Emphasis – Placement

Artist: Leonardo da Vinci
Title of Work: The Last Supper
Year Completed: 1494–1498
Medium: Tempera on gesso, pitch and mastic
Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Last_Supper_%28Leonardo_da_Vinci%29

Artist: Edvard Munch
Title of Work: The Scream
Year Produced: 1893
Medium: Oil, tempera, and pastel on cardboard
Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Scream

The idea of emphasis through placement refers to being able to emphasize an form in a piece by placing it strategically in a spot that the viewer’s eye is naturally drawn to.  In the first piece, The Last Supper, Jesus becomes emphasized because he is placed right in the middle of the piece, an area that we naturally look to first. In the bottom piece, the figure screaming is also naturally emphasized because he is also placed right in the middle of the piece. Also, he continues to the bottom of the space, which causes even more emphasis, because things that are placed nearer to, or even overlapping the sides of the piece are emphasized.

 

Emphasis – Isolation

Artist: Andrew Wyeth
Title of Work: Christina’s World
Year Produced: 1948
Medium: Tempera on Gessoed paper
Source of Image: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christina%27s_World

Artist: Claude Monet
Title of Work: Impression, Sunrise
Year Produced: 1872
Medium: Oil on Canvas
Source of image: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Impression,_Sunrise

Another way to provide emphasis on a figure in a piece is to have it isolated from any figures. Both of the pieces listed above use this technique to create emphasis on focal points. The first piece uses the isolation of the bare field to create an emphasis on the sitting girl, and then the farmhouse, though the girl is the first and main focal point due to the fact that she is closer to the viewer in the piece, as well as being larger than the farmhouse. In the second piece, the abstractedness of the lake and background causes the closest boat to be isolated and emphasized in the fact that its a much sharper image compared to the rest of the piece.

Emphasis: Contrast

Artist: Kenneth Noland
Title of Work: And Half
Year of Production: 1959
Medium: Unlisted – Paint
Source: http://fugitiveink.wordpress.com/2010/01/14/remembering-kenneth-noland/

In this piece, the focal point or emphasis is created through contrast. The contrast of the powerful red color surrounded by the bright yellow ring against very neutral colors creates an immediate emphasis on the circle in the middle.