PART 1
FUNDAMENTALS
Chapter 1.9
Pattern and Rhythm
Copyright © 2011 Thames & Hudson
Chapter 1.9 Pattern and Rhythm
PART 1
FUNDAMENTALS
Introduction
 Artists use pattern and rhythm to bring order to
space and to create a dynamic experience of time
 When events recur, this creates a pattern
 Patterns are created by the recurrence of an art
element
 In a work of art, the repetition of such patterns gives
a sense of unity
 Rhythm arises through the repetition of pattern
 The rhythm of a series of linked elements guides the
movement of our eyes across and through a design
Gateways to Art: Understanding the Visual Arts, Debra J. DeWitte, Ralph M. Larmann, M. Kathryn Shields
Chapter 1.9 Pattern and Rhythm
PART 1
FUNDAMENTALS
Pattern
 The use of repetition in a work of art usually results
in the creation of a pattern
 Artists often create unity in works of art by
repeatedly using a similar shape, value, or color, for
example
 An artist can use repetition of a pattern to impose
order on a work
 Sometimes artists use alternating patterns to make a
work more lively
 The area covered by pattern is called the field
Gateways to Art: Understanding the Visual Arts, Debra J. DeWitte, Ralph M. Larmann, M. Kathryn Shields
Chapter 1.9 Pattern and Rhythm
PART 1
FUNDAMENTALS
1.149 Horizontal alternating
pattern
Gateways to Art: Understanding the Visual Arts, Debra J. DeWitte, Ralph M. Larmann, M. Kathryn Shields
Suzanne Valadon,
The Blue Room
• Includes three contrasting
patterns
– The blue bed covering, in
the lower portion of the
painting
– The green-and-white
striped pattern in the
woman’s pajama bottoms
– Above the figure is a
mottled pattern
• The differences in these
patterns energize the
work
1.150 Suzanne Valadon, The Blue Room, 1923. Oil on canvas, 35½ × 45⅝”. Musée National d’Art Moderne,
Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris, France
Chapter 1.9 Pattern and Rhythm
PART 1
FUNDAMENTALS
Motif
 A design repeated as a unit in a pattern is called a
motif
 Motifs can represent ideas, images, and themes that
can be brought together through the use of pattern
 An artist can create a strong unified design by
repeating a motif
Gateways to Art: Understanding the Visual Arts, Debra J. DeWitte, Ralph M. Larmann, M. Kathryn Shields
Chapter 1.9 Pattern and Rhythm
PART 1
FUNDAMENTALS
Gateway to Art:
Huqqa base
 Elements, such as the flowers and leaves of the plants,
recur at intervals
Gateways to Art: Understanding the Visual Arts, Debra J. DeWitte, Ralph M. Larmann, M. Kathryn Shields
1.151 Huqqa base, India,
Deccan, last quarter of 17th
century. Bidri ware (zinc alloy
inlaid with brass), 6⅞ x 6½ in.
Metropolitan Museum of Art,
New York
1.152 slide 1: Pashmina carpet
with millefleur pattern, northern
India, Kashmir or Lahore,
second half of 17th century.
Ashmolean Museum, Oxford
1.152 slide 2: Detail of pashmina carpet with millefleur pattern
Chapter 1.9 Pattern and Rhythm
PART 1
FUNDAMENTALS
Pashmina carpet with millefleur
pattern
 Flower-like motifs are arranged in a pattern in the
center
Gateways to Art: Understanding the Visual Arts, Debra J. DeWitte, Ralph M. Larmann, M. Kathryn Shields
Chapter 1.8 Emphasis and Focal Point
PART 1
FUNDAMENTALS
Click the image above to launch the video
Gateways to Art: Understanding the Visual Arts, Debra J. DeWitte, Ralph M. Larmann, M. Kathryn Shields
Chuck Close,
Self Portrait
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•
•
•
•
Uses motif to unify his paintings
Uses a repeated pattern of
organic concentric rings set into a
diamond shape as the basic
building blocks for his large
compositions
There is a difference between a
close-up view of the painting and
the overall effect when we stand
back from this enormous canvas
The motif that Close uses is the
result of a technical process
A grid that subdivides the entire
image organizes the placement of
each cell
1.153a Chuck Close,
Self Portrait, 1997. Oil
on canvas, 8’6” × 7’.
MOMA, New York
1.153b Chuck Close,
Self Portrait, detail
1.153c Chuck Close, Self Portrait, detail
Chapter 1.9 Pattern and Rhythm
PART 1
FUNDAMENTALS
Randomness
 The introduction of chance symbolizes anti-order
 Artists who introduce randomness to a work try to
avoid predictable repetition
 Works made in this way purposely contradict widely
used traditional methods
Gateways to Art: Understanding the Visual Arts, Debra J. DeWitte, Ralph M. Larmann, M. Kathryn Shields
Hans Arp,
Trousse d’un Da
• Dada reveled in
absurdity, irrationality, the
flamboyantly bizarre, and
the shocking
• Arp worked on creating
“chance” arrangements
• Arp claimed that the
arrangement of the
shapes happened by
random placement
1.154 Hans Arp, Trousse d’un Da,1920–21.
Assemblage of driftwood nailed onto wood
with painting remains, 15 x 10½ x 1¾”.
Musée National d’Art Moderne, Centre
Georges Pompidou, Paris, France
Chapter 1.9 Pattern and Rhythm
PART 1
FUNDAMENTALS
Rhythm
 Rhythm gives structure to the experience of looking,
just as it guides our eyes from one point to another
in a work of art
 There is rhythm when there are at least two points of
reference in an artwork
 The intervals between elements provide points of
reference for more complex rhythms
Gateways to Art: Understanding the Visual Arts, Debra J. DeWitte, Ralph M. Larmann, M. Kathryn Shields
Pieter Bruegel, Hunters in the
Snow
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•
•
•
•
We see not only large rhythmic
progressions that take our eye all
around the canvas, but also
refined micro-rhythms in the
repetition of such details as the
trees, houses, birds, and colors
The party of hunters on the left
side first draws our attention into
the work
Our gaze then travels from the left
foreground to the middle ground
on the right
We then look at the background of
the work
As a result of following this
rhythmic progression, our eye has
circled round the whole picture
1.155 slide 1: Pieter Bruegel, Hunters in the Snow, 1565. Oil on panel, 46 x 63¾ in. Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna, Austria
1.155 slide 2: Detail of Pieter Bruegel, Hunters in the Snow
1.155 slide 3: Detail of Pieter Bruegel, Hunters in the Snow
Chapter 1.9 Pattern and Rhythm
PART 1
FUNDAMENTALS
Simple Repetitive Rhythm
 A repeating “pulse” of similar elements sets up a
visual rhythm that a viewer can anticipate
 Such regularity communicates reassurance
 The design of buildings is often intended to reassure
us about the stability and durability of the structure
 For this reason, architectural designs often
incorporate simple repetition
Gateways to Art: Understanding the Visual Arts, Debra J. DeWitte, Ralph M. Larmann, M. Kathryn Shields
Great Mosque of Córdoba
• Each of the repeating
elements—columns,
arches, and voussoirs—
creates its own simple
rhythm
• The accumulation of these
simple repetitions also
enhances the function of
the space and becomes a
part of the activity of
worship, like prayer beads,
reciting the Shahada
(profession of faith), or the
five-times-a-day call to
prayer
1.156 Great Mosque of Córdoba, prayer hall of Abd al-Rahman I, 784–6, Córdoba, Spain
Chapter 1.9 Pattern and Rhythm
PART 1
FUNDAMENTALS
Progressive Rhythm
 Repetition that regularly increases or decreases in
frequency creates a progressive rhythm as the eye
moves faster or slower across the surface of the
work
Gateways to Art: Understanding the Visual Arts, Debra J. DeWitte, Ralph M. Larmann, M. Kathryn Shields
Chapter 1.9 Pattern and Rhythm
PART 1
FUNDAMENTALS
Alternating Rhythm
 Artists can intertwine multiple rhythms until they
become quite complex
 Alternation of rhythms can add unpredictability
and visual excitement
Gateways to Art: Understanding the Visual Arts, Debra J. DeWitte, Ralph M. Larmann, M. Kathryn Shields
Bai-ra-Irrai
• The imagery above
the entry of this bai
begins, at the bottom,
with the regular
rhythms of horizontal
lines of fish, but the
images above
become increasingly
irregular as they
change to other kinds
of shapes
1.158 slide 1: Bai-ra-Irrai,
originally built c. 1700 and
periodically restored,
Airai village, Airai State,
Republic of Palau
1.158 slide 2: Detail of Bai-ra-Irrai
Goya, The Third of May, 1808
Visual Rhythm in the Composition
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•
It can be divided up into two
distinct rhythmic groups
Although the number of figures in
each group is the same, they are
distributed very differently
– The group of French soldiers on the
right stands in a pattern so regulated
it is almost mechanical
– On the left side, the rhythms are
irregular and unpredictable
•
•
The alternating rhythm in this
painting leads our eye from the
figure in white, through a group of
figures, downward to the victims
on the ground
It helps define our ideas about
humanity and inhumanity
1.159 Francisco Goya, The Third of May, 1808, 1814. Oil on canvas, 8’4⅜” x 11’3⅞”. Museo Nacional del Prado, Madrid
Chapter 1.9 Pattern and Rhythm
PART 1
FUNDAMENTALS
Rhythmic Design Structure
 How artists divide visual space into different
sections to achieve different kinds of effect
Gateways to Art: Understanding the Visual Arts, Debra J. DeWitte, Ralph M. Larmann, M. Kathryn Shields
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•
Rosa Bonheur, Plowing in the
Nivernais: The Dressing of the
Vines
A horizontal structure leads our
eye in sequence from one
group of shapes to the next
Bonheur expertly organizes
the composition, emphasizing
the cumulative effect of the
rhythm of the groupings as
they move from left to right
By changing the width of the
gaps between the animals,
Bonheur suggests their
irregular movement as they
plod forward
Each group also has a different
relative size and occupies a
different amount of space,
creating a visual rhythm
1.160a Rosa Bonheur, Plowing in the Nivernais: The Dressing of the Vines, 1849. Oil on canvas, 4’4¾” x 8’6⅜”.
Musée d’Orsay, Paris, France
1.160b Rhythmic structural diagram of 1.160a
Chapter 1.9 Pattern and Rhythm
PART 1
FUNDAMENTALS
Conclusion
 In works of art, good composition articulates
patterns and rhythms in a way that grabs our
attention
 Because the visual rhythm of pattern is predictable,
it tends to unify a work of art
 Some artists try to contradict pattern by imposing
randomness and chance to free a work from what
they see as suffocating orderliness
 Irregular rhythm can make a work seem
unpredictable or make us feel uneasy
Gateways to Art: Understanding the Visual Arts, Debra J. DeWitte, Ralph M. Larmann, M. Kathryn Shields
Chapter 1.9 Pattern and Rhythm
PART 1
FUNDAMENTALS
1.This principle of design arises from repetition of
a pattern.
a. Balance
b. Focal point
c. Unity
d. None of these answers
e. Rhythm
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Chapter 1.9 Pattern and Rhythm
PART 1
FUNDAMENTALS
1.This principle of design arises from repetition of
a pattern.
a. Balance
b. Focal point
c. Unity
d. None of these answers
e. Rhythm
Feedback/Reference: Page 142
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Chapter 1.9 Pattern and Rhythm
PART 1
FUNDAMENTALS
2. Sometimes artists use this kind of changing
pattern to make a work more lively.
a. Alternating pattern
b. Focal pattern
c. Interval pattern
d. Repetitive pattern
e. Balanced pattern
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Chapter 1.9 Pattern and Rhythm
PART 1
FUNDAMENTALS
2. Sometimes artists use this kind of changing
pattern to make a work more lively.
a. Alternating pattern
b. Focal pattern
c. Interval pattern
d. Repetitive pattern
e. Balanced pattern
Feedback/Reference: Page 142
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Chapter 1.9 Pattern and Rhythm
PART 1
FUNDAMENTALS
3. In Islamic art it is not uncommon to see
complex interlaced __________, which are
designs repeated as units in a pattern.
a. arabesques
b. mihrabs
c. motifs
d. qiblas
e. none of these
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Chapter 1.9 Pattern and Rhythm
PART 1
FUNDAMENTALS
3. In Islamic art it is not uncommon to see
complex interlaced __________, which are
designs repeated as units in a pattern.
a. arabesques
b. mihrabs
c. motifs
d. qiblas
e. none of these
Feedback/Reference: Page 143
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Chapter 1.9 Pattern and Rhythm
PART 1
FUNDAMENTALS
4. The artist Chuck Close used a repeated
pattern of organic concentric rings set into a
diamond pattern to create his large
__________ .
a. sculptures
b. ceramics
c. paintings
d. glassware
e. prints
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Chapter 1.9 Pattern and Rhythm
PART 1
FUNDAMENTALS
5. Chuck Close’s Self Portrait of 1997 is made up
of small units that are unrecognizable, or
__________ .
a. abstract
b. representational
c. stylized
d. realistic
e. expressionistic
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Chapter 1.9 Pattern and Rhythm
PART 1
FUNDAMENTALS
5. Chuck Close’s Self Portrait of 1997 is made up
of small units that are unrecognizable, or
__________ .
a. abstract
b. representational
c. stylized
d. realistic
e. expressionistic
Feedback/Reference: Page 144
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Chapter 1.9 Pattern and Rhythm
PART 1
FUNDAMENTALS
6. Using automatic reactions to apply art
materials in such a way as consciously to
deny order can lead to __________ in art.
a. structure
b. balance
c. unity
d. randomness
e. proportion
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Chapter 1.9 Pattern and Rhythm
PART 1
FUNDAMENTALS
6. Using automatic reactions to apply art
materials in such a way as consciously to
deny order can lead to __________ in art.
a. structure
b. balance
c. unity
d. randomness
e. proportion
Feedback/Reference: Page 146
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Chapter 1.9 Pattern and Rhythm
PART 1
FUNDAMENTALS
7. The German-French sculptor Hans Arp worked
on creating "__________ " arrangements to
communicate the ideas of the Dada
movement.
a. chance
b. controlled
c. rigid
d. solid
e. none of these
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Chapter 1.9 Pattern and Rhythm
PART 1
FUNDAMENTALS
7. The German-French sculptor Hans Arp worked
on creating "__________ " arrangements to
communicate the ideas of the Dada
movement.
a. chance
b. controlled
c. rigid
d. solid
e. none of these
Feedback/Reference: Page 146
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Chapter 1.9 Pattern and Rhythm
PART 1
FUNDAMENTALS
8. When there are at least two points of reference
in an artwork, __________ is present.
a. size
b. rhythm
c. proportion
d. line
e. focal point
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Chapter 1.9 Pattern and Rhythm
PART 1
FUNDAMENTALS
8. When there are at least two points of reference
in an artwork, __________ is present.
a. size
b. rhythm
c. proportion
d. line
e. focal point
Feedback/Reference: Page 146
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Chapter 1.9 Pattern and Rhythm
PART 1
FUNDAMENTALS
9. In this sixteenth-century work, the Dutch artist
Pieter Bruegel uses rhythm to direct the
viewer’s attention through the work.
a. Trousse d’un Da
b. The Third of May 1808
c. The Blue Room
d. Hunters in the Snow
e. Artichoke Halved
Feedback/Reference: Pages 147–48
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Chapter 1.9 Pattern and Rhythm
PART 1
FUNDAMENTALS
9. In this sixteenth-century work, the Dutch artist
Pieter Bruegel uses rhythm to direct the
viewer’s attention through the work.
a. Trousse d’un Da
b. The Third of May 1808
c. The Blue Room
d. Hunters in the Snow
e. Artichoke Halved
Feedback/Reference: Pages 147–48
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Chapter 1.9 Pattern and Rhythm
PART 1
FUNDAMENTALS
10. This is a way in which artists divide visual
space into different kinds of sections to
achieve different rhythmic effects.
a. Randomness
b. Unity
c. Contrast
d. Linear perspective rhythm
e. Rhythmic design structure
PowerPoints developed by CreativeMyndz Multimedia Studios
Chapter 1.9 Pattern and Rhythm
PART 1
FUNDAMENTALS
10. This is a way in which artists divide visual
space into different kinds of sections to
achieve different rhythmic effects.
a. Randomness
b. Unity
c. Contrast
d. Linear perspective rhythm
e. Rhythmic design structure
PowerPoints developed by CreativeMyndz Multimedia Studios