46 terms in Visual Analysis
Academic Tradition
Academic tradition encompasses the formal training, aesthetic principles, and professional standards established and mai
Visual Analysis
Atmospheric Perspective
Atmospheric (or aerial) perspective is a technique for suggesting spatial depth where distant objects appear progressive
Visual Analysis
Chiaroscuro
Chiaroscuro (Italian: chiaro = light, scuro = dark) is a technique employing strong contrasts between light and shadow t
Visual Analysis
Cross-Cultural Art
Cross-cultural art encompasses artistic traditions and works from diverse non-European cultures—African, Asian, Pre-Colu
Visual Analysis
Curation and Display
Curation and display encompass the selection, interpretation, and presentation of artworks in exhibitions, fundamentally
Visual Analysis
Photography
Photography is the medium and practice of capturing light through a camera lens onto photographic emulsion or digital se
Visual Analysis
Portraiture
Portraiture is a category of art representing specific individuals through painting, sculpture, drawing, or photography,
Visual Analysis
Proportion
Proportion refers to the mathematical and visual relationships between the sizes of parts within a whole. Proportional s
Visual Analysis
Visual Analysis - Compositional Principles: Balance
Balance in art refers to the visual equilibrium of elements within a composition. Symmetrical balance uses mirrored elem
Visual Analysis
Visual Analysis - Compositional Principles: Balance
A focal point is an area of visual emphasis in a composition that draws and holds the viewer's attention. Focal points a
Visual Analysis
Visual Analysis - Compositional Principles: Balance
Symmetry exists when elements are arranged so that they mirror each other across a central axis (bilateral symmetry) or
Visual Analysis
Visual Analysis - Genre: Still life
Still life is an art form depicting inanimate objects—fruit, flowers, vessels, musical instruments, books, skulls—arrang
Visual Analysis
Visual Analysis - Genre: Still life
Genre painting depicts scenes of everyday life, social situations, domestic activities, and ordinary people engaged in d
Visual Analysis
Visual Analysis - Painting Techniques: Fresco
Fresco is a wall-painting technique in which pigments are applied directly to freshly laid, wet lime plaster. As the pla
Visual Analysis
Visual Analysis - Painting Techniques: Fresco
Tempera is a painting medium in which pigments are mixed with an emulsion binder, traditionally egg yolk or other organi
Visual Analysis
Visual Analysis - Painting Techniques: Fresco
Oil paint consists of pigments mixed with a drying oil, typically linseed oil. The medium allows for slow drying, enabli
Visual Analysis
Visual Analysis - Painting Techniques: Fresco
Sfumato (Italian: fumo = smoke) is a painting technique using subtle, almost imperceptible gradations of tone to create
Visual Analysis
Visual Analysis - Painting Techniques: Fresco
Impasto is a painting technique in which pigment is applied so thickly that the brushstrokes or palette knife marks rema
Visual Analysis
Visual Analysis - Painting Techniques: Fresco
A glaze is a thin, transparent or semi-transparent layer of paint applied over previous layers. Glazing allows light to
Visual Analysis
Visual Analysis - Painting Techniques: Fresco
Scumbling is a painting technique in which semi-opaque or dry paint is dragged or stippled over previous layers, allowin
Visual Analysis
Visual Analysis - Philosophical Approaches: Idealism in art
Idealism in art represents a philosophical approach seeking to depict ideal forms embodying universal beauty and perfect
Visual Analysis
Visual Analysis - Philosophical Approaches: Idealism in art
Realism emerged in 19th century as artistic movement rejecting idealization and historical narrative in favour of depict
Visual Analysis
Visual Analysis - Sculptural Techniques: Casting
Casting is a sculptural technique in which liquid material (metal, plaster, resin, concrete) is poured into a mould and
Visual Analysis
Visual Analysis - Sculptural Techniques: Casting
Carving is a subtractive sculptural technique in which material (stone, wood, bone, ivory) is removed from a solid block
Visual Analysis
Visual Analysis - Sculptural Techniques: Casting
Relief sculpture depicts figures or forms that project from a background plane. Low relief (bas-relief) has minimal proj
Visual Analysis
Visual Analysis - Spatial Techniques: Perspective
Perspective is a mathematical system for representing the illusion of spatial recession, depth, and three-dimensional fo
Visual Analysis
Visual Analysis - Spatial Techniques: Perspective
Foreshortening is a perspective technique that distorts the proportions of objects or figures to suggest that they exten
Visual Analysis
Visual Analysis, Technique: Glazing
Glazing is a painting technique where thin, transparent or translucent layers of colour are applied over dried paint, al
Visual Analysis
Visual Analysis, Technique: Glazing
Trompe-l'oeil (French 'trick the eye') is a painting technique achieving photographic realism so convincing that viewers
Visual Analysis
Visual Analysis: Composition
Composition refers to the deliberate arrangement of visual elements within a work of art to create a balanced, harmoniou
Visual Analysis
Visual Analysis: Composition
Colour is a formal element that artists use strategically to evoke emotion, establish mood, create contrast, and guide t
Visual Analysis
Visual Analysis: Composition
Tone refers to the gradations of light and shadow (values) within a work of art. It is distinct from colour and operates
Visual Analysis
Visual Analysis: Composition
Light is the source of illumination in a work of art. Artists control the direction, intensity, and quality of light to
Visual Analysis
Visual Analysis: Composition
Form refers to the three-dimensional quality of objects and shapes in art. In painting, form is created through the mani
Visual Analysis
Visual Analysis: Composition
Line is a fundamental formal element used to define shapes, create texture, establish direction, and guide visual moveme
Visual Analysis
Visual Analysis: Composition
Space in art refers to the two-dimensional and three-dimensional areas within and around represented or actual objects.
Visual Analysis
Visual Analysis: Composition
Scale refers to the relative size of objects within a composition and in relation to the viewer. Scale can be naturalist
Visual Analysis
Visual Analysis: Composition
Texture refers to the surface quality of materials and how they are rendered in art. In two-dimensional media, texture c
Visual Analysis
Visual Analysis: Composition
Pattern consists of repeated or regularly recurring visual elements—shapes, lines, colours, or motifs—that create rhythm
Visual Analysis
Visual Analysis: Composition
Ornament comprises decorative embellishments applied to surfaces of artworks and buildings. Ornamental elements can be s
Visual Analysis
Visual Analysis: Composition
Materials refer to the substances employed in creating artworks. Different materials possess distinct properties—stone i
Visual Analysis
Visual Analysis: Composition
Technique encompasses the specific methods, skills, and procedures artists employ to work with materials. Technique incl
Visual Analysis
Visual Analysis: Composition
Process refers to the sequence of steps, methods, and procedures an artist employs in creating a work. Process can be sy
Visual Analysis