Value

What is Value?

Key Vocabulary • Value• High keyed value• Low keyed value• Value contrast• Center of interest• Range of values

Light and value• Everything you see around you is

illuminated by light, without the light you wouldn’t be able to see anything.

• No matter how bright a white shirt can be, it cannot be seen in total darkness.

• With a little light a white shirt will begin to appear grey, as the light increases, the white clothes look brighter

This value chart shows a range of 10 steps from white to black. Most people can distinguish 30 to 40 steps between black and white

Value is the degree of lightness or darkness of grays and color.

Much of the beauty of black and white photography is a result of gradations in value

• In b&w photography you can easily distinguish the areas of light grey and white and the areas of medium grey and black.

• White is the lightest value and black is the darkest

• There are an unlimited number of values between them

Ansel AdamsTetons and Snake RiverGelatin Silver Photograph1942

Jean Baptiste Simeon ChardinFruit, jug and glassOil on canvas, 1728

In this painting, how does the artist use value to create an area of interest?

Light values• To depict happiness, warmth or

sunshine, artists tend to emphasize lighter values

• An artwork with many light-valued colors are high-keyed.

• High-keyed colors have been mixed with white and are called pastels.

Describe the kind of day depicted in this watercolor?

John Singer SargentMuddy Alligators, 1917Watercolor over graphite 14”x20 7/8”

Georgio MorandiStill Life, 1950Oil on canvas8” x 15 5/8”

What effect do the low key values have on the mood of this painting by Georgio Morandi?

Berthe MorisotLady at her toilet, 1875Oil on Canvas23 ¾” x 31 5/8”

Berthe Morisot was an impressionist. Impressionists were fascinated with the effect of light on color.

Dark Values• To suggest dark and gloomy days,

nighttime or dim lighting, an artist uses darker values.

• The lack of brightness tells the viewer that the source of light is weak or far away.

• A work that uses mainly dark-valued colors is low-keyed.

• Low-keyed colors have been mixed with black and grey.

Frederick Edwin ChurchAurora Borealis, 1865Oil on canvas56” x 83”

What mood does the low-keyed values of this painting create? Why?

Francisco Goya y Lucientes

Francisco José de Goya y Lucientes 1746–1828) was a Spanish painter and printmaker regarded both as the last of the Old Masters and the first of the moderns.

Goya was a court painter to the Spanish Crown, and through his works was both a commentator on and chronicler of his era.

The subversive imaginative element in his art, as well as his bold handling of paint, provided a model for the work of later generations of artists, notably Manet, Picasso and Francis Bacon.

In his honour, Spain's main national film awards are called the Goya Awards.

Francisco Goya y LucientesClothed Maja, 1800-03Oil on Canvas

Francisco Goya y LucientesThe family of Charles IVOil on Canvas cloth110” x 132”

Francisco Goya y LucientesThird of May, 1808Oil on Canvas

Francisco Goy y LucientesThe Sleep of Reason produces Monsters, 1797Series, Los CaprichosEtchings, aquatint, drypoint and burin21.5 cm x 15cm

Francisco Goya y LucientesSaturn Devouring his Sons 1819-1823Black PaintingsOil mural transferred to canvas143 cm x 81 cm

Value Contrast• Artists emphasize not only dark or light

values, but include values from all over the scale

• Light values placed next to medium or dark values create value contrast.

This contrast helps viewers distinguish between different parts of a design and can make an area of a design stand out.• The greatest possible contrast is between

back and white

Center of InterestThe center of interest is a special area to which the artist wishes to draw the viewers attention.

The center of interest, usually where the artist wishes the viewer to look first, may also contain a design’s most important object or figure

George De La TourNewborn Child, mid 1640’sOil on Canvas,31” x 35”

How has the artist focused the light on the candle on the child?