Chapter 2Visual Communication
• Subject matter - What the artist is conveying
• Media - The tools and materials the artist used
• Craftsmanship - The ability to make objects attractive
• Design - The grammar, or structure, of visual language
The artist has used the medium of a fabric quilt to depict a series of Biblical images.
Can you identify the subject matter of any of these scenes? Harriet Powers, Pictorial Quilt, 1898 American
Pierced and appliqued cotton embroidered with plain and metallic yarns, 69” x 105”
Chardin has used the student artist as his subject. What impression is he trying to convey about this laboring student?
Jean Baptiste Simeon Chardin, Young Student Drawing, 1738, FrenchOil on wood, 8.25” x 6.75” (detail)
2.1 Subject Matter: What Is the Art Saying?
Subject matter may be things, such as people, objects, landscapes or animals. Subject matter may also be ideas such as war, love, loneliness or joy. Some artists are concerned with purely
design aspects of creating art, such as color and proportion.
Artists’ attitudes towards subject matter has changed greatly over the course of history and
civilization.
Narrative SubjectsIn narrative paintings the artist is telling a story. Within this large painting, artist Pieter Brueghel included numerous small scenes of peasant life that form a larger
story of life in that time and society.Pieter Brueghel, Peasant Wedding, 1566, Netherlandish. Oil on panel, 44” x 63”
Durer has chosen a close-up view of plants as subject matter. There is no narrative “story” being told in this highly detailed image of nature.
Albrecht Durer, The Great Piece of Turf, 1503, German. Watercolor on paper, 16 x 12”
Religious SubjectsAny religious figure from any religion in the world can be the subject of a work of
art. The Mayan maize god pictured here held great significance for the Mayan people.
Maize God, 775 AD, Honduras. Limestone, 35 x 31”
Literary SubjectsArtists may use literary subjects, such as the Bible, or famous myths and legends
on which to base their artwork. This painting illustrates a scene from Washington Irving’s story of Rip Van Winkle, the man who fell asleep for 20 years and awakened to see his village and
himself transformed to the point where they did not recognize one another.John Quidor, The Return of Rip van Winkle, 1849, American. Oil on canvas, 40 x
50”
LandscapesLandscapes are paintings of the natural environment, a subject which has
engaged artists throughout he centuries. Here the Chinese artist Hsia Kuei used ink on silk to show a misty view of a river and mountain, using a
minimum amount of detail to evoke a particular mood.
Hsia Kuei, Views from a Thatched Hut, 1230, Chinese. Ink on silk, 11” tall
CityscapesViews of urban environments, including streets, buildings and activities taking place there are called cityscapes. The French artist Corot painted
this view of the Italian city of Venice in 1834. He made preparatory sketches and notations before painting this in his studio.
Jean-Baptiste Corot, View of Venice, 1834, French. Oil on canvas, 18 x 27”
The Human FigureArtists have used the
human figure as subject matter for many reasons over the centuries. The
ancient Greeks considered the human figure to be
the ideal of beauty, and it was perfectly acceptable to display well-toned and proportioned nudes to be admired by all viewers.
The human figure is a complex form that
changes dramatically with the slightest shift in
weight, or twist in posture. It is also capable of a tremendous range of
expression and emotion.
Myron, Discus Thrower, Roman marble copy after
Greek bronze, 450 BC, life-size
European society has sometimes considered nudity inappropriate for public display in artwork. However, during the period known as the Renaissance
the human nude was celebrated; artists were fascinated by a rediscovery of ancient Greek traditions and ideals, including the
study and portrayal of the human figure.Peter Paul Rubens, Judgement of Paris, 1629, Flemish. Oil on panel, 57 x 77”
PortraitsPortraits come in a variety of sizes and
shapes, but have one thing in common—they are representations of
people. Typically, a portrait shows the face of
a specific person, regardless of whether or
not the entire body is also depicted.
The pose may vary, as well as any particular
action the person may be engaged in.
Hans Holbein, one of the world’s great portrait
painters, painted England’s Prince Edward VI for the boy’s father,
King Henry VIII, in 1538. Oil paint on panel, 22 x
17”
Self-PortraitsMany artists make
pictures of themselves, called
self-portraits. Frances Benjamin Johnston, depicted in her 1895 self-
portrait photograph, shows
herself as an independent and fearless woman.
Historical SubjectsImportant historical events have long been memorialized by artists. In
1939, African-American artist Hale Woodruff painted a series of murals at Talladega College in Georgia. These images tell the story of the 1839 revolt by Africans imprisoned on the Portuguese slave ship Amistad. Following the slave revolt the ship landed in Connecticut, where the
Africans were acquitted, freed, and allowed to return to their homeland.Oil on canvas, 12 x 40,” 1840
Genre SubjectsGenre painting refers to images of normal, everyday activities of ordinary people. A king and queen posing on the throne is not a genre subject. Here, French artist Edgar Degas’ painting of laundry workers shows two woman engaged in tedious
labor. Oil on canvas, 1876, 26 x 32”
Social CommentAn artist with strong political views may want to use artwork as a vehicle for
expressing these ideas. Social comment might criticize government leaders, war, or the structure of society. Fernando Botero created this unflattering portrait of the
Colombian presidential family in 1967. Oil on canvas, 80 x 77”
Still LifeStill life refers to images of inanimate objects — things that are not alive and
cannot move. Bottles, bowls, fruit, flowers and cloth often appear in these works. Paul Cezanne was a French artist who created this oil painting in 1905; it was one
of many still life paintings he made. 32 x 39”
AnimalsArtists are often intrigued
by animals. Nearly all cultures have portrayed birds and mammals with
great skill, both in realistic and stylized versions. This Alpaca from the early Inca
civilization is made of soldered sheet silver. The artist shows the fine long
hair of this wool-producing animal.
Undated, 9.5” tall
ExpressionWhile some artists
paint only what they see with their eyes, others, like El Greco, include
their inner feelings about the subject. When personal and emotional feelings
are added to a work, it is an expressionist
artwork. This oil painting of the Spanish city of Toledo seems
mysterious, scary and brooding. 47 x
42 “ 1610
AbstractionAbstraction is the simplification of subject matter into basic, often geometric
shapes. Pablo Picasso makes the simplified shapes themselves the subject of his 1928 oil painting. He depicts a table as a simplified shape. The white oval on the
right might represent a sculpture in his studio. The two triangles in the center are a container, and pictures hang on the back wall. The artist and his easel are on
the left; he has three eyes! 59 x 91”
Nonobjective PaintingIn the twentieth
century, many artist created works which did not refer to any objects in the real world; their fully
abstract works were only composed of
color, shape and line. American artist
Jackson Pollack’s 1947 oil painting, Full
Fathom Five, is 51 x 30.”