The Lambertville record. [volume] (Lambertville, N.J.) 1872-1968, 1921-10-21
COMPOSITION

Composition" is term which
has been used by one of the leading
instructors and artists in the Fine
Arts. A composition" may be piece
of music, literary effort or work
of art. But the essence Of a compo-
sition is the unity of many parts as
sembled to make a complete whole.
| This professor has applied the term
to art in particular. and it may be
applied to many things in general.
For instance, in a painting, the
facts Of nature are used to express
an idea or emotion. the figures or
objects tell the story or present the
emotion. but the composition of the
elements IN the painting makes the
work of art. Desire to express an
idea individually creates interest in
the means, in the actual technique.
But the excellence of any work of
art depends on the main lines of the
composition for its merit Bad pro
portion can never be remedied by
delicate tone or harmony of color.
Just this is true in house decora-
ton. Unless the house is a unified
whole, unless each room in itself is
a complete unit which contributes to
the whole, there is no feeling of an
individual accomplished end. To take
each room separately we must view
it as a whole, as composition. and
criticize it for its various elements.
First of all we must have good pro-
portion; the correct relationship be-
tween the type of room to the furn-
iture, and to the colors used, to the
treatment of the walls and floors,
the kinds of rugs.
AS an example, let us take a bed
room: the natural spirit of the room
should be restfulness. To accomplish
this we must use subdued or light
colors. Any bright colors in large
quantities will be disturbing any
contrast of color or value will have
he same effect We want the ceiling
lIgE,, the walls newt in value and
the floor the darkest. 1t is a natura
progression of values. You will Lear
that from nature if you observe that
the sky overhead is lightest, dark
ening toward the horizon and the
ground the darkest in value We
: cannot improve on nature for oul
: general theories; but We have to APP
ply our observations on such
small scale that we are apt to lost
the sense of proportion. But the pro
: portion of graduation of colors from
light to dark remains true to nature
= in whatever quantity we use the val
d ues.
l The various objects in the room
+ take the approximate values of tn,
foreground of landscape scene
d They may be as dark as the floor O
d as light as the walls.
Then we must consider the pro
- portion of the furniture to the room
For a bed we generally use furnitur,
; of type that is not as heavy o
cumbersome as used elsewhere in tn
house That is because bed rooms ar,
generally smaller than the othe
rooms, and because the bed natural,
- takes up great deal of space il
proportion to the bulk of the rest O
" the furniture.
:. The placing of the furniture is
:; very important consideration pro
portion again must take the lead
The bed should be placed so as t.
balance the smaller pieces of furn
> iture, the bureau, chairs, etc. If on
side of your room looks crowded o
, weighty, try little scene shifting
~ The process of elimination will work
try it! Create composition of you
room; make a room that will b
>, pleasing to look at from any angle
;, that will express your individualit,
= Do not depend upon your use of col
or alone, or on your furniture as OBJ
jects in themselves to create the ar
tistic effect. Use your colors with a
If idea of emphasis on the points 0
y, interest; use your furniture to max
n, PATTERN a design against tn
e background of the walls and floor.
II Then consider your room in rela
e ton to the rest of the house. Don
e have green room, red room,
= blue room, but mingle the colors
e with predominating note in eac
= room, supplemented by the other col
}. ors used in the adjoining rooms. |
l. you must vary the type of furnitur
If used, make the change gradual s
s. that the proportion will change grad
e ually See that the furniture is suit
IS able for the house, the room and fo
ID its use. Create your foundation we
/ and the minor details will take car
of themselves.