Perspective in Art

Johannes Vermeer

In this lesson the student will: Analyze Vermeer’s Milk Maid and how tints and shades show form; Identify the use of line, color, texture, shape, space, and value in the painting; Describe the variety of textures used to show the various containers; Sketch 2-D shapes, shading them with charcoal to create 3-D forms; Paint color wheels, mixing primary colors to make secondary colors and mixing tints and shades from single hues.

African Textiles

In this lesson the student will: Analyze the patterns and designs of Kente and Adire cloth and compare the materials and techniques used by the women of Africa to make them; Identify the use of lines, shapes, pattern, color, and texture in the cloth; Describe the rhythm and movement of the patterns; Sketch geometric and organic shapes to use as stencils for printing; Weave colored paper and print geometric and organic designs in repeated patterns.

Vincent van Gogh

In this lesson the student will: Analyze van Gogh’s Starry Night and the use of repetition and lines to show rhythm and movement; Identify the use of line, color, texture, and space in the painting; Discover clues to predict what will happen in this village; Describe how foreground, middle ground, and background create the illusion of distance; Sketch landscapes; Paint Expressionist landscapes, using expressive lines, impasto paint, and contrasting colors.

Albert Bierstadt

In this lesson the student will: Analyze Buffalo Trail and look for clues to predict what might happen to the buffalo in this scene; Identify the use of line, color, value, and space in the painting; Observe and describe how foreground, middle ground, and background are used to create the illusion of space; Perceive and describe rhythm and movement in this painting and in the environment; Sketch large and small trees in scale; Draw landscapes with trees and small animals, using watercolor to create the illusion of distance.

Joan Miro

In this lesson the student will: Analyze Miró’s Carnival of Harlequin and his use of spontaneous drawing to create a dreamlike composition; Describe the rhythm and movement in this scene; Distinguish between realistic, abstract, and non-representational images; Identify the elements of line, color, shape, and space used in this composition; Sketch imaginary creatures in geometric and organic shapes; Draw and cut surrealistic figures and objects and assemble imaginary rooms full of characters.

Domenico Ghirlandaio

In this lesson the student will: Analyze Ghirlandaio's portrait of Francesco Sassetti and his son and how he captured the expressions and personalities of his subjects; Identify the use of line, color, space, and value in this painting; Discover characteristics of a Renaissance portrait and a window-like frame; Describe Ghirlandaio's use of tints and shades to show form; Sketch faces in proportion; Draw realistic portraits, using chalk pastel techniques, and create Renaissance-style frames.

Wang Yuan-Ch'i

In this lesson the student will: Analyze Yuan-Ch’i’s Pavilion with Distant Mountain and compare Chinese brush painting with Western landscape styles; Identify the use of line, space, value, rhythm and movement, and negative space in this painting; Discover how a Chinese landscape artist creates the illusion of distance and a serene mood; Describe the use of calligraphic brushstrokes and shades of black ink; Sketch landscape features using Chinese calligraphic lines; Paint scrolls in the style of Chinese artists, using line, shades of black, and negative space to create a calm mood.

Maurice Utrillo

In this lesson the student will: Analyze Utrillo’s Street in the Suburbs and how he used the principles of linear perspective; Describe how he used color to create mood; Identify the elements of line, color, and space in this realistic landscape; Discover the way converging lines connect the foreground, middle ground, and background at the vanishing point; Sketch landscapes with vanishing points; Draw landscapes, using oil pastels, showing linear perspective.

Cheyenne Shield

In this lesson the student will: Analyze the symbolic and artistic design of the Cheyenne shield; Identify the elements of line, color, texture, and pattern used to decorate the shield; Describe the 2-D and 3-D qualities of the shield; Sketch stylized figures and designs in the Cheyenne style; Sculpt and decorate clay shields with etched figures and nature symbols.

Thomas Cole

In this lesson the student will: Analyze The Last of the Mohicans and learn how aerial perspective shows the illusion of space; Predict what will happen next, using contextual clues; Identify the use of line, color, value, space, and scale in this landscape; Sketch landscapes with objects, to show scale; Create landscape collages, using layered tissue to show aerial perspective.

Edgar Degas

In this lesson the student will: Analyze Degas’ Race Horses and The Dance Class and the way his Impressionist style shows movement; Identify the use of line, color, shape, and space in the paintings; Predict what might happen next in the paintings based on clues in them; Sketch horses in proportion, using geometric shapes; Draw landscapes and horses, using oil pastels and watercolor washes to create the illusion of distance.

Georges Braque

In this lesson the student will: Analyze Braque’s Still Life: Le Jour and learn about Cubism and how Braque showed objects from multiple viewpoints; Identify the elements of line, color, shape, texture, and space in the composition; Describe objects from daily life and compare multiple viewpoints; Discuss how repetition of color, shape, and texture helps unify a composition; Sketch still-life objects from daily life, showing multiple viewpoints; Create cubist still-life compositions showing single objects from different viewpoints.