Week One - Composition

Week 1 - Composition

There are many different ways to manipulate composition. Three of them we will cover this week, and are sometimes the most important.

1. Focal Point - What does your eye look at first?

2. Directional Forces - What moves your eye through the piece?

3. Compositional Balance - How is the space filled or broken up?

Focal Point

Claude Monet, Sunset (Impression)

The focal point is the silhouette of the boat because of its contrast. It is the darkest thing in the painting, therefore is stands out the most. Sometimes there is a secondary focal point. In this case, the sun functions as a secondary focal point. Since it is the brightest part of the painting, it also has contrast, and it is where your eye travels to second. 

Directional Forces

Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec "Salon v rue Moulins"

The directional force starts at her foot in the lower right of the painting, moves up her leg, up her arm, up to her head, right to the woman seated next to her, then left along the ladies seated in the back of the painting.

Compositional Balance

Paul Cezanna "The Bathers"

Is there an overall shape to the composition? Is it more heavily weighted on one side of the piece or another? This has a symmetrical composition, split almost exactly in the middle and evenly balanced on both sides, and the composition has an overall triangle shape to it.

Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec V Moulin Rouge

This composition is more heavily weighted on the right side of the painting. The people sitting in the cafe, and the angle of the bar and chairs, give the composition an offset triangle shape.

Homework assignment

1. Pick three artworks and ROUGHLY sketch them out in your sketchbook in any media you choose. Make sure to label each piece with the name of the artist and the name of each piece

2. Consider the three compositional elements we've gone over:

• Circle the focal point
• Draw lines and arrows to show directional forces
• Draw or describe compositional balance

You may choose any piece of art you'd like for this assignment, but below is a list of artists that would be great to look at if you need help finding things.

• Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec
• Edouard Manet
• Vincent van Gogh
• Alphonse Mucha
• Michelangelo
• Leonardo da Vinci
• Edgar Degas
• Jan van Eyck
• Sandro Botticelli
• Raphael
• Caravaggio
• Diego Velazquez
• Albrecht Durer
• Johannes Vermeer
• Paul Cezanne
• Claude Monet
• Peter Paul Rubens
• William Blake
• Salvador Dali
• Paul Gauguin
• Mary Cassatt
• Gustav Klimt