Figure Composition

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Figure Composition
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IMPRESSIONISM An Impressionist painting
is concerned with light. It is a record of a
particular scene at a particular time of day,
emphasising atmosphere rather than detail. An
Impressionist painting, being concerned with
light, is also concerned with colour. The
Impressionists claimed that even the darkest
shadows contained colour. This broken colour
was an essential characteristic of their
technique. Many Impressionists compositions
show accidental effects, rather similar to the
snapshot qualities of the camera - as if a scene
had just been encountered by chance.
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Examples of Impressionist Paintings
The Loge by Auguste Renoir
On the balcony by Edouard Manet
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DEGAS

• 1834-1917

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Degas was trained in the tradition of Ingres. His
ambition was to be accepted by the establishment
and have his work shown at the official Salon -
which was virtually the only place where an
artist could become known to the general public.
Degas only began to explore modern subjects late
in the 1860s. These subjects had been regarded as
trivial and lacking nobility. Although grouped
under the Impressionists, he did not follow their
theories completely, as he never painted
landscapes or outdoors. The light he was
interested in was the artificial light of the
stage and the workshop. His chief interest was
the figure in action, and his themes were taken
from contemporary life. He restricted himself to
a handful of subjects - portraits, the
racecourse, the theatre, the orchestra, ladies at
the milliners, laundresses, the nude and above
all, the ballet. He tackled each one again and
again, constantly experimenting with new
approaches. Degas is never stale, and his
pictures bear a family resemblance without ever
looking over-alike.
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At the racecourse
Two Laundresses
Degas favourite subjects were the races,
laundresses at work, bars and his beloved Ballet.
Rehearsal of a ballet on the stage
Absinthe
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The Star
Here we see Degas clever use of artificial light
and the empty space which is all important in his
compositions. The high view point concentrates
the attention on her torso and outstretched arms,
but also introduces the only workaday note,
allowing us to see figures watching from the
wings.
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Degas techniques were highly original, inspired
by Japanese prints and the up and coming art of
photography. Whatever his subject, Degas saw it
as clear line and pattern, observed from a new
and unexpected angle. His paintings give a vivid
account of a moment in time at a particular
position in space, just as a camera shot would.
His ability to do this, although looking
effortless, was not done without much research
and was quite unique at this point in painting
history. In many of his paintings, it would look
as if figures, horses etc, could have moved in a
different direction, and the harmony of that
particular moment would have gone. Much of the
effect of his work relies on the significance of
empty space - space versus interest. In 1874, he
made a most celebrated gesture by becoming one of
the principle organisers of an independent
exhibition, held in opposition to the Salon.
Later, it became known as the first Impressionist
Exhibition, because of the artists who were
painting rapid, atmospheric landscapes in the
open air. He contributed to all but one of the
eight Impressionist shows.
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Although much of his earlier work is in oil, his
most characteristic medium became pastel which he
had to use when his eyesight began to fail. The
chalks enabled him to record his reaction to form
and movement more quickly than did oil, and with
the bright dry colours he created a new variation
of Impressionist sensitivity to light.
After the bath, woman drying her neck
Dancer tying her shoe
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Edgar DegasThe Tub 1886
Inspiration - this is a private moment in time,
as a camera might have captured, or as a view
seen by someone looking through a keyhole. Degas
captures this moment with sensitivity,
emphasising the form and beauty of the female at
its most vulnerable. The subject is
depersonalised as we do not see her face. What
Degas is concentrating on is her actions and
situation - we are not really supposed to be
there.
Geometrically composed from the square, rectangle
and circle.
Accidental, Spontaneous and Unplanned - In
reality his work is carefully composed. No art
was ever less spontaneous than mine
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Composition
Colour - The colour is almost secondary to the
areas of tone in the work. Rusts and oranges
compliment subtle blues and greens. The flesh
tones have blues and purples in the shadows.
There is a warm glow to the scene.
5/8 3/8
Golden Section
The colours unite both parts of the painting the
glowing chestnut of the womans hair and the
sponge picked up in the copper pot and strands of
false hair lying on the sideboard.
We are looking down on a woman washing herself.
On the chest at the right are a number of toilet
articles. The angle of vision has been so chosen
to run the edge of the chest down the picture. If
it were not for the handles of a pot and brush,
we might think that it were two distinct
pictures.
This painting shows an unusual angle for a figure
study. The figure could be likened to a circle in
a square, the square being made by the chest
cutting off the right hand side of the painting -
simple geometry. The handle of the brush and
copper pot protrude into the space where the
figure is connecting the two sections.
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Technique - The application of the pastel is very
clearly done - many of the marks are horizontal
suggesting floorboards and strands of hair.
Degas failing sight was why he turned to pastel.
Degas techniques were highly original, inspired
by Japanese prints and the up and coming art of
photography. He was forever inventing new ways of
seeing and devising new approaches to his models.
Whatever his subject, he saw it as a clear line
and pattern observed from a new an unexpected
angle.
Tone - Degas has shown a strong light coming from
the left hand side, probably from a window. The
light falls on her shoulders, hands and feet and
the top of the chest. The chair behind her is
also catching the light. Degas has used white
pastels to highlight his figure and draw the
delicate fingers and toes of his model. The dark
tones of the metal tub encircles the light from
the figure. The focal points of the composition
are the hand and shoulders of the woman.
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FAUVISM
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Big Ben by Andre Derain
Examples of Fauve painting by Derain and Vlaminck
Matisse by Derain
Tug boat on the Seine by Maurice de Vlaminck
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Fauvism was a style of painting based on the use
of intensely vivid, non naturalistic colours, the
first of the major avant-garde developments in
European art between the turn of the Century and
the First World War. The dominant figure of the
Fauvist group was Henri Matisse, and other
artists involved included Derain, Vlaminick and
Dufy. Their name was given to them by a critic,
who pointed out a Donatello sculpture and said
Donatello among the wild beasts. FAUVES MEANS
WILD BEASTS With most of the group, Fauvism was a
temporary phase through which they passed in the
development of widely different styles. Only
Matisse continued to explore the beauty of pure
colour. Although short lived, Fauvism was highly
influential, particularly in the development of
German Expressionism.
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HENRI MATISSE

• 1869 - 1954

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Henri Matisse only started drawing by chance
whilst spending a year in bed recovering from an
operation. He abandoned his legal career and went
to study Art- very soon falling under the
influence of Paul Cezanne, and also the work of
Paul Signac. Working in the South of France,
Matisse produced Still Life, Landscape and many
figure paintings, although he was most interested
in painting the human figure. His Still Lifes of
tropical fruit and flowers are shown inside rooms
that glow with the strong sun and rich colours of
the South. One example of his favourite, the
human figure, is La Dance. Five red bodies, a
green hill and a blue sky, showing movement,
rhythm and happiness. Throughout his long life
Matisse alternated between decorative and
realistic work, not just paintings and he
produced sculpture, graphic art and design.
Still Life with La Danse
Self Portrait
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From 1920, he had an international reputation
alongside Picasso. During the final part of his
life, he was again forced by illness to change
his way of working. Confined to a wheelchair, he
started using large paper cut outs, either
abstract or figurative, in the same brilliant
colours. He designed joyful stained glass windows
which are one of the most optimistic pieces of
art from an artist in old age.
Icasus
Polynesia
Blue Nude
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La danse

• Henri Matisse 1910

Atmosphere Happy, lively, energetic
Shape the figures are stylised, their limbs are
oval to reflect the composition. Lines have been
placed at certain points to emphasise shape and
direction. The oval shapes derive from African
sculpture
Style Simple, primitive, non-realistic. Detail
is applied with a line, to show eyes, faces and
toes. Paint is applied flat with no tone to
suggest form. The distortion of the figures
suggests the energy of the dance.
Colour Cool and Warm - ultramarine blue sky and
emerald green hill. The blue sky throws out the
figure shapes bright pink flesh tones. This
colour is not realistic.
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La Danse
The shapes created between the figures have the
same importance as the shapes the figures
themselves make. All the shapes are flat. The
only suggestion of tone is behind the shoulders
of the dancing figures at the back. This is the
only suggestion of depth in the painting
Movement The dancers link hands and form an
energetic circle/oval. They appear to dance
faster at the top of the hill. The right hand
bias suggests a clockwise movement and emphasises
the energy of the dance. There is a gap between
the figure on the far left and the dancer on his
right. The woman is trying to close it to
complete the circle once more by reaching for the
hand the other dancer in reaching out. The
contact is not quite achieved and the viewer is
left to close the gap himself.
Composition Oval
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Background golden section, figures fill the space
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Cubism Examples of work by Picasso and Braque
Violin and Pitcher
Three Musicians
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SUBJECT - Five women from a brothel
LES DEMOISELLES DAVIGNON By Pablo Picasso
LINES - The thick black lines are used to
emphasise certain parts of the painting and are
particularly evident in the two central females.
Their faces and features have been picked out
with bold lines to give them an almost beauty
compared to the other three. Picasso has also
used white lines to emphasise the female form.
The table and bowl of fruit are heavily outlined
with strong diagonals. The succulent fruit is
suggestive of the temptations found in the
brothel.
COMPOSITION - The central figures were inspired
from a painting The Turkish Bath by Ingres, a
past master in the portrayal of the evocative
beauty of the female form. The central figures
are set in provocative poses with their arms
behind their heads, but the result is ungainly.
Your eye is drawn into the centre of the painting
by the light tones of the drapery and the two
figures, also many of the geometric angles lead
into the centre of the painting. The two central
characters are treated more realistically and are
beautiful compared to the other three females
whose bodies seem unresolved and merge with their
surroundings. The background is treated in a
fractured way giving no clear description to
their immediate surroundings,
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COLOUR - Untypical of early Cubist work, the
painting is brightly coloured - warm flesh tones
and drapery contrast with the cool blues of the
curtains. The colours are paler in the centre of
the composition, drawing your eye into the
painting. Blue usually recedes, but instead of
receding, the white edges to the blue curtains
come forwards and flatter the painting creating a
2D effect rather than giving depth.
STYLE - Instead of a unified illusion of three
dimensional reality, Picasso has thrown a stone
at this image and shattered it. He has broken up
the soft submissive female form and reduced it to
angular 2 dimensional planes similar to broken
glass. The effect is naked anger and aggression -
instead of beauty he flaunts ugliness.
DISTORTION - The viewpoints in Picassos painting
are deliberately confusing. Bodies are fractioned
into parts seen from many distinct angles. Eyes
are painted from the front, but noses shown in
profile - we see the back and the face of the
bottom right female simultaneously. Picasso made
major changes even after the work was in
progress. After a visit to the Ethnographic
museum in Paris he repainted the three outer
figures heads and portrayed them like the
Iberian masks he had seen there.