Home › Forums › The Learning Center › Composition and Design › Is there any famous painting with two focal points?
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October 17, 2016 at 3:35 pm #994494
Hi. Could anyone please help me to find a famous painting which has two focal points? :confused:
October 17, 2016 at 3:59 pm #1259002pretty much any [old] painting of madonna and child
why do you ask?
la
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When the power of love overcomes the love of power, the world will know PeaceOctober 17, 2016 at 4:12 pm #1259010Thanks :thumbsup: I was curious. for a long time I believed a decent painting must have only one focal point. Now I am trying to learn more about composition and focal point.
Thank you again.
October 17, 2016 at 4:18 pm #1259011last question. what do you think about this one? How many focal points do you see in this painting?
I think the focal point is between those reaching hands.
October 17, 2016 at 5:21 pm #1259008Realistic and representational paintings may or may not have a focal point or area of interest–depends on the subject. If there is more than one focal point or area of interest, often one is dominant (assuming it’s a strong painting).
Focal points or areas of interest are principles, however, not rules!
Abstract and non-representational paintings may not have focal points or specific areas of interest. They may use other principles of design or elements of art to tell their story.
Sling paint,
VirgilPS: Viewer’s eyes are almost always attracted to human figures in a painting, but in the painting above the story is being told with the hands/fingers!
Sling paint,
Virgil Carter
http://www.virgilcarterfineart.com/October 17, 2016 at 11:25 pm #1259012Thank you Virgil
October 18, 2016 at 1:33 am #1259003last question. what do you think about this one? How many focal points do you see in this painting?
[IMG]http://s3.amazonaws.com/wetcanvas-hdc/Community/images/17-Oct-2016/1770849-creacin_de_adn_miguel_ngel.jpg[/IMG]
I think the focal point is between those reaching hands.
I think there’s two focal points and the hands are supporting characters in the play, so to speak. ^
How many focal points in this one, below … ?
Northern Mannerism in the Early Sixteenth Century
Metropolitan Museum of Art662 × 608Search by image
… Moses and Aaron before Pharaoh: An Allegory of the Dinteville Family …la
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When the power of love overcomes the love of power, the world will know PeaceOctober 18, 2016 at 11:17 am #1259009Ahh, a painting full of people with a wide range of dynamic gestures!
Clearly, there’s a great deal of movement in this painting. The eye travels here and there, moving this way and that way.
But, what’s the story? What is the painter telling the viewers? Clearly it’s about the two main players–Moses and Pharaoh–and the snake threatening to bite Pharaoh’s foot!
It depicts the Biblical story of interaction of the two men as Moses attempts to convince Pharaoh to free the Jews.
Sling paint,
VirgilSling paint,
Virgil Carter
http://www.virgilcarterfineart.com/October 18, 2016 at 1:17 pm #1259004I’m a little confused with who’s who in this zoo of characters:
In this large, allegorical family portrait, the Dinteville brothers act out a scene from Exodus 7:9. Pleading with Pharaoh to free the Israelites, Aaron (François II de Dinteville) transforms his rod into a serpent, proving that God is with him. Jean de Dinteville is depicted as Moses, while Gaucher and Guillaume stand behind them. The brothers were important members of the court of Francis I, who is represented as Pharaoh. Painted during a critical moment in their relationship with the French king, this extraordinary portrait hung in the family château of Polisy with an even more exceptional depiction of Jean de Dinteville: Holbein’s Ambassadors (National Gallery, London).
(from: the met)but to label the dude with the snake as the centre of interest seems fair (with the ‘king’ being a secondary focal point). he’s the brightest, tallest, people point to him, lead the viewer to him.
point being – a complex comp can still have one focal point [+many supporting characters], if one learns/knows how. replace all these characters with fruit, sticks, blades of grass, trees, whatever … be a more boring story, for sure, but the ‘centre of interest(s)’ can remain, the compositional tool(s) can remain, no matter the subject.la
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When the power of love overcomes the love of power, the world will know PeaceOctober 19, 2016 at 7:58 am #1259013Thanks La & virgil. Unlike chiaroscuro paintings almost all figures in this painting are lit evenly and also they all have the same facial expression :| but considering the direction of hands, I think moses is the focal point.
November 1, 2016 at 2:05 pm #1259007A focal point is just a focal point, it’s not the entire painting. You can’t crop, nor blur out everything else. Everything else gives context, sets the stage, so one can make sense of the focal point. Without the context, the focal point is meaningless. But without the focal point, well… what’s the point of the painting? Human beings need something glittery to be attracted to, and that’s what focal points provide… and thus, there may be more than one in a painting (but not too many). A painting without focal points may be just as pretty, but one may not be instantly attracted to it… it may require an acquired taste to appreciate.
November 2, 2016 at 3:21 pm #1259005A focal point is just a focal point, it’s not the entire painting. You can’t crop, nor blur out everything else. [COLOR=”Silver]Everything else gives context, sets the stage, so one can make sense of the focal point. Without the context, the focal point is meaningless. But without the focal point, well… what’s the point of the painting? Human beings need something glittery to be attracted to, and that’s what focal points provide… and thus, there may be more than one in a painting (but not too many). A painting without focal points may be just as pretty, but one may not be instantly attracted to it… it may require an acquired taste to appreciate.[/COLOR]
challenge accepted
focal points:
one
many
too many
nonela
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When the power of love overcomes the love of power, the world will know PeaceNovember 2, 2016 at 4:31 pm #1259001If there is more than one focal point or area of interest, often one is dominant (assuming it’s a strong painting).
That is an important point, I think in a strong painting there should not be multiple focal points who compete with each other! But there can be sort of a hierarchy, with one main focal point and subordinate focal point(s). The eyes move between them.
Example: Velazquez’ Masterpiece Las Meninas. My eye is drawn to two points: the small girl in her bright dress in the foreground, and the man in the doorway in the background. Obviously the girl is the first and strongest focal point, but the high contrast doorway is a second focal point – the eye moving between them creates an illusion of space (among other things, it is such a complex and fascinating painting!)
November 25, 2016 at 5:54 pm #1259014How about “Daybreak” by Parrish?
Obviously the little girl is the primary focus, but my eye sometimes drifts to the supine woman at her feet. Opinions?
Bill was a long time valued member of our community who passed away after a lengthy illness. We will miss him. Rest in peace.
"Modern art is what happens when painters stop looking at girls and persuade themselves that they have a better idea."- John Ciardi
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November 26, 2016 at 2:09 pm #1259006gonna need a better comp analyst than me for this one … the scene itself is the dominant character for me; the two humans are beautiful, but secondary in the ‘grab my eye’ department. yes, they’re placed appropriately to be key, but hidden from obviousness.
love paintings like this.la
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