Contrast.—In its turn this, too, fails to satisfy. It is weak and inconclusive. Fig. 3o does something to remove that im pression. Variety is intensified into contrast. The differences are more decided. With no loss of association or interest there is a gain in strength.
Concentration.—Once more interest is short-lived. The pattern lacks purpose. It might go on for ever without any object. So Fig. 31 brings into the composition the great unifying principle, Concentration : All the lines now converge, so that, if produced, they would meet at one point. That is their purpose—to direct the eye to a point of rest.
The Laws Applied.—Now to apply these principles to landscape. The accompanying sketches illustrate what we mean. Fig. 32 is about as helpless and unpicturesque as could well be imagined. The four " lines "—viz. the contour of the hill, the path across the field, the trunk of the tree, and its shadow on the grass, all go in different directions. The result is complete confusion. The eye cannot rest anywhere, because it is being constantly dragged away from any one part to nowhere in particular by one or another of these disconnected lines.
If nothing else can be said for it, Fig. 33 contains some evidences of order. The same kind of tree is repeated, and their direction (upright) is also similar, thus repeating the upright sides of the picture. The distant parts of the land scape now consist of more or less horizontal lines, repeating top and bottom of the picture : there arc two almost parallel paths, while the outlines of the shadows have a good deal of similarity. The differences in the sizes of the trees mean the inclusion of some variety. But the improvement of Fig. 33 over Fig. 32 is almost entirely due to repetition. Still, the result is decidedly dull.
Fig. 34 is undoubtedly better. There is a deal of difference in the shape as well as the size of the trees. The principal one is not so near the middle of the picture. The horizon has been lowered, so that the two parts of the picture which it divides are less equal. The background has been lowered to give a greater effect of distance. All this, together with
the introduction of several and varied clouds, give a distinct effect of interest, movement, and vivacity. Such is the influence of variety when allied to repetition.
In Fig. 35 everything is sacrificed to obtain the most powerful effect of contrast. The principal tree has been made much larger, and, together with the strip of dark foreground, stands out in bold relief against the rest of the picture, which has been made relatively small and faint. The horizon has been lowered still more to give most positive difference between the size of sky and ground, and to make the tree look higher and more imposing. Undoubtedly the effect is striking, but the game is given away—all the means by which the result is achieved are evident at a single glance. The picture has only one thing to say, and says it with a shout.
Fig. 36 combines all the foregoing principles without making any one of them unduly prominent, and is clearly superior to any of the other sketches. To use a phrase common among artists, it has been " pulled together." Everywhere there is a sense of arrangement without it being too obvious. The large tree is still the most prominent feature at the first glance, but the real centre of attraction is the little group consisting of a sunlit cottage and trees enclosed by light clouds. To this part all the lines of the picture are directed—in particular the paths, the wedge shaped mass of trees on the left, and a branch near the top of the large tree. The great change which has been brought about is due to concentration.
the process is very simple : repeat, vary, contract, concentrate, and the thing is done—a work of art ! Sad to say, it does not follow. If the picture has been thus mechanically made and contains nothing else, it will be no more a work of art than my diagrams. Because the means by which it has been produced will be perfectly obvious, and the obvious in art is always the sorriest blunder. You lose the game when you lay your cards on the table.
All other things being equal, the beauty of a picture is in proportion to its subtlety.