Introduction
Previously I explained the elements of art and how they serve as the foundation of any artwork. There are an endless number of possibilities for how you would apply any one of these elements, so where can possibly start? This is where the Principles of Art comes in. By using the seven principles, rhythm, balance, contrast, proportion, gradation, harmony, variety and movement, you have the ways you can organize the elements of art you are trying to apply. There is no better way to learn about the principles of art than by analyzing how other artists have used them. When starting out many people are subconsciously aware of these principles, but, once you make yourself aware, you can start actively applying these methods of organization and improve your art.
Rhythm
Rhythm is when any one of the elements of art is repeated in an identifiable pattern that give your viewer a sense of direction that they will follow when looking the art. Certain points of this pattern will hold a beat, this beat is how much time the viewer spends their attention on it. For example, your focal point should be your strongest beat. The painting I chose to explain how rhythm can be used is the painting ‘Calling of St Mathew’ by Caravaggio. Here the artist takes the element of value to create rhythm. On the right side of the painting there is a harsh dark shadow creating a line of direction down to the first face you see with the brightest value. From there you spend the most time on the character of Mathew is next in the line of direction because in this portion of the painting his values stand more than the two individuals on the far left. After this your attention is brought to the individual leaning toward Peter and Christ, his values pointing your attention into the shadow. Finally, you have the figures of Peter and Christ with their bright values directly against the darkest shadow point you back to look at Mathew once again.
Balance
Balance is how an artist will distribute weight in the composition of the artwork using any one of the elements of art. This can be done asymmetrically or symmetrically. In two-dimensional work this can be harder to visualize which is why a lot of artists treat it like balancing a seesaw. This way you can simplify exactly where you placing each element and how that is affecting the weight on each side. Balance can be very difficult to construct from the ground up but very easy to spot in finished work especially architecture. Take the Florence Cathedral for example. As an architectural representation of the cross the building itself is symmetrical and perfectly balanced. The entire building is symmetrical in line, shape, form, color, texture, and space.
Contrast
Contrast is the way an artist can take two parts of an element they have used and place them next to each other to highlight the distinct difference. This happens with complementary colors. For example, red and green contrast, each other due to their placement on the color wheel and their inability to blend together without canceling one another out. ‘Orestes Pursued by the Furies’ by William Bouguereau uses contrast to bring more attention to the focal point. In this painting there are multiple female figures and only one male figure. The male figure is where the painter wants your attention and he is placed in the middle of these women. His skin is darker, the forms of his body are different, his facial expression is terrified while the women are malevolent, and his cloth is white while the women have red. These are all differences that become highlighted when placed right next to one another.
Proportion
This is how the size of a certain element is in relationship to the whole or to each other. Proportion is found in everything from everything scientific to everything artistic. This will determine the temperature of your painting based on how many cool colors you have versus warm colors. You can determine the space and distance you want the composition to encompass based on how large or how small a human figure is in proportion to the whole composition. Take this painting ‘Camp of the Seventh Regiment’ by Sanford Gifford for example. In the foreground we have tents and human figures but then when you look further into the painting you can see that there is likely another camp highlighted in the distance that is drastically smaller. By using proportion in this way Gifford creates a sense of massive distance in the painting.
Gradation
Gradation is a method of organizing an element with a series of successive changes to that element. You can do this with small, medium to large shapes or forms, saturated to desaturated color, and light to darker values. In the painting ‘The Course of Empire: Destruction’ by Thomas Cole has all the elements organized by Gradation because of the perspective he has applied here. This perspective requires the elements to follow by consecutively changing. The Color is most saturated in the foreground and becomes less saturated the closer to the vanishing point it becomes. Similarly, the boats are large in the foreground but they become gradually smaller the closer they get to the vanishing point.
Variety
This is when an element you have applied has differing aspects. This will add diversity to any artwork and takes away any existing monotony. Say you add color, with variety you add more than one hue, saturation, and value of any given color. Pointillism was a specific style of art that focused on optical color mixing. This relied on the variety of color so that someone viewing from a distance has perception of mixed color simply by different colors being adjacent to one another. The famous example of pointillism is Georges Seurat and the painting ‘The River Seine at La Grande-Jatte’ is an example of his work.
Movement
Movement is how an artist will use the elements to convey the illusion of Motion or depicting the suggestion of a figure or object changing its location in the composition. Comic books are commonly organizing their use of line with this principle in mind because of their stories being focused on the actions of character going from one spot to the next. Sculpture has to rely heavily on form to portray movement. Bernini’s sculpture of ‘David’ his attention to forms, in how the muscles twist, create tension and especially how the form of the body of David is position, gives the viewer all the information needed to understand the movement David is going to undertake.
Conclusion
To summarize, the purpose the seven Principles of Art serve is the methods in which the Elements of Art are organized. An artist might understand how to mix red and blue to make purple but the Principles of Art separate and explain methods with which an artist can apply color to their composition in an effective manner. The best way to learn more about the Principles of Art is to analyze how artists, who inspire you, use these principles in their own works of art. This knowledge will enable you to become more confident and improve your own artwork.
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