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Various - Harvard Psychological Studies, Volume 1

V >> Various >> Harvard Psychological Studies, Volume 1




A. It is of especial value for our conclusions that that division in
which the constant elements are least balanced (V.) is far the most
numerous. Comparison of this with III. shows that the principal
element, direction of movement of head or body, is balanced by the
larger mass of the body or accessories. Very significant, also, is the
great increase in the use of V. in this most irregular class (15 per
cent. as against 1 per cent. in III.). Three cases (214, 1087, 154,
all A.V.,) fail to show substitutional symmetry.

B. With the head on one side of Cn., of course the greatest interest
is removed to one side, and the element of direction is brought in to
balance. Again, with this decrease in symmetry, we see the significant
increase in the use of the especially effective elements, V. and L.
(Cf. B. I., II., III., IV., and especially V.) In fact, the use of the
small deep vista is almost confined to the class with heads not in the
middle. The direction of the glance also plays an important part. It
is to be noted that in B. I. and II., I. appears as the most
frequently used element, exclusive of the general equation, which is,
of course, between the mass of the body and interest of the face, on
one side, and the direction of suggested movement on the other. This
means that very often the direction of movement alone is not
sufficient to balance the powerful Ms. + I. of the other side, and
that the eye has to be attracted by a definite object of interest.
This is usually the hand, with or without an implement--like the
palette, etc., of our first examples--or a jewel, vase, or bit of
embroidery. This is very characteristic of the portraits of Rembrandt
and Van Dyck.

In general, it may be said that (1) portraits with the head in the
center of the frame show a balance between the direction of suggested
movement on one side, and mass or direction of attention, or both
together, on the other; while (2) portraits with the head not in the
center show a balance between mass and interest on one side, and
direction of attention, or of line, or vista, or combinations of
these, on the other. The hypothesis of substitutional symmetry is thus
completely confirmed.


Genre.

Still more unsymmetrical in their framework than portraits, in fact
the most unfettered type of all, are the genre pictures. Being so
irregular, they admit of no complete classification based on constant
elements in the framework, such as was possible for the types already
dealt with. A grouping, based on types of composition, is indeed
possible, as of triangles, diagonals, etc., but as this begs the
question of the relative importance of line and direction of
attention, and assumes that the shape is all-important, it will not be
made use of here. The broad divisions and the relative use of the
elements are given as follows:

S.C. 63. Most frequent form (I. = or I. + D. =). Most used
element, I., 89 per cent.; least used, L., 44 per cent.; D.,
57 per cent.; Ms., 57 per cent.; V., 46 per cent.

D.C. 19. Most frequent form (I. + D. = I. + D.) Most used
element, I. (all cases); least used, L., 31 per cent.; V., 47
per cent.; Ms., 63 per cent.; D., 42 per cent.

S.&S. 11. Most frequent form (I. or I. + Ms. = V. or V. +).
Most used element, I., 100 per cent.; least used, L., 20 per
cent.; V., 82 per cent.; Ms., 72 per cent.; D., 27 per cent.

As these are pictures with a human interest, and, therefore full of
action and particular points of interest, it was to be expected that
I. would be in all forms the element most frequently appearing. In
compositions showing great variations from geometrical symmetry, it
was also to be expected that V. and L., elements which have been
little used up to this point, should suddenly appear in very high
percentages; for, as being the most strikingly 'heavy' of the
elements, they serve to compensate for other variations combined. In
general, however, the balance is between the interesting side, which
is also often the most occupied (I. + Ms.), and the direction of
suggestion to the other side.

For the first time in this investigation the S. & S. and D.C. types
appear in appreciable numbers. It is of some significance that the
most irregular type of all, S. & S., in which the weight of interest
and of mass is overwhelmingly on one side, should be invariably
balanced by the third dimension (V.). As these somewhat infrequent
cases are especially enlightening for the theory of substitutional
symmetry, it is worth while to analyze one in detail.

286. Pieter de Hooch, _The Card-players_, in Buckingham Palace,
portrays a group completely on the Right of Cn., all facing in to the
table between them. Directly behind them is a high light window,
screened, and high on the wall to the extreme Right are a picture and
hanging cloaks. All goes to emphasize the height, mass and interest of
the Right side. On the Left, which is otherwise empty, is a door half
the height of the window, giving on a brightly lighted courtyard, from
which is entering a woman, also in light clothing. The light streams
in diagonally across the floor. Thus, with all the 'weight' on the
Right, the effect of this deep vista on the Left and of its brightness
is to give a complete balance, while the suggestion of line from
doorway and light makes, together with the central figure, a roughly
outlined V, which serves to bind together all the elements. This
matter of binding together of elements is reserved for further
discussion--the purpose of this detailed description is only to show
the extraordinary power of a single element, vista, to balance a whole
composition of others, and its significance in the tables as an
increasing accompaniment of increasing variations from symmetry.

The D.C. cases, inasmuch as they always present a balance of interest
at least, are less valuable for our theory; among the variations the
larger side, Ms., is often balanced by a vista, or, combining with the
usual equation for genre pictures, Ms. + I. + D. = V. + I. + D. There
is only one picture which cannot be schematized (263).


Landscape.

The landscape is another type of unfettered composition. As it
represents no action or single object or group of objects, its parts
are naturally more or less unconnected. It should, therefore, be said
that no picture was taken as D.C. unless there was a distinct
separation of the two sides. The typical examples are analyzed in
detail.

S.C. 912. J. van Ruysdael, _Forest Landscape_, in the London National
Gallery. In the Cn. is a stagnant pool, backed on the Right by thick
woods. A dead tree, white, very prominent in the Right foreground,
another at its foot sloping down to Cn. On the Left a bank sloping
down to Cn., a tree at its foot; behind both, and seen also between
the two central trees, bright sky and clouds. Thus, there is on the
Right, Mass and Direction to Cn.; on the Left, Vista and Direction to
Cn.; Ms. + D. = V. + D.

D.C. 642. Hobbema, _The Watermill_, in Buckingham Palace. On the
Right, a bank sloping upward, a large cluster of trees, a path leading
down to Right lower corner. On the Left, somewhat lower, the mill, and
water in front of it, flowing down to Left; clearest sky between mill
and trees. Thus Mass and Direction out are placed over against
Interest (in mill) and Direction out, plus possibly a hint of Vista,
or Ms. + D. = I. + D + V.

S.C. 65. Most frequent form, Ms. + I. = V. + L. Most used element, V.,
98 per cent.; least used, D., 22 per cent. I. 73 per cent.; Ms. 66 per
cent.; L. 31 per cent.

S. & S. One case. Ms. + I. + V. = V.

D.C. 22. Most frequent form, Ms. + I. or Ms. = V. or V. + (almost
invariable). Most used element, V., 100 per cent.; least used, D., per
cent. Ms. 82 per cent.; I. 73 per cent.; L. 23 per cent.

It was, of course, to be expected that in pictures without action
there should be little suggestion of attention or of direction of
movement. What is less evident is the reason for the high percentage
of I. Of course, figures do appear in many examples, and in most
pictures some inanimate object is emphasized--as, for instance, the
mill in our second example. But the most remarkable point of
difference in these tables from the preceding is the presence of V. in
practically every example. It is, of course, natural that somewhere in
almost every picture there should be a break to show the horizon line,
for the sake of variety, if for nothing else--but what is significant
is the part played by this break in the balancing of the picture. In
about two thirds of the examples the vista is enclosed by lines, or
masses, and when near the center, as being at the same time the
'heaviest' part of the picture, serves as a fulcrum or center to bind
the parts--always harder to bring together than in the other types of
pictures--into a close unity. The most frequent form of this
arrangement, as seen by the table, is a diagonal, which just saves
itself by turning up at its far end. Thus the mass, and hence usually
the special interest of the picture, is on the one side, on the other
the vista and the sloping line of the diagonal. In very few cases is
the vista behind an attractive or noticeable part of the picture, the
fact showing that it acts in opposition to the latter, leading the eye
away from it, and thus serving at once the variety and richness of the
picture, and its unity. A pure diagonal would have line and vista both
working at the extreme outer edge of the picture, and thus too
strongly--unless, indeed, balanced by very striking elements near the
other edge.

This function of the vista as a unifying element is of interest in
connection with the theory of Hildebrand,[16] that the landscape
should have a narrow foreground and wide background, since that is
most in conformity with our experience. He adduces Titian's _Sacred
and Profane Love_ as an example. But of the general principle it may
be said that not the reproduction of nature, but the production of a
unified complex of motor impulses, is the aim of composition, and that
this aim is best reached by focusing the eye by a narrow
background--_i.e._, vista. No matter how much it wanders, it returns
to that central spot and is held there, keeping hold on all the other
elements. Of Hildebrand's example it may be said that the pyramidal
composition with the dark and tall tree in the center effectually
accomplishes the binding together of the two figures, so that a vista
is not needed. A wide background without that tree would leave them
rather disjointed.

[16] A. Hildebrand, 'Das Problem der Form in der Bildenden
Kunst,' Strassburg, 1897.

Another interesting observation concerns the use of water in
landscapes. In nearly all appears an expanse of water, and in four
fifths of the cases it is either on the same side as the vista, or in
the same line with it. This is no doubt partly due to the
light-effects which can be got on the water, but it also greatly
reinforces the peculiar effect of the vista. That effect, as has been
repeatedly said, is to concentrate, to hold, to fixate vision. The
same thing is true of the horizontal line, as was shown by some
preliminary experiments not here reported. The contrast to the
ordinary trend of lines--particularly in a landscape--together with
the strong suggestion of quiet and repose, serve to give the same
concentrating effect to the horizontal lines as to the vista.

In general, it may be said that balance in landscape is effected
between Mass and Interest on one side and Vista and Line on the other;
and that unity is given especially by the use of Vista and the
horizontal lines of water.

A survey of the subject-types remaining on the list of page 514 shows
that they may quite well be grouped together with those already
examined; that is, the Holy Families, Adorations, Crucifixions, and
Annunciations are very symmetrical in type, and present the same
characteristics as the Altarpieces. The Miscellaneous (mostly
religious) pictures, the Descents, and the Allegorical are, for the
most part, freely composed, irregular, full of action, and resemble
the genre pictures. The Single Figure pictures, Religious, Allegorical
and Genre, and the Portrait Groups, resemble the portraits. Therefore,
it may be considered that the existence of a perfect substitutional
symmetry has been established, inasmuch as it has been shown to be
almost invariably present in the types examined.

The experimental treatment of the isolated elements determined the
particular function of each in distributing attention in the field of
view. The object of large size claims attention, but does not rivet it
nor draw it out powerfully; the intrinsically interesting object does
excite it, but limits it to a comparatively small field; the
suggestion of movement or of attention on the part of pictured objects
carries the attention through the field of its operation; the vista
rivets the attention without powerfully exciting it, and the line
extending in a certain direction carries the attention in the same way
as does the suggestion of movement. But the preceding statistical
analysis has shown that while all are possibly operative in a given
picture, some are given much more importance than others, and that in
pictures of different types different elements predominate.

The following table gives the distribution of the elements in the
single-center pictures already examined. The numbers represent the per
cent. of the whole number of balanced pictures in which the given
element appears once or more.


S.C. Ms. I. D. V. L.

Alt. p. 26 100 91 13 31
Mad. 21 100 96 27 64
Port. 80 63 98 17 61
Genre 57 89 57 46 44
Lands. 66 73 22 98 31


It is seen that in those classes with a general symmetrical framework,
the altar and Madonna pictures, the elements of interest and direction
of attention are overwhelmingly predominant--which is the more to be
expected as they appear, of course, as variations in a symmetry which
has already, so to speak, disposed of mass and line. They give what
action there is, and when they are very strongly operative, we see by
page 516, (8) and (9) and note, that they are opposed by salient lines
and deep vistas, which act more strongly on the attention than mass;
compare further Mad., V. 27 per cent., L. 64 per cent., as against
Alt., V. 13 per cent., L. 19 per cent., as confirming the view that
they are used in the more irregular and active pictures. But I. keeps
its predominance throughout the types, except in the portraits, where,
indeed, we should not expect it to be so powerful, since the principal
object of interest must always be the portrait head, and that is in
most cases in the Cn., and therefore not counted. Yet I. has a
respectable representation even in the portrait table, showing that
such objects as jewels, embroideries, beautiful hands, etc., count
largely too in composition. Its greatest is in the genre table, where,
of course, human interests constitute the subject matter.

It is among the portraits that the direction of suggestion is most
operative. Since these pictures represent no action, it must be given
by those elements which move and distribute the attention; in
accordance with which we see that line also is unusually influential.
As remarked above, the altarpieces and Madonna pictures, also largely
without action, depend largely for it on D., in the form of direction
of attention (D. 91 per cent.).

The vista, as said above, rivets and confines the attention. We can,
therefore, understand how it is that in the genre table it suddenly
appears very numerous. The active character of these pictures
naturally requires to be modified, and the vista introduces a powerful
balancing element, which is yet quiet; or, it might be said, inasmuch
as energy is certainly expended in plunging down the third dimension,
the vista introduces an element of action of counterbalancing
character. In the landscape it introduces the principal element of
variety. It is always to be found in those parts of the picture which
are opposed to other powerful elements, and the 'heavier' the other
side, the deeper the vista. This is especially to be noted in all
pictures of the S. & S. type, where the one side is very 'heavy' and
the deep vista practically invariable on the other. Also in D.C.
pictures it serves as a kind of fulcrum, or unifying element, inasmuch
as it rivets the attention between the two detached sides. (Cf. D.C.
among Alt. and Mad.)

The direction of suggestion by means of the indication of a line (L.),
quite naturally is more frequent in the Madonna-picture and Portrait
classes. Both these types are of large simple outline, so that L.
would be expected to tell, but more or less irregular, so that it
would not appear on both sides, thus neutralizing its action, as often
in the symmetrical altarpieces. This neutralizing explains why it has
a comparatively small per cent. in the landscape table, it having
appeared in minor form all over the field, but less often in large
salient outline. It is worth noticing that for the D.C. of both genre
and landscape, the per cent. drops appreciably. As it is, in a decided
majority of cases, combined with V.--the shape being more or less a
diagonal slope--it is clear that it acts as a kind of bond between the
two sides, carrying the attention without a break from one to the
other.

The element of mass requires less comment. It appears in greatest
number in those pictures which have little action, portraits and
landscapes, and which are yet not symmetrical--in which last case mass
is, of course, already balanced. In fact, it must of necessity exert
a certain influence in every unsymmetrical picture, and so its
percentage, even for genre pictures, is large.

Thus we may regard the elements as both attracting attention to a
certain spot and dispersing it over a field. Those types which are of
a static character abound in elements which disperse the attention;
those which are of a dynamic character, in those which make it stable.
The ideal composition seems to combine the dynamic and static
elements--to animate, in short, the whole field of view, but in a
generally bilateral fashion. The elements, in substitutional symmetry,
are then simply means of introducing variety and action. As a dance in
which there are complicated steps gives the actor and beholder a
varied and thus vivified 'balance,' and is thus more beautiful than
the simple walk, so a picture composed in substitutional symmetry is
more rich in its suggestions of motor impulse, and thus more
beautiful, than an example of geometrical symmetry.


_B. Principles of Composition._

The particular function of the elements which are substituted for
geometrical symmetry has been made clear; their presence lends variety
and richness to the balance of motor impulses. But the natural motor
response to stimulation has another characteristic which belongs to us
as individuals. The motor response must be balanced, but also unified.
In a picture, therefore, there must be a large outline in which all
the elements are held together, corresponding to this requirement of
unity. Now this way of holding together, this manner of combination,
may vary; and I hope to show that it not only varies with the subject
and purpose of the picture, but bears a very close relation
thereto--that, in short, it is what determines the whole character of
the picture. Just what this relation is will appear in the study of
our material.

Examples of these types of composition may best be found by analyzing
a few very well-known pictures. We may begin with the class first
studied, the Altarpiece, choosing a picture by Botticelli, in the
Florence Academy (746). Under an arch is draped a canopy held up by
angels; under this, again, sits the M. with the C. on her lap, on a
throne, at the foot of which, on each side, stand three saints. The
outline of the whole is markedly pyramidal--in fact, there are,
broadly speaking, three pyramids; of the arch, the canopy, and the
grouping. A second, much less symmetrical example of this type, is
given by another Botticelli in the Academy--_Spring_ (140). Here the
central female figure, topped by the floating Cupid, is slightly
raised above the others, which, however, bend slightly inward, so that
a triangle, or pyramid with very obtuse angle at the apex, is
suggested; and the whole, which at first glance seems a little
scattered, is at once felt, when this is grasped, as closely bound
together.

Closely allied to this is the type of the _Madonna of Burgomaster
Meyer_, Holbein (725), in the Grand-Ducal Castle, Darmstadt. It is
true that the same pyramid is given by the head of the M. against the
shell-like background, and her spreading cloak which envelops the
kneeling donors. But still more salient is the diamond form given by
the descending rows of these worshipping figures, especially against
the dark background of the M.'s dress. A second example, without the
pyramid backing, is found in Rubens' _Rape of the Daughters of
Leucippus_ (88), in the Alte Pinakothek at Munich. Here the diamond
shape formed by the horses and struggling figures is most
remarkable--an effect of lightness which will be discussed later in
interpreting the types.

The famous _Bull_ of Paul Potter (149), in the Royal Museum at the
Hague, furnishes a third type, the diagonal. High on one side are
grouped the herdsman, leaning on a tree which fills up the sky on that
side, and his three sheep and cow. The head of the bull is turned
toward this side, and his back and hind leg slope down to the other
side, as the ground slopes away to a low distant meadow. The picture
is thus divided by an irregular diagonal. Somewhat more regular is the
diagonal of the _Evening Landscape_, by Cuyp (348), in the Buckingham
Palace, London. High trees and cliffs, horsemen and others, occupy one
side, and the mountains in the background, the ground and the clouds,
all slope gradually down to the other side.

It is a natural transition from this type to the V-shape of the
landscapes by Aart van der Neer, _Dutch Villages_, 245 and 420, in the
London National Gallery and in the Rudolphinum at Prague,
respectively. Here are trees and houses on each side, gradually
sloping to the center to show an open sky and deep vista. Other
examples, of course, show the opening not exactly in the center.

In the _Concert_ by Giorgione (758), in the Pitti Gallery, Florence,
is seen the less frequent type of the square. The three figures turned
toward each other with heads on the same level make almost a square
space-shape, although it might be said that the central player gives a
pyramidal foundation. This last may also be said of Verrocchio's
_Tobias and the Archangels_ in the Florence Academy, for the square,
or rather rectangle, is again lengthened by the pyramidal shape of the
two central figures. The unrelieved square, it may here be
interpolated, is not often found except in somewhat primitive
examples. Still less often observed is the oval type of _Samson's
Wedding feast_, Rembrandt (295), in the Royal Gallery, Dresden. Here
one might, by pressing the interpretation, see an obtuse-angled
double-pyramid with the figure of Delilah for an apex, but a few very
irregular pictures seem to fall best under the given classification.

Last of all it must be remarked that the great majority of pictures
show a combination of two or even three types; but these are usually
subordinated to one dominant type. Such, for instance, is the case
with many portraits, which are markedly pyramidal, with the
double-pyramid suggested by the position of the arms, and the inverted
pyramid, or V, in the landscape background. The diagonal sometimes
just passes over into the V, or into the pyramid; or the square is
combined with both.

It is, of course, not necessary at this point to show how it is that
such an apparently unsymmetrical shape as the diagonal, alone or in
combination with other forms, nevertheless produces an effect of
balance. In all these cases of the diagonal type the mass or interest
of the one side, or the direction of subordinate lines backward to it,
balances the impulse of the line descending to the other side. The
presence of balance or substitutional symmetry is taken for granted
in this treatment, having been previously established, and only the
modifications of this symmetry are under consideration.

Now, in order to deal properly with the question of the relation of
the type of composition to the subject of the picture, complete
statistical information will be necessary. A table of the pictures,
classified by subjects and distributed under the heads of the six
major types, is accordingly subjoined.


Pyramid. Double-Pyr. Diagonal.
S.C. D.C. S.S. S.C. D.C. S.S. S.C. D.C. S.S.
Altarpieces, 49 0 1 10 4 0 1 0 0
Mad. w. C., 40 0 0 7 0 0 0 0 0
Holy Family, 25 0 4 0 0 1 2 2 2
Adorations, 19 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Crucifixions, 11 0 0 7 0 1 0 0 1
Desc. fr. Cross, 12 0 0 3 0 0 1 0 0
Annunciations, 0 8 0 0 4 0 0 0 0
Misc. Religious, 55 16 3 4 4 0 10 7 5
Allegorical, 20 2 1 4 0 0 4 0 2
Genre, 25 4 4 5 0 0 18 2 1
Landscape, 8 2 1 3 0 0 25 6 0
Port. Group, 20 4 2 9 0 0 3 3 2
Rel. Single Fig., 20 0 0 2 0 0 2 0 0
Alleg. S.F., 7 0 0 2 0 0 3 0 0
Portrait S.F., 179 0 0 28 0 0 0 0 0
Genre S.F., 15 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 0

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