Understanding Composition

Court of the Myrtles in the Alhambra, Granada, Spain. 14th century

Villa Lante, Bagnaia, Itlay. 16th century

Court of the Myrtles in the Alhambra, Granada, Spain. 14th century

Villa Lante, Bagnaia, Itlay. 16th century

The symmetry in the courtyard’s and garden’s designs are reflected in the composition of the photographs.

This fresco is painted on the wall of cell 7 in San Marco Monastery in Florence, Italy, (c. 1455).

It employs the symmetrical balance and triangular composition common in Christian art of Europe.

Symmetry communicatesstrengthformalitypredictabilitystabilitypermanencedignity

U.S. Capitol, left; Nebraska state capitol, below.

The famous dry garden at Ryoan-ji (1499) is one of many temple gardens in Kyoto, Japan.

The composition of the stone groups is asymmetrical in plan view as well as from any viewpoint on the veranda.

The Hollow of the Great Wave off Kanagawa from Thirty-Six Views of Mt. Fuji published 1830-43 by Katsushika Hokusai

positive shape

negative space

This woodblock print employs the asymmetry typical of Japanese art- the great wave is balanced by negative space. The wave leads your eye to the focal point of Mt. Fuji.

The façade of the Institute of the Arab World by the architect Jean Nouvel in Paris (1988)

The façade employs crystallographic balance. It lacks a focal point and utilizes an all-over pattern.

Ceramic tile work from the Alhambra, Granada, Spain. 14th century

Blocks quilt, 19th century American design

500 years and the Atlantic Ocean separate these designs using crystallographic balance.

The rose window from Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris (1163-1345.)

It utilizes radial symmetry in its circular design where the composition radiates from a single central point.

Contemporary Full Kalachakra Tibetan sand mandala

The radial design is also quadrilateral.

Photographs from the 1950’s-60’s by American photographer Garry Winogrand

Contrast creates a focal point, emphasizing the figures.

Garry Winogrand creates a focal point by aligning the squeegee with the whale’s face. This part of the image is further emphasized by the eye contact between the man and the whale, the framing of the window and the contrast of the two figures.

Michael Kenna’s photograph Suspended Vine, Marly France, (1995)

emphasis by contrast, leading shapes and focus.

Garry Winogrand’s photograph New York City, 1963

The figures and composition are unified by the railing visually connecting them.

photograph of the Court of the Lions at the Alhambra in Granada, Spain

The space and the photograph are unified by the repetition of the columns and their relationship to the water rill in the center.

Garry Winogrand’s untitled photograph from the 1950’s

Imagine the composition without the man on the right. Where is your gaze directed?

This photograph keeps the viewer’s eyes on the image because it is human nature to follow the gaze from one man to the next. If either of the men were not catching the gaze of the other, we would follow the gaze of one right out of the frame. (The repetition of hat forms also unifies the image.)

Michael Kenna’s closely cropped photograph of Ratcliffe Power Station from 2003

This also demonstrates that strong compositions often come from engaging the edges of the frame.

Michael Kenna’s photograph of Broughton Castle (1977)

This photograph employs the “rule of thirds” where dominant lines are located near the 1/3 division of the composition.

Michael Kenna’s photograph Bill Brandt’s Snicket (1986)

The strong diagonal lines create a dynamic composition.

painting by Georgia O’Keeffe

The vertical format of this painting by emphasizes the verticality of the New York skyline.

painting by retired UNL Professor Keith Jacobshagen

This painting emphasizes the flatness of the Nebraska landscape by choosing a horizontal composition in a panoramic format.