Close looking is an important skill to develop

Learning to look

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  • Elements of Art and Formal Analysis

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  • Describe What You See

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  • Genres in Art

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  • Art in Your Neighborhood

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The elements of art and formal analysis (or visual 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.

colorful pieces of metal are woven together by El Anatsui

Important terms and concepts

  • Visual analysis

  • Formal analysis

  • Composition (Foreground, middle ground, background

  • Design

  • Pattern

Elements of Art

  • Color

  • Line

  • Shape

  • Texture

  • Light

  • Space

Videos to get started

Leonora Carrington self-portrait with hyena

Composition and Color in Leonora Carrington’s Self-Portrait

a bronze mirror shaped like petals with figures on structures on it

Korean bronze mirror: Composition, texture, and shape

abstract shapes in bright colors cover a canvas

Olga Albizu’s 900-50-80: Abstraction, Color, Line

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

Medieval stone slab: Texture, line, pattern

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

Yayoi Kusama’s Where the Universe and Human Life Are: Color, design, line, pattern

Fundamentals: Language to Describe What You See

Important terms and concepts

  • Foreshortening

  • Tenebrism

  • Linear Perspective

  • Atmospheric Perspective

  • Horror Vacui

  • Contrapposto

  • En Plein Air

  • Impasto

  • di sotto in sù

  • and more!

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

What is linear perspective?

The Ideal City in 15th-century Italy

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 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.

What is foreshortening?

David Alfaro Siqueiros's Self-Portrait

A bronze sculpture of a young boy who stands with his hand on one hip and looks out at us

What is contrapposto?

Andrea del Verrocchio’s David

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 relief sculpture?

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

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 anthropomorphism?

Aztec (Mexica) tecpatl or sacrificial blades

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

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.

What is en plein air painting?

Claude Monet’s Impression, Sunrise

A still life painting with a vase of roses is set against a green background

What is impasto?

Vincent van Gogh’s Roses

A ceiling painting with a painted opening and people looking down

What is di sotto in sù?

Andrea Mantegna’s Camera Picta

Fundamentals: Language to Describe Genres and Subjects in Art

Important terms and concepts

  • Portrait, portraiture, self-portrait, equestrian portrait

  • Landscape Painting

  • Still Life

  • Narrative

  • and more!

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

Fundamentals: The Art in Your Neighborhood

Important terms and concepts

  • Murals

  • Street Art

  • and more!

a person looks at paintings on a wall underneath arches

What is a mural?

José Clemente Orozcos murals

Related Resources

Explore Continents

Aztec Religion and Art Primary Source Activity
Aztec Religion and Art Primary Source Activity
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