Pictorial Composition (Composition in Art)

by Henry Rankin Poore

A painting's technique, color, and perspective may all be excellent, yet the painting will fail unless its composition succeeds. Composition is the harmonious arranging of the component parts of a work of art into a unified whole. Henry Poore examines the works of old masters and moderns in this book and uses these examples to explain the principles of compositions in art.
All the paintings that the author analyzes are illustrated in the text — 166 illustrations, including 9 in full color. Thirty-two diagrams by the author accompany his textural discussion of such topics as the importance of balance, entrance and exit, circular observation, angular composition, composition with one or more units, and light and shade. Balance is the most important of these topics, and it is considered in the greatest detail — balance of the steelyard, vertical and horizontal balance, and so on. A complete index enables the reader to locate his own specific areas of interest.
To see how a painting by Cézanne, Goya, or Hopper, for example, follows definite principles of composition allows the practicing artist or art student to learn composition from the finest instructors — the artists themselves. This book is also very useful to the art devotee, who will find his appreciation of the subject greatly enhanced.

Genres: Art, Photography, Nonfiction, Drawing, Reference, Design, Art Design

104 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1967

About the author

1859-1940

Reviews

[Roxanna López · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.7 stars. This is a book that is difficult to describe. The title might suggest it is a teaching book but it is rather a classical monograph on the topic. Definitely not for begginers, even though it says it's an introduction. It has tips for appreciation of different types of compositions but not a well-structured teaching scheme or even precise instructions on how to refine your pictorial composition skills. The writing is OK. So what do I like about this book? Well, that at the end, I sort of get it; I started seeing and appreciating things that I didn't before I read the book.

On a second read I give it 3.8 stars.

[Robert · Rating 5 out of 5]

The chapters are:
1) The importance of Balance
Balance of the steelyard
Rules
Scale of attraction
Vertical and horizontal balance
The natural axis
Apparent of formal balance
Balance by opposition of line
Balance by opposition of spots
Transition of line
Balance by gradation
Balance of principality or isolation
Balance of cubical space
2) Entrance and Exit
Getting into the picture
Getting out of the picture
3) Circular Observation
Circular composition
Reconstruction for circular observation
4) Angular Composition
The triangle
The vertical line in angular composition
Angular composition based on the horizontal
Line of beauty
Structural line
5) Composition with One or More Units
Two units
Three units
Groups
The figure in landscape
6) Light and Shade
Principality
Gradation

This book looks so cheap - but it's so valuable.

[Tarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another book I've only just started, but this is an excellent coverage of composition. It's a tough read, but a good way for the photographer to learn the skills that have been around long before photography!

The only down side is that 90% of the book is in B&W - not really bad in terms of coverage of the subject, but higher quality, full-color photos would have made this a classier book. (There IS a full color section in the middle of the book).

[AC · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very interesting, suggestive, too brief if anything. I would like to find a more thorough treatment of composition in Art and painting (analyzing historical works).

[Bill White · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed the treatment of compositional elements. Easy read. Flows well. However, the example figures are hard to read (small and tiny captions) on my Kindle Fire. To be honest I thought this book was about composition in Pictorialism photography. Nevertheless, I found it useful, since I do not have an artistic background. Despite my critique of the small figures, it did not keep the examples from showing the intended compositional rule/guideline.

[Michaell Cavllaro · Rating 5 out of 5]

GREAT BOOK

With out the basic understanding of composition no work of art can be good. Before even beginning to draw or paint any picture everyone should read this book first. I learned a lot about what makes a painting bad or good just by reading this book.

[JW van der Merwe · Rating 4 out of 5]

It is a good book about all the basic elements of composition and balance in paintings. There are some elements that are extremely handy and clearly shown with examples in little simple drawings of famous paintings. I especially liked the first section of balance of the steelyard where an actual scale balance can be applied to a painting. The other sections are also very well explained but some paintings I don't think developed with a composition like how he explains it; it developed as a natural way of painting. When one takes many photos, composition and balance almost come automatically. The same can be said when there are many drawings done beforehand; the master drawing is then only copied and completed and not everything were done by classical standards. Overall it is still worthy of much consideration and it is very useful.

[Ray · Rating 3 out of 5]

Being only 96 pages this book gives a succinct review of the principles of composition in painting. It shows how many of the masterpieces of art achieved balance by using a variety of techniques, such as circular composition, angular composition, scale of attraction, light and shade, etc. Some of the illustrations were too small which made it difficult to follow what the author was describing but its a worthwhile read to appreciate art.

[Christopher · Rating 4 out of 5]

The first part of the book, in which Poore discusses composition, is the most useful. He also has an interesting take on many of the old masters and provides useful insights on why painters like Rembrandt, Turner, Claude Lorraine, Rubens, Corot, the Impressionists and others were able to acheive the key effects that they did. At the end, he distills his wisdom into a helpful appendix, which contains a list of "don'ts" for the painter.

[Scott · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great resource for one's studio on the basics of composing pictures. Doesn't possess the greatest reproduction--in fact, they're quite bad--but the principles are presented simply and clearly. I return to this often to remind myself of fundamentals in composing when I get stuck or a picture is beating me about the head and face. I have to remember footwork.

[Syros Pourlatifi · Rating 4 out of 5]

very nice book on composition

[Nathan · Rating 3 out of 5]

The tools in Poore's text are classic examples and a nice reference.

[Rama Krishna · Rating 5 out of 5]

super