Sunday, December 19, 2021

Composing with a Keyhole View

Here's a new a YouTube video  based on a gouache painting I did in the old boatyard in Greenport, Long Island.


A little glimpse of the harbor and the far shore is framed by the boat and the buildings. I call this composition a "keyhole view." 


Artists in the past have used keyhole views to lure the viewer's attention back in space. 


This painting inside the farrier's shop has a keyhole view on the doorway at the left. It's by Ferdinand Georg Waldmüller (Austrian, 1793-1865).


Lawrence Alma Tadema (Dutch, 1836-1912) uses a similar compositional strategy.


And there's a keyhole view in this painting by Ilya Repin (Russian, 1844-1930).




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