The 8 Principles of Art

The eight principles of art (or design) use the seven elements of art to help an artist develop a composition. If you missed my blog on the seven elements of art, you can find it here.

Similar to last week, I will define each term before providing an example of each principle by showing you how an artist has successfully used one or more principles in a painting.

1. Rhythm

   This principle is very similar to using rhythm in music. An artist can use repetition of objects that are strategically placed to depict movement and/or visual tempo in a piece.

2. Balance

   How an artist places objects in a composition can achieve an overall stability or sense of equilibrium in an artwork. There are three main types of balance: symmetrical which is balanced by a mirror image (using the same elements on both sides of a painting); asymmetrical which is balanced with a large object on one side and a smaller on the other; and radial in which elements are equally spaced around a circle.

3. Contrast

   A way of combining elements that enhances their differences. A viewer’s eye will be drawn to contrast in a painting. Contrast can be achieved with values, shapes, colors, or subject matter.

4. Proportion and Scale

   Proportion refers to whether or not an artist has chosen to render a subject with its correctly sized units. For example, if an artist painted a portrait that showed a woman with an oversized head, he could be using this effect to tell a story within the work.

   To show scale an artist might render objects closer to the viewer as larger and subjects further away as smaller. This gives the perception of distance to a piece.

5. Unity

   Unity can be achieved by using colors, textures, or shapes to provide a sense of cohesion in a piece. It also refers to how each element functions in relation to other elements in a piece.

6. Harmony

   Harmony refers to the use of similar or consistent elements in a piece in a way that accents their sameness.

7. Variety

   Variety describes the different types of elements within an artwork. An artist could use different colors, shapes, textures, sizes, and forms to provide variety within a composition.

8. Movement

   Movement describes the path of the eye as it moves over an artwork. It is also how an artist creates the look and feeling of action in a piece.

Famous Artworks Depicting the 8 Principles of Art

Now let’s take a look at how some artists have used the elements of art to create pieces that are still admired today. I will use each piece to touch on one of the principles, although, of course, each piece may depict many or all of the principles of art.

1. Rhythm- Claud Monet’s The Poplar

Monet provides a lovely example of rhythm in this painting. The trees are spaced regularly, but with slight variations so as to make their growth seem natural. The reflections of the trees in the water continue the rhythm from the tree tops to the bottom of the canvas. Monet also used variety in his depiction of the cloud shapes and leaves to make the piece interesting.

2. Balance- Edgar Degas’s Race Horses Before the Stands

Edgar Degas created many paintings depicting race horses, but this is perhaps the most well known. He balanced this piece by putting the jockeys on the right side and the crowd of spectators on the left side. He used perspective to draw our eye to the center of the piece, where one jockey’s horse is anxious for the start of the race.

3. Contrast- Van Gogh’s The Night Cafe

Van Gogh loved to use color to draw attention. Instead of me pontificating on this painting I will show you what Van Gogh said about it to his brother, Theodore, in a letter:

“I have tried to express the terrible passions of humanity by means of red and green. The room is blood red and dark yellow with a green billiard table in the middle; there are four lemon-yellow lamps with a glow of orange and green. Everywhere there is a clash and contrast of the most alien reds and greens, in the figures of little sleeping hooligans, in the empty dreary room, in violet and blue. The blood-red and the yellow-green of the billiard table, for instance, contrast with the soft tender Louis XV green of the counter, on which there is a rose nosegay. The white clothes of the landlord, watchful in a corner of that furnace, turn lemon-yellow, or pale luminous green.”

In another letter he wrote to Theo the day after he painted it he said:

“In my picture of the Night Café I have tried to express the idea that the café is a place where one can ruin oneself, go mad or commit a crime. So I have tried to express, as it were, the powers of darkness in a low public house, by soft Louis XV green and malachite, contrasting with yellow-green and harsh blue-greens, and all this in an atmosphere like a devil's furnace, of pale sulphur. And all with an appearance of Japanese gaiety, and the good nature of Tartarin."

I’d say, mission accomplished! He also said at one time that it was the ugliest painting he ever did. All achieved with color.

4. Proportion and Scale- Pieter Brueghel the Elder’s The Hunters in the Snow

Proportion and scale are not the same, but both principles can been seen in this painting.

Proportion refers to whether or not subjects are drawn in correct relationship to one another. For example, the men in the foreground have been drawn with correct proportion. An artist can draw something out of proportion either on purpose to make a statement in a work or by accident out of inexperience.

Scale helps the viewer to place objects in space and can provide a cohesive feel to a work of art. The scale of the subjects in the foreground are larger than those of the people who are in the town below. This change in scale tells the viewer that the people in the town are further away than the men in the foreground.

5. Unity, Caspar David Friedrich’s The Stages of Life

Unity and harmony are the most subjective of the principles of design, in my opinion. I think unity is one of those things that you’ll know is true if you see it.

The five boats correspond to the five people on the shore, and all represent a stage of life. The boats closest to the shore represent the children whose life has just begun and thus barely left the shore. The boats in the distance represent middle-life, and the large boat coming back to shore represents the older gentleman in the painting. The center boat is in the shape of a crucifix, because Friedrich often used Christian symbols in his works.

He really exemplified unity in this painting with his use of balanced symbols, a balanced composition, and a lovely sky painted with the complementary colors of lilac and yellow.

6. Harmony- Pierre-Auguste Renoir’s The Umbrellas

Harmony is another principle that you’ll know if you see it or if you don’t. It refers to how well the elements of art are working together.

In Renior’s painting he was able to achieve harmony in spite of the fact that there is a lot going on in this scene. He achieved this by using a similar color palette throughout, similar shapes by the umbrellas taking up the upper third of the painting, and using subdued values lacking in strong contrast. The piece looks harmonious, but you can imagine it might not if he had used more colors and a stronger contrast.

7. Variety- Abram Arkhipov’s Visiting

Variety can be handled in so many different ways, as a result it’s probably the most common principle of art to spot in a painting. An artist can change many things in a painting including contrast, colors, shapes, textures, brushstrokes, enhancing details, blurring out subjects, and the list could go on and on.

In the painting above, the palette remained limited to mostly pinks and yellows, but these varied greatly in hues and saturations which created an interesting piece. Arkhipov also varied the contrast so that our focus is on the ladies in the center of his work.

8. Movement- Joaquín Sorolla’s Sea And Rocks

Artists can use brushstrokes, lines, shapes, subjects, and color to depict movement in a piece. I liked this piece as an example of movement because it is a simple painting which clearly depicts water moving by thick brushstrokes. We get the impression of a tumultuous sea breaking over rocks when viewing this particular artwork.

Conclusion

By breaking down artworks into the elements and principles of art, we can become more adept at seeing what tools artists used to create beautiful pieces. By learning from previous artists we can become skilled at dissecting artworks which will enable us to create our own meaningful compositions.

Next week, I’ll delve into some insights that will help in learning how to purposefully choose a composition.

Did you find this blog helpful? Do you like to analyze older works of art? Love to hear your thoughts.