by Robert H. Zondag
As a home educator, it is important to understand some important vocabulary terms relating to the composition of a work of art. Remember, that by building your child's art vocabulary, you are including both left and right brain activity in his or her education.
What is composition?
Composition can be defined as the design or arrangement of the shapes and forms in the painting, drawing, or photograph.
Have your child choose an example of a painting, a drawing, and a photograph. Ask him to describe the arrangement of the shapes and forms.
What does good composition mean and how does it compare to poor composition?
When the arrangement of the shapes is pleasing to the viewer of the art, the piece has good composition. It may be arranged in such a way as to lead the viewer from the foreground to the background. Good composition is a cornerstone of artistic success. Good composition means the artist considered the size and placement of the elements in the artwork. The artist may also have chosen to overlap various elements within the composition.
Poor composition is contrary to thoughtful, planned composition. Generally artwork considered to have poor composition would be those paintings or pictures which have no balance, or unrelated, or uninteresting elements. A good project would be to have your child search for different paintings with similar themes (for instance flowers). Have her compare these paintings to examine the composition. Did the artist use overlapping elements? Does it appear that the artist planned the composition?
Is it important to understand symmetry in relation to composition?
Yes, a painting with good composition may be symmetrical or asymmetrical. Neither symmetry nor asymmetry implies good or poor composition. These are separate concepts.
When a painting has symmetry, the elements of the composition are the same on both sides of the picture. If an invisible line were drawn down the center of the composition, both sides would be, for easiest understanding, mirror images of each other.
An asymmetrical painting is a picture in which both sides are different. For instance, if an invisible line were drawn done the center of the painting, one side may contain a large element, while the other side contains three small elements.
Have your child examine the pictures he or she chose to examine composition. Are they symmetrical or asymmetrical?
Your child's understanding of these important concepts will provide a valuable building block to his or her art education.
For a free glossary of art movements to help begin your art history planning, please contact me:
Robert H. Zondag
Regional Program Director
Young Rembrandts
729 Summit Ave
St. Paul MN 55105
Robert.Zondag@youngrembrandts.com
612.382.6745
651.292.1582 (fax)
As an artist, Robert H. Zondag has turned his passion into teaching children and adults to both create and enjoy the visual arts. He continues to act as a catalyst and consultant for administrators, educators and parents to design and assess art education programs. As a Regional Program Director for Young Rembrandts, Robert works with various districts, community education programs, private institutions, and home educators to incorporate successful drawing courses into schools, early education programs, and summer enrichment sessions.
As a home educator, it is important to understand some important vocabulary terms relating to the composition of a work of art. Remember, that by building your child's art vocabulary, you are including both left and right brain activity in his or her education.
What is composition?
Composition can be defined as the design or arrangement of the shapes and forms in the painting, drawing, or photograph.
Have your child choose an example of a painting, a drawing, and a photograph. Ask him to describe the arrangement of the shapes and forms.
What does good composition mean and how does it compare to poor composition?
When the arrangement of the shapes is pleasing to the viewer of the art, the piece has good composition. It may be arranged in such a way as to lead the viewer from the foreground to the background. Good composition is a cornerstone of artistic success. Good composition means the artist considered the size and placement of the elements in the artwork. The artist may also have chosen to overlap various elements within the composition.
Poor composition is contrary to thoughtful, planned composition. Generally artwork considered to have poor composition would be those paintings or pictures which have no balance, or unrelated, or uninteresting elements. A good project would be to have your child search for different paintings with similar themes (for instance flowers). Have her compare these paintings to examine the composition. Did the artist use overlapping elements? Does it appear that the artist planned the composition?
Is it important to understand symmetry in relation to composition?
Yes, a painting with good composition may be symmetrical or asymmetrical. Neither symmetry nor asymmetry implies good or poor composition. These are separate concepts.
When a painting has symmetry, the elements of the composition are the same on both sides of the picture. If an invisible line were drawn down the center of the composition, both sides would be, for easiest understanding, mirror images of each other.
An asymmetrical painting is a picture in which both sides are different. For instance, if an invisible line were drawn done the center of the painting, one side may contain a large element, while the other side contains three small elements.
Have your child examine the pictures he or she chose to examine composition. Are they symmetrical or asymmetrical?
Your child's understanding of these important concepts will provide a valuable building block to his or her art education.
For a free glossary of art movements to help begin your art history planning, please contact me:
Robert H. Zondag
Regional Program Director
Young Rembrandts
729 Summit Ave
St. Paul MN 55105
Robert.Zondag@youngrembrandts.com
612.382.6745
651.292.1582 (fax)
As an artist, Robert H. Zondag has turned his passion into teaching children and adults to both create and enjoy the visual arts. He continues to act as a catalyst and consultant for administrators, educators and parents to design and assess art education programs. As a Regional Program Director for Young Rembrandts, Robert works with various districts, community education programs, private institutions, and home educators to incorporate successful drawing courses into schools, early education programs, and summer enrichment sessions.
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