Composition: Understanding Line, Notan and Color

by Arthur Wesley Dow

At the turn of the twentieth century, Arthur Wesley Dow literally "wrote the book" on composition—and this is it! Dow's Composition exercised an enormous influence on emerging modern artists of a century ago. A thought-provoking examination of the nature of visual representation, it remains ever-relevant to all the visual arts.A well-known painter and printmaker, Dow taught for many years at Columbia University and acted as a mentor to countless young artists, including Georgia O'Keeffe. His text, presented in a workbook format, offers teachers and students a systematic approach to composition. It explores the creation of freely constructed images based on harmonic relations between lines, colors, and dark and light patterns. The author draws upon the traditions of Japanese art to discuss a theory of "flat" formal equilibrium as an essential component of pictorial creation. Practical and well-illustrated, this classic guide offers valuable insights into modern design.

Genres: Art, Nonfiction, Drawing, Reference, Art Design, Design

226 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1997

Reviews

[Shannon · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a fascinating read for so many reasons. First, the principles is shares are very sound and valuable. But also, it has a *very* strong point of view on what is/isn't art which I wasn't expecting as that says as much about approach of things today as it does about that.

I read this via public domain (https://www.gutenberg.org/files/45410...), but would love to get a hard copy because it would be nice to have as a reference in print and to more easily look at the accompanying illustrations/examples.

It's a bit dry, but a very insightful and practical read for visual artists.

[George · Rating 3 out of 5]

A workbook dated 1912, first published 1899, the author was a Georgia O'Keeffe mentor. Because it was written in the language of a century ago and it is a workbook, it required considerable concentration. I tried to compare and contrast the current day photographic thought with this. The author considers color in one of the characteristics of composition; however, the book is all black and white. Gotta say I learned something about composition.

[Alexander · Rating 1 out of 5]

I am sorry, maybe I am not skilled enough to appreciate it but I did not like it. Like someone said: if you can not explain something in simple terms, you do not understand it (or something like that). First of all the language is difficult. Also while I read such books usually I take notes. I should say that while I was reading "The Eye of the Painter and the Elements of Beauty: Loomis, Andrew" I made 30 pages of notes in my 19x25 cm notebook. While I was reading this book I made no notes whatsoever. The whole book primarily is about Japanese art, which by itself could be a fascinating topic but the author in any matter barely scratches the surface and never goes into detail. This book is based on the assumption that you should follow given exercises (and I should admit most of them are usually dull) and eventually you should wonderfully understand composition, harmony and design. This is a very common problem among artists. There are many great artists but very few of them can clearly explain you what they are doing. If you try to talk to most of them, they will not be able to explain what they are doing and how they produce their masterpieces. This book gave me impression of the second type of the artist.

[LemontreeLime · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was a little difficult to begin reading, but once in it was very simple and to the point. His main focus is you learn by doing, so he may describe in brief the concept he wants to teach next, but its up to you to figure it out by working through the exercises he suggests. I could really see how much he must have influenced Georgia O'Keefe's work as I read. Very worth finding and reading if you are looking for advice on composition. Just be prepared to roll up your sleeves, the book doesnt hand all the wisdom to you on a platter, it expects you to do the work too.

[Monqeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

لعله أقدم كتاب في "تكوين الصورة" فقد نشر أول مرة في نهاية القرن التاسع العشر (1899).
الكتاب يشرح عناصر الصورة، والمبادئ التي تخلق الجاذبية ويطرح أمثلة من رسومات وتصاميم. قرأت النصف الأول وهو تحليلي، والثاني وهو تركيبي تصفحته سريعا. الكتاب مفيد في الرسم والتصوير الفوتوغرافي وبطبيعة الحال في الفيديو.

العناصر هي:
الخط؛ درجات الأبيض والأسود؛ واللون.

المبادئ هي:
التضاد؛ الربط؛ الاجتماع؛ التكرار؛ والتناظر.

[Barbara · Rating 2 out of 5]

Way to simplistic for me—may be informative for someone who has absolutely no artistic knowledge—but, maybe not even for them.

[Annette · Rating 3 out of 5]

An oldie, but still good.

[Michaell Cavllaro · Rating 1 out of 5]

GOOD BOOK BUT?

Maybe it's just me, I really didn't get much from reading this book. That's just my personal opinion. Maybe I might be wrong.

[Tim Crockett · Rating 5 out of 5]

Genius and Genuine

One of those books you call classic. It has not been an easy read, but I recommend it to all artists and art lovers.

[Lydia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Dow wrote this book on painting in 1899, using examples from Japanese wood block prints and later Japanese paintings. So this book ties in nicely with the "Japonisme" and Impressionism exhibit at Boston's MFA/San Francisco's Asian Art Museum focused on that time period. The book is short, sweet, and elementary. As he says, "the relationship of parts is called BEAUTY...so put things in the right place in a painting for power of expression." Indeed.

[Marjorie Elwood · Rating 3 out of 5]

Georgia O'Keeffe read this book and subsequently began painting again. It's a wonderful discussion about art as beauty, as opposed to strict realism.

[ayanami]

available at gutenberg