The Principles of AestheticsParker, De Witt H. (De Witt Henry)
Philosophy
The Principles of Aesthetics
Parker, De Witt H. (De Witt Henry)
Aesthetics
it is potentially a universal quality in a painting.
Lines may be unified according to the three modes of harmony, balance,
and evolution. The repetition of the same kind of line confers a
harmonious unification upon a drawing, as in Tintoretto's "Bacchus and
Ariadne," where the circle is to be found repeated in the crown and
ring, in the heads of the three figures, in the breasts of Ariadne.
Similar to this sameness of form is sameness of direction or parallelism
of lines. Another kind of harmonious unification of lines is continuity,
where out of different lines or shapes a single line is made. The
classical geometrical forms of composition, as the circular or
pyramidal, are good examples of this. The "Odalisque" of Ingres, where
all the lines of the body constitute a single line, is a notable case.
What Ruskin has called "the approach, intersection, interweaving of
lines, like the sea waves on the shore,"--the conspiracy of all the
lines in a drawing to form one single network, of which illustrations
could be found in the work of every draftsman, is a kind of harmony
of line. Symmetrically disposed shapes, and lines whose directions are
opposed, have the balanced form of unity. Here, from a given point as
center, the attention is drawn in contrary yet equal ways. Examples
of this type of composition are abundant among the Old Masters; as a
rigid form it is, however, disappearing. That the dramatic type of
unity is to be found in lines will be confirmed by every one who has
observed the movement, the career of lines. Whenever shapes are so
disposed that they form a line leading up to a given shape, wherever,
again, lines converge to a single point, there is a clear case of
evolution; we begin by attending to the line at a certain point, proceed
in a certain direction, then reach a terminal point, the goal of the
process. In Leonardo's "Last Supper," the convergence of the perspective
lines and the lines formed by the groups of Apostles is a case of
evolution. The different types of unification are, of course, not
exclusive. In the painting just referred to, all three are present:
Christ and the Apostles are arranged along a single line, the two ends
of which, despite their symmetrical and balanced disposition, converge
to one central point, the Christ. Every pyramidal form of composition
is a combination of balance between the elements at the bases of the
triangle, convergence towards the apex, and harmony through the
participation of the three elements in a single form. One of the most
interesting and complex types of organization of lines is rhythm--the
balanced, harmonious movement of lines. A line is rhythmical when there
is a balanced alternation of direction in its movement, a turning now
to the right and now to the left, or vice versa; proportion in the
length of the segments made by the turns; and general direction--a
tending somewhere.
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