Describing Paintings

Post date: Feb 17, 2017 8:9:28 PM

When you describe a work of art, you want to give a good idea of what it looks like, describe its style and the mood that it portrays, as well as express your opinion.

1) Introduce the work of art. Include its name and the date it was created.

2) What type is it?  sculpture, drawing, oil, painting; sketch, portrait, watercolor, landscape, still life

3) What type of materials were used? oil, watercolor, charcoal, ink, clay, wood, canvas, plastic, marble, stone, granite, iron, steel, copper, bronze...

            It's made of marble on a wood stand. 

            It's an oil painting on canvas.

4) Describe the style.  modern, traditional, abstract, realistic, surrealistic, pop art, conceptualism, futurism, impressionism... 

5) Some vocabulary to help talk about: 

shape: flat, curved,  curvaceous, straight, geometric, angular, elongated

colors: bright, cheerful, dull, lovely, bold, vibrant, subtle, pale, natural

lines:  flowing, delicate, simple, bold, thick, thin

tone: subtle, contrasting, muted, dramatic

texture:  rough, smooth, fine, coarse, uneven, soft

movement: swirling, flowing, dramatic

scale (size): large, small, intimate, miniature, monumental

contrast:  dramatic, subtle, strong

6) Who is doing what?  What is happening?now. Use the Present Continuous.

• More Descriptive Words to Critique Art:

• Saturation- refers to the brightness of color

• Geometric – refers to the shapes such as circles, triangles, squares, etc.

• Organic – free flowing or rounded

• Symmetric / symmetrical– meaning it is equal on both sides

• Asymmetric / asymmetrical – unequal proportioned elements

• Flat tones – no tonal effect in the color

• Depth – the illusion of space, deepness

• Broken color – dabs or small amounts of color

• Focal point – the spot that stands out in the artwork

• Distorted – a shape that is changed and no longer looks proportioned