Close looking is an important skill to develop

Learning to look

The elements of art and formal analysis (or visual analysis)

Our close looking series offers an excellent first step in doing a formal analysis, which is an analysis of things like the elements of art and the principles of design.

colorful pieces of metal are woven together by El Anatsui
Leonora Carrington self-portrait with hyena
a bronze mirror shaped like petals with figures on structures on it
abstract shapes in bright colors cover a canvas
intricate designs in stone cover a surface with a cross in the center

Important terms and concepts

  • Visual analysis

  • Formal analysis

  • Composition (Foreground, middle ground, background)

  • Color

  • Line

  • Shape

  • Texture

  • Space

  • Design

  • Pattern

a colorful mountain is in the center and flanked by a smiling sun

Fundamentals: Language to Describe What You See

Important terms and concepts

  • Tenebrism

  • Linear Perspective

  • Horror Vacui

  • and more!

a woman raises a hand while holding a sword
The Ideal City, attributed to Fra Carnevale after a design by Giuliano da Sangallo, c. 1480–84 CE, oil and tempera on panel. The Walters Art Museum, Baltimore
the relief sculpture in the stunning Mexican Baroque church of Santo Domingo de Guzmán in Oaxaca City, Mexico—a tour de force of artistry in the Spanish colonial period (when Mexico was part of the Viceroyalty of New Spain

Fundamentals: The Art in Your Neighborhood

Important terms and concepts

  • Murals

  • Street Art

  • and more!

a person looks at paintings on a wall underneath arches

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