The Painter's Secret Geometry: A Study of Composition in Art (Dover Books on Fine Art)

"This is an outstanding text for teachers and students." — The Studio
This richly illustrated examination of visual arts in the European tradition shows how the great masters employed the "golden mean" and other geometrical patterns to compose their paintings. Author Charles Bouleau explores a tremendous variety of ancient and modern works: the Parthenon friezes, Italian mosaics, the Bayeux Tapestry, and Gothic stonemasons' marks of France and Germany as well as paintings by Picasso, Kandinsky, Klee, and Pollock. His insightful expositions cast new light on such well-known works as Raphael's "The School of Athens," Botticelli's "Birth of Venus," Rubens' "Descent from the Cross," and Renoir's "Le Moulin de la Galette."
Advancing step by step through each painter's vast body of work, the survey highlights new contributions from each period and artist. Every analysis is conducted according to strict methods, placing the work within the intellectual atmosphere of its time. Original, informative, and stimulating, The Painter's Secret Geometry reveals the framework of art as well as its most profound and secret poetry. This new edition of the cult classic is a vade mecum for any student of art history or artistic composition.
"I found the material presented in this book to be fascinating. Though originally published in the 1960's it's tenets hold up well. It would lend itself well to an art history course or to anyone interested in the concepts outlines." — Tacoma Public Library

This richly illustrated examination of visual arts in the European tradition shows how the great masters employed the "golden mean" and other geometrical patterns to compose their paintings. Author Charles Bouleau explores a tremendous variety of ancient and modern works: the Parthenon friezes, Italian mosaics, the Bayeux Tapestry, and Gothic stonemasons' marks of France and Germany as well as paintings by Picasso, Kandinsky, Klee, and Pollock. His insightful expositions cast new light on such well-known works as Raphael's "The School of Athens," Botticelli's "Birth of Venus," Rubens' "Descent from the Cross," and Renoir's "Le Moulin de la Galette."
Advancing step by step through each painter's vast body of work, the survey highlights new contributions from each period and artist. Every analysis is conducted according to strict methods, placing the work within the intellectual atmosphere of its time. Original, informative, and stimulating, The Painter's Secret Geometry reveals the framework of art as well as its most profound and secret poetry. This new edition of the cult classic is a vade mecum for any student of art history or artistic composition.
Dover (2014) republication of the edition originally published by Harcourt, Brace & World, Inc., New York, 1963.
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