How To Understand a Painting
- October 27, 2009
- 2,795 Views
from
Marcus A. McDougald
(and 7 others) Subscribe
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Writer
Grayson_Hill
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Director
Marcus McDougald
- Artist Darren Pearson
- Artist Rebekah Rose
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Writer
Clubhouseinc
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Music
Edison Music Corp
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Voice Over Artist
Mario Bueno
Art is practically a foreign language, and we’re here to be your personal translator for how to understand a painting.
You Will Need
- A good art history book
- Access to an art museum
Step 1: Pick a painting
Pick a painting that strikes your fancy, either in your art history book or in the museum.
Step 2: Study for subject and composition
Carefully look at the painting, studying it for subject and composition, or how the elements are arranged.
Step 3: Determine color and tone
Determine the color and tone of the painting.
Color, tone and brushstrokes are the primary ways an artist will signal mood.
Step 4: Find any common threads
Look for anything that the objects or subjects in the painting have in common.
Step 5: Look for puzzles
Be on the alert for anything logically puzzling about the objects—do they make sense? Are they contradictory?
Step 6: Look for illogical aspects
Extend your alert to the whole painting; is it entirely logical, or, at least, not illogical?
Paintings that don’t make logical sense are best explained by reading up on that particular artist.
Step 7: Question the location
Ask yourself “Where in the museum is this painting located?” and “Where was it supposed to be located before it ended up in a museum?”
Step 8: Find out when it was made
Find out when the painting was created by reading the title card.
Step 9: Memorize and research the artist
Memorize who created it, and find out information about the artist.
Step 10: Make a conclusion
Use all of the details you’ve gathered and try to make a conclusion about the meaning behind the painting.
Step 11: Read the art history book
Read sections of the art history book on specific painters, regions, movements or techniques.
When asked to explain one of his paintings, Willem de Kooning said, “I’m not an ornithologist; I’m a bird.”
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- 163 views
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Comments (2)
This video is FANTASTIC. Simply excellent. It's a pleasure to watch and I actually learned something about understanding art. There were so many great images to choose from I had a very hard time selecting a thumbnail.
over 2 years ago by HeatherMenicucci
THANKS HEATHER! I just hope it's as fun to watch as it was to make. Animating my buddy Darren Pearson's artwork was a blast!
~Cheers
over 2 years ago by envisagefilms
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