The Discovery of Pictorial Composition: Theories of Visual Order in Painting, 1400-1800 [Hardcover]

Professor Thomas Puttfarken (Author), Thomas Puttfarken (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0300081561 | ISBN-13: 978-0300081565 | Publication Date: June 2000

In this illuminating book, art historian Thomas Puttfarken examines how pictorial composition and attitudes toward it changed between the early Renaissance and the beginning of the nineteenth century. Before 1600, a painting's overall composition was hardly ever discussed. As far as art theory and criticism were concerned, pictorial composition was a "discovery" of the seventeenth century, the author explains. In the first part of the book, Puttfarken investigates why pictorial composition did not figure in earlier accounts of the art. In Italy artists and patrons focused on large-scale wall paintings or altarpieces and on the presentation of life-size saints or protagonists whose physical proportions and interactions in narratives were considered more important than notions of overall effect or pictorial format. The second part of the book discusses the discovery of composition and its consequences for both the theory and practice of painting, understood as the production of tableaux, or easel pictures. Puttfarken considers the effects on paintings of size, location, perspective, and relief, the relationship between ground and figures and between image and frame, and the different traditions defining Italian and Northern art. For readers with an interest in the theory and history of European art, this book is full of rich insights and fresh analyses.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Puttfarken has produced a wide-ranging and ambitious study." -- Choice

About the Author

Thomas Puttfarken is professor of the history and theory of art at the University of Essex, England. He was the author of Roger de Piles's Theory of Art, published by Yale University Press.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 288 pages
• Publisher: Yale University Press (June 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0300081561
• ISBN-13: 978-0300081565
• Product Dimensions: 10.2 x 7.5 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,523,586 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Misleading Title, November 12, 2007

By 

Tom S (US) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Discovery of Pictorial Composition: Theories of Visual Order in Painting, 1400-1800 (Hardcover)

I returned the book because the title (and indeed the editorial review here on the Amazon page) is, in my opinion, downright dishonest. This is not a historiographical treatise on pictorial composition that attempts to reconstruct contemporary theoretical understanding from the years 1400 to 1800. It is rather Puttfarken's very subjective and personal exercise in extrapolating modern abstract art theory backwards. I believe the ideas and notions presented here would not only be alien to artists from 1400-1800, but more importantly would be considered by them to thoroughly miss the mark as to what they were about and wanted to accomplish with their art.

2 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Exceptionally well done!, March 26, 2007

By 

Diatrope "Diatrope" (Berkeley, CA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Discovery of Pictorial Composition: Theories of Visual Order in Painting, 1400-1800 (Hardcover)

This book was so interesting I was unable to put it down. It was as if I was reading a novel. Before reading the book I was unaware of the degree to which pictorial composition was left out of earlier accounts of art. Particularly fascinating is Puttfarken' s discussion of the development of composition and how this impacted paintings in general (ie their size, location, perspective, the relationship between ground and figures, how the image and frame work together, etc). The book, which looks at both Northern and Italian art, is a must read for anyone who longs for more art historical discussions that combine context with formal elements.