Formal Analysis
Formal analysis describes how a picture is organised, rather than what it depicts. Iconography asks what is shown; formal analysis asks how the elements are arranged.
Composition
Composition is the arrangement of visual elements:
- The underlying geometry: Pyramidal groupings, strong diagonals, or grids.
- Balance: Symmetrical layouts feel formal; asymmetrical ones feel dynamic.
- The path of the eye: Where you look first, led by lines, gazes, and gestures.
- Framing and the edge: What gets cut off, implying a world beyond the frame.
Perspective
Linear perspective converges parallel lines at a vanishing point. Alberti formalised this geometry to make it teachable.
Perspective is a construction, not a transcription. Panofsky famously argued it models an artificial, motionless eye rather than actual vision. Meanwhile, atmospheric perspective creates depth by making distant objects paler, bluer, and less distinct.
Colour
Colour has three independent properties:
| Property | Definition |
|---|---|
| Hue | Position on the spectrum |
| Value | Relative lightness or darkness |
| Saturation | Intensity compared to grey |
Chevreul formulated how adjacent complementary colours intensify each other. In practice, value does most of the structural work in holding a composition together.
Light and Facture
- Chiaroscuro: Modelling volume through light and shade.
- Tenebrism: Caravaggio's extreme darks, where forms emerge from deep shadow.
- Facture: The visible handling, mark-making, and trace of the paint.
- Impasto: Thickly applied paint that holds ridges and catches real light.
Common pitfall: Treating formal analysis as objective and iconography as interpretive. Describing a line as 'restless' is still an interpretation.