Format

As I said in an earlier post, I’m working my way through Mitchell Albala’s book Landscape Painting. I chose the photo above as an example of a scene with good spatial cues, based on the Site Selection chapter. Next, in the chapter on Composition, he spends a good deal of time talking about finding the best crop of format for a scene.

“If a good composition can’t be found by imposing a picture window around the scene, then the scene itself is probably not a viable starting point.” -Mitchell Albala

Below I take a look at the various format options. For each format, I’ve included an example by a historical artist, as well as a crop (or two) of the photo. It’s quite interesting how the choice of format changes the effect of the scene.

Horizontal

A horizontal rectangle is the most common format for a landscape painting. In fact, a horizontal rectangle is often called landscape orientation – just ask your word processing software! Even the word “horizontal” is derived from “horizon”. So it seems a natural choice for a landscape. The horizontal format seems to suggest an open space.

Standard sized canvases seem to use a ratio of 4:3 (1.33 : 1), 5:4 (1.25 : 1), or 6:4 (1.5 : 1), but any ratio can be used to suit the scene. Constable’s The Hay Wain is 185.4 x 130.2 cm, or 1.424 : 1. The crops below are all 1.25:1.

Vertical

A vertical format is less common in landscapes, but can create space by leading the eye into an up/down movement on the canvas. Emily Carr often used a vertical canvas for her energetic paintings of trees, like Dead Tree in the Forest, and totem poles.

The first of the two vertical crops below is an attempt to create depth by leading the eye back through the overlapping forms. The second tried to lead the eye up the tree, although that would work better on a taller, thinner tree! Compare it to the similar square format below.

Square

The square format is unusual in landscape, at least until quite recently. In fact, I didn’t find any truly square historical examples; Tom Thomson’s Decorative Landscape: Birches is actually  77.1 x 72.1 cm, so using it here is a bit of a cheat!

Square formats can create a sense of balance and calmness, allowing the eye to follow the elements of the composition rather than the edges of the format. They can also act as a sort of “bulls-eye”, by keeping the eye centred.

Panoramic

The panoramic format, with its 2 : 1 ratio, is an exaggerated case of the horizontal format. It can create a strong sense of openness, but keeping the picture integrated can be difficult. In Henry A. Duessel’s Winding River Landscape, the vertical trees help to break up the space and keep the painting integrated.

In the cropped photo, I tried to create a wide, restful view of the scene while using the vertical trees near each edge to keep the scene tied together.