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The Pocket Universal Principles of Art
book

The Pocket Universal Principles of Art

by John A Parks
December 2017
Intermediate to advanced content levelIntermediate to advanced
208 pages
3h 39m
English
Rockport Publishers
Content preview from The Pocket Universal Principles of Art

094 Theme

A theme is an overall idea that carries through a work or series of works. The expression and elaboration of the theme may be the primary goal of the artist or themes may emerge as the artist pursues other ideas.

Philosophical. The artist pursues a theme to convey an idea. For instance, in The Disasters of War, a series of etchings by Goya (1746–1828), the artist pursues the theme of the senselessness of violence in war.

Abstract. A visual idea is explored over a number of works. Robert Motherwell’s (1915-1991) series of paintings, Elegy to the Spanish Republic, develops variations on a particular abstract formation.

Narrative. A series of works forms a narrative that displays a theme and variations. Giovanni Domenico Tiepolo ...

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Publisher Resources

ISBN: 9781631595431