Elements N Principles - Starry Night

When evaluating a piece of art, considering the Elements of Art is just as important as
considering the Principles of Art. The Elements of Art are a group of aspects that are used
in combination with the Principles of Art to most effectively create or evaluate a work. Ive
decided to use The Starry Night by Vincent van Gogh again, because this painting is one
of the most successful works of all time because of Van Goghs utilization of all the
Elements and Principles. The Elements of Art are as follows:
Form refers to what is three-dimensional and encloses volume. Cubes, spheres, and
cylinders are examples of various forms. The Starry Night has little real form as it is two-
dimensional, but it does have suggested form in the roundness of the hills.
Line is the continuous mark made on some surface by a moving point. Line often
moves your eye throughout the piece, or it often points towards emphasis (remember
that Principle from last week?) Above, the dark bushs vertical lines lead your eye up,
the diagonal and curving lines of the sky lead your eye right towards the moon (which
also happens to be the emphasis), and from there your eye gets caught on the light
diagonal line running left back down to the dark bush.
Shape is an enclosed space that is either 2D, 3D, or 4D. Using the other elements
such as form and color, as well as common sense, can help determine what dimension
the work is in. The Starry Night, as a painting, is obviously 2D.
Color is an element with three parts that when altered can change a sky blue to an
almost-black navy. 1) Hue is the name of a color, e.g. yellow, blue, etc. 2) Intensity or
purity of the color is how bright or dull it appears. 3) Finally, value is the lightness or
darkness of a color. There are also warm (red, yellow, orange) and cool (green,
purple, blue) colors. The above painting is made of mostly cool dark and light colors,
with some intense yellows added to increase the contrast (also from last week!).
Texture refers to the surface quality or how an object looks like it feels; roughness,
smoothness, softness, etc. If one were allowed to touch The Starry Night without being
creamed by some sort of security personnel, actual texture in the paint could be felt.
Van Gogh has also rendered simulated or implied texture in the hills, trees, and the
dark bush.
Space refers to the area between, around, above, or within things. In 2D art, space is
an illusion. An artist has successfully used space when the viewer can look at it and
agree that nothing looks out of place or awkward. Tricks an artist uses to render space
include simple overlapping, correct use of perspective, and using darker and crisper
images in the front and then fading to lighter and more fuzzy images in the back. Van
Goghs painting does not employ all of these techniques, but it can be agreed that he
has used space effectively in this painting.
Value even though its a component of color that describes its lightness or darkness,
is an element that is needed to express volume in a work. If value isnt used correctly,
objects will look flat and uninteresting. It can be argued that The Starry Night does not
have enough value to accurately show volume. The moon and the dark bush are both
void of variation in value, making them look less realistic. But, the hills in the back of
the painting use value correctly as they fade from medium blue to dark navy, which
coincidentally makes them appear rounded.
Proper use of the Principles of Art is essential to the success of any work. What is meant
by the Principles of Art? The Principles of Art are the first set of rules or guidelines that
make deciding the impact of a work of art easier. The second set of rules are the Elements
of Art; Ill talk about those next week. Ive decided to explain The Principles of Art using
The Starry Night, by Vincent van Gogh:
Emphasis in a composition refers to the points of interest that pull the viewers eye to
important parts of the work. The emphasis in The Starry Night is the bright yellow
moon.
Balance is a sense of stability in the work. Balance can be created by repeating the
same shapes and by creating a feeling of equal weight. In the above painting, the
large dark tree helps to balance the bright moon in the opposite corner.
Harmony is achieved in a body of work by using similar elements throughout the work
to ensure it doesnt look too complicated. The consistency of the lines throughout The
Starry Night give it a feeling of harmony.
Variety refers to the differences in the work. Variety is achieved by using different
shapes, textures, colors and values in your work. You can find variety in the bright and
dark colors as well as the cool and warm colors, and in the swirls and curves of the
hills next to the angularity of the houses.
Movement adds excitement to your work by showing action and directing the viewers
eye throughout the picture plane. Above, the dark tree moves your eye up, the swirls
carry your eye to the moon, the color in the moon leads your eye to the light-yellow
streak beneath it, which in turn leads your eye back to the dark tree.
Rhythm is a type of movement in drawing and painting. It is seen in repeating of

shapes and colors. Alternating lights and darks also give a sense of rhythm. The lines
and color pattern seen throughout the work are a great example of rhythm.
Proportion refers to the relationships of the size of objects in a body of work. The
painting above has perfect proportion; nothing looks distracting or out of place.
Unity is seen in a painting or drawing when all the parts equal a whole. When looking
at The Starry Night, you see that it is not disjointed or confusing, but uniform and
consistent.
Some principles may be more obvious than others. For example, in the above painting,
Emphasis is more obvious than Variety. The most important thing to remember about the
Principles is that a successful work of art that does not utilize most or all of them does not
exist. In the future, instead of saying, I like The Starry Night, I hope youll now be able
to say: The Starry Night is so celebrated because there is an incredible sense of
movement throughout.

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When evaluating a piece of art, considering the Elements of Art is just as important as

Rhythm is a type of movement in drawing and painting. It is seen in repeating of

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