Lesson 3: Repetition in the Visual Arts

Activity 1. Teaching Repetition

Claude Monet's Palazzo del Mula Venice

Mention that repetition in the visual arts should be understood to include not only the duplication of identical objects—such as the two boats—but also of elements whose form is in some way similar. That similarity might be the found in the form, the outline, the color, the tone, or even the brightness and saturation of two objects or figures. In this Monet painting, students might note the blue posts which frame the doorway on the far left side of the painting. A similarly colored and shaped set of posts is found to the right of that doorway. The shape and color appear again to the right of the second frame, this time in front of the building next door. Finally, the two mooring posts for the boats, while spaced further apart than the previous posts, compose a similar shape and are rendered using the same color. Walk through this process with the class as a whole to model what they will be looking for in the paintings used in this activity. For a mapping of the repeated frame, as well as a second example of repetition in the Monet, have students access the line drawing and diagrams of this image to aid in discussing the use of repetition in this image.

Thomas Eakins' The Champion Single Skulls

Students should identify the repetition in the shape of the rower and his scull, the bridge, and the cloud that hovers above it. Have students access the line drawing and diagrams of this image to aid in discussing repetition in this painting. Now that students have begun to identify instances of visual repetition they may wonder why artists choose to include these features in their paintings. Visual repetition in some ways acts like an echo. There is frequently one feature (often this is the object that is in the foreground of the painting) that appears as the "original," with additional recurrences seeming to repeat—to echo—the first. You may ask students to think about what happens when they hear an echo. They hear the first sound, they then turn their attention to the echoed "response," and soon begin searching with their ears for additional recurrences. Visual repetition can have the same affect: the recurrences of the visual "echoes" draw a viewer's attention to that point in the image, and soon they are searching with their eyes for additional references. In this way repetition is often used as a tool by artists for guiding the viewer's eye around the canvas. Ask students to describe the path their eyes follow when viewing the Eakins. They may draw their viewing path directly on a printout of the line drawing, or number sequentially the objects in the order where their eyes fall. Where did they look first? Where did their attention shift next? Do they notice anything about the path that their eyes followed? When students have finished working with the printout, have each group present what they have found, and discuss their findings as a class. Many students probably viewed the image by focusing first on the scull and rower, then moving to the bridge, and then finally alighting on the cloud. Students may note that this series of steps takes the viewer deeper and deeper into the "space" of the painting, beginning with the object that is painted to appear closest to the viewer and ending with the one that is painted to appear furthest away. Thus, the use of repetition in this painting not only pulls the viewer's eye across the surface of the canvas, but also draws the viewer into the painting, pulling the viewer into the imaginary depth of the picture.

Activity 2. Repetition and Color

William H. Johnson’s Harlem Street

Have students work together to identify instances of color repetition in the painting they have been assigned. In the first painting, students should be able to identify Johnson's repeated use of electric blue throughout the image, as well as the use of red and yellow throughout the composition. In addition to identifying the repetition of these colors throughout the painting, students should work together to identify the ways in which Johnson's use of repeated color helps to guide the viewer's eye around the composition. In this image Johnson uses the electric blue to draw the viewer's eye from the foreground of the image, along one side of the street and deep into the Harlem street he has depicted, and then back down the other side of the street to the foreground once again. In the case of the Johnson image, the color blue, which he uses to delineate human figures, cars, and even the edge of the street, is laid down like a nearly unbroken path for the eye to follow.

William S. Schwartz's Mining in Illinois

In the second painting, students should be able to identify the three burnt sienna colored pillars or groups of pillars which are depicted as holding up the roof of the mine. Have students access the line drawing and diagrams of this image to aid in discussing repetition in this painting. When students have finished working with the printout, have each group present what they have found, and discuss their findings as a class. Like the visual echo effect described in the previous activity, similarly colored components within a painting's composition will draw the viewer's eye from one object to another which resembles it in tone. In the case of the Schwartz painting, the three pillars pull the eye across the scene. In part this is because they are all similarly shaped, however, the painter's color choice also makes a difference. The eye is often drawn to patches of light (or comparatively light) color. The three pillars are among the lightest points within the composition. In addition, the walls, ceiling, and floor of the mine are painted in cool grays and blacks. Even the miners appear cool in color, wearing their dirty blue overalls. The three sets of pillars are given a warm brown tone which stands out in contrast to the cooler background.

Activity 3. Form and Color

George Bellows' New York

Often it is not only the repetition of either similar forms or similar color that helps to carry the viewer's attention to each of the compositional elements of a painting, but a combination of the two. In this activity students will examine two paintings in which repetitive form and color play a role in drawing the audience's eye across the picture plane.

Work together to find ways in which repetitive color and form work together to draw the viewer's eye across the surface of the canvas. Have students access the line drawing and diagrams of this image to aid in discussing repetition in this painting. The most striking element in Bellows' painting is the cart loaded with yellow packages in the foreground, and the viewer's eye is immediately drawn to the warmth of its color and to its brightness. The viewer's attention is then drawn to the line of brightly-lit buildings in the background and to the left of the cart. Next, the eye is drawn to the bright spot in the sky between the skyscrapers. These are not the only examples in the painting of repeated shapes (or color) within the composition, however, they are the ones to which the viewer's eye is drawn. Students should also note the similarity in the use of color and in the brightness of these three spots. In the case of this painting it is Bellows' use of repetitive shape and color together than draws the audience into the composition of the painting. Like the Eakins painting from the first activity in this lesson, Bellows draws the viewer's attention into the painting, pulling the eye deeper with each step into the illusionary depth of Bellows' street scene. 

John Biggers' Shotgun, Third Ward #1

Students can work together to find ways in which repetitive color and form work together to draw the viewer's eye around the surface of the canvas. Have students access the line drawing and diagrams of this image to aid in discussing repetition in this painting. Students should note the repetition in the facades of the shotgun shacks that line the background of Biggers' image. In addition, their attention might be drawn to the bicycle wheel lying next to the sidewalk in the foreground. This shape is echoed in the windmill above the shacks to the right, the flower pattern in the woman's pink dress, and again in the skeleton of the church's burning roof. The roof and the woman's dress are also linked to each other in the repeated use of the deep pink color found in both elements. Yet, the composition of the painting is divided by Biggers' use of color. The woman in pink stands at a dividing line between the warm-toned left side of the composition and the cool-toned right side of the painting. While the pinks and reds of the left half unite that side of the painting, it also seems to separate it from the cooler right half. This disunity is reunited by the repetition of the wheel form: from the wheel on the ground, to the flower in the woman's dress, to the wind mill above the houses.

Activity 1. Practice Makes Perfect? Introducing Repetition in Composition

Visual repetition is one of the devices that artists sometimes use in order to move a viewer's eye across the surface of a canvas. In this activity students will learn to identify examples of visual repetition and to explain how repetition guides the viewer's eye through the visual field of the painting.

Begin with a definition of repetition in the visual arts:

• Repetition in the visual arts can be thought of as a recurring shape, color, object, motif, or other element within a work of art.

Part 1A. Claude Monet's Palazzo del Mula Venice    

Print out the line drawing of this painting provided here, and use this print out to show all the instances of repetition that you can find in Monet’s painting. After discussing your findings with the class take a look at the following diagrams:

• Diagram 1
• Diagram 2
• Diagram 3
• Diagram 4

Part 1B. Thomas Eakins’ The Champion Single Sculls 

Visual repetition in some ways acts like an echo. There is frequently one feature (often this is the object that is in the foreground of the painting) that appears as the "original," with additional recurrences seeming to repeat—to echo—the first. Think about what happens when they hear an echo. Usually, you hear the first sound, and then you turn your attention to the echoed "response," and soon you begin searching with your ears for additional recurrences. Visual repetition can have the same effect: the recurrences of the visual "echoes" draw a viewer’s attention to that point in the image, and soon they are searching with their eyes for additional references. In this way repetition is often used as a tool by artists for guiding the viewer’s eye around the canvas.

Print out the line drawing of Eakins’s painting available here. Work with your group to identify instances of visual repetition in this painting. Think about the path that your eyes take as you look at this painting. Draw that path on the print out, either in a line, or by numbering the order in which your eyes fall on objects in the composition.
 

• Where did you look first?
• Where did your attention shift to next?
• Did you notice anything particular about the path your eyes followed?

Have students access the line drawing and diagrams of this image through the Student Launchpad to aid in discussing repetition in this image. Students should immediately recognize that some of the shapes and forms in the painting appear more than once. Ask students to identify some of the repeated forms. They will likely identify the two gondolas—and in particular the cabins located at the aft of the boats—as well as the balconies and some of the windows. But are these the only visual repetitions?

Activity 2. Repetition and the Use of Color

In the previous activity students concentrated on the duplication of shape or form in their investigation of repetition in painting. In this activity students will examine the use of repetition through color.

Divide the class into three or four small groups of students. Once they have had a chance to examine their painting, ask students to work together to find examples of color repetition in this image.

Part 2A. William H. Johnson’s Harlem Street  

Print out the line drawing of this painting. Work with your group to note instances of repetition in this painting on your print out. Remember that visual repetition is not only the repetition of form, but also of color.

Once you have had a chance to note on the print out instances of visual repetition in this painting, discuss with your group the ways in which Johnson has used visual repetition to guide your eye around the image. Look at the following diagrams which highlight Johnson’s use of color repetition:
 

• Diagram 1
• Diagram 2
• Diagram 3

Once you and your group have had a chance to discuss Johnson’s painting, you will present your findings to the class.

Part 2B. William S. Schwartz's Mining in Illinois

Print out the line drawing of Schwartz’s painting and use it to mark the instances of repetition that you find working with your group. Once you have identified of repetition in Schwartz’s composition view the following diagrams:
 

• Diagram 1
• Diagram 2

You and your group should use the diagrams to help you answer the following question:

• How do the similarly colored elements within the composition help to move the viewer’s eye across the picture plane?

Part 2C. Alan Rohan Crite's School’s Out

Print out the line drawing of this painting and work with your group to identify examples of repetition in Crite’s painting. Once your group has identified examples of repetition view the following diagram together:
 

• Diagram 1

This diagram highlights the repetition of one color, however, that is not the only color that is repeated throughout the composition. Work with your group to identify and mark at least one other use of color repetition in Crite’s painting. Then use this diagram to answer the following question:
 

• How do these similarly colored elements within the composition help to move the viewer’s eye around the painting?

Activity 3. Working together: Form and Color

Often it is not only the repetition of either similar forms or similar color that helps to carry the viewer's attention to each of the compositional elements of a painting, but a combination of the two. In this activity students will examine two paintings in which repetitive form and color play a role in drawing the audience's eye across the picture plane.

Part 3A. George Bellows’ New York     

Your teacher will either assign you to concentrate on form repetition or color repetition. Print out the line drawing of this painting and use it to mark instances of the type of repetition that you have been assigned. When you feel that you have found as many examples of repetition that you can, you will work with another student who was searching for the other kind of visual repetition. Explain your findings to your partner. You will compare your notes, and should pay particular attention to the places where repetition of form and color occur simultaneously. When you have finished your discussion compare your findings to this diagram:

• Diagram 1

This diagram doesn’t show the only possibilities, so it may not match your findings exactly.
 

• Were you and your partner able to spot the repetitions shown in this diagram?
• How do the repetitions shown in this diagram draw the viewer’s eye into the picture?

Part 3B. John Biggers: Shotgun, Third Ward #1      

Select either form repetition or color repetition to focus on for this part of the activity. Print out the line drawing of this painting and use it to mark instances of the type of repetition that you have been assigned. When you feel that you have found as many examples of repetition that you can, you will work with another student who was searching for the other kind of visual repetition. Explain your findings to your partner. You will compare your notes, and should pay particular attention to the places where repetition of form and color occur simultaneously. When you have finished your discussion compare your findings to these two diagrams:
 

• Diagram 1
• Diagram 2

This diagram doesn’t show the only possibilities, so it may not match your findings exactly.
 

• Were you and your partner able to spot the repetitions shown in this diagram?
• How do the repetitions shown in this diagram draw the viewer’s eye into the picture?

Divide the class into pairs and assign each pair one of the following images which are all available from The Smithsonian American Art Museum. One member of the pair will examine the image for repetition of color while the other will examine the image for repetition of form. They will then work together to discuss the ways in which repetition of both color and form work to move the viewer's eye around the canvas.

• John Folinsbee's Freeland
• Milton Avery's Untitled work from 1921-1925
• Joseph Delaney Penn Station at War Time 1943
• Arthur Durston Industry
• Ilya Bolotowsky's In the Barber Shop
• Oscar Bluemner's Evening Tones

When each pair has finished working on their painting have three to six pairs who have each worked on a different painting share their findings with each other. Each pair should also work together to write a brief explanation of their findings for submission.