tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2999230124118604245.post8224205616772984598..comments2024-03-28T06:18:17.942-04:00Comments on Gurney Journey: Breaking the FootlineJames Gurneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01870848001990898499noreply@blogger.comBlogger10125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2999230124118604245.post-54247029331293001132019-07-28T14:26:02.343-04:002019-07-28T14:26:02.343-04:00While not exactly a direct example of the broken f...While not exactly a direct example of the broken footline - Repin's Krestny Khod (Religious Procession) in Kursk Gubernia is a painting I think of as a prime example of photographic composition. <br />The religious icon - what one would think of as being literally the centrepiece of the painting, is almost about to be cutoff at the veryright (in fact the men carrying it are cut off as a group)... and even more unconventional, the central area of the painting is an empty space.<br />In fact, there is a figure with a cane directing our eyes to to the middle which I want to imagine Repin used as a tongue-in-cheek device to point to the fact that he left the middle of this epic painting virtually empty. <br />This image feels like it could have been just one of many "snapshots" you would find on a contact sheet containing the moments that came before and after.<br />I will never tire of looking at this piece.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04191794623802857275noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2999230124118604245.post-79035929833872036702019-07-28T09:26:21.913-04:002019-07-28T09:26:21.913-04:00I think a photo is similar to what hits our retina...I think a photo is similar to what hits our retina, while a painting is closer to what our brain thinks. In our brain, we don't crop objects. Our field of view may momentarily crop an object, but we tipically move our eyes to see the whole object, and, in any case, we are aware of the full shape of it. Painting is visual thinking, so it makes sense to arrange objects as our brain perceives them. But in landscape painters and "vedutisti" (view painters) like Canaletto, we often see some cropping.Mariohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04477403806364388132noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2999230124118604245.post-10123166040655208552019-07-28T03:16:11.111-04:002019-07-28T03:16:11.111-04:00This comment has been removed by the author.Mariohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04477403806364388132noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2999230124118604245.post-31846252206013404312019-07-28T03:14:23.890-04:002019-07-28T03:14:23.890-04:00This comment has been removed by the author.Mariohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04477403806364388132noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2999230124118604245.post-52773906902263306442019-07-27T21:10:13.495-04:002019-07-27T21:10:13.495-04:00I read a quote by someone (sorry, can't think ...I read a quote by someone (sorry, can't think of the artist) saying the viewer should always feel they have a place to stand in the composition in order to be part of the picture.<br /><br />BillBill Marshallhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14574281497234362021noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2999230124118604245.post-42567258893913813392019-07-27T17:31:05.071-04:002019-07-27T17:31:05.071-04:00I have not thought of that or noticed before. I t...I have not thought of that or noticed before. I thought one reason for the clear footline was the easel edge in front of the bottom of the canvas edge, lol, but I guess that is silly!CerverGirlhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17763787357097204649noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2999230124118604245.post-2318053518467099602019-07-27T16:27:05.972-04:002019-07-27T16:27:05.972-04:00Dear James,
Always eye-opening insights. Thank you...Dear James,<br />Always eye-opening insights. Thank you.<br />Nicholas La ParaN. La Parahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07314969949294162375noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2999230124118604245.post-20123036436142482142019-07-27T15:00:16.817-04:002019-07-27T15:00:16.817-04:00Conventions in art are a funny thing. We don't...Conventions in art are a funny thing. We don't notice them until someone breaks them. I think keeping the footline clear was a response to the feeling that the painting is like a little stage or open shoebox with figures set up inside. Howard Pyle often spoke of the painting like a stage with actors on it, and advised his students to have key actors facing the "audience." Of course all portraits have figures cut off on the footline, but even then they have to be cut off in certain places. Not at the groin and not at the ankles. OUCH!James Gurneyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01870848001990898499noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2999230124118604245.post-62482582853172797282019-07-27T14:35:11.245-04:002019-07-27T14:35:11.245-04:00Why do you think the footline was left clear for s...Why do you think the footline was left clear for so long? Was it an unconscious decision that didn't become conscious until photography or do you think the artists had some reason for it?Thom Rozendaalhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05243099559759929032noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2999230124118604245.post-17569017425407598562019-07-27T13:17:57.440-04:002019-07-27T13:17:57.440-04:00"I find it still takes conscious effort to cr..."I find it still takes conscious effort to crop figures or other elements by the footline, but it adds greatly to the effect of naturalism."<br /><br />You're right—I never noticed before. <br /><br />Makes me want to say "abrupt vignette", an active sensation along with more focus on the line of action. <br />An exercise in discipline and imagination, provided a proper motivation and not for style's sake alone...and a potential resource.<br /><br />Maybe Chuck Jones and Maurice Noble would stress the need for a proper motivation necessitating such a device.Timothy Bollenbaughhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08493798661089822651noreply@blogger.com