untitled (Violet, Black, Orange, Yellow on White and Red), 1949
  • Vincent van Gogh, The Night Café, 1888
  • Robert Adam, The Croome Court tapestry room, Worcestershire, 1758-67
  • Frederic Church, Cotopaxi, 1862
  • Caravaggio, The Incredulity of Saint Thomas, 1601-1602

The Art Curator for Kids - famous artists that use colour - Cool Colors in ArtCool Colors in Art

  • Claude Monet, The Artist’s Garden at Giverny, 1900
  • Winslow Homer, Fishing Boats, Key West, 1903
  • Richard Parkes Bonington, The Undercliff, 1828
  • James McNeil Whistler, Nocturne, Blue and Silver: Chelsea, 1871
  • Natalya Goncharova, Linen, 1913
  • Katsushika Hokusai, 36 Views of Mount Fuji, ca. 1829-32

The Art Curator for Kids - Color in Art Examples - Neutral Colors in ArtNeutral Colors in Art

Neutral colors are created by using white and black or are created by mixing sets of complementary colors together to make varying shades of brown. Examples of neutrals include gray, brown, tan, white, black, etc.

  • El Lissitzky, Proun 19D, c. 1922
  • Claude Monet, Sunrise (Marine), 1873
  • Georgia O’Keeffe, Black Iris, 1926
  • Camille Pissarro, Place du Théâtre Français, Paris: Rain, 1898
  • Marcel Duchamp, Nude Descending a Staircase, No. 2, 1912

Color Intensity in Art

Intensity refers to how saturated a color is. It is the brightness or the dullness of a color. Colors with high intensity are bright, and colors with low intensity are dull.

The Art Curator for Kids - elements of art colour - Color Intensity in Art: High Intensity

Color Intensity in Art: High Intensity

  • Pablo Picasso, The Weeping Woman, 1937
  • Andre Derain, Charing Cross Bridge, 1906
  • Ernst Ludwig Kirchner, Seated Girl (Fränzi Fehrmann), 1910
  • Jim Dine, The Circus #3, 2007

Color Intensity in Art: Low Intensity examples

Color Intensity in Art: Low Intensity

  • Salima Hashmi, Poem for Zainab, 1994
  • Paul Klee, Hammamet with Its Mosque, 1914
  • Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, Moulin Rouge The Departure of the Quadrille, 1892
  • Camille Pissarro, Place du Théâtre Français, Paris: Rain, 1898
  • Helen Frankenthaler, Mountains and Sea, 1952

Do you have a great example to teach color in art? Share it with me in the comments, and I will add it to the list!

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


For more elements of art examples and principles of design examples, visit the following resources.



The Art Curator for Kids -Example Artworks that Show Space - The Elements and Principles of Art Series-300The Art Curator for Kids - Example Artworks that Show Line - The Elements and Principles of Art - 300The Art Curator for Kids - Example Artworks that Show Emphasis - The Elements and Principles of Art SeriesElements and Principles of Art - Artworks that Show Proportion in art and ScaleThe Art Curator for Kids - Elements and Principles of Art Series - Artworks that Show Shape - 300The Art Curator for Kids - Why I Hate the Elements and Principles But Teach Them Anyway - 300The Art Curator for Kids - How Artists Depict Space - Masterpiece Monday - John Sloan , South Beach Bathers, 1907-1908, Art Lessons for Kids - Elements of Art Lessons

Filed Under: Elements and Principles of Art
Tagged With: ando hiroshige, andre derain, arnold böcklin, camille pissarro, caravaggio, claude monet, cy twombly, ed paschke, edgar degas, edvard munch, el lissitzky, ernst ludwig kirchner, federico barocci, francis bacon, frederic church, fritz bultman, fritz glarner, fritz scholder, geertgen tot sint jans, georgia o'keeffe, giorgio de chirico, hans hofmann, helen frankenthaler, henri de toulouse-lautrec, henri matisse, jacob lawrence, james whistler, jan van eyck, jean-honore fragonard, jim dine, josef albers, kay kurt, marc chagall, marcel duchamp, mark rothko, mary cassatt, natalia goncharova, nicolas poussin, pablo picasso, paul gauguin, paul klee, piet mondrian, ray spillenger, richard parkes bonington, robert adam, roy lichtenstein, rufino tamayo, salima hashmi, sandy skoglund, stuart davis, vincent van gogh, wassily kandinsky, winslow homer

 

May 6, 2015 7 Comments

The Best Examples of Balance in Art: Symmetrical, Asymmetrical, and Radial

Continuing on with The Elements and Principles of Art series, this article focuses on good examples of balance in art. These examples and definitions are dividing into the different types of balance in art: symmetrical balance in art, asymmetrical balance in art, and radial balance in art.

I will add to this examples of balance in art list when I find more, so this is a good one to pin or bookmark! The horizontal picture collages do not have all the pictures from the categories.

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.

What does balance mean in art?

Balance in art is just what is sounds like; it is the sense of stability in a work of art. To create balance in art, artists combine the visual components to ensure that one part of the artwork doesn’t completely overshadow the rest. Each choice made by the artist is a deliberate one in order to ensure equilibrium and balance in the art. Artists create this pleasing effect using the different types of balance in art listed below.

Symmetrical Balance in Art Examples

Symmetrical Balance in Art Examples

What is symmetrical balance in art? Symmetrical balance in art is when each half of the artwork is identical or very similar. Draw a line through the artwork and compare each side.

  • Cimabue, Santa Trinita Madonna, 1280-90
  • Pietro Perugino, Christ Giving the Keys to St. Peter, 1481–1482
  • American 19th Century, Cutout of Animals, second quarter 19th century
  • Frida Kahlo, Self-Portrait, 1940
  • Chokwe people, African, Chibinda Ilunga, mid-19th century
  • Naum Gabo, Untitled sculpture in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, 1957
  • Georgia O’Keefe, Oriental Poppies, 1928
  • Diego Rivera, Flower Day, 1925
  • Ancient Greece, The Parthenon, 447-438 B.C.E.
  • Tapirapé, Cara Grande feather mask, c. 1960
  • Japan, Portrait sculpture of a Zen priest, 14th–15th century
  • M.C. Escher, many
  • Francis Bacon, Figure with Meat, 1909-92
  • Salvador Dalì, Mae West Lips Sofa, 1938

Asymmetrical Balance in Art Examples

Asymmetrical Balance in Art Examples

What is asymmetrical balance in art? Asymmetrical balance in art is when each half is different but has equal visual weight. The artwork is still balanced. For example, in the Caravaggio (the picture in the right in the collage), the three men are balanced with Jesus on the left. Jesus is facing forward and in brighter light which balances out the three men in shadow.

  • James Abbott McNeill Whistler, Arrangement in Grey and Black: Portrait of the Painter’s Mother known as “Whistler’s Mother,” 1871
  • Caravaggio, The Incredulity of Saint Thomas, 1601-02
  • Georges Seurat, A Sunday on La Grande Jatte, 1884
  • Edgar Degas, The Rehearsal, 1877
  • Edgar Degas, Dancers Practicing at the Barre, 1876-77
  • Gian Lorenzo Bernini, David, 1623
  • Alexander Calder, Mobile, 1942
  • Yinka Shonibare, Dysfunctional Family, 1999
  • Katsushika Hokusai, The Great Wave off Kanagawa, c. 1829-32
  • Paul Strand, Abstraction, Twin Lakes, Connecticut, 1916
  • Ikebana, various
  • Vincent van Gogh, The Starry Night, 1889
  • Jacques-Louis David, Oath of the Horatii, 1785
  • Edward Hopper, Nighthawks, 1942

 Examples of Balance in Art - Radial Balance in Art ExamplesRadial Balance in Art Examples

What is radial balance in art? Radial balance in art is when there are equal parts that radiate out from the center. Think of it like pieces of pie. You will find in the examples of balance in art here that there can be many equal pieces–from 3 in the Charles II Charger to 16 in the Gothic Rose window!

  • Gothic Rose Windows
  • England, 17th century, Charger of Charles II in the Boscobel Oak, c. 1685
  • M.C. Escher, many
  • Mandalas, many
  • Melozzo da Forlì, St. Mark’s Sacristy, 1480s

The Art Curator for Kids - Examples of Balance in Art - Off-Balance ExamplesOff-Balance or Unbalanced Artworks (kind of)

It’s hard to find artworks that are unbalanced by well-known artists. These teeter on the edge between asymmetrically-balanced and unbalanced. It’s up for debate and would be a great discussion with your students!

  • Edgar Degas, Race Horses, 1885-1888
  • Paul Cezanne, Still Life with Apples and a Pot of Primroses, c. 1890
  • Precolumbian, Presentation of Captives to a Maya Ruler, A.D. 785
  • John Singer Sargent, El Jaleo, 1882
  • Juan Sánchez Cotán, Quince, Cabbage, Melon, and Cucumber, 1602
  • Judith Leyster, A Boy and Girl with a Cat and an Eel, c. 1635
  • Paulus Potter, The Bull, 1647
  • Harmen Steenwyck, Still Life: An Allegory of the Vanities of Human Life, c. 1640

Do you have great examples of balance in art? Share them with me in the comments, and I will add it to the list!

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 examples of balance in art for your elements and principles of art lessons. Want more elements and principles of art teacher resources? Check out the below posts.



The Art Curator for Kids -Example Artworks that Show Space - The Elements and Principles of Art Series-300The Art Curator for Kids - Example Artworks that Show Line - The Elements and Principles of Art - 300The Art Curator for Kids - Example Artworks that Show Emphasis - The Elements and Principles of Art SeriesElements and Principles of Art - Artworks that Show Proportion in art and ScaleThe Art Curator for Kids - Elements and Principles of Art Series - Artworks that Show Shape - 300The Art Curator for Kids - Why I Hate the Elements and Principles But Teach Them Anyway - 300The Art Curator for Kids - How Artists Depict Space - Masterpiece Monday - John Sloan , South Beach Bathers, 1907-1908, Art Lessons for Kids - Elements of Art Lessons

Filed Under: Elements and Principles of Art
Tagged With: alexander calder, caravaggio, cimabue, diego rivera, edgar degas, edward hopper, francis bacon, frida kahlo, georges seurat, georgia o'keeffe, gian lorenzo bernini, harmen steenwyck, jacques-louis david, james whistler, john singer sargent, juan sánchez cotán, judith leyster, leonardo da vinci, m.c. escher, naum gabo, paul cezanne, paul strand, paulus potter, pietro perugino, salvador dali, vincent van gogh, yinka shonibare

 

April 29, 2015 8 Comments

Artworks that Show Line

Inside: This is ultimate list of example artworks that show the different types of line in art for your elements and principles of art lessons. The list of types of line in art includes implied lines, diagonal lines, gesture lines, outlines, contour lines, expressive lines, and more!

I don’t know about you, but I often find myself needing to teach a lesson on one of the elements and principles of art, but it takes a bit of digging to find good examples of art that teach that particular element. To help those in that situation, I have created an elements and principles series that includes lists of example artworks you can use in your elements and principles of art lessons.

To start, I am going to focus on example artworks that use the different types of line in art.

I will add to this list of the types of line in art when I find more, so this is a good one to pin or bookmark! The horizontal picture collages do not have all the pictures from the categories, FYI.

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.

Examples of Types of Line in Art

The Art Curator for Kids - Example Artworks the Show Types of Line in Art - General

Artworks that Show Line, General

  • Richard Long, A Line Made by Walking, 1967
  • Richard Long, Cornish Slate Line, 1990
  • Frank Stella, Jarama II, 1982
  • Roy Lichtenstein, Brushstroke, 1965
  • Charles Sheeler, Classic Landscape, 1931
  • Joan Miró, The Farm, 1921–1922
  • Rembrandt van Rijn, Two Studies Of A Bird Of Paradise, 1630
  • John Singer Sargent, El Jaleo, 1882

The Art Curator for Kids - Example Artworks the Show Types of Line in Art - Horizontal and Vertical Lines in ArtHorizontal and Vertical Lines in Art

  • Stonehenge, ca. 2600-2000 B.C.E.
  • Ancient Greece, The Parthenon, 447-438 B.C.E.
  • Frank Lloyd Wright, Fallingwater, 1936-7
  • Piet Mondrian, Composition in Red, Blue, and Yellow, 1937-42
  • Byzantine, Justinian and his Attendants, Basilica di San Vitale, 547 C.E

The Art Curator for Kids - Example Artworks the Show Types of Line in Art - Diagonal Lines in ArtDiagonal Lines in Artworks

  • Edgar Degas, Blue Dancers, c. 1899
  • Gustave Caillebotte, Le Pont de L’Europe, 1881-1882
  • Artemisia Gentileschi, Judith Slaying Holofernes, 1614–20
  • Franz Marc, Fate of the Animals, 1913
  • Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio, The Crucifixion of Saint Peter, 1600-1601
  • Francisco Goya, The Forge, c. 1817
  • Rembrandt van Rijn, Militia Company of District II under the Command of Captain Frans Banninck Cocq, known as the ‘Night Watch’, 1642

The Art Curator for Kids - Example Artworks the Show Types of Line in Art - Contour Lines and OutlinesContour Lines and/or Outlines

  • Leonardo da Vinci, Self-Portrait, c. 1512
  • Paul Signac, Still Life with Pitcher, 1919
  • Carl Krull, Olmec Drawings and Scroll Drawings
  • Yoruba artist, Shrine Head, 12th-14th century
  • Andy Warhol, Red Lenin, 1987
  • Amedeo Modigliani, Jacques and Berthe Lipchitz, 1916

Gesture Lines examples artwork

Gesture Lines, Lines that Show Movement

  • Jean-Honoré Fragonard, The Swing, 1767
  • Utagawa Hiroshige, The Whirlpools of Awa: Naruto Rapids, ca. 1853
  • Giacomo Balla, Dynamism of a Dog on a Leash (Leash in Motion), 1912
  • Natalia Goncharova, The Cyclist, 1913
  • Henri Matisse, Dance (I), 1909
  • Marino Marini, Miracle (Miracolo), 1952
  • Jacob Lawrence, Harriet Tubman Series, No. 4, 1939-40
  • Keith Haring, Untitled, 1985

Implied Lines artwork examples

Lines that Help Guide The Viewer’s Eye through the Picture and/or Implied Lines

  • Marc Chagall, I and the Village, 1911
  • Georges de La Tour, The Cheat with the Ace of Clubs, late 1620s
  • Frederic Remington, Dash for the Timber, 1889
  • Suzanne Caporael, Seeing Things: Rain, 1990
  • Fernando Botero, The Musicians, 1991
  • Grant Wood, Parson Weems’ Fable, 1939

expressive lines artwork examples

Lines that Show Feeling/Emotion, Expressive Lines

  • Vincent van Gogh, The Starry Night, 1889
  • Mark Di Suvero, Are Years What? (for Marianne Moore), 1967
  • Jean-Michel Basquiat, Untitled, 1984
  • Egon Schiele, Portrait of Paris von Gütersloh, 1918
  • Odilon Redon, Death: “My irony surpasses all others!”, 1889
  • Jackson Pollock, Lavender Mist No. 1, 1950

The Art Curator for Kids - Example Artworks the Show Line - Repetition and PatternRepetition of Line, Pattern Using Line, Decorative Line

  • Henri Matisse, Purple Robe and Anemones, 1937
  • Berenice Abbott, El, Second and Third Avenue Lines from the portfolio Retrospective, 1982
  • Aubrey Beardsley, The Peacock Skirt, 1893
  • Albrecht Dürer, The Rhinoceros, 1515
  • Benin, Memorial head, 1550-1650
  • Richard Anuszkiewicz, Deep Magenta Square, 1978

The Art Curator for Kids - Example Artworks the Show Line - Lines in ArchitectureLines in Architecture

  • Frank Lloyd Wright, Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, NYC
  • Frank O. Gehry, Guggenheim Museum, Bilbao, Spain
  • Stonehenge, ca. 2600-2000 B.C.E.
  • Ancient Greece, The Parthenon, 447-438 B.C.E.
  • Frank Lloyd Wright, Fallingwater, 1936-1937

Lines in Sculpture artwork examples

Lines in Sculpture

  • Kenneth Snelson, Needle Tower, 1968
  • Songye, Mask (kifwebe), 19th century AD
  • Mark Di Suvero, Are Years What? (for Marianne Moore), 1967
  • Benin, Memorial head, 1550-1650
  • Yoruba artist, Shrine Head, 12th-14th century
  • Marino Marini, Miracle (Miracolo), 1952

Lines that Show Texture and/or Shading

  • Vincent van Gogh, Garden of Flowers, 1888
  • Rembrandt Van Rijn, The Three Crosses, 1653
  • Käthe Kollwitz, Self Portrait, 1921

Lines that Show Space and/or Linear Perspective

  • Gustave Caillebotte, The Floor Scrapers, 1875
  • Leonardo da Vinci, Last Supper, 1498
  • Pietro Perugino, Christ Giving the Keys to St. Peter, 1481–1482
  • Dorothea Lange, The Road West, 1938

Lines the Show Emphasis

  • Grant Wood, Parson Weems’ Fable, 1939
  • Francisco Goya, Third of May, 1808
  • Jonathan Borofsky, Walking to the Sky, 2004
  • Leonardo da Vinci, The Last Supper, 1494-99
  • Richard Anuszkiewicz, Deep Magenta Square, 1978
  • Rembrandt van Rijn, Militia Company of District II under the Command of Captain Frans Banninck Cocq, known as the ‘Night Watch’, 1642
  • See more artworks that show emphasis.

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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There you have it! The best types of line 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.

The Art Curator for Kids -Example Artworks that Show Space - The Elements and Principles of Art Series-300The Art Curator for Kids - Example Artworks that Show Line - The Elements and Principles of Art - 300The Art Curator for Kids - Example Artworks that Show Emphasis - The Elements and Principles of Art SeriesElements and Principles of Art - Artworks that Show Proportion in art and ScaleThe Art Curator for Kids - Elements and Principles of Art Series - Artworks that Show Shape - 300The Art Curator for Kids - Why I Hate the Elements and Principles But Teach Them Anyway - 300The Art Curator for Kids - How Artists Depict Space - Masterpiece Monday - John Sloan , South Beach Bathers, 1907-1908, Art Lessons for Kids - Elements of Art Lessons

Photo Credits:

  • Stonehenge, Diego Delso
  • Parthenon, Steve Swayne
  • Laocoön and His Sons, LivioAndronico
  • Needle Tower, Onderwijsgek

Filed Under: Elements and Principles of Art
Tagged With: albrecht dürer, amedeo modigliani, andy warhol, artemisia gentileschi, aubrey beardsley, basquiat, caravaggio, carl krull, charles sheeler, dorothea lange, edgar degas, egon schiele, emile nolde, fernando botero, francisco goya, frank gehry, frank lloyd wright, frank stella, franz marc, frederic remington, georges de la tour, giacomo balla, gian lorenzo bernini, grant wood, gustave caillebotte, henri matisse, jackson pollock, jacob lawrence, jean-honore fragonard, joan miro, john singer sargent, jonathan borofsky, kathe kollwitz, keith haring, kenneth snelson, leonardo da vinci, marc chagall, marino marini, mark di suvero, natalia goncharova, odilon redon, paul signac, piet mondrian, pietro perugino, rembrandt, richard long, roy lichtenstein, sandro botticelli, suzanne caporael, théodore géricault, utagawa hiroshige, vincent van gogh

 

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