the artist needs to know : the role of style in art


Sumarian   3000 BCE   1300  ACE  (14th century)
 

     
Note: - the smooth outline shapes: - the smooth surface:
- how the eye can move over the entire surface
- how your imaginary finger can   move over the entire surface this is plastic form
- how the smooth contour and the surface shapes of this 4000 year old statue have been    transposed into the 14th century paintings above right and below.
- how the root plastic forms are carried   into Leonardo's 16th  century  Classical Style painting.

Pre-Classical Style:

(below) 		Flatish: little depth: Smooth outline of the shapes: how the eye can move over the entire surface: how your imaginary finger can move over the entire surface: strong mark of excellent craftsman ship in the construction of forms and joins

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14th Century

14th Century


the introduction of perspective imposed a unified compositional structure
and focus on linking light, shade and colour to clarity of plastic forms
in conjunction with the development of
foreshortening to maintain pictorial planes culminated in the
high renaissance classical style below:
 

Leonardo: 16th Century: High Renaissance / Classic Style
     
 

It is important to remember that: The language of art is not a scientifically accurate language. The language of art is based upon the application of tendencies and as such creates more variety of interpretation between people than absolute agreement between people.

The purpose of this section is to introduce you to the idea that you are learning an artistic language that has continued to evolve over thousands of years. You are not learning something new. You are part of a great tradition.

Just as the english language has absorbed words that date back thousands of years the artistic language has shapes forms and styles that go back thousands of years.

Remnants of the pre-classical style were incorporated into the classical style. For example the principle of form clarity had to be incorporated. All forms had to be clear there could be no confusion on the part of the viewer. Therefore light, colour and shadow had to define form and not obscure form. This maintained the tactile (touch - run your imaginary finger over the shapes) quality of pre-classical painting.

Thus the movement from pre-classical to classical was more of a qualitative difference than a quantative difference.

The neutralized lighting system with no extreme lights or darks was also carried over. The use of planes (flatness) from the pre-classical style had to be incorporated.

The new use of perspective meant that all objects in a painting were subordinated to the rules of perspective much like the one god theory that was being introduced at the time.

These ideas merged in Leonardo's "Last Supper". To our modern eyes the group of figures resemble a paper cutout like pattern characteristic of the pre-classical style. Foreground; table legs; table cloth and thirteen figures form a continuous plane set against center point perspective to create virtual space recession. More naturalistic shading has also been developed to enhance the illusion of reality.

The compositonal concept of orchestrating all the elements of a painting into a unified whole was going to dominate art for at least five centuries. How it was to be implemented and the variations it produced was to result in countless battles between artists.

The Baroque Style of the 17th century would create another competing vision of the world but, that is explored in another section of this essay.

  
     


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