Pictorial Space throughout Art History: Cézanne and ... - ARAS

ARAS Connections Issue 2, 2012
A strong diagonal movement has been created, receding into depth from
the lower left to the upper right.
That diagonal calls for an opposing movement to contain it. Plane 4 (fig. 6)
is called for. The new plane opposes plane 1 by pulling back, up, and left. The
overall movement back from c to b is contained by the forward movement from a
to e. Now the composition is complete. It is dynamic because the two overall
movements contain each other but are not symmetrical. A symmetrical
countermovement from a to d would have produced a static decorative
composition.
There are also movements from plane to plane. The movement into depth
from planes 1 to 2 returns in movements out of depth from planes 5 to 4 and from
planes 4 to 1. These produce an overall circular movement which is more
apparent in figure 11.
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