sandr037

In the last post on composition I talked about the use of simple black and white images to study composition. In this short post I’ll note some examples of values studies; explorations utilizing a range of grays. In a way an illustration using a range of grays is simply a colorless illustration. It is certainly both a step on the way to a full color image, and a potentially final black and white image. I am not worried about this aspect, but would rather point out the obvious; a simple value study is a good test of whether a composition is effective or not. Good composition demands that the artist assemble the work so that any viewer can derive pleasure from the work as a whole, devoid of details. So a test of composition is the elimination of details. The various modern reactions to the bland academic painting of the 19 th century (Impressionism, Expressionism, Cubism, etc.) all tend to lose the detail and emphasize composition. Even if you dislike the excesses of modern art you ha...

One of the easiest ways to test an image for compositional strength is to use Photoshop to desaturate and contrast the painting so as to see only the essential elements and their relationships.   If you have an iPhone you can do the whole process in seconds using the camera and filters. By doing this you are reducing the painting to large areas of black and white, with minimal gradation in between. Renaissance painters called this effect “Chiaroscuro”, which means literally “light-dark” in Italian.  Early photography often created this effect due to the inconsistency of the chemical process. This photograph of Yvonne de Quievrecourt from 1914 shows (accidently I would guess) a wonderful strength and focus on the upper body and face, while giving only an impression of the dress. If the face had been lost in a light background, it would have been obvious at a glance. Painters of the late Renaissance preferred the heightened drama of strong lights and darks. The Supper at Emmaus...

I’ve posted examples of good composition over the past year; now I want to highlight examples of bad composition. These examples are by recognized masters, proving that you don’t have to be an aesthetic dolt to make ugly. They are presented with mark-ups and notes to serve as a warning to the unwary. They are also a reminder that anyone can slip up and it is a serious mistake only if you don’t recognize it and learn. Michelangelo’s Last Judgment is a wonderful thing to experience in detail. However, it suffers from symmetrical boredom. The “tic-tac-toe” composition is flat and uninteresting. Being a fresco, covering one wall of the Sistine Chapel, The Last Judgement functions as an interior decoration that is dependent on the forms of the chapel. I’d give Michelangelo a pass on this, but it is still a good example of bad composition. The Annunciation, by Botticelli, is not a favorite of mine but is justly valued as an early example of perspective. It is, you must admit, clunky. A str...