Chapters 1.07 (Scale and Proportion)
Download
Report
Transcript Chapters 1.07 (Scale and Proportion)
PART 1
FUNDAMENTALS
Chapter 7
Scale and Proportion
Copyright © 2011 Thames & Hudson
Chapter 7 Scale and Proportion
PART 1
FUNDAMENTALS
Introduction
We perceive scale in relation to our own size
Art objects created on a monumental scale appear larger than they
would be in normal life
Art objects created on a human scale correspond to the size of
things as they actually exist
Small-scale objects appear smaller than our usual experience of
them in the real world
Usually, an artist ensures that all the parts of an object are
in proportion to one another
But discordant proportions can express specific meanings
Gateways to Art: Understanding the Visual Arts, Debra J DeWitte, Ralph M Larmann, M Kathryn Shields
Copyright © 2011 Thames & Hudson
Chapter 7 Scale and Proportion
PART 1
FUNDAMENTALS
Scale
Artist and designers make conscious choices about the
scale of their work when they consider the message they
want to put across
A small-scale work implies intimacy
Large-scale works can be experienced by groups of viewers
and usually communicate big ideas directed at a large
audience
Practical considerations can affect an artist's decision
about scale too
Cost, time it will take to execute the piece, and demands that
a specific location may place on the work are all factors
Gateways to Art: Understanding the Visual Arts, Debra J DeWitte, Ralph M Larmann, M Kathryn Shields
Copyright © 2011 Thames & Hudson
Chapter 7 Scale and Proportion
PART 1
FUNDAMENTALS
Scale and Meaning
Usually a monumental scale indicates heroism or other epic
virtues
War monuments, for example, often feature figures much
larger than life-size in order to convey the bravery of the
warriors
Gateways to Art: Understanding the Visual Arts, Debra J DeWitte, Ralph M Larmann, M Kathryn Shields
Copyright © 2011 Thames & Hudson
Chapter 7 Scale and Proportion
PART 1
FUNDAMENTALS
Interactive Exercises:
Scale and Meaning
Click to start the Interactive Exercises
Gateways to Art: Understanding the Visual Arts, Debra J DeWitte, Ralph M Larmann, M Kathryn Shields
Copyright © 2011 Thames & Hudson
1.126 Claes Oldenburg and
Coosje van Bruggen, Mistos
(Match Cover), 1992. Steel,
aluminum, fiber-reinforced
plastic, painted with
polyurethane enamel, 68' x
33' x 43' 4”. Collection La
Vall d'Hebron, Barcelona,
Spain
Copyright © 2011 Thames & Hudson
Chapter 7 Scale and Proportion
PART 1
FUNDAMENTALS
Claes Oldenburg and Coosje van Bruggen,
Mistos (Match Cover)
Uses monumental scale to poke fun while expressing
admiration for the little things of everyday life
Oldenburg transforms the essence of everyday things as he
magnifies their sculptural form
Oldenburg believes that the items of mass culture, no
matter how insignificant they might seem, express a truth
about modern life
Gateways to Art: Understanding the Visual Arts, Debra J DeWitte, Ralph M Larmann, M Kathryn Shields
Copyright © 2011 Thames & Hudson
1.127 Robert Lostutter, The Hummingbirds, 1981. Watercolor on paper, 1 ¾ x 5 5/8”. Collection of Anne and Warren Weisberg
Copyright © 2011 Thames & Hudson
Chapter 7 Scale and Proportion
PART 1
FUNDAMENTALS
Robert Lostutter,
The Hummingbirds
Lostutter uses small scale to enhance the character of his
work
He likes to create his works on the scale not of a human
but of a bird
The tiny scale of the work—only one person at a time can
see it properly—forces us to come closer
Viewing it becomes an intimate experience
Gateways to Art: Understanding the Visual Arts, Debra J DeWitte, Ralph M Larmann, M Kathryn Shields
Copyright © 2011 Thames & Hudson
Chapter 7 Scale and Proportion
PART 1
FUNDAMENTALS
Hierarchical Scale
Hierarchical scale refers to the deliberate use of relative
size in a work of art, in order to communicate differences
in importance
Almost always, larger means more important, and smaller
means less important
Gateways to Art: Understanding the Visual Arts, Debra J DeWitte, Ralph M Larmann, M Kathryn Shields
Copyright © 2011 Thames & Hudson
Chapter 7 Scale and Proportion
PART 1
FUNDAMENTALS
Interactive Exercises:
Hierarchical Scale
Click to start the Interactive Exercises
Gateways to Art: Understanding the Visual Arts, Debra J DeWitte, Ralph M Larmann, M Kathryn Shields
Copyright © 2011 Thames & Hudson
1.128 Relief from the northern wall of the hypostyle hall at the great temple of Amun, 19 th Dynasty, c. 1295–1186 BCE. Karnak, Egypt
Copyright © 2011 Thames & Hudson
A
C
B
Hierarchical scale
Copyright © 2011 Thames & Hudson
Chapter 7 Scale and Proportion
PART 1
FUNDAMENTALS
Hierarchical scale: Relief from the
northern wall of the hypostyle hall at the
great temple of Amun
In the art of ancient Egypt, the king, or pharaoh, was
usually the largest figure depicted because he had the
highest status in the social order
This scene depicts the military campaign of Pharoah Seti I
(figure A) against the Hittites and Libyans
Gateways to Art: Understanding the Visual Arts, Debra J DeWitte, Ralph M Larmann, M Kathryn Shields
Copyright © 2011 Thames & Hudson
1.129 Jan van Eyck,
Madonna in a Church,
1437–8. Oil on wood panel,
12 5/8 x 5 1/2”.
Gemäldegalerie, Staatliche
Museen, Berlin, Germany
Copyright © 2011 Thames & Hudson
Chapter 7 Scale and Proportion
PART 1
FUNDAMENTALS
Jan van Eyck,
Madonna in a Church
Uses hierarchical scale to communicate spiritual
importance
In his effort to glorify the spiritual importance of Mary
and the Christ child, van Eyck separates them from
normal human existence
Van Eyck has scaled them to symbolize their central
importance in the Christian religion
Gateways to Art: Understanding the Visual Arts, Debra J DeWitte, Ralph M Larmann, M Kathryn Shields
Copyright © 2011 Thames & Hudson
Chapter 7 Scale and Proportion
PART 1
FUNDAMENTALS
Distorted Scale
An artist may deliberately distort scale to create an
abnormal or supernatural effect
Gateways to Art: Understanding the Visual Arts, Debra J DeWitte, Ralph M Larmann, M Kathryn Shields
Copyright © 2011 Thames & Hudson
Chapter 7 Scale and Proportion
PART 1
FUNDAMENTALS
Interactive Exercises:
Distorted Scale
Click to start the Interactive Exercises
Gateways to Art: Understanding the Visual Arts, Debra J DeWitte, Ralph M Larmann, M Kathryn Shields
Copyright © 2011 Thames & Hudson
1.130 Dorothea Tanning, Eine Kleine Nachtmusik, 1943. Oil on canvas, 16 1/8 x 24”. Tate, London
Copyright © 2011 Thames & Hudson
Chapter 7 Scale and Proportion
PART 1
FUNDAMENTALS
Dorothea Tanning,
Eine Kleine Nachtmusik
Dorothea Tanning was a Surrealist artist
The sunflower seems huge in relation to the interior
architecture and the two female figures standing on the left
By contradicting our ordinary experience of scale, Tanning
invites us into a world unlike the one we know
Eine Kleine Nachtmusik (“A Little Night Music”), is
borrowed from a lighthearted piece of music by the
composer Mozart, but ironically Tanning’s scene exhibits a
strange sense of dread
Gateways to Art: Understanding the Visual Arts, Debra J DeWitte, Ralph M Larmann, M Kathryn Shields
Copyright © 2011 Thames & Hudson
Chapter 7 Scale and Proportion
PART 1
FUNDAMENTALS
Proportion
The relationships between the sizes of different parts of a
work make up its proportions
By controlling these size relationships an artist can
enhance the expressive and descriptive characteristics of
the work
Gateways to Art: Understanding the Visual Arts, Debra J DeWitte, Ralph M Larmann, M Kathryn Shields
Copyright © 2011 Thames & Hudson
Chapter 7 Scale and Proportion
PART 1
FUNDAMENTALS
Interactive Exercises:
Proportion
Click to start the Interactive Exercises
Gateways to Art: Understanding the Visual Arts, Debra J DeWitte, Ralph M Larmann, M Kathryn Shields
Copyright © 2011 Thames & Hudson
Chapter 7 Scale and Proportion
PART 1
FUNDAMENTALS
Lip
Hip
Height
Width
A
B
C
Foot
1.131 Examples of how proportion changes on vertical and horizontal
axes
Gateways to Art: Understanding the Visual Arts, Debra J DeWitte, Ralph M Larmann, M Kathryn Shields
Copyright © 2011 Thames & Hudson
Chapter 7 Scale and Proportion
PART 1
FUNDAMENTALS
Human Proportion
Carefully chosen proportion can make an art object seem
pleasing to the eye
This goes for the human body, too
The ancient Egyptians used the palm of the hand as a unit
of measurement
The ancient Greeks sought an ideal of beauty in the
principle of proportion
The models used by the Greeks for calculating human
proportion were later adopted by artists of ancient Rome,
and then by Renaissance artists
Gateways to Art: Understanding the Visual Arts, Debra J DeWitte, Ralph M Larmann, M Kathryn Shields
Copyright © 2011 Thames & Hudson
Chapter 7 Scale and Proportion
PART 1
FUNDAMENTALS
Interactive Exercises:
Human Proportion
Click to start the Interactive Exercises
Gateways to Art: Understanding the Visual Arts, Debra J DeWitte, Ralph M Larmann, M Kathryn Shields
Copyright © 2011 Thames & Hudson
Chapter 7 Scale and Proportion
PART 1
FUNDAMENTALS
4 fingers = 1 palm
6 palms = 1 cubit
4 cubits = 1 man’s height
[24 palms]
1.132 Ancient Egyptian system using the human hand as a standard unit of
measurement
Gateways to Art: Understanding the Visual Arts, Debra J DeWitte, Ralph M Larmann, M Kathryn Shields
Copyright © 2011 Thames & Hudson
1.133 Nigerian Ife artist,
Figure of Oni, early 14th–
15th century. Brass with
lead, 18 3/8” high. National
Museum, Ife, Nigeria
Copyright © 2011 Thames & Hudson
Chapter 7 Scale and Proportion
PART 1
FUNDAMENTALS
Nigerian Ife artist,
Figure of Oni
The Oni is the most powerful and important figure in this
culture
The head is large in proportion to the rest of the body; the
Yoruba believe that the head is the seat of a divine power
Many African sculptures exaggerate the head and face as a
way to communicate status, destiny, and a connection to
the spiritual
Gateways to Art: Understanding the Visual Arts, Debra J DeWitte, Ralph M Larmann, M Kathryn Shields
Copyright © 2011 Thames & Hudson
1.134 Raphael, The School of Athens, 1510–11. Fresco, 16’ 8” x 25’. Stanza della Segnatura, Vatican City
Copyright © 2011 Thames & Hudson
Chapter 1 Art in Two Dimensions: Line, Shape, and the Principle of Contrast
PART 1
FUNDAMENTALS
Gateway to Art:
Raphael, The School of Athens
Scale and Proportion in a Renaissance Masterpiece
Raphael’s sensitivity to proportion reflects his pursuit of
perfection
He indicated the importance of his masterpiece by creating it
on a magnificent scale
He composed the individual figures so that the parts of each
figure are harmonious in relation to each other and portray
an idealized form
Double emphasis on the center brings our attention to the
opposing gestures of two famous Greek philosophers, Plato
and Aristotle
Gateways to Art: Understanding the Visual Arts, Debra J DeWitte, Ralph M Larmann, M Kathryn Shields
Copyright © 2011 Thames & Hudson
Chapter 7 Scale and Proportion
PART 1
FUNDAMENTALS
The Golden Section
The Golden Section is a proportional ratio of 1:1.618,
which occurs in many natural objects
Real human bodies do not have exactly these proportions,
but when the ratio 1:1.618 is applied to making statues, it
gives naturalistic results
The proportions of Ancient Greek sculptures are often very
close to the Golden Section
Gateways to Art: Understanding the Visual Arts, Debra J DeWitte, Ralph M Larmann, M Kathryn Shields
Copyright © 2011 Thames & Hudson
Chapter 7 Scale and Proportion
PART 1
FUNDAMENTALS
Interactive Exercises:
Golden Section & Proportion
Click to start the Interactive Exercises
Gateways to Art: Understanding the Visual Arts, Debra J DeWitte, Ralph M Larmann, M Kathryn Shields
Copyright © 2011 Thames & Hudson
Chapter 7 Scale and Proportion
PART 1
FUNDAMENTALS
5
8
√5
2
1 1
3
2
1.618…
1.618
13
1/2
Golden Mean
1:1.6180337...
Fibonacci Sequence
1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, …
2.236…
1
1:1.6180337...
Root 5 Rectangle
1.135 The Golden Section
Gateways to Art: Understanding the Visual Arts, Debra J DeWitte, Ralph M Larmann, M Kathryn Shields
Copyright © 2011 Thames & Hudson
1.136 Poseidon (or Zeus), c.
460–450 BCE. Bronze, 6’ 10
1/2” high. National
Archaeological Museum,
Athens, Greece
Copyright © 2011 Thames & Hudson
1.618
1.137 Diagram of
proportional formulas used
in the statue
Copyright © 2011 Thames & Hudson
Chapter 7 Scale and Proportion
PART 1
FUNDAMENTALS
Poseidon
As a Greek god, Poseidon had to have perfect proportions
The sculptor applied a conveniently simple ratio, using the
head as a standard measurement
The body is three heads wide by seven heads high
Gateways to Art: Understanding the Visual Arts, Debra J DeWitte, Ralph M Larmann, M Kathryn Shields
Copyright © 2011 Thames & Hudson
Chapter 7 Scale and Proportion
PART 1
FUNDAMENTALS
Proportional Ratios
“Golden Rectangles” is a technique based on nesting inside
each other a succession of rectangles based on the 1:1.618
proportions of the Golden Section
The shorter side of the outer rectangle becomes the longer side of
the smaller rectangle inside it, and so on
The result is an elegant spiral shape
Gateways to Art: Understanding the Visual Arts, Debra J DeWitte, Ralph M Larmann, M Kathryn Shields
Copyright © 2011 Thames & Hudson
1.138a Henry Peach Robinson, Fading Away, 1858. Combination albumen print. George Eastman House, Rochester, New York
Copyright © 2011 Thames & Hudson
1.138b Proportional analysis of Henry Peach Robinson’s Fading Away
Copyright © 2011 Thames & Hudson
Chapter 7 Scale and Proportion
PART 1
FUNDAMENTALS
Henry Peach Robinson,
Fading Away
Henry Peach Robinson was a great photographic
innovator
This image shows Robinson’s attention to the coordinated
ratios in artistic composition
Notice how the right-hand drape divides the photograph
into two Golden Rectangles, and how the spiral draws our
eye to the dying young woman
Gateways to Art: Understanding the Visual Arts, Debra J DeWitte, Ralph M Larmann, M Kathryn Shields
Copyright © 2011 Thames & Hudson
1.139 Iktinos and Kallikrates, Parthenon, 447–432 BCE. Athens, Greece
Copyright © 2011 Thames & Hudson
Chapter 7 Scale and Proportion
PART 1
FUNDAMENTALS
Iktinos and Kallikrates, Parthenon
By applying the idealized rules of proportion for the
human body to the design of the Parthenon, a temple of the
goddess Athena, the Greeks created a harmonious design
The proportions correspond quite closely to the Golden
Section
The vertical and horizontal measurements work together to
create proportional harmony
Gateways to Art: Understanding the Visual Arts, Debra J DeWitte, Ralph M Larmann, M Kathryn Shields
Copyright © 2011 Thames & Hudson
Triglyphs
Pediment
1.140 The use of the Golden Section in the design of the Parthenon
Copyright © 2011 Thames & Hudson
Chapter 7 Scale and Proportion
PART 1
FUNDAMENTALS
Conclusion
When proportion conforms to scale, all the parts of the
work look the way we expect them to
Scale and proportion are basic to most works; size choices
influence all the other elements and principles in the design
Gateways to Art: Understanding the Visual Arts, Debra J DeWitte, Ralph M Larmann, M Kathryn Shields
Copyright © 2011 Thames & Hudson
Chapter 7 Scale and Proportion
PART 1
FUNDAMENTALS
This concludes the PowerPoint Slide Set for Chapter 1.7
Gateways to Art: Understanding the Visual Arts
By Debra J DeWitte, Ralph M Larmann, M Kathryn Shields
Copyright © 2011 Thames & Hudson