Poore's line drawing of a bare tree and a sloping landscape inside a frame divided by an unequal grid, with the tree off-center on one of the dividing lines.

Concept · Arranging the Picture

Thirds, Grids and the Golden Ratio

Placement rules promise the best spots in a frame; the evidence is thin.

Poore's grid argues that the center is weak and unequal divisions, such as thirds, are strong: a period opinion.

  • In 727 paintings, the rule of thirds "seems to play only a minor, if any, role" (2014 study).
  • In UC Berkeley tests, viewers preferred a single front-facing object centered.
  • Martin Kemp knows of no Renaissance drawing with a hidden golden ratio.
  • Lab tests find a real but fragile preference for it (Green, 1995).

See

Image: Project Gutenberg · Public domain

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