22 COMPOSITION and COLOR

Composing in color means arranging two or several colors side by side in such a way that their combination is extremely expressive. For a general solution of color composition, the choice of colors, their relationship to each other, their place and direction within a given composition, the configuration of forms, simultaneous connections, the size of color areas and contrasting relationships in general matter.

The theme of the color composition is so diverse that here it is possible to reflect only some of its main provisions.

In the section on color consonance, it was already mentioned about the possibilities of creating a harmonious composition. When considering the expressive properties of color, we established the necessary specific conditions and relationships that could reveal in each color its characteristic expressiveness.

The nature and impact of color are determined by its location in relation to its attendant colors. Color is never alone, it is always perceived in the environment of other colors.

The further along the color wheel one color is removed from the other, the more they contrast with each other. However, the value and significance of each color in a picture is determined not only by the colors surrounding it. The quality and size of the color planes are also extremely important for the impression produced by one or another color.

In the composition of the picture, the location of the color and the direction of the color spots are also important. The blue color in the composition makes a different impression depending on whether it is located at the top or bottom of the picture, left or right. At the bottom of the composition, blue is heavy, but at the top it seems light. Dark red color in the upper part of the picture gives the impression of something heavy, inevitable and formidable, and in the lower part it seems calm and self-evident. Yellow in the upper part of the work gives the impression of lightness and weightlessness, while in the lower part it rebels as if in imprisonment.

One of the most important tasks of the composition is to ensure the balance of color masses. Just as the balance beam balancer needs a fulcrum for balance, the picture also requires a vertical axis of balance, on both sides of which the “weight” of color masses is distributed.

There are various ways of emphasizing the directions within the picture space - horizontal, vertical, diagonal, circular, or their combinations. Each of these areas has its own expressive meaning. "Horizontal" - emphasizes the gravity, the length of the space and its width. "Vertical" is the exact opposite of "horizontal" and expresses lightness, height and depth. The point of intersection of the horizontal and vertical appears particularly accentuated place. Both of these directions are planar in nature and, at the same time, create a sense of balance, strength and material stability.

"Diagonal" directions create movement and develop the space of the picture in depth. In Grünewald's Resurrection, the diagonal arrangement of the robes tears our view away from the horizontally constructed foreground and leads it upwards, immersing it in the contemplation of a shining triumph.

Baroque painters with the help of diagonals in their frescoes sought illusions of deep perspective. El Greco, Lisa and Maulpertsch, using in their works the contrasts of directions in the movement of color and shape and preferring diagonal motifs, achieved a special expressive expressiveness.

Along with vertical axes, Chinese painters consciously used diagonal movement to divert the viewer's gaze to the depths of the landscape, and these diagonals were often lost in transcendental distances.

The cubists used diagonal orientations and triangles with completely different goals to enhance the impression of the relief depth of the works.

The circle, belonging to the “circular” forms, makes the viewer concentrate his attention and at the same time causes the sensation of movement.

An excellent example of a circular motion can be the compositional solution of the clouds in the Altdorfer film “Alexander's Victory”, which repeats and enhances the dynamics of the battle scene.

Titian in many of his paintings used the contrasts of light and dark tones in both horizontal and vertical directions. In connection with this, his reception was called the "Titian formula." With the same purpose, he placed the figures in a diagonal or circular motion in the composition.

One of the peculiarities of our vision is that it tends to combine similar with similar and perceive them together. These identities are fixed in color, in size, in comparison of dark spots, in textures and in accented centers of compositions. On the basis of these similarities in the eyes of the viewer, when viewing a work, a kind of “configuration”, its own image, is formed. It can be considered "simultaneous", because this image arises on the basis of the speculative unification of the recorded similarities and has no material expression. Simultaneous forms can occur even when viewing two sections of different colors and sizes.

On the other hand, the eye, inclined to see the same colors together, in a situation of complex color can produce several simultaneous images. The general effect of the composition depends on the nature of the directions and distances of simultaneous forms. All arising simultaneous forms should occupy their particular position in relation to each other. The fact that identities create their simultaneous forms means the appearance of additional order and demarcation systems in the picture. That is, in exactly the same way as the human community unites people according to the principle of blood kinship, worldviews or social position, so the related identities in the picture determine its own internal order.

The order in the picture can also be achieved by arranging cold and warm, light and dark color groups into clearly defined spots and masses. A prerequisite for a successful composition is the clear and precise arrangement and distribution of the main contrasts. Coordination of directions or parallels has a very special meaning in the organization of a picture. With their help can be interconnected a variety of graphic groups.

When a color is used as a mass or a spot, it can be enhanced by so-called “movements.” Red and green color form two masses that can be embedded one into the other, and if a part of red moves to green, then a part of green should enter into red. The main thing is that these movements of masses and stains do not destroy either each other or the main idea.

It is equally important to decide whether the color form should be static, dynamic or floating freely. So, one form can float freely in space and not be bound by anything. A similar form can be “attached” on the left and right to the edges of the picture, or to the upper, or lower edge of it, or both to it. This “attachment” is called the “stretching” of a color or shape. In wall painting, this technique is important to stabilize the composition. And this is especially noticeable in the frescoes of Giotto.

The same stability can be achieved by underlining verticals or horizontals inside any free form. These accents, due to their parallelism to the edges of the picture, also provide a feeling of stability. Constructed on the basis of this principle, the pictures seem to be self-contained worlds. In those cases when such alienation is undesirable and the picture should be combined with the outside world and the infinity of its forms and colors, the boundaries of the work are not emphasized and the picture is composed as far as possible without emphasizing the clearly defined orientation of the bounding lines.

Here are many ways to create color compositions. However, when implementing a plan, the flow of intuitive sensations should not be constrained by strict rules, since plans are not always so unambiguous.