Composition

by Sarah Kent

Explains ever type of composition throughout art history, from geometrical shapes to asymmetry, perspective, and the ideal of the "golden section," and demonstrates how composition has influenced artist decisions for tone, color, and light. 15,000 first printing.

Genres: Art, Nonfiction, Photography

64 pages, Hardcover

First published February 3, 1995

About the author

Sarah Kent (born 1947) is a British art critic, formerly art editor of the weekly London 'what's on' guide Time Out. She was an early supporter of the Young British Artists in general, and Tracey Emin in particular, helping her to get early exposure. This has led to polarised reactions of praise and opposition for Kent. She adopts a feminist stance and has stated her position to be that of "a spokesperson, especially for women artists, in a country that is essentially hostile to contemporary art."

Reviews

[Pam · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book focuses on art analysis for art lovers rather than artists themselves. It deal exclusively with painting, prints and drawings. It includes excellent examples to explain each concept but very few modern pieces are included.

[Stephen · Rating 5 out of 5]

These are such great reminders and resources.

[Revellee · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a decent introduction to understanding art composition. I do feel like some topics could have been better explained. The examples were nice.

[Laura · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is definitely for learning art theory, and is less useful for learning artistic technique. It was educational to learn how previous artists used composition to make their paintings more interesting or to drive home messages. As someone trying to learn how to paint, the main thing I took away from this was to simply be thoughtful about composition, try to think if moving a horizon line or grouping things differently would make a more interesting picture.

[Kat · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book wasn't what I expected. It seems to be written more for someone interested in art analysis rather than art practice. It explains how to recognize composition types in works of art, rather than how to better utilize composition in your own work. I expect someone interested in art history would like it much more than I did.

[Reuel · Rating 3 out of 5]

This might not be the correct edition, but the title "Composition" and the author are correct.