---
product_id: 5858153
title: "Pictorial Composition (Composition in Art)"
price: "5313 kr"
currency: ISK
in_stock: true
reviews_count: 13
url: https://www.desertcart.is/products/5858153-pictorial-composition-composition-in-art
store_origin: IS
region: Iceland
---

# Pictorial Composition (Composition in Art)

**Price:** 5313 kr
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- **What is this?** Pictorial Composition (Composition in Art)
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Pictorial Composition (Composition in Art) [Henry Rankin Poore] on desertcart.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. Pictorial Composition (Composition in Art)

Review: Best composition book I've ever read - I picked this book up at the suggestion of the great contemporary realist painter, Will St. John; I think he learned from it. This is the abridged and updated 1969 Dover edition of _Pictorial Composition and the Critical Judgment of Pictures_, which Poore originally published in 1903, and which is out of print; there are paper copy facsimiles of the 1903 version to be bought and unfortunately I found out the hard way they contain no illustrations so they're useless. Get this one. I've read a lot of books on composition but still find so much to learn from the Poore that I keep having to put it down and absorb what he's just taught me. His instruction is succinct and clear. I wish I'd stumbled on this decades ago. You'll find more modern books on composition but the ones I have are just a waste of your time compared to this one. Poore analyzes in a deep way why pieces work and why they don't and how to fix them. The modern books I have just list formulae, do circles or steelyards, or golden sections, etc., and the writers aren't really capable of analyzing the subtleties of why something works when it's oh-so-close and why it doesn't, or why a certain composition might be the wrong one for the subject matter. Poore really knows his material cold and is articulate enough to explain reasons in very few words. Composition is the most important aspect aspect of painting; you can have great anatomy, brushwork, and color and if your composition is faulty the piece falls apart, whereas with a great composition, the rest just falls into place, and for the most part, mistakes are forgiven. So this is a great book on composition. The other great book I have read is also ancient and out of print, Cyril Pearce's _Composition_, referred to me by Stephen Bauman, and worth finding. The Poore is a little better but they talk about completely different things so to me, they compliment each other. If you're serious about improving your painting, search out them both.
Review: Really Deserves 6 Stars - This is one of the most thorough books in the teaching and analysis of composition I've ever had the fortune to read. All my other art books mention the neccessity of sound composition and eye movement but none give the detailed breakdown of how that's accomplished or why it fails. This book does. You aren't just told - it's broken down for you explicitly with dozens of examples from famous paintings. All kinds of compositions are examined. Here is a list of the chapter titles and some (would be tiresome to include it all) of what they teach 1. Balance - rules, scale of attraction, vertical/horizontal balance, natural balance, apparant/formal balance, balance by opposition of line, balance by opposition of spots, transition of line...etc, etc, etc. 2. Entrance and Exit - getting into the picture, getting out of the picture 3. Circular Observation - circular composition, reconstruction for circular observation 4. Angular Composition - the triangle, the vertical line in angular composition, angular composition based on the horizontal, line of beauty, structural line 5. Composition with One or More Units - 2 units, 3 units, groups, the figure in landscape 6. Light and Shade - pricipality, gradation Color Plates..... If you really want to learn composition and get it down cold - get this book. It's a priceless gem.

## Technical Specifications

| Specification | Value |
|---------------|-------|
| Best Sellers Rank | #158,474 in Books ( See Top 100 in Books ) #9,912 in Arts & Photography (Books) |
| Customer Reviews | 4.5 4.5 out of 5 stars (220) |
| Dimensions  | 8.18 x 0.3 x 10.93 inches |
| Edition  | Reproduction of 1967 edition |
| ISBN-10  | 0486233588 |
| ISBN-13  | 978-0486233581 |
| Item Weight  | 10.4 ounces |
| Language  | English |
| Part of series  | Dover Art Instruction |
| Print length  | 104 pages |
| Publication date  | June 1, 1976 |
| Publisher  | Dover Publications |

## Images

![Pictorial Composition (Composition in Art) - Image 1](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/71VmlyT8FWL.jpg)

## Customer Reviews

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Best composition book I've ever read
*by S***Z on May 9, 2020*

I picked this book up at the suggestion of the great contemporary realist painter, Will St. John; I think he learned from it. This is the abridged and updated 1969 Dover edition of _Pictorial Composition and the Critical Judgment of Pictures_, which Poore originally published in 1903, and which is out of print; there are paper copy facsimiles of the 1903 version to be bought and unfortunately I found out the hard way they contain no illustrations so they're useless. Get this one. I've read a lot of books on composition but still find so much to learn from the Poore that I keep having to put it down and absorb what he's just taught me. His instruction is succinct and clear. I wish I'd stumbled on this decades ago. You'll find more modern books on composition but the ones I have are just a waste of your time compared to this one. Poore analyzes in a deep way why pieces work and why they don't and how to fix them. The modern books I have just list formulae, do circles or steelyards, or golden sections, etc., and the writers aren't really capable of analyzing the subtleties of why something works when it's oh-so-close and why it doesn't, or why a certain composition might be the wrong one for the subject matter. Poore really knows his material cold and is articulate enough to explain reasons in very few words. Composition is the most important aspect aspect of painting; you can have great anatomy, brushwork, and color and if your composition is faulty the piece falls apart, whereas with a great composition, the rest just falls into place, and for the most part, mistakes are forgiven. So this is a great book on composition. The other great book I have read is also ancient and out of print, Cyril Pearce's _Composition_, referred to me by Stephen Bauman, and worth finding. The Poore is a little better but they talk about completely different things so to me, they compliment each other. If you're serious about improving your painting, search out them both.

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Really Deserves 6 Stars
*by H***E on January 8, 2002*

This is one of the most thorough books in the teaching and analysis of composition I've ever had the fortune to read. All my other art books mention the neccessity of sound composition and eye movement but none give the detailed breakdown of how that's accomplished or why it fails. This book does. You aren't just told - it's broken down for you explicitly with dozens of examples from famous paintings. All kinds of compositions are examined. Here is a list of the chapter titles and some (would be tiresome to include it all) of what they teach 1. Balance - rules, scale of attraction, vertical/horizontal balance, natural balance, apparant/formal balance, balance by opposition of line, balance by opposition of spots, transition of line...etc, etc, etc. 2. Entrance and Exit - getting into the picture, getting out of the picture 3. Circular Observation - circular composition, reconstruction for circular observation 4. Angular Composition - the triangle, the vertical line in angular composition, angular composition based on the horizontal, line of beauty, structural line 5. Composition with One or More Units - 2 units, 3 units, groups, the figure in landscape 6. Light and Shade - pricipality, gradation Color Plates..... If you really want to learn composition and get it down cold - get this book. It's a priceless gem.

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐ Bad print but good information
*by J***G on February 4, 2019*

Arrived on time...Bad print but good information

## Frequently Bought Together

- Pictorial Composition (Composition in Art) (Dover Art Instruction)
- Composition in Drawing: The Design and Composition of Drawings
- The Painter's Secret Geometry: A Study of Composition in Art (Dover Books on Fine Art)

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*Product available on Desertcart Iceland*
*Store origin: IS*
*Last updated: 2026-01-31*