The Concepts of Understanding Paintings Through Formal Elements

Heinrich Wölfflin

Heinrich Wölfflin gives us five pairs of concepts in order to understand paintings through formal elements.

1. Linear and Painterly

Paintings that have a linear style have their shapes and forms clearly defined and distinct from each other. This is done by the use of lines to establish boundaries. In painterly styled paintings, the boundaries of these shapes and forms are blurred by the usage of color and textures in order to make them look like one.

Bronzino Portrait (left) is a linear painting as compared to a Velazquez Portrait (right), which is painterly painting.

2. Plane and Recession

The second pair of concepts are explained as the difference between Classical Renaissance paintings and Baroque paintings. Wölfflin says that Renaissance paintings were made out of a series of planes coming together to create a form, whereas Baroque paintings were recessional as they emphasised on the depth.

Palma Vecchio’s Adam and Eve (left) is a planar painting as compared to Tintoretto’s Adam and Eve (right) which is a recessional painting.

3. Closed and Open

Wölfflin says that all paintings must give of the impression of being self-contained. He says that Classical paintings appear to be closed as they are constructed using a structure of horizontal and vertical lines that make them look contained within the frame. Baroque paintings, on the other hand are more open as they use diagonal lines to construct these structures. They give of the feeling of there being an image beyond the frame. He says that the Baroque paintings do not completely boycott the usage of these horizontal and vertical lines, but rather make them unsubstantial.

Van Orley’s portrait of Carondelet (left) appears closed with visible horizontal and vertical construction lines, when compared to Ruben’s portrait of Dr. Thulden (right), which appears more open because of the diagonal construction lines.

4. Multiplicity and Unity

Wölfflin says that Classical paintings focus more on the details, and thus the singular forms in the painting appear independent and tend to stand out due to their multiplicity. Baroque paintings focus more on the whole and thus the singular forms appear united and give off the feeling of an endless flow. Light plays a key role in making this wholeness possible.

Titian’s Bella (left) is a Classical painting that showcases multiplicity. Velazquez’s Venus (right) is a Baroque painting that showcases unity and wholeness.

5. Absolute and Relative

Finally, Wölfflin explains that Classical paintings have a sense of absolute clarity to them when compared to Baroque paintings. He says that the difference in the usage of light and color is what creates this distinction. In Classical paintings, one can see everything that is happening in the scene, with the main subject usually placed right in the centre. In Baroque paintings, there is dramatic lighting with deep shadows, which helps draw focus not only to just one form in the painting, but the entire painting as a whole.

Da Vinci’s Last Supper’s (left) absolute clarity when compared to Tiepolo’s Last Supper’s (right) relative clarity.