PART 1
FUNDAMENTALS
Chapter 7
Scale and Proportion
Copyright © 2011 Thames & Hudson
Chapter 7 Scale and Proportion
PART 1
FUNDAMENTALS
Introduction
 We perceive scale in relation to our own size



Art objects created on a monumental scale appear larger than they
would be in normal life
Art objects created on a human scale correspond to the size of
things as they actually exist
Small-scale objects appear smaller than our usual experience of
them in the real world
 Usually, an artist ensures that all the parts of an object are
in proportion to one another
 But discordant proportions can express specific meanings
Gateways to Art: Understanding the Visual Arts, Debra J DeWitte, Ralph M Larmann, M Kathryn Shields
Copyright © 2011 Thames & Hudson
Chapter 7 Scale and Proportion
PART 1
FUNDAMENTALS
Scale
 Artist and designers make conscious choices about the
scale of their work when they consider the message they
want to put across


A small-scale work implies intimacy
Large-scale works can be experienced by groups of viewers
and usually communicate big ideas directed at a large
audience
 Practical considerations can affect an artist's decision
about scale too

Cost, time it will take to execute the piece, and demands that
a specific location may place on the work are all factors
Gateways to Art: Understanding the Visual Arts, Debra J DeWitte, Ralph M Larmann, M Kathryn Shields
Copyright © 2011 Thames & Hudson
Chapter 7 Scale and Proportion
PART 1
FUNDAMENTALS
Scale and Meaning
 Usually a monumental scale indicates heroism or other epic
virtues
 War monuments, for example, often feature figures much
larger than life-size in order to convey the bravery of the
warriors
Gateways to Art: Understanding the Visual Arts, Debra J DeWitte, Ralph M Larmann, M Kathryn Shields
Copyright © 2011 Thames & Hudson
Chapter 7 Scale and Proportion
PART 1
FUNDAMENTALS
Interactive Exercises:
Scale and Meaning
Click to start the Interactive Exercises
Gateways to Art: Understanding the Visual Arts, Debra J DeWitte, Ralph M Larmann, M Kathryn Shields
Copyright © 2011 Thames & Hudson
1.126 Claes Oldenburg and
Coosje van Bruggen, Mistos
(Match Cover), 1992. Steel,
aluminum, fiber-reinforced
plastic, painted with
polyurethane enamel, 68' x
33' x 43' 4”. Collection La
Vall d'Hebron, Barcelona,
Spain
Copyright © 2011 Thames & Hudson
Chapter 7 Scale and Proportion
PART 1
FUNDAMENTALS
Claes Oldenburg and Coosje van Bruggen,
Mistos (Match Cover)
 Uses monumental scale to poke fun while expressing
admiration for the little things of everyday life
 Oldenburg transforms the essence of everyday things as he
magnifies their sculptural form
 Oldenburg believes that the items of mass culture, no
matter how insignificant they might seem, express a truth
about modern life
Gateways to Art: Understanding the Visual Arts, Debra J DeWitte, Ralph M Larmann, M Kathryn Shields
Copyright © 2011 Thames & Hudson
1.127 Robert Lostutter, The Hummingbirds, 1981. Watercolor on paper, 1 ¾ x 5 5/8”. Collection of Anne and Warren Weisberg
Copyright © 2011 Thames & Hudson
Chapter 7 Scale and Proportion
PART 1
FUNDAMENTALS
Robert Lostutter,
The Hummingbirds
 Lostutter uses small scale to enhance the character of his
work
 He likes to create his works on the scale not of a human
but of a bird
 The tiny scale of the work—only one person at a time can
see it properly—forces us to come closer
 Viewing it becomes an intimate experience
Gateways to Art: Understanding the Visual Arts, Debra J DeWitte, Ralph M Larmann, M Kathryn Shields
Copyright © 2011 Thames & Hudson
Chapter 7 Scale and Proportion
PART 1
FUNDAMENTALS
Hierarchical Scale
 Hierarchical scale refers to the deliberate use of relative
size in a work of art, in order to communicate differences
in importance
 Almost always, larger means more important, and smaller
means less important
Gateways to Art: Understanding the Visual Arts, Debra J DeWitte, Ralph M Larmann, M Kathryn Shields
Copyright © 2011 Thames & Hudson
Chapter 7 Scale and Proportion
PART 1
FUNDAMENTALS
Interactive Exercises:
Hierarchical Scale
Click to start the Interactive Exercises
Gateways to Art: Understanding the Visual Arts, Debra J DeWitte, Ralph M Larmann, M Kathryn Shields
Copyright © 2011 Thames & Hudson
1.128 Relief from the northern wall of the hypostyle hall at the great temple of Amun, 19 th Dynasty, c. 1295–1186 BCE. Karnak, Egypt
Copyright © 2011 Thames & Hudson
A
C
B
Hierarchical scale
Copyright © 2011 Thames & Hudson
Chapter 7 Scale and Proportion
PART 1
FUNDAMENTALS
Hierarchical scale: Relief from the
northern wall of the hypostyle hall at the
great temple of Amun
 In the art of ancient Egypt, the king, or pharaoh, was
usually the largest figure depicted because he had the
highest status in the social order
 This scene depicts the military campaign of Pharoah Seti I
(figure A) against the Hittites and Libyans
Gateways to Art: Understanding the Visual Arts, Debra J DeWitte, Ralph M Larmann, M Kathryn Shields
Copyright © 2011 Thames & Hudson
1.129 Jan van Eyck,
Madonna in a Church,
1437–8. Oil on wood panel,
12 5/8 x 5 1/2”.
Gemäldegalerie, Staatliche
Museen, Berlin, Germany
Copyright © 2011 Thames & Hudson
Chapter 7 Scale and Proportion
PART 1
FUNDAMENTALS
Jan van Eyck,
Madonna in a Church
 Uses hierarchical scale to communicate spiritual
importance
 In his effort to glorify the spiritual importance of Mary
and the Christ child, van Eyck separates them from
normal human existence
 Van Eyck has scaled them to symbolize their central
importance in the Christian religion
Gateways to Art: Understanding the Visual Arts, Debra J DeWitte, Ralph M Larmann, M Kathryn Shields
Copyright © 2011 Thames & Hudson
Chapter 7 Scale and Proportion
PART 1
FUNDAMENTALS
Distorted Scale
 An artist may deliberately distort scale to create an
abnormal or supernatural effect
Gateways to Art: Understanding the Visual Arts, Debra J DeWitte, Ralph M Larmann, M Kathryn Shields
Copyright © 2011 Thames & Hudson
Chapter 7 Scale and Proportion
PART 1
FUNDAMENTALS
Interactive Exercises:
Distorted Scale
Click to start the Interactive Exercises
Gateways to Art: Understanding the Visual Arts, Debra J DeWitte, Ralph M Larmann, M Kathryn Shields
Copyright © 2011 Thames & Hudson
1.130 Dorothea Tanning, Eine Kleine Nachtmusik, 1943. Oil on canvas, 16 1/8 x 24”. Tate, London
Copyright © 2011 Thames & Hudson
Chapter 7 Scale and Proportion
PART 1
FUNDAMENTALS
Dorothea Tanning,
Eine Kleine Nachtmusik
 Dorothea Tanning was a Surrealist artist
 The sunflower seems huge in relation to the interior
architecture and the two female figures standing on the left
 By contradicting our ordinary experience of scale, Tanning
invites us into a world unlike the one we know
 Eine Kleine Nachtmusik (“A Little Night Music”), is
borrowed from a lighthearted piece of music by the
composer Mozart, but ironically Tanning’s scene exhibits a
strange sense of dread
Gateways to Art: Understanding the Visual Arts, Debra J DeWitte, Ralph M Larmann, M Kathryn Shields
Copyright © 2011 Thames & Hudson
Chapter 7 Scale and Proportion
PART 1
FUNDAMENTALS
Proportion
 The relationships between the sizes of different parts of a
work make up its proportions
 By controlling these size relationships an artist can
enhance the expressive and descriptive characteristics of
the work
Gateways to Art: Understanding the Visual Arts, Debra J DeWitte, Ralph M Larmann, M Kathryn Shields
Copyright © 2011 Thames & Hudson
Chapter 7 Scale and Proportion
PART 1
FUNDAMENTALS
Interactive Exercises:
Proportion
Click to start the Interactive Exercises
Gateways to Art: Understanding the Visual Arts, Debra J DeWitte, Ralph M Larmann, M Kathryn Shields
Copyright © 2011 Thames & Hudson
Chapter 7 Scale and Proportion
PART 1
FUNDAMENTALS
Lip
Hip
Height
Width
A
B
C
Foot
1.131 Examples of how proportion changes on vertical and horizontal
axes
Gateways to Art: Understanding the Visual Arts, Debra J DeWitte, Ralph M Larmann, M Kathryn Shields
Copyright © 2011 Thames & Hudson
Chapter 7 Scale and Proportion
PART 1
FUNDAMENTALS
Human Proportion
 Carefully chosen proportion can make an art object seem
pleasing to the eye
 This goes for the human body, too
 The ancient Egyptians used the palm of the hand as a unit
of measurement
 The ancient Greeks sought an ideal of beauty in the
principle of proportion
 The models used by the Greeks for calculating human
proportion were later adopted by artists of ancient Rome,
and then by Renaissance artists
Gateways to Art: Understanding the Visual Arts, Debra J DeWitte, Ralph M Larmann, M Kathryn Shields
Copyright © 2011 Thames & Hudson
Chapter 7 Scale and Proportion
PART 1
FUNDAMENTALS
Interactive Exercises:
Human Proportion
Click to start the Interactive Exercises
Gateways to Art: Understanding the Visual Arts, Debra J DeWitte, Ralph M Larmann, M Kathryn Shields
Copyright © 2011 Thames & Hudson
Chapter 7 Scale and Proportion
PART 1
FUNDAMENTALS
4 fingers = 1 palm
6 palms = 1 cubit
4 cubits = 1 man’s height
[24 palms]
1.132 Ancient Egyptian system using the human hand as a standard unit of
measurement
Gateways to Art: Understanding the Visual Arts, Debra J DeWitte, Ralph M Larmann, M Kathryn Shields
Copyright © 2011 Thames & Hudson
1.133 Nigerian Ife artist,
Figure of Oni, early 14th–
15th century. Brass with
lead, 18 3/8” high. National
Museum, Ife, Nigeria
Copyright © 2011 Thames & Hudson
Chapter 7 Scale and Proportion
PART 1
FUNDAMENTALS
Nigerian Ife artist,
Figure of Oni
 The Oni is the most powerful and important figure in this
culture
 The head is large in proportion to the rest of the body; the
Yoruba believe that the head is the seat of a divine power
 Many African sculptures exaggerate the head and face as a
way to communicate status, destiny, and a connection to
the spiritual
Gateways to Art: Understanding the Visual Arts, Debra J DeWitte, Ralph M Larmann, M Kathryn Shields
Copyright © 2011 Thames & Hudson
1.134 Raphael, The School of Athens, 1510–11. Fresco, 16’ 8” x 25’. Stanza della Segnatura, Vatican City
Copyright © 2011 Thames & Hudson
Chapter 1 Art in Two Dimensions: Line, Shape, and the Principle of Contrast
PART 1
FUNDAMENTALS
Gateway to Art:
Raphael, The School of Athens
Scale and Proportion in a Renaissance Masterpiece
 Raphael’s sensitivity to proportion reflects his pursuit of
perfection
 He indicated the importance of his masterpiece by creating it
on a magnificent scale
 He composed the individual figures so that the parts of each
figure are harmonious in relation to each other and portray
an idealized form
 Double emphasis on the center brings our attention to the
opposing gestures of two famous Greek philosophers, Plato
and Aristotle
Gateways to Art: Understanding the Visual Arts, Debra J DeWitte, Ralph M Larmann, M Kathryn Shields
Copyright © 2011 Thames & Hudson
Chapter 7 Scale and Proportion
PART 1
FUNDAMENTALS
The Golden Section
 The Golden Section is a proportional ratio of 1:1.618,
which occurs in many natural objects
 Real human bodies do not have exactly these proportions,
but when the ratio 1:1.618 is applied to making statues, it
gives naturalistic results
 The proportions of Ancient Greek sculptures are often very
close to the Golden Section
Gateways to Art: Understanding the Visual Arts, Debra J DeWitte, Ralph M Larmann, M Kathryn Shields
Copyright © 2011 Thames & Hudson
Chapter 7 Scale and Proportion
PART 1
FUNDAMENTALS
Interactive Exercises:
Golden Section & Proportion
Click to start the Interactive Exercises
Gateways to Art: Understanding the Visual Arts, Debra J DeWitte, Ralph M Larmann, M Kathryn Shields
Copyright © 2011 Thames & Hudson
Chapter 7 Scale and Proportion
PART 1
FUNDAMENTALS
5
8
√5
2
1 1
3
2
1.618…
1.618
13
1/2
Golden Mean
1:1.6180337...
Fibonacci Sequence
1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, …
2.236…
1
1:1.6180337...
Root 5 Rectangle
1.135 The Golden Section
Gateways to Art: Understanding the Visual Arts, Debra J DeWitte, Ralph M Larmann, M Kathryn Shields
Copyright © 2011 Thames & Hudson
1.136 Poseidon (or Zeus), c.
460–450 BCE. Bronze, 6’ 10
1/2” high. National
Archaeological Museum,
Athens, Greece
Copyright © 2011 Thames & Hudson
1.618
1.137 Diagram of
proportional formulas used
in the statue
Copyright © 2011 Thames & Hudson
Chapter 7 Scale and Proportion
PART 1
FUNDAMENTALS
Poseidon
 As a Greek god, Poseidon had to have perfect proportions
 The sculptor applied a conveniently simple ratio, using the
head as a standard measurement
 The body is three heads wide by seven heads high
Gateways to Art: Understanding the Visual Arts, Debra J DeWitte, Ralph M Larmann, M Kathryn Shields
Copyright © 2011 Thames & Hudson
Chapter 7 Scale and Proportion
PART 1
FUNDAMENTALS
Proportional Ratios
 “Golden Rectangles” is a technique based on nesting inside
each other a succession of rectangles based on the 1:1.618
proportions of the Golden Section


The shorter side of the outer rectangle becomes the longer side of
the smaller rectangle inside it, and so on
The result is an elegant spiral shape
Gateways to Art: Understanding the Visual Arts, Debra J DeWitte, Ralph M Larmann, M Kathryn Shields
Copyright © 2011 Thames & Hudson
1.138a Henry Peach Robinson, Fading Away, 1858. Combination albumen print. George Eastman House, Rochester, New York
Copyright © 2011 Thames & Hudson
1.138b Proportional analysis of Henry Peach Robinson’s Fading Away
Copyright © 2011 Thames & Hudson
Chapter 7 Scale and Proportion
PART 1
FUNDAMENTALS
Henry Peach Robinson,
Fading Away
 Henry Peach Robinson was a great photographic
innovator
 This image shows Robinson’s attention to the coordinated
ratios in artistic composition
 Notice how the right-hand drape divides the photograph
into two Golden Rectangles, and how the spiral draws our
eye to the dying young woman
Gateways to Art: Understanding the Visual Arts, Debra J DeWitte, Ralph M Larmann, M Kathryn Shields
Copyright © 2011 Thames & Hudson
1.139 Iktinos and Kallikrates, Parthenon, 447–432 BCE. Athens, Greece
Copyright © 2011 Thames & Hudson
Chapter 7 Scale and Proportion
PART 1
FUNDAMENTALS
Iktinos and Kallikrates, Parthenon
 By applying the idealized rules of proportion for the
human body to the design of the Parthenon, a temple of the
goddess Athena, the Greeks created a harmonious design


The proportions correspond quite closely to the Golden
Section
The vertical and horizontal measurements work together to
create proportional harmony
Gateways to Art: Understanding the Visual Arts, Debra J DeWitte, Ralph M Larmann, M Kathryn Shields
Copyright © 2011 Thames & Hudson
Triglyphs
Pediment
1.140 The use of the Golden Section in the design of the Parthenon
Copyright © 2011 Thames & Hudson
Chapter 7 Scale and Proportion
PART 1
FUNDAMENTALS
Conclusion
 When proportion conforms to scale, all the parts of the
work look the way we expect them to
 Scale and proportion are basic to most works; size choices
influence all the other elements and principles in the design
Gateways to Art: Understanding the Visual Arts, Debra J DeWitte, Ralph M Larmann, M Kathryn Shields
Copyright © 2011 Thames & Hudson
Chapter 7 Scale and Proportion
PART 1
FUNDAMENTALS
This concludes the PowerPoint Slide Set for Chapter 1.7
Gateways to Art: Understanding the Visual Arts
By Debra J DeWitte, Ralph M Larmann, M Kathryn Shields
Copyright © 2011 Thames & Hudson