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Structural features

Learning goal

  • To acquire useful vocabulary in order to be able to describe the main structural features of a composition, such as the focal point and the structural lines.

 

To achieve that goal, you should become familiar with the words in the exercise. The interactive activity provides feedback so that you can evaluate your performance.

Take a close look at this painting

Examine the painting Oath of the Horatii, by Jacques-Louis David (1784).

Photograph published on Flickr by Steven Zucker under a CC BY-NC-SA 2.0 license.

Oath of the Horatii (David, 1784)
Oath of the Horatii (David, 1784)

Complete the description of this painting

Fill in the gaps in the text using the words in the drop down menu. Bear in mind that you may need to repeat the same word several times.

The   point, sometimes also called “point of interest” or “  of interest”, is the main   of the composition. In this case, the   point   in the father’s hands, which hold up the swords. 
The   lines of the composition   the eye into the   point. These lines may be   (i.e painted ones), as is the case with the men’s raised arms in this particular artwork. Or they could be   force lines, that is, imagined by the   thanks to the movements suggested by gestures,   , and so on. For example: in this painting all the men are looking toward the   point.

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