Form, Subject and Content
Lesson 2
A Moorish Woman with Her
Maid
Felix Jacques Moulin 1856
Form
Art has two aspects:
Material-involves what it is made of; medium of art.
Refers to the making of an artwork.
Is it made of marble, wood, or pearl?
How was it formed?
is the marble made smooth or rough?
was it made unrecognizable or realistic?
Ideational-ideas are found in the natural world.
Subject-is the who and what of an artwork.
is what the viewer recognizes.
is what the viewer encounters to access the idea.
has characteristics.
Icon-is a readily recognizable image that corresponds to
a real referent usually situated in one’s culture.
Nature- artists love to represent the beauty and
vastness of this world. Beauty of nature inspires people
to create works of art. Is one’s first step in discovering
cosmos, in order to realize that we are but small in this
world.
Human Figure- may emphasize femininity, masculinity
or childhood. Can be seen in portraiture.
Miniaturismo- A hyper realistic mode of figuration
where the fine garments and jewelry of the subject are
shown in great detail.
Still Life- use of an inanimate object or group of
objects as subject matter. Food, plants, tableware,
jewelry, and toys are some examples of objects used as
still life subjects.
Human Activity- happening from ordinary
circumstances to special occasions and celebrations.
Content- it’s the artwork’s message on an emotional
and mental level.
it’s the artist’s statement; mood of the artwork
stimulates the act of looking while evoking emotions.
provoking the viewer to think.
Texture LESSON 5
Texture is the tactile perception of surfaces. A surface
be described as smooth, rough, fine, coarse, bumpy,
soft or spiny.
Texture can conjure different feelings and emotions to
different people depending on one’s own experiences
with them.
Classifications of texture:
• Actual texture
• Visual texture
ACTUAL TEXTURE
is texture you can touch. It is tactile; it can be felt. It is
texture that exists in physical world, seen and felt by
the viewer.
Actual texture
Most architectural landmarks play with the idea of
texture. A landmark may be ornate. It can also appear
cold to touch.
VISUAL TEXTURE
is texture that is seen and not felt but may evokes one’s
memory of how that object felt to the touch or simply
provoke imagination of how that object would feel like.
Visual texture
Textures may be implied to through the use of a series
of lines and shapes. The way light appears to illuminate
an object can also suggest texture.
The Elements of Art LESSON 4
The Elements of Art are the ingredients that determine
whether an artwork is admirable or not.
Line, texture, shape, color & value
L I N E S.
Contour Lines -actual and visible lines used to define a
shape and its boundaries.
- depict shapes as 3D forms with volume and mass.
French word meaning “outline”

Fra Angelico,
Annunciation
1438-1447
Implied Lines-these are lines that the viewer imagines
and conjures in one’s mind while contemplating on an
artwork.
may serve as the imaginary axis that bisects the picture
plane.
Directional Lines- tend to give a sense of order to the
artwork. An artist is able to direct the attention of the
viewer around a composition using directional lines.
Horizontal Lines- flat, horizontal line are like the
horizon. They give a sense of stability, calmness, and of
being static, or even repose.
the direction they suggest is transverse, left to right, or
East to West. The movement is lateral from side to side.
Vertical Lines- are upright. They give a sense of
loftiness, grandiosity, elegance, and poise. Vertical lines
point towards the sky and the earth.
Diagonal Lines- give a sense of activity, dauntlessness,
drive and action.
-also activate the space by making the work more
dynamic and dramatic.
Curvilinear Lines- smoothness, free-flow, gracefulness,
and playfulness, life and nature, patterns.
-are arched lines that may run in any direction.
THE STUDY OF ART Chapter One
Is art a reflection of reality ?
Art is a rePRESENTATION of reality ?
It is not a reflection but only a representation based on
an artist’s interpretation of the natural world or an
imagination of it.
This means that artists approximate much of what they
see in the natural world and represent them through
their work.
They may alter appearances or even create forms not
existing in the natural world.
When we do so, it does not automatically mean that the
work is ugly. It just means that the artist tried to
represent the world differently
WAYS OF LOOKING AT ART
ART - is a way of seeing the world. Seeing is a mode of
perception. More than sense of sight or visual
observation, also involves the ability to understand in
visual form.
This ability to understand transcends
visual perception.
visual perception- visual elements of work are
recognized.
Attention to detail varies from person to person.
Visual perception increases when one becomes more
familiar with the process of looking at art.
Artworks always present an open invitation for viewers
to contemplate on their meaning or how the
experience of looking can potentially transform them.
Each person connects with art in emotional, mental and
sensory ways.
An artwork will either be mediocre or excellent in itself
regardless of the level of visual perception audiences
have and how artworks are presented to the public.
Abstraction
word of abstract is used comprehensively for all art that
shows little or no recognizable forms.
art that consists of pure colors, lines, and textures only
are referred to as abstract.
Abstraction can be measure the level that ranges:
• Representational
• Representational but subjective
• Partly representational
• Non-representational
Representational
art are those works that contain visibly rendered figures
for its subject. These figures are derived from the
natural world.
they may or may not have an actual referent in the
physical realm, but the figures will always resemble
something from the world.
Non-Representational
should not serve as an excuse for artists who cannot
render forms.
Vincent van gogh Francisco de goya
Saturn devouring his son
irises oil on plaster (1820)
oil on canvas (1889)