Slide #9: View Near the Village of Catskill, 1827, Thomas Cole Formal Elements: We examined the last painting in terms of its function within colonial society and we could do the same for this landscape; however, let's look at it from a different angle. How did the artist compose the painting? How did the artist represent reality? Is this painting pleasing to look at? Why or why not? Discuss the use of formal elements; formal elements include such things as composition, balance, color, line, and the use of perspective. In most American paintings created between the colonial period and the Civil War an important goal of the artist was to portray a three-dimensional scene (what our eyes see) on a two-dimensional surface (the flat painting canvas) as realistically as possible. Ask students if they can imagine traveling back into this landscape, perhaps walking along the path with the figures in the lower right around the lake, through the field, eventually arriving at the white wooden inn located in the center. If they agree that it seems possible, then the artist has successfully created the illusion of depth. Discussion with Photos from Home: Ask to borrow one landscape photo from a student. Turn the image to its side and have students appreciate the flat, two-dimensional surface on which the image is produced. Explain that paintings are, in reality, just as flat. The feeling of depth in View Near the Village of Catskill was created through the use of linear and atmospheric perspective. Linear perspective is a formal method of ordering objects and their sizes to give the illusion that some objects are far away and some are close. According to the rules of perspective, objects that are closer to the viewer are painted larger in size and objects in the distance are painted smaller. Atmospheric perspective is a technique in which the painter uses bright colors and sharp details in the foreground. Pale colors, vague details, and fuzzy outlines are used for objects in the background. The artist attempts to recreate the way our eyes perceive distant objects as conditions of space, air, and light influence our sight. Artists carefully compose their paintings in order to make them pleasing to look at as well as to emphasize certain objects. Composition includes such things as the placement of objects, the choice of color and size, and the overall balance of the painting. A balanced composition gives an impression of order and stability. The mountains on the right of this composition are balanced by the large tree on the left. Ask students to close one eye and to place a finger directly in their view in order to block out the tree on the left. Has the balance shifted or changed? By painting the sheep and the people as tiny figures in the foreground, the painter has made a choice to emphasize the immense scale of nature; the landscape appears grand and majestic as it surrounds the small figures. Discussion with Photos from Home: Have your students look at a landscape image from a magazine or postcard. How does perspective work in a photograph? Do objects closer to the viewer tend to appear larger and in sharper focus? Are objects in the background less defined and smaller? Is the composition balanced? What aspect of the landscape is emphasized by the composition or size of objects? Compare painting to photography. The camera captures the illusion of depth on a flat surface. Do photographers concern themselves with composition and balance?
SLIDE 9
LESSON PLAN #1
EXAMINING PAINTINGS FOR THEIR FUNCTIONAL, FORMAL, AND HISTORICAL CONTENT
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