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How To Describe A Painting Fun Activities Games Picture Description Exercises 36435

The document provides instructions on how to describe a painting in 4 paragraphs: [1] Details of the painting including title, artist, materials, size, and location. [2] Description of the subject matter and structure including foreground, middle ground, and background. [3] Discussion of technique and colors used. [4] Interpretation of the theme, symbols, and atmosphere portrayed. It encourages watching two videos for examples and practicing descriptions with a friend using language for agreeing or disagreeing.

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Vee Makhaya
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51 views2 pages

How To Describe A Painting Fun Activities Games Picture Description Exercises 36435

The document provides instructions on how to describe a painting in 4 paragraphs: [1] Details of the painting including title, artist, materials, size, and location. [2] Description of the subject matter and structure including foreground, middle ground, and background. [3] Discussion of technique and colors used. [4] Interpretation of the theme, symbols, and atmosphere portrayed. It encourages watching two videos for examples and practicing descriptions with a friend using language for agreeing or disagreeing.

Uploaded by

Vee Makhaya
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as DOC, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Instructions:

1. Watch “what is art video” as a starter.

2. After covering the content below about art description, watch the “Da Vinci Painting video” and take note of the
description language used in the video. Furthermore, be sure to compare it with what you have already learnt.

A description of a painting may have the following structure:

1st Paragraph: Details of the Painting (Title, Artist, Materials, Size, Location)

The title is generally written in italics. You could start by defining the painting in terms
of art form or type. The painting can be a portrait, a self-portrait, a land/sea/cityscape, a
still-life or an abstract painting .

Say also what period it is from (‘It dates from…’ or ‘It was painted in…’). Here is a list of
the main periods in the history of art: Middle Ages, Renaissance, Baroque, Neoclassicism,
Romanticism, Modern Art, Impressionism, Symbolism, Art Nouveau, Cubism, Futurism,
Surrealism.

The most common painting techniques are oil on canvas, watercolour, pastel on paper,
tempera on board or wood panel.

You can say: ‘The painting measures … by… (inches/cm) and it is painted in…’.

Finally, talk about the museum/gallery where it is housed. You can write: ‘It is housed in
… or ‘It hangs in …’.

2nd Paragraph: Description (Subject Matter and Structure)

The subject may be religious or it may be a natural scenery (mountains, hills, valleys,
fields, woods, sky). If it is a portrait, it can be a family portrait, a self-portrait, a nude.

A still-life may have as a subject a vase with flowers, some books or some fruit.
Finally a historical subject may represent a hero of the past or mythological figures.

The verbs that you may need to describe the subject are: to depict, to show, to represent,
to illustrate, and to portray.

At this point you can describe what you see in the foreground, in the middle ground, and
in the background.

3rd Paragraph: Technique and Colours

Talking of technique, you might consider perspective and sfumato.

Lines may be straight or curving, and shapes are geometric, spherical or linear

Brushstrokes may be broad, loose, fine or blended, while texture can be rough/smooth,
glossy/opaque.

As for colours, remember that warm colours are yellow, orange, and red; cold colours are
blue, purple, and green.

Colours may also be pale or bright, brilliant or soft, light or dark.

4th Paragraph: Interpretation (Theme, Symbols, Atmosphere)

The theme of a painting may be the natural/urban world, life and death, myth, or a
historical event. The verbs you may need to describe symbols are to symbolise, to be a
symbol of, to stand for or to represent.

Finally, describe the atmosphere. The following adjectives may be useful: peaceful,
gloomy, sad, serene, violent.

BONUS EXERCISE:

Ask your friend to comment on certain elements of the pictures. For instance,

What do you think about …. / How do you feel about…./What are your views on.... / Don’t you think...?

Language for agreeing: You’re right/ I suppose you’re right/ I think you’re right/ I believe you’re right/
Exactly/ Definitely/Absolutely.

Language for disagreeing: Yes, but.../ (I‘m afraid) I don’t (really) agree/ I can’t say that I agree/ I
(completely)/ disagree/ I don’t think so/ I doubt it/ I wouldn’t say that/ Not really/ I strongly disagree.....

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