Looking at Composition and the Rule of Thirds

Composition refers to a balance or harmonious relationship between the visual arts elements according to the principles of art. It may also be understood as the putting together or the arrangement of these elements for design.

In portraiture, composition is used to foreground the subject as the most prominent component within the work. Sometimes a secondary element within the portrait is used to establish this composition and achieve focus. This secondary element may be an object or colour that both relates to the primary subject, but is subordinate to it. Composition is also used to communicate emotion and convey a story within a portrait. Therefore composition and balance can be broken in a portrait and can be deliberately done to achieve a particular emotion.

The Rule of Thirds is used to achieve a pleasing composition and is used by artists to establish where a subject should be positioned or focused. The Rule of Thirds is applied to an image by dividing the image into nine equal parts by using a grid. The grid should be made up of two equally spaced horizontal lines and two equally spaced vertical lines. The rule suggests that the subject should be placed along the horizontal lines or at the point of intersection of the two lines. This is to avoid a subject always being placed in the centre of an image. Once a subject is aligned with an intersecting point in the grid, it encourages energy, movement and tension which are very important principles.

Key Terms: composition, balance, principles of art, Rule of Thirds, subject, foreground, secondary

Questions

1. Discuss the elements of art. Identify elements of art in artworks throughout the exhibition.

2. If you made a portrait, what elements would you use?

Suggested Activity

1. Use the Rule of Thirds activity sheet on page 25. Choose a portrait in the exhibition and draw the subject using the Rule of Thirds as a guide. Explain where the subject is and how this depicts a greater emotion of the subject.

2. Use Felix Nussbaum’s (German-Jewish surrealist painter, 1904-1944) Self Portrait (1943). Explain how this is an unbalanced portrait. Using clues/symbols in the picture, explain why the artist has deliberately done this to achieve a sense of emotion.