In this lesson students will be introduced to the basics of the color wheel, as well as the ways in which artists use color to guide the viewer's attention through a painting's composition.
Guiding Question
How do artists use color to create effects of perception and to guide the viewer's eye through an artwork?
Learning Objectives
Upon completing this lesson, students will be able to:
Explain the ways in which color is used to create a sense of depth in a two dimensional space
Identify the ways in which the artist uses color to draw the viewer's attention to points within the composition
Discuss the effect of color on the tone and mood of an artwork
Review the curriculum unit overview and this lesson plan. Locate and bookmark
suggested materials and websites. Download and print out documents you will
use and duplicate copies as necessary for student viewing.
Note: All diagrams, line drawings, and questions for this lesson
are available for students to download directly through the Student
LaunchPad for each activity. You can access all of the diagrams for this
lesson plan directly through the Teacher
LaunchPad. You should read through the Student LaunchPad in preparation
for teaching this lesson.
This short exercise introduces students to hue, primary, secondary,
and complementary colors.
While most of the images that students will be viewing in this lesson are
paintings, it is useful to begin this lesson with a series of variations on
one print. Jacques Villon's print, according to the National Gallery label,
is a "color softground etching, etching, and aquatint printed from multiple
plates with watercolor additions and graphite notations." As a print, it was
possible for Villon to create variations on the same image with the same woman
appearing in each print.
Have students complete this
chart as they view each of the images and consider the differences in these
images. Although they will certainly note the changes in the color scheme—that
the woman's black dress in one image and pink in another, or background color
changes—ask them to think about how this affects the image. In this first
activity they will see some of the important ways color affects images. Ask
students to think about the following questions:
How do the changes in color across this group of images affect the perception
of depth in the image? Which images seem to have more or less depth than
others?
How do the changes in color affect the mood or tone of the image? Which
prints appear more upbeat, or more somber, than others? Why?
Students may note the following:
that Variation A gives the perception of a deeper space than Variation
C, although they initially may not yet be able to explain why. Variation
B is more upbeat than Variation A because of the difference in color:
Variation A is dominated by the dark grey background, while the eye is
immediately drawn to the vibrant red of the chair in Variation B.
Next, review the definitions of the following terms: hue, primary, secondary,
and complementary colors given in the "Preparing to Teach
this Lesson" section of this lesson. Then, you may have students complete
a short online quiz about the terms, also available in PDF
format. Knowing elementary color definitions and understanding the basic
color relationships will be helpful for students in the following activities.
Many choices artists make in color use are designed to draw the viewer's
attention to particular details, objects, or figures in an image. In the following
activity students will investigate the use of color in two paintings to see
how the artists use color to grab their attention.
Begin by having students view the following image:
You may direct students to the Student
LaunchPad which has a direct link to the image. Ask students to contemplate
where their eye is drawn to first on the canvas. Students will most likely mention
the red apples at the center of the painting's composition. Why do they think
that their eye is drawn to this point in the composition first?
Note that when looking at a painting or a photograph, one's eye is usually
drawn to the lightest points within a composition, as well as the points with
the brightest or most vibrant color. Introduce the definition of saturation
from the "Preparing to Teach this Lesson" section. Ask students which colors
are more vibrant or saturated. They might note that the vibrancy of the red
in the apples is highlighted by the surrounding colors, including the dark
olive background, and the ochre table and pears. The red of the apples stand
out sharply against the muted colors that surround it. In addition, our eye
tends also to be drawn towards warmer colors, such as red and orange.
How can an artist draw the viewer's attention to a particular point in the
composition without using muted tones as Chardin did in the first image? Have
students view the following image, which is
In this image, unlike in the Chardin, significant portions of the canvas are
covered with a variety of vibrant colors. Ask students to think about the following
questions as they view the painting:
Where are their eyes drawn to in Johnson's painting?
Why do they think their eye alights on these points in the composition?
The church towers in the foreground will surely draw their attention. Have students
map the use of color in the foreground church and immediately surrounding
it. Using the color wheels from the previous activity ask students
to identify the relationships between the colors that are used in this section
of the painting. They should discover numerous points where complementary colors
are placed either next to each other or in close proximity: the green roof and
the red church's walls; the orange tower and nearby blue sky. In each of
these cases Johnson's decision to place contrasting colors near each other draws
attention to these points in the painting.
Have students write a paragraph identifying the ways in which Homer uses color
to draw one's eye to the central figure of the milk maid. Students should note:
Homer's use of red in the rooster's feathers and cock's comb and repeated
in a more muted tone in the maid's dress and collar.
Homer set his figures in a sea of green—the grass and the trees—which
are complementary colors, and thus highlights the red against this background.
Warm and cool colors in a painting can create different atmospheric effects,
including the illusion of depth. In the following activity students will analyze
the effect of warm and cool colors in a number of paintings.
Begin by asking students to identify the warm and cool colors using the color
wheels from the first activity. They should identify red, orange,
and yellow as warm colors and blue, green, and violet as cool colors. Then
have students view the following painting:
You may direct students to the Student
LaunchPad which has a direct link to the image. Ask students to identify
the warm and cool colors in this composition. They should recognize that the
bulk of the cool colors are found in the top half of the canvas while the warmer
colors are in the bottom half of the canvas. Students should note that the cooler
colored water, sky, and parliament building are all placed in the distance or
background within the composition, while the warmer colored water and the red-highlighted
boats are placed in the foreground. Ask students to consider the following questions
as they are looking at Derain's painting:
Why do you think the artist placed the warm and cool colors in particular
areas?
Where are most of the warm or cool colors clustered together in the imaginary
space of the painting? (i.e. are warm or cool colors all or mostly found
in the foreground, middle ground, or background?)
Does the placement of these warm and cool colors have an impact on whether
or not objects or buildings appear closer or farther away?
Note that our eye gravitates towards colors at the warmer end of the spectrum.
Warmer tones also appear to move forward, particularly when placed in contrast
to cooler colors. While the canvas remains a two-dimensional space, warm and
cool colors, when arranged in particular ways, can create the illusion of depth
within the space. Not only do warm colors appear to move forward, but cool colors
appear to move toward the background, particularly when warm and cool colors
are placed next to each other. Students should also note that the less saturated
colors appear to fall back as well, resembling the atmospheric perspective that
we perceive when we are looking at things far away. For example, when we look
at mountains in the distance the color of the trees on the mountains appear
hazy and less green than those that are close to us.
Next, divide students into groups of three or four and assign half of the
groups to work on the painting by Titian while the other half of the groups
work on the Cassatt. Have the students working on the Titian painting view
the following painting, which is available from the EDSITEment-reviewed web
resource The National Gallery of Art:
Groups should then work together to discuss the following questions:
What do students notice about the distribution of warm and cool colors
in this painting? Do warm and cool colors cluster together, or are they evenly
distributed across the composition?
How does Titian use color to help create a sense of depth in this image?
Why do you think that Titian clothed Saint John in red? What effect does
that color choice have on the viewer?
The red of Saint John's robe in this image draws the viewer's eye to his form,
as does his active pose. But the color also creates the sense that Saint John
is close to the viewer—perhaps even within reach. Titian may have chosen
this color to create the illusion of depth—achieved partly by the contrast
of Saint John's red robe with the blue sky. The red color also creates a sense
of closeness between the viewer and Saint John, suggesting a feeling of identification
between the two figures.
While half of the class works on the Titian piece, the remaining groups should
view the following image, which is also available from the EDSITEment-reviewed
web resource The National Gallery of Art:
Working in their groups, have students answer the following questions about
Cassatt's painting:
How has Cassatt distributed warm and cool colors in this painting? Do
warm and cool color cluster together, or are they evenly distributed across
the composition?
How does she use color to help create a sense of depth in this image?
Why do you think Cassatt chose to depict the boat as bright yellow? What
kind of effect does that color choice have on the viewer?
The vibrancy and warmth of the boat's yellow color draw the craft and its passengers
closer to the viewer. The yellow color works in conjunction with the curve of
the boat's prow, appearing almost like a set of arms which pull the woman and
her baby towards the viewer. Students should pay particular attention to how
Cassatt creates a distinct and sharp contrast between the water's deep blue
beyond the lip of the yellow boat.
Once all the groups have finished answering the questions the class should
regroup and discuss their findings. Students should be sure to compare and
contrast their findings with the findings of the groups who worked on the
other painting.
Assessment
Have students choose one of the following paintings from The Metropolitan Museum
of Art:
Students should write a brief explanation of the ways in which the artist has
used color in the painting they have chosen to grab the viewer's attention,
guide the viewer's through the composition, and assist in creating a sense of
depth within the painting.
Extending the Lesson
If you have time and materials in your classroom, you can extend the lesson
by having each student choose one of the images in the lesson to recreate
as its opposite. For example, if students were to choose Pablo Picasso's
The Tragedy,
they should first use the color wheels from the first activity to determine
what the contrasting colors of the Picasso composition would be—in
this case, various shades of orange. They should then draw and tint the
image in those contrasting tones. When they have finished each student should
discuss the ways in which these changes have impacted the image. Does it
have the same sense of depth as it did in the original? Does it have the
same mood? Are one's eyes drawn to the same points?
William H. Johnson's A
View Down Akersgate
[http://americanart.si.edu/search/search_artworks1.cfm? StartRow=1&format=short&db=all&LastName=&FirstName=& Title=&Accession=1967.59.930&Keyword=]
George Caleb Bingham's Fur
Traders Descending the Missouri
[http://www.metmuseum.org/Works_of_Art/viewOnezoom.asp?dep=
2&zoomFlag=0&viewmode=0&item=33%2E61]
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