Fine Art Line Is One

¶ … Fine Art

Line is one of the most essential features of most artworks. Lines can be curved or straight, both having a different effect on the impact they have on the viewer. They are also the most basic element of creating an image of something, and are thus completely necessary to forming any objects or people in a painting in most artistic forms. Lines can also be used to contain images within the painting, or to make them seem to extend off the canvas/page upon which they are painted or drawn. Basically, line is necessary creating to the impression of anything, both the physical objects that most artworks portray and general moods and feelings that are at the heart of any piece of art. Without line, pieces of art could not even exist.

Another very essential aspect of art is texture. Though this can be meant in the literal sense of how something feels to the touch, when speaking of two-dimensional paintings it more typically refers to the perceived feel of a work of art. The two concepts are very much related; a work of art can give an impression of hardness or softness, or can have a rough or smooth texture. Texture and mood are highly related, though not at all synonymous; the basic feeling of a painting's texture can have a huge effect on the overall impression the viewer takes from it.

Texture itself is made up of the other visual elements of a work of art, such as line and color. Whereas line forms the boundaries of objects and can provide perspective, color fills these things in. Color can also provide contrast and/or blending, unifying or sharply diving objects or areas of a piece of art. Color can also influence the mood with brightness or dullness. The level of intensity in the colors used can also have a large effect on the overall mood and impression that the painting gives a viewer, making color one of the most noticeable aspects of art.

Different artists use these different elements in widely different ways. Pablo Picasso was especially innovative in his use of line and color, creating strange and unusual textures and moods. Frans Hals is a far more traditional painter, though is not surprising given that he painted three hundred years before Picasso and helped to create what we think of as artistic tradition. These artists both used the same elements in their work, but with drastically different effects.

First there is the use of line. In Picasso's 1907 self-portrait and in his painting of a woman on a blue background, the lines are quite definite. They are thick and make large demarcations, rigidly defining objects and marking off space. Hals, on the other hand, uses very soft lines that are almost indistinguishable, especially for the figure of the woman and the chair upon which she is seated. The line that forms the corner of the wall behind her is much more definite and concrete, but it almost appears as though there has been an attempt to obliterate notions of line in the woman herself -- the folds of her clothes resist any distinguishability.

The different uses of line by these two artists also show up in their simple geometry. In his self-portrait, Picasso uses almost no curved line at all. The result is a very angular yet still completely recognizable face with very prominent -- indeed, almost exaggerated -- features. His woman is far more abstract, and the painting contains far more curves, but Picasso still gives his images very definite geometric shape through his use of line. Hals on the other hand does not define his figure so concretely. The room itself, however, is strongly defined by line, making it seem to extend off the canvas while the woman herself is stuck on it.

The two paintings also show a very different use of color, though the difference is similar to the difference shown in line. Picasso's colors are bright and very vibrant, whereas Hals' are muted and indistinct. This matches the two artist's use of line, with the two elements combining on both of Picasso's work to create very definite structures that jump out at the viewer, while leaving everything much more subtle in Hals' work, forcing he viewer to lean in to peer closer at the details. The contrast of colors ais also remarkably different amongst the works of the two artists. Picasso's self-portrait contains relatively few colors, but the are of different tone and intensity and still form a contrast. Hals' colors are too muted to do anything but blend.