Running head: LITERATURE REVIEW: UNDERSTANDING ART

Literature Review: Understanding Art

Collette Sanchez
National University

LITERATURE REVIEW: UNDERSTANDING ART

Abstract
This paper is a Literature Review on the textbook Understanding Art (10th ed.) by Lois FichnerRathus. Included are the benefits of using this textbook in the classroom to inform instruction
and the development of subject-matter specific curriculum. This book supports the Teacher
Performance Expectation Domain A: Making Subject-Matter Comprehensible to Students
(2013).

LITERATURE REVIEW: UNDERSTANDING ART

Literature Review
Understanding Art (10th ed.) (Fichner-Rathus, 2013) is an excellent text resource that
thoroughly explains the Elements of Art, Principles of Design, art mediums and techniques, as
well as all of the movements and genres in art history. I am appreciative of the way that the
author is able to explain art concepts in a very clear and concise manner, without ever straying
into personal opinion or bias, especially when describing non-Western art. I often use this text to
teach students in introductory art and advanced art classes, even though this text could also be
used for college courses. There are extensive visual examples that pair nicely with each specific
topic in such a way that any person could pick up this book, turn to any chapter, and easily
comprehend the content while also deeply increasing their capacity to understand art. After
studying visual art most of my life, I find that reading and referring to this text is the best way to
fine-tune my knowledge of the extensive subject that is simply called ART.
Understanding Art supports the Teacher Performance Expectation Domain A: Making
Subject Matter Comprehensible to Students (2013) because the chapters of the book are outlined
to meet the California Visual Arts Standards (2001). For example, one proficient standard states
that that students will be able to Identify and use the principles of design to discuss, analyze, and
write about visual aspects in the environment and in works of art, including their own. Teachers
can use Understanding Art to teach students how to comprehend the obscurity of design
principles. According to Fichner-Rathus (2013),
Unity is one of the principles of design, which like visual elements, are part of the basic
language of art. Just as people use principles of grammar to combine words into sentences,
artists use principles of design to combine the visual elements of art into compositions that have
a certain style, form and content.

LITERATURE REVIEW: UNDERSTANDING ART

Additionally, Understanding Art provides excellent images of artworks that help students
and readers comprehend each principle.

The images are in color and good quality with

exceptional captions that inform readers of the genre of art, artist, and connection to each
principle of design. Fichner-Rathus keeps her writing concise so as not to confuse the reader
with terms that are only understood by art scholars, yet the caliber of the reading is intended for
critical thinking and quality art analysis.
Another benefit of using Understanding Art to inform instruction and make subject
matter comprehensible students is that the publishing company Cengage Learning (2015)
provides online teaching guides that pair nicely with the textbook. As a teacher you can write to
the publisher and get free access to their online materials in order to provide multi-media
resources that support the reading content of the book.

LITERATURE REVIEW: UNDERSTANDING ART

References
California Visual Arts Standards (2001) Nine through twelve-proficient. Retrieved January, 30,
2016, from http://www.ctc.ca.gov/educator-prep/TPA-files/TPEs-Full-Version.pdf
Cengage Learning (2015) Understanding art. Retrieved January, 30, 2016, from
http://www.cengage.com/
Fichner-Rathus, L. (2013) Understanding art (10th ed.): Principles of design. Wadsworth,
Cengage Learning. Boston, USA
Teacher Performance Expectation (2013) Domain A: Making subject matter comprehensible to
students. Retrieved January 30, 2016, from http://www.ctc.ca.gov/educator-prep/TPAfiles/TPEs-Full-Version.pdf