Sources

Image credits

Most concept images are plates from two public-domain books, Arthur Wesley Dow's Composition (1914) and Henry R. Poore's Pictorial Composition (about 1915), from Project Gutenberg's scans. One diagram was made for this site. The artworks are public domain; each entry links to its record.

Dow, Composition (1899; 9th ed. 1914): No. 39. Notan VIII. Dark and Light Harmonies from the Masters.
File: https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/45410/images/no_39.jpg
Public domain · Author/source field: Dow

Poore, Pictorial Composition (1903; 10th ed. c. 1915): The Picture; The Vision (untitled figure)
File: https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/26638/images/frameviw.jpg
Public domain · Author/source field: Poore

Poore, Pictorial Composition (1903; 10th ed. c. 1915): Fundamental Forms of Chiaroscuro (after Whistler; C. A. Palmer; E. Yon; Millet; Ferrier)
File: https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/26638/images/chiarosc.jpg
Public domain · Author/source field: Poore

Dow, Composition (1899; 9th ed. 1914): Landscape compositions by Hokusai, three values
File: https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/45410/images/notan3.jpg
Public domain · Author/source field: Dow

Poore, Pictorial Composition (1903; 10th ed. c. 1915): The View-Metre
File: https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/26638/images/viewmetr.jpg
Public domain · Author/source field: Poore

Dow, Composition (1899; 9th ed. 1914): No. 37. A Landscape in Three Proportions.
File: https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/45410/images/no_37.jpg
Public domain · Author/source field: Dow

Arthur Wesley Dow, View of Ipswich, or A Bend in the River (ca. 1895)
File: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 42.54.3
Public Domain (Met Open Access) · Author/source field: Arthur Wesley Dow

Raphael, The Alba Madonna (c. 1510)
File: National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1937.1.24
Open access, public domain (NGA) · Author/source field: Raphael

Dow, Composition (1899; 9th ed. 1914): No. 35. Landscape in Rectangles of Various Shape.
File: https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/45410/images/no_35.jpg
Public domain · Author/source field: Dow

Edgar Degas, A Woman Seated beside a Vase of Flowers (Madame Paul Valpinçon?) (1865)
File: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 29.100.128
Public Domain (Met Open Access) · Author/source field: Edgar Degas

Gustave Caillebotte, Paris Street; Rainy Day (1877)
File: The Art Institute of Chicago, 1964.336
Public domain (AIC API is_public_domain: true) · Author/source field: Gustave Caillebotte

Dow, Composition (1899; 9th ed. 1914): Massing in two values, from Corot, Daubigny and Hokusai.
File: https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/45410/images/no_47b.jpg
Public domain · Author/source field: Dow

Dow, Composition (1899; 9th ed. 1914): No. 44.
File: https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/45410/images/no_44.jpg
Public domain · Author/source field: Dow

Félix Vallotton, Laziness (La Paresse) (1896)
File: The Art Institute of Chicago, 1947.454
Public domain (AIC API is_public_domain: true) · Author/source field: Félix Vallotton

Dow, Composition (1899; 9th ed. 1914): NOTAN X. Compositions by various masters, reduced to two tones. “Spotting.” (after Manet, Tiepolo, Millet, Corot, Mauve, Fortuny, Giotto, Seymour Haden)
File: https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/45410/images/no_47a.jpg
Public domain · Author/source field: Dow

Katsushika Hokusai, Under the Wave off Kanagawa (The Great Wave), from Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji (ca. 1830–32)
File: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, JP1847
Public Domain (Met Open Access) · Author/source field: Katsushika Hokusai

Poore, Pictorial Composition (1903; 10th ed. c. 1915): Lion in the Desert—Gérôme (Balance of Isolated Measures) (after Jean-Léon Gérôme) (detail)
File: https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/26638/images/lionsalu.jpg
Public domain · Author/source field: Poore

Rembrandt van Rijn, The Night Watch (1642)
File: Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam (on loan from the City of Amsterdam), SK-C-5
Public Domain Mark 1.0 (Rijksmuseum) · Author/source field: Rembrandt van Rijn

Caravaggio, The Denial of Saint Peter (1610)
File: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 1997.167
Public Domain (Met Open Access) · Author/source field: Caravaggio

Poore, Pictorial Composition (1903; 10th ed. c. 1915): Four sailboat sketches (untitled figure)
File: https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/26638/images/boats.jpg
Public domain · Author/source field: Poore

Poore, Pictorial Composition (1903; 10th ed. c. 1915): Salute to the Wounded—Detaille (Balance of Equal Measures) (after Édouard Detaille)
File: https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/26638/images/lionsalu.jpg
Public domain · Author/source field: Poore

Raphael, Madonna and Child Enthroned with Saints (Colonna Altarpiece) (ca. 1504)
File: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 16.30ab
Public Domain (Met Open Access) · Author/source field: Raphael

Poore, Pictorial Composition (1903; 10th ed. c. 1915): Three Ideas in Pictorial Balance
File: https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/26638/images/3ideas.jpg
Public domain · Author/source field: Poore

Mary Cassatt, Little Girl in a Blue Armchair (1878)
File: National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1983.1.18
Open access, public domain (NGA) · Author/source field: Mary Cassatt

Dow, Composition (1899; 9th ed. 1914): NOTAN IX. No. 43. (detail, top row)
File: https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/45410/images/no_43.jpg
Public domain · Author/source field: Dow

Unknown artist, Tibet, Mandala of Jnanadakini (late 14th century)
File: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 1987.16
Public Domain (Met Open Access) · Author/source field: Unknown artist, Tibet

Poore, Pictorial Composition (1903; 10th ed. c. 1915): Fundamental Forms of Construction
File: https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/26638/images/fundform.jpg
Public domain · Author/source field: Poore

Pieter Bruegel the Elder, The Harvesters (1565)
File: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 19.164
Public Domain (Met Open Access) · Author/source field: Pieter Bruegel the Elder

Poore, Pictorial Composition (1903; 10th ed. c. 1915): Untitled figure: tree landscape on an unequal grid
File: https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/26638/images/tree.jpg
Public domain · Author/source field: Poore

Georges Seurat, Circus Sideshow (Parade de cirque) (1887–88)
File: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 61.101.17
Public Domain (Met Open Access) · Author/source field: Georges Seurat

Poore, Pictorial Composition (1903; 10th ed. c. 1915): Hogarth's Line of Beauty
File: https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/26638/images/hogarth.jpg
Public domain · Author/source field: Poore

Poore, Pictorial Composition (1903; 10th ed. c. 1915): Aesthetics of Line (after F. Lamayer; P. Moran; F. V. Spitzer; Rubens; “Swallows” from The Strand)
File: https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/26638/images/line.jpg
Public domain · Author/source field: Poore

Jacques Louis David, The Death of Socrates (1787)
File: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 31.45
Public Domain (Met Open Access) · Author/source field: Jacques Louis David

Dow, Composition (1899; 9th ed. 1914): No 17. Repetition
File: https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/45410/images/no_17.jpg
Public domain · Author/source field: Dow

Utagawa Hiroshige, Sudden Shower over Shin-Ōhashi Bridge and Atake, from One Hundred Famous Views of Edo (1857)
File: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, JP643
Public Domain (Met Open Access) · Author/source field: Utagawa Hiroshige

Poore, Pictorial Composition (1903; 10th ed. c. 1915): The Shepherdess—Millet (Composition Exhibiting a Double Exit) (after Jean-François Millet)
File: https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/26638/images/surfshep.jpg
Public domain · Author/source field: Poore

Johannes Vermeer, Young Woman with a Water Pitcher (ca. 1662)
File: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 89.15.21
Public Domain (Met Open Access) · Author/source field: Johannes Vermeer

Depth by Design
File: Original diagram
Original work · Author/source field: David Nicholson Art

Utagawa Hiroshige, Plum Estate, Kameido, from One Hundred Famous Views of Edo (1857)
File: Brooklyn Museum, Gift of Anna Ferris, 30.1478.30
No known copyright restrictions (Brooklyn Museum); caption and credit required: Brooklyn Museum, Gift of Anna Ferris, 30.1478.30 · Author/source field: Utagawa Hiroshige

Poore, Pictorial Composition (1903; 10th ed. c. 1915): Stable Interior—A. Mauve (A simple picture containing all the principles of composition) (after Anton Mauve) (detail)
File: https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/26638/images/stabmoor.jpg
Public domain · Author/source field: Poore

Poore, Pictorial Composition (1903; 10th ed. c. 1915): Unity and its Lack; The Lovers—Gussow; The Poulterers—Wallander (after Gussow; Wallander)
File: https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/26638/images/unity.jpg
Public domain · Author/source field: Poore

Georges Seurat, A Sunday on La Grande Jatte — 1884 (1884–86)
File: The Art Institute of Chicago, 1926.224
Public domain (AIC API is_public_domain: true) · Author/source field: Georges Seurat

Dow, Composition (1899; 9th ed. 1914): No. 31. Compositions in Rectangles.
File: https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/45410/images/no_31.jpg
Public domain · Author/source field: Dow

Thomas Cole, View from Mount Holyoke, Northampton, Massachusetts, after a Thunderstorm — The Oxbow (1836)
File: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 08.228
Public Domain (Met Open Access) · Author/source field: Thomas Cole

Dow, Composition (1899; 9th ed. 1914): No. 48. Sketches from nature in two values.
File: https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/45410/images/no_48.jpg
Public domain · Author/source field: Dow

Georges Seurat, Oil Sketch for "A Sunday on La Grande Jatte — 1884" (1884)
File: The Art Institute of Chicago, 1981.15
Public domain (AIC API is_public_domain: true) · Author/source field: Georges Seurat