Elements of Arts in Impressionism

1. Line: A line is a continuous movement of a point along a given surface. Outlines or

edges of shapes and forms are also called lines and can be dotted, dashed, zigzaged,
irregular etc. They can have different thickness, length and direction. Lines can have
qualities like of pent up energy of a tight spring shape, lazy lines, calligraphic lines, lacy
lines. Adding color to these lines gives them other interesting qualities.
2. Shape: A shape is a two dimensional, enclosed area that is created by an obvious
boundry like a line or one that is only implied by differences in color, texture or value.
3. Form: A form is a three dimensional object or something that is made to appear as
three dimensional in a two dimensional artwork. Shapes and forms should be arranged so
that they are well related to one another. Individual forms placed at equal distances will
usually not work. Overlap some of them together a little. This will also give the
impression of depth, as one form will be slightly behind another.
4. Space: Space is the area between, around, above or below the different elements. A
positive space is the area occupied by the subject and a negative space is the area around
it.
5. Color: Color has three componenets
6. Value: how light or dark a hue is. E.g: blue mixed with white makes for a lighter value
than the unmixed blue.
7. Texture: Texture is the feel of an object, smooth,fluffy,rusty Texture can be actual or
implied. Actual texture can be felt on the surface whereas implied texture appears as
smooth or furry but cannot be felt.

Principles of Arts in Impressionism

1. Unity: Unity is achieved when we get a sense that the work is united and whole and
each element belongs in its place. It comes from the use of the other principles.

2. Emphasis: Emphasis refers to the centre of interest or focal point of the work. One
focal point is easier to manage than two, if there are two, they are usually placed
diagonally to each other and one is made more dominant than the other. Other elements
are used in such a way as to guide the eye through out the painting and to the focal point.
Unless it is a formal composition, the focal point is not placed at the dead centre of the
work. Moving it off-centre makes it look much more interesting. Divide the entire area
into thirds both horizontally and vertically. The intersecting points are good locations for
the focal point.

3. Balance: Different elements have different visual weights and balance refers to the way
they are arranged in a composition such that the work looks stable. Balance can be
symmetrical, assymmetrical or radial. An architectural artwork usually has vertical
symmetrical balance, meaning that the two opposite sides of a line drawn vertically along
the centre of a building will be identical or near identical. Horizontal balance happens
when the two sides of a line drawn horizontally along the centre of the work are identical
or near identical. Radial balance happens when the elements are distributed about a centre
point like in a wheel or flower for example.
Assymmetrical balance is harder to achieve but is more often used by artists because this
looks more interesting and more energetic. Here, the two sides are not identical yet
appear to have the same visual weight and therefore the artwork looks balanced. Different
elements have different visual weights and these have to be judged and placed on both the
sides so that it does not look like one side has more weight than the other and give a
feeling that it might tip over. E.g: Darker values have more visual weight than lighter
values, so a smaller darker value balances out a larger lighter value. Higher chroma
colors have more visual weight than neutral or subdued colors. A heavier object like a
piece of lead has more visual weight than a lighter object like a feather.
4. Proportion: Proportion refers to the relationship of the sizes of the different elements of
the artwork. The different elements must be brought to scale with each other. For e.g the
head should be in porportion to the rest of the body; another example is in a landscape:
one can only feel the sense of vastness of the open skies when the objects in the
foreground are proportionally smaller.

5. Movement: Movement is the path that the eye travels as it moves through the artwork.
Movement can be created through

In this painting, Woman with a parasol by Claude Monet, the blue skies and directional
lines of the twisting skirts and blowing veil very effectively convey to us the movement
of the wind on a warm, summer day. These lines lead the eye upward along the line of the
parasol to the green of the parasol which again has lines leading radially downwards,
connecting the eye to the green of the grassy path. The shadow on the path connects the
figure with the path, the boy gives added depth to the scene as he is placed behind the
grass and so on another plane, the upper portion of the parasol and the white dress reflect
the blue skies. The boy, woman and the parasol form a triangular composition and their
gazes connect with the viewer inviting us into the warm and windy scene

A light dark contrast of values (Value Contrast) is a very effective way to create a
dramatic scene which demands immediate attention from the viewer. In this painting by
Pierre-Auguste Renoir (1841-1919) (French artist who led the Impressionism
movement ), La Loge (The Theatre Box), we can see the extreme contrast between white
and black on the stripes and also on the man`s costume. The light-dark stripes on the
skirts and the arms move upwards and converge towards the woman`s face. Despite this
strong contrast it is amazing how Renoir has brought about a delicate look to the woman.
He has done this through the beautifully and subtly toned whites, which have dusky
pinks, mauves, blues and dull golds, this treatement of whites in itself is stunning. Also,
he has brought out the delicate look through the transparent frilly cuffs, the light peach
roses at her bosom, the light pink roses in her hair, the red-orange of her lips, the
shimmering pearls at her throat and ears, his treatment of the skin, and mainly through
the innocent look in her eyes and on her face. There is also contrast at the cuffs of the
man`s sleeve but it is not as strong as the contrast between the pearls and two black
stripes at the woman`s neck and bosom. The man is kept almost entirely in a cool, bluish
shadow except for the the area of warm white at the bottom of the shirt which actually
points upwards towards the woman`s face and so the figure of the man does not interfere
with the foreground woman`s figure. The gaze of the man is upwards and out of the
picture plane but this also does not pull the viewer`s eye out of the picture because it is
blocked by the opera glasses