Composition is Arthur Wesley Dow's series of art exercises for students and teachers, built around line, notan, and color. It explains principles of harmony and design, drawing on Japanese art and design. It is worth listening to for a clear, practical approach to visual composition.
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Text source: gutenberg.org · The work is in the public domain.
Opening of the book
Composition A series of exercises in art structure for the use of students and teachers By Arthur Wesley Dow Professor of Fine Arts in Teachers College, Columbia University New York City Formerly Instructor in Art at the Pratt Institute Author of Theory and Practice of Teaching Art and The Ipswich Prints NINTH EDITION—REVISED AND ENLARGED WITH NEW ILLUSTRATIONS AND COLOR PLATES Synthesis Garden City, New York DOUBLEDAY, PAGE & COMPANY 1914
Contents BEGINNINGS THE THREE ELEMENTS I. LINE—NOTAN—COLOR LINE DRAWING II.—JAPANESE MATERIALS AND BRUSH PRACTICE PRINCIPLES OF COMPOSITION III.—WAYS OF CREATING HARMONY LINE IV.—COMPOSITION IN SQUARES AND CIRCLES V.—COMPOSITION IN RECTANGLES—VARIATION VI.—LANDSCAPE COMPOSITION VII.—COMPOSITION IN REPRESENTATION NOTAN VIII.—HARMONY-BUILDING WITH DARK-ANDLIGHT IX.—TWO VALUES—VARIATIONS—DESIGN X.—TWO VALUES—LANDSCAPE AND PICTURES XI.—TWO VALUES—GOTHIC SCULPTURE JAPANESE DESIGN BOOKS. APPLICATIONS OF TWO VALUES XII.—THREE VALUES XIII.—MORE THAN THREE VALUES COLOR XIV.—COLOR THEORY XV.—COLOR DERIVED FROM NOTAN XVI.—COLOR SCHEMES FROM JAPANESE PRINTS AND FROM TEXTILES COMPOSITION XVII.—IN DESIGN AND PAINTING CONCLUSION
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