Subject Matter and Themes in Visual Arts

Subject Matter and Themes in Visual Arts

by T. Grezza

Subject Matter

The subject of art refers to any person, object, scene or event described or presented in a work of art.

NARRATIVE/HISTORY/RELIGIOUS - is an artwork that tells a story.

PORTRAIT - is an showing a person, an animal or several groups of people/animals.

STILL LIFE- is an arrangement of non-moving and non-living objects such as fruits, flowers, or bottles.

LANDSCAPE - is an artwork showing natural outdoor scenery such as mountains, rivers, fields, or forests.

Genre Works – are scenes of everyday life.

Non-Objective/ Non-Representational – has no recognizable figures or objects.

VISIONARY EXPRESSION - involves simplification and/or rearrangement of natural objects to meet the needs of artistic expression.

Themes in Visual Arts

“What is it about?”

Themes are the messages or ideas conveyed in an artwork.

Themes can be identified through the following:

• Genre/s- also known as subject matter

  - Is/are category/categories of an artwork

  Common genres in painting:

  - Narrative/History Painting

  - Portrait Painting

  - Landscape Painting

  - Still Life

• Motif/s- are the dominant/repeated elements in an artwork.