Experimenting with Form and Value Demonstrate your technical skills. Look again at Figure 10–6. The artist has created a sense of three-dimensional form mainly through value. By changing little by little from dark to light values, he makes the objects appear solid and round. Experiment with this method yourself. Arrange several objects, such as apples, eggs, and jars, on a tabletop. Step back and study this arrangement carefully. Then draw the composition with charcoal. Show gradual changes of value. Figure 10–7 this still life.
Notice the arrangement of the objects in
Suzuki Kiitsu. Seashells and Plums. Japanese. Edo Period. Nineteenth century. Color on silk. 34.6 29.2 cm (13 5⁄8 11 1⁄2 ). Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Los Angeles, California. Etsuko and Joe Price Collection.
A painting fitting this description is shown in Figure 10–6. This still life, however, was completed in the twentieth century. Its artist, moreover, was American. Examine the work. It is a detailed, lifelike painting of several ordinary objects. Notice their placement. Would you say they have been arranged haphazardly or with care? Find the single horizontal line in the picture. What does this line represent? An Eastern Still Life Like the artworks you learned about in Lesson 1, the two on these pages are separated by time and place. The still life in Figure 10–7 was completed more than a century before the one in Figure 10–6. The artist who made this second painting was from Japan. The work, in fact, gives us a sense of traditional Japanese design. It also provides an insight into Japanese culture.
P O R T F O L I O In a short paragraph, evaluate the result of the shading technique you achieved with charcoal.
Examine the contents of the painting. These are summed up neatly in the title. What do the first of these items, the shells, reveal about Japan’s geography? Look next at the still life’s composition. How would you describe the arrangement of the objects? How similar is this arrangement to the one in Figure 10–6? As you study this work, it becomes clear that the artist’s goal was to create an elegant, balanced design. Do you think he has succeeded?
Check Your Understanding 1. What is a still life? 2. In what ways are the still lifes on these pages similar? How are they different?
Lesson 3 Grouping Objects
189