December 2017
Intermediate to advanced
208 pages
3h 39m
English
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 ...