Elements and Principles of Design
Components of an art work
| Subject | the depicted object(s) |
| Form | visual organization |
| Content | impact or meaning |
Works of art have subject, form and content. We often identify a work by its subject: a landscape painting, a sculpture of a young woman, a lithograph of a cat. Form (or design), is the visual organization of the art work -how the artist has used line, shape, value, color, etc. Content is the impact or meaning of this work.
A horse's head is the subject of both works (below). However, the artists have used form very differently. Picasso's painting (left) has gestural lines, high value contrast, and exaggerated proportions to create a highly emotional content. Conversely, the harmonious rhythms and more naturalistic proportions in the ancient Greek sculpture create a very different feeling. The differences in content were created by the differences in form, not the subject matter. The decisions you make regarding form (type of line and shape; selection of value and color; size of the work; type of balance, etc.) shape the work's impact and meaning.
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