Art Fundamentals: How Composition Works

How balance, symmetry and rhythm bring an artwork to life

Three-part structure and triangular compositions of ‘Assumption of the Virgin’ (1516–18) by Titian. Oil on canvas. 668 × 344 cm. Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari, Venice. Image source Wikimedia Commons (modified by the author)

Most artworks occupy dimensions in space. In the case of a painting the image has a certain height and width, and within those dimensions, a composition.

Composition is the way in which elements within an artwork are combined. It can contribute to a work’s meaning, sometimes…