Design Elements

Proportion is how the shapes and forms fit in the space. Is the piece crowded or spacious?

• In Christian art, human proportion grounds the image from the human point of view; divine proportion assumes a heavenly point of view or at least makes the things of heaven larger than the things of earth

Perspective refers to both the point of view the artist takes and a way of depicting space; it can create a sense of depth. 

• Icon perspective assumes that eternity or heaven is the starting place and the viewer is being seen from that point of view – notice the way the furniture and architecture is drawn
• One-point perspective makes the artwork seem like an extension of the viewer’s physical space 

Repetition is when an artist repeats an element (line, form, shape, figure, color, texture, value, etc.)

• In Christian art, this often occurs with angels and saints in heavenly scenes, especially in the Middle Ages 

Variety is the flip side of repetition.

• In Christian art, this occurs more often in and after the Renaissance

Rhythm is the arrangement of the repetition and the variety, much like rhythm is found in music. Interpret it similarly.

Composition is how the whole thing is put together. Qualities to look for include:  unity vs. tension, symmetry vs. asymmetry (and around which axis), open vs. enclosed, balanced vs. imbalanced.   

Light (sunlight, room light, moonlight) appears in or on a work.  It could be an effect created by the artist’s use of technique or it could be how the light falls on a sculpture placed in space in a room or plaza. In painting, light and shadow became especially important at around 1600 (chiaroscuro). 

• In Christian art, Jesus is sometimes the source of light in an artwork rather than having sunlight, moonlight, or a lamp be the source of the light. 

Relation to the environment refers to whether the work ‘fits’ in the space in which it either was intended to hang or stand or does hang or stand.

• In Christian art that currently stands or hangs in a museum, this can be especially difficult to discern if the piece was originally intended to stand or hang in a church. 

Time is depicted in an image as movement and as change; and time can be condensed wherein several parts of a story are told in the same painting

• In Christian art, different moments in a story are often told in the same panel, especially in the Passion sequence. Sometimes the lives of the saints are also told this way.