The Discovery of Pictorial Composition: Theories of Visual Order in Painting, 1400-1800

Puttfarken, Thomas

ISBN 10: 0300081561 / ISBN 13: 9780300081565

Published by Yale University Press, 2000

About this Item

Hardcover with dust jacket. Interior of the book in excellent condition. Dust jacket with some small traces of use, but still in good condition.

Seller Inventory # 7347 B86

Bibliographic Details

• Title: The Discovery of Pictorial Composition: Theories of Visual Order in Painting, 1400-1800
• Publisher: Yale University Press
• Publication Date: 2000
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0300081561
• ISBN 13: 9780300081565
• Binding: Hardcover
• Condition: Very Good
• Dust Jacket Condition: Good
• Seller catalogs:
  • Art

About this title

Synopsis

In this book, Puttfarken traces the changing nature of attitudes towards composition from the early Renaissance to the beginning of the nineteenth century. Using examples as diverse as Giotto, Rembrandt and Poussin, he reveals how artists 'put together' the various elements of their pictures to create an harmonious whole - and how the practice varied from place to place and from era to era (Leonardo's Last Supper, for example, is conceived in a totally different way from, say, Caravaggio's Supper at Emmaus, in which the figures are no longer grouped along the side of the table, facing out towards the spectator, but are grouped, more naturalistically, around the table, some with their backs to us). He examines the significance of the use of frames, perspective, size and location, and shows how analysis of these became incorporated into general theories of art. This stimulating book offers a major contribution to studies in art theory, and will become essential reading for all students and scholars of that field.

About the Author

Thomas Puttfarken is professor of the history and theory of art at the University of Essex, England. He was the author of Roger de Piles's Theory of Art, published by Yale University Press.