Saint Mary’s University
Bayombong, Nueva Vizcaya
SCHOOL OF TEACHER EDUCATION & HUMANITIES
Department of Social Sciences and Philosophy
NOTES in ART APPRECIATION
VI. SUBJECT AND CONTENT of ARTS
Learning Outcomes:
At the end of the lesson, students should be able to:
1. differentiate representational Art from non-representational art;
2. discuss the difference between an artwork’s subject and its content;
3. identify the subject matter and content of specific examples of art; and
4. enumerates the sources of the subjects of some of the most recognizable works of art in
the Philippines.
Introduction:
The primary stage of engaging with art is its perception where information or the stimulus
from the world around us. The beginning of engagement is by looking at artwork. The eyes play
a big role in making a vision possible. But, like any tool, it is but one component. The difference
then, lies in the process of looking by means of subjectivity. Subjectivity is illustrated by way of
selective perception that renders one or two to be more prominent than others. It may prompt
other viewers to stand out over the rests. The viewers’ disposition or mood, education,
background, and exposure to varying contexts may contribute to the details of information that
renders its interpretation on the hows and whatness of an artwork.
To bring these into coherence and intelligibility, the relationships of detailed visuals
presented, the ideas and feelings taken and other springs of information may be consulted. Thus,
subject refers to the visuals focus or the image extracted from examining an artwork. The
content is the meaning communicated by the artist or the artwork. Lastly, the development and
configuration of the artwork are the elements and the media or materials put together as the
form. In simpler terms, the subject is seen as the “what”, the content is the “why” and the form
is the “how” of an artwork.
Major Types of Subject
A. Representational Art (figurative art) – is a type of art subject that refer to the objects or events
occurring in the real world. This is also termed as figurative art because the figures depicted are
easy to name and decipher. Example the iconic painting of “Mona Lisa” of Leonardo da Vinci.
Descriptions on the Mona Lisa:
➢ woman of realistic proportion, ➢ background is landscape, and
➢ the upper torso is shown, ➢ view from a window.
➢ beguiling and mysterious smile,
B. Non-representational art (Non-figurative art) does not make a reference of the real world,
whether a person, place, thing or event. It is stripped down to visual elements such as shapes,
lines, colors employed to translate a particular feeling, emotion and even concept. The works of
Jackson Pollock is also known as “action painting”. Remarks: No clear figures, only drips and
splashes. He tilted the paint and allowed paint to drip. With the aid of hardened brushes, knives,
sticks and trowels to add detail, texture and dimension of the paintings.
Non-representational art is similar to abstract art. Representational and non-representational art do not
have a clear-cut divide, rather, they exist in a spectrum. The abstract work of Pablo Picasso is the best
example. Though Picasso is known for his paintings, he also dabbled into sculptures. Russian painter
and theorist Wassily Wassilyevich Kandisky, is a proponent of non-representational art and pioneered
By: ILDEFONSO L. 1|
Page
abstract art. Although his art form is painting, he likened non-representational art to music and very keen
to it. He asserted that with sounds, musicians are able to evoke imagery to listeners or audiences.
Object-free, Kandisky alludes to the sounds and spiritual experiences that makes music possible in
paintings. Not surprisingly, a lot of his paintings are music inspired and are titled: impression,
improvisation and composition.
Sources and kinds of Subject
For non-representational art, higher level of perception and insight maybe required to grasp the
feeling, emotion of concept behind the work. It is perhaps easier to infer where the subject comes
from if the artwork is an example of representational art. Throughout history, artists have
explored diverse ways of representing nature: plants to animals; qualities of bodies of water and
the terrain of landmasses as well the perceivable cycles and changing of seasons. Example:
Vincent van Gogh whose art and nature is inseparable, finding solace and happiness in painting
(working in the middle of unspoiled fields) through landscapes. (Letter to brother Theo: “If I felt
no love for nature and my work, then, I would be unhappy” (Museum 1882).
Other artists of landscapes and seascapes:Claude Monet, Camille Pissaro, Paul Cezanne, and
JWT Turner. Philippine National Artists: Fernando, Amorsolo and Fabian dela Rosa gained
prominence from their painted rural scenes (e.g. women in the fields gathering harvest).
Breaking nature into smaller parts is Jan van Kessel the Elder who did numerous still lives and
small scale, highly detailed studies, and scientific illustrations of flowers, insects, shells, fruits,
garlands and bouquets.
Integral aspect of human life is based on the distinct relationship with higher controlling power.
For Greeks and Romans: polytheism while Judeo-Christian Tradition: monotheism. This tradition
had an immense influence in Western civilization in art with styles paintings, Church architecture
(overall plan of the space, used of stained-glass windows, tabernacles, and altars), Sarcophagus,
icons and carvings, vestments, tapestry, illuminated manuscripts and other sacred scriptures.
Commissioned by Pope Julius II, the intricate fresco that lines the Sistine Chapel (Michelangelo 1508-
512).
The formative years of Church architecture can be traced in the 4th-5th century but different styles
and plans developed since then eg. Gothic Churches (Abbot Suger) were characterized by
soaring heights (ceilings), volume flying buttresses and ribbed vaults), and light (bright stained-
glass windows, airy and pleasant interiors). The definitive sense feeling of awe from believers
and the perceived majesty and power of God. This echoes the belief that “art was to religious
experience”.
In Central India, the kind of the art produced was deeply rooted in Vedic texts: Upanishads,
Puranas and other important texts e.g. Sanskrit epics Mahabharata and Ramayana. Indian
artists had wide array of artworks showcasing their artistry and skill. The significance rests on
the ability to foster devotion and observance of code of ethics through the visualization of heroic
narratives.
In the history of art, the source and the kind of subjects were not merely product of the artist’s
choice and inclination. A closer examination of various movements and artworks created indicate
notions of freedom and independence. During the Spanish colonial period in the Philippines,
art was predominantly representational. 1st century of their dominance, art came as an aid for
communication – means of propagating religion to locals e.g. paintings and sculptures of saints,
icons to assist Catholic Ministry.
Secular art (non-religious art) later gained in the 19th century esp. the opening of the Suez Canal,
the growth of export economy in agriculture. Due to this art were not confine to the clergy but
even wealthy ilustrado families. Interest in the demand of commissioned portraits and wearing
the most intricate and elaborate of garbs, significant adornments e.g. jewelry, embroidered
garments. Filipino famous portraitists: Simon Flores, Justiniano Asuncion and Antonio Malantic.
By: ILDEFONSO L. 2|
Page
Content in Art
Erwin Panofsky, a historian expounded on content analysis or how meaning is arrived at art. His seminal
work Meaning in Visual Arts (1983), his methodology will be later identified as iconology through the
interpretation of iconography. The subject and Content are two different things in the arts.
❖ Form or Subject – refers to the objects the artist depicts.
❖ Content – refers to the meaning the artist expresses or communicates. The content would not
always be seen but it is transmitted by the way the form or subject interacts in the work.
Various levels of Meaning
1. Factual Meaning- pertains to the most rudimentary level of meaning. It may be extracted from the
identifiable or recognizable forms in the artwork and understanding of how these elements relate
to one another. (Caslib et. al.) The factual meaning – the literal statement or the narrative content
in the work which can be directly apprehended since the objects presented are easily recognized.
2. The conventional meaning – refers to the special meaning that certain object or color has for a
particular culture or group of people. (Marquez) Conventional Meaning- pertains to the
acknowledged interpretation of the artwork using motifs, signs, symbols and other cyphers as
basis of its meaning. These conventions were established through time strengthened by recurrent
use of wide acceptance by its viewers or audience and scholars. (Caslib et. al.)
3. The subjective meaning – is any personal meaning consciously or unconsciously conveyed by
the artist using a private symbolism. This stems from his own association of certain objects,
actions or colors with past experiences. (Marquez)
4 Basic Relationships on Art
a. the subject matter b. the Artist
c. the Audience d. the form
Subjective Meaning – are drawn from a variety of meanings arising from particular work of art
read. The meanings stem from the viewer’s or audience’s circumstances that come into play when
engaging with art. (Caslib et. al.) When looking at a particular painting, perception and meaning
are always informed/colored by manifold of contexts: what we know, learned, experienced and
the values we stand for. Meaning may not be singular rather, may communicate multiple
meanings to the many viewers - subjective meaning.
Judging A Work of Art (Criteria)
1. Sincerity, questions are:
Is the artist honest in his intentions or is he frank and open?
Is he striving for effect either by affected emotions or sensations or excited
feelings?
Can we get the artist’s point without being sentimental?
2. Universality, questions are:
Does the work embody or symbolize universal truth?
Is the work applicable to the world?
Does the work of art only have momentary value?
3. Magnitude, questions are:
Is the scope broad or monumental?
Does it cover a wide ground of subject matter?
Is it worth the effort to return and to understand it deeper?
4. Craftsmanship, questions are:
Does the artist understand his craft?
Is his workmanship sound?
Is the work of good taste or poor taste?
Types of Art Subject
1. STILL LIFE - A drawing or painting of an arrangement of non-moving, nonliving
By: ILDEFONSO L. 3|
Page
objects such as fruits, flowers, or bottles. Usually a still life is set indoors and contains
at least one man-made object, such as a bowl or vase.
2. SELF-PORTRAIT - A painting, drawing, or sculpture or other work of art showing the
artist himself.
3. RELIGIOUS THEME - Art which the subject is of religious matter.
4. NON-OBJECTIVE SUBJECT - Art which the visual signs are entirely imaginative and
not from anything seen by the artist. No recognizable subject.
5. LANDSCAPE - A picture of natural outdoor scenery, such as mountains, rivers, fields,
or forests.
6. GENRE (zhan-ra) Art that has a subject matter that concerns with everyday life,
domestic scenes, sentimental family relationships, etc.
7. VISIONARY EXPRESSION Art that involves simplification and/or rearrangement of
natural objects to meet the needs of Artistic expression.
8. PORTRAIT - A painting, drawing, or sculpture or other medium showing a person or
several people. Portraits usually show just the face and shoulders, but it can include
part or all of the body, as well.
The Artist and His Medium
The artist uses medium to:
▪ to feel and give shape to his/her vision
▪ to express the idea s/he wants to convey
The use of more than one medium is meant to give meaning to his creative production. The
manner of selection of medium defends entirely on the artistic aspiration of the subject. The
distinctive characteristics of the medium determines the manner and outcome of the work of art
(appearance of the artwork).
The Artist and His Technique
Technique- is the manner in which the artist controls his/her medium to achieve the desired
effect. It is the ability in which s/he fulfills the technical requirements of his/her work. It has to do
how s/he manipulates the work of art and the medium to express his/her ideas. Thus, artists
differ from one another in technique even they use the same medium.
VII. VISUAL ELEMENTS OF PAINTING
1. POINT. Most basic visual element with no dimension. It has no dimension. POINTILISM
(DIVISIONISM) by George Seurat is a style of painting that uses structural element.
2. LINE. Path of moving point, or points in a series. Line is one dimensional. Based on this
definition, it is appropriate to say, according to Paul Cezanne, that “drawing is taking a line for a
walk.” There are three ways of producing lines. a] First, by actually drawing a line such as in
drawing, calligraphy and drafting. b] The second way of producing line is by the intersection of
colors, as in painting. c] And third, lines are produced by the intersection of contours, as in
sculpture and architecture.
3. SHAPE. Produced by the boundary or edges of an object. Ways of making shape a] By the
boundary of a line that closes into itself (polygon), in drawing. b] By the boundary of color, in
painting. c] By the boundary of contour, in sculpture and architecture.
4. VALUE. Created by the application of lights, shades and shadows.
5. COLOR. Most beautiful visual element produced by the light striking a surface.
6. TEXTURE. Touch of hardness and softness in the surface of the painting.
KINDS OF LINES AND THEIR SUGGESTIVE PROPERTIES
1. STRAIGHT LINE. Suggest order and reason.
By: ILDEFONSO L. 4|
Page
2. CURVE LINE. Suggests motion and emotion. CURVE LINES express the emotion of terror e.g.
Edvard Munch in “The Scream”
3. BROKEN LINE. Suggests disorder, chaos, confusion and passion. BROKEN LINES express the
feeling of sensuality e.g. De Kooning in the “Woman in a Bicycle”
4. HORIZONTAL LINE. Means peace, rest and death, and creates the illusion of wideness and
shortness. Western landscape paintings usually have horizontal orientation showing the
wideness of the world.
5. VERTICAL LINE. Means life and activity, and creates the illusion of narrowness and tallness.
Oriental landscape paintings usually have vertical orientation showing the height of the world.
6. THICK LINE. Suggests strength and stability.
7. THIN LINE. Suggests weakness and flexibility.
8. SLIDING LINE ABOVE THE HORIZON. Means rising up, pride, arrogance and attack
9. SLIDING LINE BELOW THE HORIZON. Means falling down, shyness, humility and surrender.
10. DIAGONAL LINES create a sense of movement in the painting.
KINDS OF SHAPES AND THEIR APPLICATION TO PAINTING
1. RECTILINEAR. Shapes produced by straight line and applied to inanimate objects. People
immersed in rectilinear shapes suggest the concept of dehumanization in cubist paintings e.g.
Picasso in “The Three Musicians.”
2. CURVILINEAR. Shapes produced by curve lines and applied to the form of living things, also
called biomorphic shapes. The curvilinear shapes show the form of the female body meant for
reproduction, such as the breasts and the womb. The diamonds at the background indicate the
female genital e.g. Picasso, “Girl in a Mirror”, 1932.
3. IRREGULAR. All other shapes produced by the combination of straight and curve lines
VALUE: application of light and dark in painting. Dark and light enhances the solidity of figures.
1. SHADE. Dark area in the surface of the object that cannot be reached by lights. Fernando
Amorsolo captures the tropical sunlight. His paintings are always bathed with lights, and with
shades and shadows.
2. SHADOW. Dark area cast on a receiving surface due to an opaque object that block the
passage of light. The sunlight passing through a window and entering the interior of a house, is typical
in Vermeer’s paintings e.g. Vermeer “The Cook”.
3. CHIAROSCURO. Technique for applying values in painting. The word is from Italian that
means light and dark. The application of chiaroscuro enhances the shape of the figure Leonardo
Da Vinci “Monalisa.” There is usually the application of deep chiaroscuro in BAROQUE paintings
e.g. Rembrandt “The Nightwatch” 1640.
4. SFUMATO. Smoky effect in painting that creates blurry image and conveys a sense of
mystery.
5. SGRAFFITO. (Italian: “scratched”), a technique used in painting, pottery, and glass, which
consists of putting down a preliminary surface, covering it with another, and then scratching the
superficial layer in such a way that the pattern or shape that emerges is of the lower color.
Technique in which the surface layer is incised or cut away to reveal a contrasting color.
6. IMPASTO. Thick paint applied on the canvass like in Van Gogh “Sunflower”.
By: ILDEFONSO L. 5|
Page
PHYSICAL PROPERTIES OF COLOR
1. HUE. Distinguishes one color from the others, refers to the traditional color name. Primary
hues are red, yellow and blue.
2. VALUE. Light and dark properties of color. Adding white is called tint; it makes color lighter.
Adding black is called shade; it makes color darker. There are same hues with different shades,
like red with maroon which is darker than scarlet.
3. SATURATION. Concerned with intensity or the brightness and dullness of color. Intensity
ranges from black which is the dullest and yellow which is the brightest. Dull colors tend to
advance, while bright colors tend to recede.
COLOR-FIELD PAINTING. Painting’s style that uses huge masses of colors on the surface in
Mark Rothko Untitled 1968.
FAUVISM. Style of painting by Matisse that uses artificial colors for stimulating effect in Henri
Matisse “The Blue Window”.
Colors are used naturalistically in realistic landscape paintings like in Constable, “The Hay Wain. The use
of blur colors in impressionism indicates movement and passage of time in Claude Monet, “Impression
Sunrise”. The dominant use of earth colors in Renaissance paintings relates with the view of
humanism which emphasizes the material world over the spiritual.
The curving, swerving lines of orange, red and yellow suggests the emotion of terror in the
painting in Edvard Munch, “The Scream”. The dominance of blue heightens the feeling of
sadness and suffering expressed by the painting like in Pablo Picasso, “The Old Guitarist”
COLOR is a decorative element in visual arts. Color refers not only to hue but also to value, and
intensity.
1. Hue is the attribute that distinguish one from the other. They are classified into primary,
secondary, complementary and intermediate colors.
a. Primary or principal hues are red, yellow and blue.
b. Secondary hues are green, violet and orange
c. Complementary colors are those opposite in the scale of colors.
d. Intermediate colors are those adjacent in the wheel.
Color harmony groups:
1. Monochrome – this color harmony uses only one color. Colors are monochromatic when
there is one color with different shades.
2. Analogous Colors – three to four colors “next-door neighbors” to each other create
analogous colors; two or more colors between primaries except both primaries.
3. Complementary Colors – Two colors that are directly opposite each other creates a
complementary color scheme.
4. Split-Complementary Color - It is a complimentary and two colors on either side of its
compliment.
5. Triadic Colors – this includes colors which are equally spaced in the color wheel.
TEXTURE – is the surface treatment of an artistic work to give variety and beauty to any work of art. The
sense of sight and touch are involved. Variations in texture of objects, buildings and structures help avoid
a monotonous effect.
➢ Tactile (or Real) Texture is the way the surface of an object actually feels.
➢ Implied Texture is the way the surface of an object looks like it feels.
VIII. INSTITUTIONAL THEORY
1. INSTITUTIONAL THEORY. Theory which stresses that art is the integration of objects within
the artworld. It is also called the Theory of the Artworld.
By: ILDEFONSO L. 6|
Page
2. ARTWORLD. Social institution composed of people who have been recognized to have
influence and power over the production, exhibition, dissemination and consumption of art.
3. ARTHUR Coleman DANTO. Philosopher (1924- 2013) who coined the word “artworld.”
According to him, any object, whatever it is, may become an art if the social institution considers
it as an art.
4. GEORGE Thomas DICKIE. Philosopher (1926-) who defines an art work as an artifact “which
has been conferred upon it the status of candidate for appreciation by some person or persons
acting in behalf of a certain social institution (the artworld).”
HOW TO BE RECOGNIZED AS AN ARTIST BY THE ARTWORLD-INSTITUTION?
• Has skill and talent • Has artworks exhibited in museums,
• Study in art school galleries
• Has degree in fine arts • Mentioned in books, media and art
• Become a member of art history
organizations • Become well known
• Win recognitions, prizes and awards • Revolutionized art
References:
1. Caslib, B. N., Garing, D, and Casaul, J.A. (2018). Art Appreciation. Quezon City: Rex
Book Store, Inc.
2. Douley, L., Faricy, A., and Rice, J. (1978). The Humanities. Sixth Edition, New York:
McGrawl-Hill Book Company.
3. Marquez, C.A. (2020). Art Appreciation. Bayombong, Nueva Vizcaya: Saint Mary’s
University Publishing House.
By: ILDEFONSO L. 7|
Page
