MEDIUMS OF VISUAL

ARTSPreparad by:Kimberly Cassidy M. MenianoBBTE IT III-4D

Medium

- an agency or means of doing something.

- the intervening substance through whichimpressions are conveyed to the senses ora force acts on objects at a distance.

SCULPTURE

Stone is durable: it resist weather, fire,and all ordinary hazards, it is heavy,expensive and breaks easily.

Of the metals, the one most commonlyused traditionally was bronze

A. Stone and Bronze

PraxitelesHermes and Dionysus (ca. 350 B.C.)Parian marble

King of Judah (twelfth century)Stone

Usually carvings in ivory aresmall, the reasons beingthe great expense of ivoryand the difficulty ofsecuring it in large pieces.The color of ivory is a rich,creamy yellow. Like wood,ivory cracks.

B. Ivory

Snake Goddess(Minoan, ca. 1500 B.C.)Gold and ivory.

The term terra cottameans “baked earth”.Terra cotta is madeby firing clay, as inpottery. It is usuallypainted and coveredwith a heavy glaze.

C. Terra Cotta

LohanChinese, Liao DynastyPottery

PAINTINGS

The vehicle is oil and the surface is usuallycanvas, though other various surfaces maybe used. The special advantage of oil isthat is stays moist for a long time. Therough surface of a text is so thick that eachstroke shows clearly.

A. Oil

Vincent Van GoghSelf-Portrait in a Straw Hat (1988-1989)Oil on canvas, on wood.

In water color, the pigments are mixed withwater and applied in a fine, white paper.The paper shines through the paint andmakes the color brilliant. It is difficult toproduce warm, rich tones in water color.

B. Water Color

In fresco painting a wall is prepared withsuccessive coats of plaster. Designs areprepared in advance in a large sheets ofpaper, each sheets accounting for a sectionof the wall.

It is accordingly a medium of a broad, boldoutlines, usually with great simplificationof form.

C. Fresco

Jose Clemente OrozcoModern Migration of the Spirit (1932-1934)Fresco

Wax was used by theEgyptians for portraitspainted on mummycases. There wereseveral different waysof preparing the wax,but in general the colorwas mixed in warmwax and burned it.

D. EncausticPortrait of a BoyFayum, Lower EgyptEncaustic on wood panel.

In pastel, pigments in theform of powders arecompressed lightly in asticks. Its color arebrilliant, and it is avery flexible medium,one in which very richand varied effects maybe produced.

E. Pastel

Edgar DegasBallet Scene (1907)Pastel

Mosaic, stained glass, and tapestry areusually classed with painting, though themedium is not pigment. A picture immosaic is made by putting all togethersmall pieces of colored glass or stone,called “tesserae”.

F. Mosaic

Theodora and Her Attendants(ca. A.D. 525)Mosaic

Like the mosaic, the stained-glass window isa kind of patchwork it is made bycombining many small pieces of coloredglass which are held together by bands oflead.

In a large window, the lead is reinforced byheavy iron bars that make very heavyblack lines in the picture.

G. Stained Glass

Tapestries are largefabrics in which adesign is woven byhand. Being of veryfirm texture, theyshut out the cold andhelped to preservethe heat from the fireplace.

G. Tapestry

The Hunt of the UnicornFrench or Flemish Tapestry

Stop! Let’s Review.Identify what medium is used in the following paintings.

Encaustic

Fresco

Oil

Pastel

DRAWINGS Drawings and prints are of special interest

to the student, both for their intrinsicvalue and because they are comparativelyinexpensive.

In them, even the person of small means canafford original works often by importantartists.

One of the most common because of its general utility especially for making rapid notes. The French artist Ingres made many delicate and crisp pencil portraits as one means of support while he was living in Rome.

Pencil

Silverpoint

A drawing made with a gold or silverwire on a specially prepared paper, isoften very pale in tone and has littlevitality but is very delicate and warmlyshadowy.

InkMakes a clear, crisp, often sketchy andspontaneous line; often ink is combineswith wash.

BisterA brown pigment made by mixing thesoot from burning wood with a littlebinder.

Charcoal

One of the oldest mediums for drawing.The charcoal is made by roasting woodin a closed vessel. This medium iscapable of a great variety of tones fromthe darkest to the very light.

ChalkAnother medium that has been usedfrom the earliest times. It is found inwhite, black, and red. The red wasespecially desired for figure sketches.

Prints

An engraving is in many ways the oppositeof a woodcut. In the woodcut, the partsthat are to be black are left standing, andthe remainder of the block is cut away.

In engraving, the lines of the dewsign arecut into a metal plate; these lines are thenfilled with ink andtransferred from theplate to the paper.

A. Engraving

Martin SchongauerThe AnnunciationEngraving

Etching differs in engraving in the way thelines are made.

In etching, the plate is covered with acoating of a thin, waxlike material called a“ground”.

B. Etching

Paul KleeWhy Does He Run?Etching

Francisco GoyaPobrecitasEtching

The lithography is the most recent of thefour common types of print. It wasdiscovered just before 1800, whereaswoodcuts, engraving and etchings go backto the fifteenth and sixteenth century.

The design is drawn on a heavy greasycrayon on a specially prepared stone, andink impressions are made from it.

C. Lithography

George BellowsDempsey and Firpo(1924)Lithograph

Checking your understanding

1. What are the different mediums for scuplture?

2. List down the different mediums for painting.

3. Name at least three mediums for drawing.

4. State the three mediums for prints.

Thanks