THE PRINCIPLES OF

ARTISTIC
COMPOSITION
 THE SURVEY OF THE THREE MAIN
CHARACTERISTICS OF FINE ARTS- UNITY,
DOMINANCE, AND EQUILIBRIUM- WILL REVEAL
THAT ALL ARTS HAVE SIMILAR PATTERNS AND
THAT THEY ARE RELATED AMONG THEMSELVES.
1. UNITY
 EVERY WORK OF ART IS BASED ON UNITY.
 JUST AS NATURAL THINGS, LIKE TREES,
FLOWERS, ANIMALS, OR ROCKS EXIST AS ONE, AS
INDIVIDUAL REALITIES, SO AS EACH WORK OF
ART EXISTS AS AN INDEPENDENT AND
INDIVIDUAL REALITY.
 THE MOVEMENTS AND  GREAT WORKS OF ARTS
SEQUENCES OF THE DANCE, LIKE CATHEDRALS, EPIC,
PLAY, DRAMA POEMS, SYMPHONIES
MURALS, ETC.

EXAMPLES:
 A. HARMONIOUS UNITY
 RESULTS FROM THE COMBINATION OF IDENTICAL
QUALITIES OR INVARIABLE PATTERNS.
 EXAMPLES: THE COMPLEMENTARY CHARACTERS
OF ROMEO AND JULIET, UNIFORM DISTANCE
BETWEEN COLUMNS AND GEOMETRIC DESIGNS
IN WINDOW PANES

THREE KINDS OF UNITY

 B. CONTRASTING UNITY
 AN OUTSTANDING QUALITY OF THE ARTS WHICH
IS THE OPPOSITION OF THE VARIOUS ELEMENTS
AND FORMS WITHIN THE BALANCE AND UNITY
OF THE WHOLE WORK.
 STRONG AND DELICATE LINES
 BRILLIANT AND SOMBER COLORS
 LOUD AND SOFT SOUNDS IN MUSIC
 OPPOSING CHARACTERS IN DRAMA AND
LITERATURE
 CONTINUOUS CONTRASTING MOVEMENT IN A
DANCE

EXAMPLES OF CONTRASTING
UNITY
 THE RICHNESS OF INTEGRATION THAT CAN BE
TRANSMITTED EITHER SIMULTANEOUSLY, AS IN
VISUAL ARTS, OR SUCESSIVELY AS IN
PROGRESSIVE MOVEMENTS OF MELODIES,
DRAMAS, DANCES, AND SONGS, AND IN OTHER
KINETIC AND PHONETIC ARTS.

C. PROGRESSIVE UNITY
2. DOMINANCE
 THE VARIETY OF THINGS IN NATURE HAS NO
LIMITS. IN SOME RESPECT, ALL THINGS ARE
UNEQUAL AND UNIQUE.
 SOME ARE SUPERIOR; OTHERS ARE
SUBORDINATE.
 SOME OBJECTS OCCUPYELEVATED LEVELS;
OTHERS ARE UNDERGROUND.
 SOME THINGS ARE DURABLE; OTHERS ARE
PERISHABLE.
 LIKEWISE, IN THE WORLD OF ART, VARIETY IS
PRACTICALLY UNLIMITED.
 PRIMARY AND SECONDARY ROLES
 MAIN CHARACTERS AND SECONDARY ONES
 MAJOR KEY AND MINOR KEY
 PAINTERS DIRECT OUR ATTENTION TOWARDS THE
CENTER OR EDGES OF THE CANVAS
 ARCHITECTS, TOWARDS THE FAÇADE OF
BUILDINGS
 MUSICIANS ACCENTUATE CERTAIN PARTS OF THE
COMPOSITION OR INTRODUCED SOLOISTS
 DRAMA , NOVEL AND OTHER FICTION DEVELOP
AROUND HEROES OR LEADING CHARACTERS
 PROMINENT IMAGES PLAY A DOMINANT ROLE IN
POETRY
3. EQUILIBRIUM OR BALANCE
 THE RICHNESS AND VITALITY OF WORKS OF ART
DEMAND THAT NONE OF THE PARTS, NO MATTER
HOW INSIGNIFICANT, BE IGNORED. EACH PART
HAS A DELICATE ROLE TO PLAY.
 DANTE’S DIVINE COMEDY- A PERFECT EXAMPLE
OF EQUILIBRIUM IN ART WHERE EACH SCENE
CONTRIBUTES TO THE AGGREGATE PICTURE AND
EACH WORD IS PACKED WITH MEANING AND
BEAUTY.