How To Understand Composition in Art

Survey how the artist uses light and contrast to hold the viewer’s attention and guide their eye through the artwork.

Note placement of color in the work. Warm colors, like red or yellow, often draw attention, while cool colors, like blue, can create space and relax the viewer.

Look for visual texture, which is surface quality that can be seen or felt and that often creates the illusion of the actual textured surface.

Observe how the artist uses space, or the area between and around objects that are arranged to create either symmetry or disorder. Balanced space often expresses symmetry, while asymmetry or crowded areas can portray disorder, or act as points of emphasis.

Observe the proportion of the art piece, or the way items are placed next to one another to create harmony. Check if certain elements are next to others to balance the size or to add a larger contrast for emphasis.

Step back and take a complete look at the work. Keep everything you’ve noticed in mind, but don’t forget that a great work of art is much more than the sum of its parts.