Pictorial Composition and the Critical Judgment of Pictures

“Why all this intense striving, this struggle to a finish,” said George Inness, as, at the end of a long day, he flung himself exhausted upon his lounge, “but an effort to obtai...

According to the subject then is the matter of detail to serve us. In the expression of character a certain amount of detail is indispensable; by the painter to be produced, by...

Light is gained by sacrifice. This is one of the first things a student grasps in the antique class. Given an empty outline he produces an effect of light by adding darks. So do...

If there be a basis of reliance for continuous life and consequent value, a search for the living principle must be made in those works which the world will not let die. And thi...

In angular composition the return of the eye over its course, as in circular observation, is practically eliminated. While the circle and ellipse offer a succession of items and...

The entrance into a picture and obstacles thereto, as applied to landscape, has already been considered, from which it is evident that wisdom renders this as easy as possible fo...

In viewing a picture exhibition the average man, woman and child would be attracted by different aspects of it; the man by the tone of the pictures, the woman by their color, th...

If we recognize the manly qualities in a picture, the work has at least a favorable introduction. Farther than this point it may not please us, but if not, it should remain a qu...

One reason that many pictures are passed in exhibitions is that the visitor lacks an invitation to enter. Others frankly greet one a long way off, obliging the wanderer searchin...

For a moment the two elements of the proposition stand aghast and defiant; but only for a moment. The poet, who from the top looks down upon the whole horizon of things can neve...

In the statuesque group the outline is important because this is seen against the background of wall, or sky, and frequently in silhouette. Any fault in its contour as a mass is...

The artist gets his picture from two sources. He either goes forth and finds it, or creates it. If he creates it the work is deliberate, and the artist assumes responsibility. I...

Since the time that photography laid its claim to be reckoned among the fine arts the attention of artists has been attracted first by the _claim_ and thereafter, with acknowled...

Starting with a single idea represented by a single unit the coexistent thought must be the frame or canvas circumference. Supplying this we may then think of the unit as a matt...

Howsoever eloquent may be the artist in his work, it is convincing only in that degree to which his audience is prepared to understand his language and comprehend his subject.

If discernment was ours to trace through the maze of fashion and experimental originality the living principle of true art, the caprice of taste would have little to do with the...

The solid object which resists the attempt to put one’s hand around it or to stretch beyond into the background, lacks this quality. A fine distinction must be here drawn betwee...

For the every-day critic much of the secret lies in the proposition art is nature, with the man added; nature seen through a temperament. Nature is apparent on the surface of pi...

Light and Shade--Geo. Inness Fundamental Forms of Construction Why Art Without Composition is Crippled: The Madonna of the Veil--Raphael; The Last Judgement--Michael Angelo; Bir...

This volume is addressed to three classes of readers; to the layman, to the amateur photographer, and to the professional artist. To the latter it speaks more in the temper of t...

“With the critic all depends on the right application of his principles in particular cases. And since there are fifty ingenuous critics to one of penetration, it would be a won...

BALANCE OF THE STEELYARD. POSTULATES VERTICAL AND HORIZONTAL BALANCE. THE NATURAL AXIS APPARENT OR FORMAL BALANCE. BALANCE BY OPPOSITION OF LINE. BALANCE BY OPPOSITION OF SPOTS....