The Law of the Golden Section

Leopoldo1 · #1 02-02-2001, 08:48 AM

In ancient Rome, in the times of Augustus, there was a famous architect called Vitruvius, who established this law which says: "For a space divided into equal parts to be agreeable and aesthetic, between the smallest and largest parts there must be the same relationship as between this larger part and the whole space"

Basically there can be four points on your support with this rule can apply. The factor is.618 To find this ideal division you only need to put the formula into practice by multiply the width and diameter by this factor of .618. Many artists applied this method, Velazquez comes to mind in the "The Adoration of the Wise Kings. Have fun with it, it is just another tool.
<IMG SRC="http://www.wetcanvas.com/Critiques/lib/02-Feb-2001/goldensection2.jpg" border=0>

Roan · #2 02-02-2001, 09:03 AM

Leopoldo:

I'm going to move this to the Composition Forum as this Forum is for Critiques only.

Hope you don't mind!

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Roan
Nan dèanadh mo làmh mar a dh'iarradh mo shùil!
-- If my hand could do as my eye would desire!
RoanStudio.com <-- pastel open stock vendor sources & reviews!

Leopoldo1 · #3 02-02-2001, 09:16 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Roan:
Leopoldo:I'm going to move this to the Composition Forum as this Forum is for Critiques only.Hope you don't mind!

Roan, of course not. This was in response to Bev's Kitty pic in critiques. Boy this Wet Canvas Site is huge! Roan, being new on the block, I am still woddling around. Thanks.

BevL · #4 02-02-2001, 09:27 AM

I followed you right here!
Thankyou for posting this Leopoldo!

Bev

Roan · #5 02-02-2001, 10:16 AM

Not a problem, Leopoldo!

Information like this is FAR too valuable to post in Critiques -- it would get buried in a couple of days.

I moved dcart's post as well.

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Roan
Nan dèanadh mo làmh mar a dh'iarradh mo shùil!
-- If my hand could do as my eye would desire!
RoanStudio.com <-- pastel open stock vendor sources & reviews!

Rod · #6 02-02-2001, 02:14 PM

The golden section is an ideal composition tool, helps you place your focal point in the most pleasing spot. If you are a keen Pleine aire painter a viewing grid will help compose you scene according to the golden section and the grids help you transpose your scene to the sketch, build your own it's easy,
http://www.wetcanvas.com/ArtSchool/S...ps/GridViewer/
Rod

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Rodzart from New Zealand

arlene · #7 02-02-2001, 03:16 PM

Rod,
Great grid u have there!

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http://www.artdebut.com/arlene.htm

cleo · #8 02-02-2001, 05:41 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Roan:

Information like this is FAR too valuable to post in Critiques -- it would get buried in a couple of days.

Roan,
I don't understant? Why can't we have
something posted in more than one area of
wet canvas?

I don't have time to explore the entire
site and wish to see and evaluate as much
as possible!

Fine, place things where ever
else on this site you wish, but please
leave them where they were originally
posted.

Thanks

cleo

Oh yes, please email your responce or place
it in the Crit. area. I probably won't be
back here any time soom and may miss it.

henrik · #9 02-02-2001, 07:34 PM

Cleo, that sort of discussion should go into "Wet Canvas Site dicussions" - sorry

The reasons there is no way to cross post is because of the way Ultimate Bulletine Board stores and organizes the threads.

Critique is the fastest moving forum (then debate and the café). I think you will find that it is quite easy to keep up with the rest of the forums.

On the golden mean; there was many good posts on this a few weeks back in this forum. Check them out.

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Visit my gallery at Artistnation

Roan · #10 02-02-2001, 08:50 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by cleo:

Roan,
I don't understant? Why can't we have
something posted in more than one area of
wet canvas?

Cleo,
There's nothing wrong in having something posted in various areas of WC, if it's appropriate to that area.

As Henrik indicated, the board code stores the posts for each forum in a different directory. There is no means for it to update the same thread in different forums. This is how all bb code that I've worked with or seen behaves. The same is true of newsgroups. Unless you physically cross-post the message, your replies are only saved in the thread where you originated your post. To change this would totally change the nature of UBB and how it works; in other words, a major rewrite and a difficult one, as Scott would have to rewrite the indexing methods it uses.

As for moving it here, it's very difficult for newcomers to the board to find something if it's not in the forum it "should" be in. For example, if I were looking for information on the golden mean, then I would just check out this forum -- Composition. If it's not posted here, I'd probably never know it even existed. That's sad. It's sorta like being in a library where all the books aren't in their right sections. How do you find anything?

Anyhow, I'm sorry you don't care for this, Cleo, but it's really for the best that it reside in this forum and not get buried in Critiques.

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Roan
Nan dèanadh mo làmh mar a dh'iarradh mo shùil!
-- If my hand could do as my eye would desire!
RoanStudio.com <-- pastel open stock vendor sources & reviews!

[This message has been edited by Roan (edited February 02, 2001).]

Rod · #11 02-03-2001, 05:48 AM

Here is the url for the previous interesting thread on the golden section and rectangle,
http://www.wetcanvas.com/ubb/Forum16/HTML/000034.html
Rod

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Check out My Watercolour Cd-rom <.....Rod's shameless plug
Rodzart from New Zealand

carly · #12 02-03-2001, 09:25 PM

Leopoldo, welcome to WetCanvas. I would love to see that portrait in its finished state! I hope you will be sharing more of your knowledge with us...thanks for the excellent example of the golden mean principle.
carly

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"Everything is not art and Art is not everything, but it comes close."....carly

Leopoldo1 · #13 02-03-2001, 10:17 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by carly:
Leopoldo, welcome to WetCanvas. I would love to see that portrait in its finished state! I hope you will be sharing more of your knowledge with us...thanks for the excellent example of the golden mean principle.
carly

Thank you Carly. This is a sketch on gesso panel and is finished. I used lead and silverpoint on the gesso. I used this rendition as my model to paint another oil alla prima. Both were studies and I really plan on leaving them in this state.

kemshmi · #14 02-20-2001, 09:43 PM

after seeing this laid out on your canvas i ran, (ok i walked :rolleyes

in to see if my current painting fit in the "golden section"...it doesn't

i had wondered earlier in this painting if the head was too small for the canvas, it is a portrait of a girl, head and shoulders only
(only 999 paintings to go...)
then read somewhere else that the (a) portrait should not be too close to the edges of the canvas or it will look boxed in..
i have worked on it several hours today and cant post yet as it is still wet..

Kemshmi

[This message has been edited by kemshmi (edited February 20, 2001).]

Impulse · #15 03-06-2001, 07:07 PM

I'm gonna make me a grid and see what I can make of it. Thanks Leo.

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Whatever can find room in the human heart, as emotion, idea, and purpose, whatever it is able to frame into a deed ... can constitute the many-colored content of painting. Hegel.

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