Choosing Canvas Shapes 1
Sunday, January 11, 2015
One important aspect of art making is how artists choose the size and shape of their work. In 2D art, there are three basic options:
So, how does an artist choose? It's not so simple as saying all portraits have to be portrait format. There are exceptions:
Nor must all landscapes be horizontal:
The main question for an artist isn't what the subject is, but whether you want the viewer to look up-and-down, or side-to-side. That's what rectangles do. They help suggest how viewers should move their eyes.
And squares work really well with circular compositions, where your eye travels in a circle:
Those are the basics, but they're not your only options. Artists have used alternatives for centuries, primarily the tondo- a circular or oval shaped canvas.
20th century artists have developed "shaped canvases", where the shape and design of the canvas is the main creative focus - blurring the line between painting and sculpture:
· a portrait format rectangle (vertical)
· a landscape format rectangle (horizontal)
· a square
Breakfast in Bed, by Mary Cassatt
Nor must all landscapes be horizontal:
Sketch on the Huntington River, Vermont, by Sanford Gifford
The main question for an artist isn't what the subject is, but whether you want the viewer to look up-and-down, or side-to-side. That's what rectangles do. They help suggest how viewers should move their eyes.
What about squares? What do they do? Well, they're a bit more claustrophobic. :)
With nowhere to turn, you tend to look more at the center:Daedalus Sorrow, by Pedro Inacio
And squares work really well with circular compositions, where your eye travels in a circle:
The Music Lesson, by William Merritt Chase
Those are the basics, but they're not your only options. Artists have used alternatives for centuries, primarily the tondo- a circular or oval shaped canvas.
The Alba Madonna, by Raffaello Sanzio
by Charles Hinman
by Frank Stella
by Frank Stella
by Frank Stella