ART APPRE LESSON 4

• Representational art


  Art that refers to objects or events occurring in the real world
• Non-representational art


  Art that does not make reference to the real world, but is stripped down to visual elements like shapes, lines, and colors to translate a feeling, emotion, or concept
• Non-representational art and abstract art exist on a spectrum, without a clear divide
• Representational art


  • Mona Lisa by Leonardo da Vinci
  • Head of a Woman, Mougins by Pablo Picasso
• Non-representational art


  • Number 1A by Jackson Pollock
• Sources of subject matter in art

  • Nature
  • History
  • Greek and Roman mythology
  • Judeo-Christian tradition
  • Sacred oriental texts
  • Other works of art
• Kinds of subject matter in art

  • History
  • Still life
  • Animals
  • Figures
  • Nature
  • Landscape
  • Seascape
  • Cityscape
  • Mythology
  • Myth
  • Dreams
  • Fantasies
• Representational art depicting various subjects


  • Wheat Fields Near Auvers by Vincent van Gogh (nature)
  • A Cockchafer, Beetle, Woodlice and Other Insect, with a Sprig of Auricula by Jan van Kessel (animals)
  • Young Women in the Ricefield by Fabian de la Rosa (figures)
  • Fruit Pickers Under the Mango Tree by Fernando Amorsolo (nature)
  • Discobolus by Myron (figures)
  • Sistine Chapel by Michelangelo (biblical)
  • Shah Jahan Receiving Dara Shikoh by unknown artist (history)
  • El Tres de Mayo by Francisco de Goya (history)
• Content in art


  The meaning or message that is expressed or communicated by the artwork
• Levels of meaning in art

  • Factual meaning (most rudimentary, based on identifiable forms)
  • Conventional meaning (established interpretations using motifs, signs, symbols)
  • Subjective meaning (varied based on viewer's circumstances)