Learning to Look

FUNDAMENTALS

Close looking is one of the most powerful skills you can build. Learn to observe, describe, and analyze works of art—from paintings and sculpture to murals and mosaics.

  • 01 Elements of Art and Formal Analysis

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  • 02 Language to Describe Art

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  • 03 Genres & Subjects in Art

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  • 04 Art in Your Neighborhood

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◆ New Course Coming Soon: Learning to Look Closely—a self-paced introduction to visual analysis

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01

FOUNDATION

Elements of Art & Formal Analysis

Our close looking series offers an excellent first step in doing a formal analysis, which is an analysis of things like the elements of art and the principles of design. These are the building blocks for understanding any work of art, anywhere in the world.

Important terms and concepts

Visual Analysis

Composition

Line

Formal Analysis

Color

Pattern

Shape

Design

Texture

Light

Space

FORMAL ANALYSIS

interlaced forms sprawl across the bulbous surface of a bronze vessel

Analyzing a bronze vessel: A 5th-century BCE example from China

Ancient stone Mesoamerican sculpture with intricate carvings, depicting a figure with a face and symbolic motifs, displayed in a museum.

Analyzing sculpture: The Aztec Coatlicue

Albrecht Dürer, Saint Jerome, c. 1496 CE, oil on wood, 23.1 x 17.4 cm. The National Gallery, London

Analyzing painting: Durer’s Saint Jerome

CLOSE LOOKING VIDEOS

Leonora Carrington self-portrait with hyena

COMPOSITION · COLOR

Leonora Carrington, Self-Portrait

a bronze mirror shaped like petals with figures on structures on it
abstract shapes in bright colors cover a canvas

COMPOSITION · TEXTURE · SHAPE

Korean bronze mirror, Goryeo Dynasty

intricate designs in stone cover a surface with a cross in the center

COLOR · LINE · ABSTRACTION

Olga Albizu, 900-50-80

a colorful mountain is in the center and flanked by a smiling sun

LINE · TEXTURE · PATTERN

Medieval Armenian stone slab

COLOR · DESIGN · PATTERN

Yayoi Kusama, Where the Universe and Human Life Are

02

VOCABULARY

Language to Describe What You See

Before you can analyze art, you need the words to describe it. These videos teach the vocabulary that art historians use so you can talk about any artwork with precision.

Important terms and concepts

Linear Perspective

Impasto

Anthropomorphism

a woman raises a hand while holding a sword

What is tenebrism?

Artemisia Gentileschi’s Judith with Her Maidservant

The Ideal City, attributed to Fra Carnevale after a design by Giuliano da Sangallo, c. 1480–84 CE, oil and tempera on panel. The Walters Art Museum, Baltimore
the relief sculpture in the stunning Mexican Baroque church of Santo Domingo de Guzmán in Oaxaca City, Mexico—a tour de force of artistry in the Spanish colonial period (when Mexico was part of the Viceroyalty of New Spain

What is linear perspective?

The Ideal City in 15th-century Italy

What is horror vacui?

A ceiling in the church of Santo Domingo de Guzmán in Oaxaca City, Mexico

Painting of David Alfaro Siqueiros in a dynamic pose, pointing directly outward, set against a textured dark background.
A bronze sculpture of a young boy who stands with his hand on one hip and looks out at us

What is foreshortening?

David Alfaro Siqueiros's Self-Portrait

Stone carvings of multiple Buddha statues, with a large seated Buddha in the center surrounded by intricate carvings and smaller statues on a rock face.

What is contrapposto?

Andrea del Verrocchio’s David

A knife sculpture with a raw mineral face, featuring an angular profile, eye of a different mineral, and prominent teeth, displayed on a stand in a museum setting.

What is relief sculpture?

The sarcophagus lid of Pakal), caves at Longmen, and the Great Hypostyle Hall at Karnak

A painting of a mountain landscape with snow-capped peaks and a partly cloudy sky.

What is anthropomorphism?

Aztec (Mexica) tecpatl or sacrificial blades

What is atmospheric perspective?

Albert Bierstadt, The Rocky Mountains, Lander's Peak

Impressionist painting of a harbor scene at sunset with boats and industrial structures, reflected in water, surrounded by an ornate gold frame.
A still life painting with a vase of roses is set against a green background

What is en plein air painting?

Claude Monet’s Impression, Sunrise

A ceiling painting with a painted opening and people looking down

What is impasto?

Vincent van Gogh’s Roses

What is di sotto in sù?

Andrea Mantegna’s Camera Picta

Relief Sculpture

Atmospheric Perspective

Di Sotto in Su

Foreshortening

En Plein Air

Contrapposto

Horror Vacui

Bronze equestrian statue of a man with curly hair and a beard, wearing draped clothing, mounted on a horse with a decorative bridle, inside a modern building with glass walls and metal beams.

What is an equestrian portrait?

Marcus Aurelius on Horseback

A painting of a woman with a pale face, dressed in historical clothing, wearing a modest dress with a red belt, and a veil covering her head and part of her face. The woman is depicted with closed hands, holding an object, and is framed in a brown wooden frame on a blue wall.

What is a portrait?

Rogier van der Weyden, Portrait of a Lady

A framed still life oil painting of a colorful flower bouquet in a black vase on a wooden table.

What is a still life?

Rachel Ruysch, Still Life with Flowers

A landscape painting of rolling hills, mountains in the distance, a body of water, trees, and a blue sky with clouds, framed in an ornate gold frame

What is a landscape painting?

José Maria Velasco, Valley of Mexico

A classical painting of a woman in a white dress and headwrap, and a man in a gold and black costume with a feathered hat, engaging in a gentle handshake.

What is a genre scene?

Caravaggio, Fortune Teller

A painting of a woman with a historical costume, wearing a white ruffled collar and a dark dress with pink sleeves, holding a paintbrush. In the background, there is another woman partially visible, wearing glasses and a blue headscarf, smiling and holding a paintbrush.

What is self-portraiture?

Judith Leyster, Self-Portrait

03

SUBJECT MATTER

Genres & Subjects in Art

Genres are the categories of subject matter that artists have returned to across centuries and cultures, such as portraits, landscapes, still lifes, and more. Knowing the genre helps you understand what a work is trying to do.

Important terms and concepts

Equestrian Portrait

Genre Scene

Self-Portrait

Landscape Painting

Portrait

Still Life

Narrative

a person looks at paintings on a wall underneath arches

What is a mural?

José Clemente Orozcos murals

04

SUBJECT MATTER

The Art in Your Neighborhood

Get to know the art around your neighborhood.

Important terms and concepts

Mural

Related Resources

Explore Continents

Aztec Religion and Art Primary Source Activity
Aztec Religion and Art Primary Source Activity
$1.49

This primary source activity focuses on a painted vessel of the Aztec rain god Tlaloc to help students learn to look closely and use that visual evidence to make a claim. It also helps them understand the value of art and material culture as primary sources, which are important for learning about many different Mesoamerican cultures!

Looking for ways to encourage close looking?

Check out our printable activities in our store!

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Check them out!