UNIT 3
Composition is the selective arrangement of elements in a painting. That is commonly broken up into elements of compositional painting how to lead the eye in to a painting, and retain interest in the subject matter. But composition in fact entails (влечь за собой) more than just arranging the figures of objects. It means deploying (развертывать) all the painterly elements, getting them to work together. And work towards some end, for some purpose. All hangs on what the painter intends. Devotional painters of the High Renaissance, for example, generally arranged the figures of Madonna, child and patrons in a pyramid, a composition that evoked a reassuring sense of solidity. In contrast, Degas's figures often look to be walking out of the picture altogether, the intention being to capture the animation of the everyday Paris scene.
With the help of composition the artist can create the effect of...
Unity: Elements should be integrated so that the picture has an overall unity, with nothing left isolated or out of account.
Harmony: A peaceful coexistence of elements, if that is wanted, or at least a sense that the elements aid some coherent intention of the artist.
Variety: Differences in tone, color, shapes, etc. create visual interest, and this variety strengthens a painting if not pushed too far.
Contrast: Juxtaposing (помещать, размещать рядом) wide differences in elements create emphasis, essential if the painting is to have focus or make a statement.
Movement: The viewer's eye is drawn round the painting by the individual life and vitality of the elements.
Repetition: Properties that are repeated, usually with slight modifications, or in different elements, give emphasis and unity to a work.
Rhythm is repetition of elements, but at some constant interval more difficult to achieve than repetition, but more powerful.
Elements of Composition: space, shape, line.
Space: several forms, including:
illusionist: created with linear perspective, aerial (воздушный) perspective (distant objects lose contrast and detail), size (far away objects are smaller), overlap (near objects obscure (неясный, нечеткий) those further away).
two-dimensional: objects are deformed into and modeled on the flat surface of the canvas: Cezanne and much modernist painting.
flat patterning: objects are shown as decorative theater flats, without linear
perspective: Persian miniatures and some medieval western painting.
oriental: a palpable (осязаемый, прощупываемый) sense of emptiness, with objects as it were coalescing (объединять в произвольной порядке) out of this emptiness: traditional Chinese landscapes.
self-created: act of painting creates its own sense of space, which is localized and not predetermined: some modern art.
primitive: objects are randomly distributed, with no immediately obvious controlling feature: primitive, naive and children's art.
Shape: areas closed off by line, or differences of tone, texture and color. Shapes have an abstract quality, and are often regarded as positive (enclosing recognizable objects in the painting) or negative (areas left between or around recognizable objects). Shapes interact, and independently evoke sensations of repose, agitation, purposeful energy, direction, etc.
Line: lines enclose forms, and mark either edges where two planes intersect, or the bounding contour of an object seen against a distant background. More than shapes, lines have an authority of their own, creating movement, integration and texture.
How are these elements of compositional painting to be deployed (развертываться)? To create the effect desired, of course, but how does the painter go about that? Again it depends on what's being aimed at, experience, how adventurous the painter wishes to be. But one thing is clear: there is no infallible (неопровержимый) recipe. Few of the elements can be used in isolation, and the painter is continually pushing one element and then modifying it in the light of unexpected effects in others. Painting is a dialogue, between what the painter hopes for, and what the work is currently displaying. That obvious point needs to be remembered in the following summary of compositional aims.
The following extracts are given here to show you how composition is spoken about in art books.
The children seem to be in a real, though rather grand Hogarth has painted a black and white floor, like a chess board. One of its functions is to make clear how the figures are arranged in the space of the room. The three girls stand more or less on the diagonal black squares while the boy has his feet on the white square near the middle of the space left over. This is one way in which the boy is singled out from his sisters by the artist. (William Hogarth. Graham Children. From: Looking at Pictures in the Tate Gallery with Michael Compton. Guidebook, p.6).
Rubens compositions are asymmetrical, governed by a complex, dynamic rhythm, the figures often being shown foreshortened in violent action, chiaroscuro playing a leading part throughout. (From: How to Speak about Art in English. M.Falkovich. M., 1976, p.197).
Stubbs seems to want to let you see all the good points of the horses and therefore he has arranged them so that they do not overlap and hide one another. But at the same time, he has painted each one in a different pose and from a different angle in order to show off his skill, to create a more interesting picture and make it look more natural. The horses seem to be looking at one another and form a group like people talking together. There is a beautiful landscape but Stubbs has kept it mostly low down and without strong colours so that it does not distract attention from the horses. (From: Looking at Pictures in the Tate Gallery with Michael Compton. Guidebook, p.8).
In the Night Watch the composition is tilted to give a three-dimensional effect. The group is arranged as a triangle but the central figure is projected toward the spectator and accentuated by being strongly lit. (Rembrandt. Night Watch. From: How to Speak ).