Category Archives: Integration

Willem de Kooning – (Integration with Spatial Planes)

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Willem de Kooning - Two Men Standing - 1938 - 155 x 122 cm - 61 x 48 in - oil on canvas

There are some fascinating spatial considerations in this interesting painting by de Kooning.  Not only has he integrated the painting with a motif of rectangles, de Kooning also uses them as spatial planes, providing us with the feeling of space. (which is meant to be felt before seen)

I will begin with the vertical rectangle at the left which has a feeling of being in front of the objects on the floor.  And when you take in the adjacent rectangles they seem to be behind the figure.  I hope you can feel it.

Now to the wonderful warm rectangle connecting the figures. (Or maybe I should say the orange has a feeling of a rectangle)  Do you sense the orange being both in front and behind the figures?  The feeling is emphasized  by the horizontal line which runs behind the left figure’s legs, then turning upwards, connecting to another line at the other figures elbow.  Yes we have another plane.  One more, which I feel is the most exquisite.  The sense of the left figure’s head being within a spatial plane.  Do you feel the rectangle simultaneously in front and behind his head?

This is a very sophisticated painting and I will continue in the next posting.

Matisse – (Integration with lines and shapes)

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Henri Matisse - Portrait of Greta Prozer - 147 x 93 cm - oil on canvas

In this delightfully reduced and and rhythmically distorted painting, Matisse has integrated the subject with line and shapes elegantly.

I love the rhythm of lines and how they integrate with the figure.  Lets begin with the line at the top of the chair taking your eye across the rim of her hat, which then loops down to a  vertical black line indicating the chair back at her left.  Which then connects to a faint line that attaches to the left arm of the chair.  The vertical front of the chair arm then integrates beautifully with her leg, taking us to the bottom of her dress.  Matisse then provides us with lines leading us back to the top of the chair.  This is just one of a few rhythmic paths for us to engage with.

There are a number of very interesting considerations in this painting.  One that stands out is her shoes.  Why do they blend with the background?  The reason is Matisse wants your eye to move along the bottom of her dress or under the black shape.  If he hadn’t blended them, they would be competing with these rhythmic lines, returning you to her eyes, and she is now gracefully floating.

Rhythm needs harmonious structure and Matisse has balanced them masterfully with a motif of rectangles holding the composition together beautifully.  We first have the strong black one at the bottom under the chair, then another on her chest and a fantastic one under her chin. (They just need to have the sense of being rectangles.)    How they hold the composition together is most impressive and I often think of this painting when I am working.

Two other great considerations in this painting are distortion and reduction, which comes to the forefront when an artist is thinking composition before information.

Ask yourself why?  I will talk about this in future posts,

 

 

My Work – Rhythm and Harmony

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Don Farrell - Three Drawers - 1999 - 33 x 45 cm - 13 x 17.5 in - water soluble media

The arrangement of the drawers is the key for the rest of the composition.  I decided to supported the sweeping movement of the drawer faces with a curve in the table front at the bottom right, which felt very rhythmic.  And to complete the harmony I provided a shadow at the top, echoing the movement of the drawers.  Do you feel the rhythm?

I was pleased, but there was a problem with the viewers eye leaving the composition at the right.  The stripes provided a solution, not only for containment but also a lovely pause (the small black marks in the stripes) appeared.

I was now pleased with the movement to the right, and instinctively knew the need to return the viewer to the left.  After several attempts I finally arrived at a solution that not only balanced the composition, but also rhythmically integrated the drawers and the background.  I added those two dark circular shadows at the upper left and then provided a harmony by painting knobs on just two of the drawers.

I should also mention that the angle of the drawer, at the right, determined the location of the two shadows.  Do you feel the connection?

I then painted the horizontal white line to support the table and a cast shadow at the bottom left which provides a lead into the painting.

I also assessed all the smudges, scratches and markings throughout the composition for indications of disharmony, which usually requires a few visits.

I find it is much more interesting to permit the composition to lead me rather than to force the preconceived detail to dictate.

Mondrian – (Integration and Rhythm)

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Piet Mondrian - Tree on the Kalfje - 1902 - 23 5 x 37.5 cm - oil on canvas

This small painting by Mondrian shows us how an excellent artist considers the composition even when quickly done.  Can you feel the connection between the tree and the bridge?  This is superb integration.  Another very sensitive integration is provided when your eye follows the river bank from the right of the painting, then connecting to a delicate branch which embraces the bridge, (see detail).

This painting also has a consideration which has stayed with me for years, that wonderful cross at the bottom right.  Why is it there?  It actually is a structural element, providing an oblique movement when you sense the parallel with the pruned branch.  It also completes the integrating eye paths by directing your eye back up to the river bank.  And on top of that the vertical of the cross is part of a rhythm of the tree trunk and the two sensitive verticals to the left.

The painting was probably done quickly, which is all the more impressive.  A composition does not have to be complex to be great, and this is a fantastic composition.

May I also mention another branch at the left which bends down, providing containment.

 

Miro – (Rhythm and Structure)

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Joan Miro - Landscape - 1917 - oil on canvas

I’m sure Miro was thinking of Cezanne in this rhythmic landscape.  I love Miro’s wonderful rhythms and how sensitively he balanced movement with sophisticated structural support.

The rhythm of arches is primary, beginning with the large one, we then find them continuing up through the composition.  There are several, and I would like to focus on a few which integrate the sky with the foreground.

My favourite is the movement provided by the arch in the sky and the arch of the hill below.  Another two beauties are just below the yellow building with the black windows and the one at the right which connects to a wonderfully sensitive vertical which continues down through a wall.

Staying with the detail, l would Iike to mention the integration of the roofs at the right with the hill above, which brings us to another rhythm, those wonderful black dots just above the hills.  They are in harmony with the little black windows in the yellow house, which is the focus of the composition.

Let us return to the full composition and the sensitive structural support for the rythmic movement of the arches, the two zig-zags at the bottom.  Miro uses them to vertically take us towards the focus.  The strong right angle next to the yellow zig-zag  is the most important structural element, beautifully stabilizing the composition.  And I hope you can feel how important the sensitive vertical I mentioned is to the composition.

Miro has invited us to partake in a visual poem!

 

 

 

Van Gogh – (Parallels, Rhythm and Integration)

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Vincent van Gogh - Portrait of Doctor Paul Gachet - 1890 - 66 x 57 cm - 26 x 22.5 in - oil on canvas

Continuing from the last post, I would now like to turn your attention to Van Gogh’s wonderful brushstrokes and how they provide rhythmic movement for your eye, as well as very sensitive integration.  The strokes connect the background and Paul Gashet’s coat with harmonious movement as well as form.  How Van Gogh integrated the blues to read as one shape at first glance is masterful.

Those books are fantastic!  The yellow provides a fantastic pull and the pages are part of a rhythm of parallels which provide an oblique movement.  Subconsciously, or not, your eye will move in the direction of the pages and the lower left arm.  Also note how the plant is parallel to the upper left arm, another movement.

Two more impressive considerations are the vertical leaf projecting from the glass, providing subtle structure for the composition.  And those wonderful yellow strokes just above the line, running towards his ear, pull me briefly and gently from his Gashet’s gaze.  Does your perusal pause there briefly?

These considerations are all the more impressive as Van Gogh worked quickly, he was truly a great painter!

 

 

Influences – (Cezanne on Matisse)

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Henri Matisse - The Italian Woman - 1916 - 117 x 90 cm - 46 x 35 in - oil on canvas

This is a fascinating study of conveying spatial planes, or another way of putting it, immersing the subject into the surrounding space. How to accomplish this on a two dimensional surface is the challenge. And interestingly, this can only be attempted on a flat plane.

Matisse engaged with this by actually painting an almost opaque plane in front or the figure, which integrates with her hair. What I like is how boldly he conveyed the consideration. It could be said he may have pushed it to the point of substance rather than space. Art should always be open for discussion, as there is no right or wrong in art!

Another impressive consideration is how he painted her hands and arms. They are not static! She is not a frozen in time and Matisse was engaging in the wonderful challenges presented by Cezanne.

 

Cezanne – (Integration)

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Paul Cezanne - Madame Cezanne - 1884 - 62 x 51 cm - 24 x 20 in - oil on canvas

This portrait of Madame Cezanne is a superb example of Cezanne’s attention to composition.

By providing a vertical from the top, connecting to her hair, and then to a dark stripe on her dress, he has masterfully structured the painting.  This is one of the best examples of integration that I know of.  And I often think of it when I’m painting.

 

 

Joan Miro – (Integration and Spatial Planes)

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Joan Miro - Still Life with Coffee Mill - 1918 - 63 x 75 cm - 23 x 29 in - oil on canvas

Many considerations are evident in this wonderful still life.  Miro has shown us his awareness of the picture plane, which was quite recent at the time, as well as spatial planes (cubism).

Miro is absorbing and refining these considerations with his own approach and sense of lyrical structure.  This is the difference between mimicking and permitting yourself to be influenced.

He has a superb feeling for space as we see in the rhythmic triangles, particularly in the area above the tablecloth. Can you feel them in front of the background?  We first sense the items, then the triangles and then background.  In fact do you feel the triangles throughout the painting.

Let me take you to the bottom left of the table where Miro has provided a shape which appears to project forward.  This is directly from Cezanne!

I’m very impressed with how he provided rhythmic lines below the pipe and fruit, providing them with energy.  A very sophisticated way of integrating.

Now to the advertisement card.  He has raised it to the picture plane as Braque and Picasso were experimenting with through using collage.  Another influence Miro has permitted to show in his work.

Edouard Vuillard – (Parallels, Pulls, and Integration)

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Edouard Vuillard - The Newspaper - 1910 - 34 x 55 cm - 13.5 x 22 in - oil on cardboard

This is a superb example of how masters assess their compositions.  Vuillard,as Bonnard, was interested in domestic scenes, and he shows us how any subject is an opportunity to create a sophisticated painting.

He was noted for his wonderful shapes and patterns which are a great way to gain control of the subject matter.  In other words not permitting the complexities of detail dictate to the artist.

In this post, however, I will focus on his thorough assessment of the composition.

I will begin with the curtain at the right and how it blends with the tree.  Note how the curtain does not disrupt the rectangle of the window, which permits a rhythm of rectangles, spanning the top of the painting.

He provided a wonderful movement with parallels.  The curtain tie at the right and it’s parallel projecting from the mullion.  Do you feel the movement towards the figure?

There is a marvelous pull which excited me.  That marvelous juicy red triangle!  I love how sensitively and yet boldly he pulls me from the figure, very impressive.

Vuillard has integrated beautifully.  Lets begin with the dark vertical at the right edge and how it connects to the red stripe on the chair.  A more subtle one is the merging of the curtain and curved back of the chair.  Also the connection of the window mullion with another chair and the very impressive integration of the shutter and the newspaper.  It is very subtle. Do you feel Vulliad’s consideration of bending the bottom right of the shutter to permit the connection?

I must mention the lovely yellow pause at the left and it briefly holds you.

There is more to discover.  Enjoy!