Pictorial composition and the critical judgment of pictures; a handbook for students and lovers of art . all the philosophies. The impres-sionist calls upon every part of his work to speakof light, the middle tint, the high lights and theshadow all vibrating with it. From the decora-tive point of view alone, the picture, as a surfacecontaining the greatest amount of beauty ofwhich the subject is capable is more beautifulwhen varied by many tones, or by few, in strongcontrast, than when this variety or contrast iswanting. Those decorative designs have thestrongest appeal in which the balancing
Pictorial composition and the critical judgment of pictures; a handbook for students and lovers of art . all the philosophies. The impres-sionist calls upon every part of his work to speakof light, the middle tint, the high lights and theshadow all vibrating with it. From the decora-tive point of view alone, the picture, as a surfacecontaining the greatest amount of beauty ofwhich the subject is capable is more beautifulwhen varied by many tones, or by few, in strongcontrast, than when this variety or contrast iswanting. Those decorative designs have thestrongest appeal in which the balancing measuresare all well defined. There are schemes of muchdark and little light, or the reverse, or an even[ 155] PICTORIAL COMPOSITION division, and in each case the balance of lightand dark is sustained ; for when there is littledark its accenting power is enhanced and whenlittle light is allowed, it, in the same manner,gains in attraction. But light and dark everywork of art must have ; for to think of lightwithout dark is impossible. When, therefore,the artist begins a picture his first thought is. The is to be the scheme of light and shade ?The direction or source of the light helps a de-cision. The illumination of the subject is a studymost easily proceeded with by induction, fromparticular cases to general conclusions. The effectiveness of the first of the two re-versible photographs^ is as great as the lastand the subject as picturesque though it be dis- Page 162. [156] PICTORIAL COMPOSITION covered that the first is the second placed onend. It is able to satisfy us not only because ofthe happy coincidence that the leaves upon thebridge represent bark texture and the subduedlight upon its near end creates the rotundity ofthe trunk or that a distant tree serves as the hor-izontal margin of a pool, but because its lightand shade is conceived upon the terms of balanceexpressing in either position one of the funda-mental forms of light and shade and lineal con-
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