them with other pictures. The
attempt in the majority of compositions, however, is to fit the picture
proper to the fluent lines of the circle or oval. In "Huntsman and
Hounds," a picture which is introduced because the writer is able to speak
of points in its construction which these principles necessitated, the
pyramidal form of composition is apparent, and around this a circuit is
described by the hand, arm, crop, spot on dog's side, elbow of dog's
foreleg, line of light on the other dog's breast, the light on table and
chair in background--all being points which catch the eye and keep it
moving in a circuit. In the first arrangement of this composition a
buffet occupied the space given to the indication of chair and table.
This did not assist sufficiently in diverting the awkward line from the
left shoulder, down the arm, into the dog's head and out of the picture.
Judgment here lay between filling the space with the dog's head, which
would have separated it too far from the man, or striving to divert it as
noted. The space between this line and the side of the canvas was _the_
difficult space of the picture. There is always a rebellious member in
every picture, which continues unruly throughout its whole construction,
and this one did not settle itself until several arrangements of the part
were tried. In order to divert the precipitate line a persistence of
horizontals was necessary--the table, the chair and the shadow on the
floor. The shadows and the picture on the wall block the top and sides,
and the shadow from the fender indicated along the lower edge complete the
circuit and weaken the succession of verticals in the legs of dog and man.

CIRCULAR COMPOSITION

Circular observation in pictures whose structure was apparently not
circular leads to the consideration of _circular composition,_ or that
class of pictures where the evident intention is to compose under the
influence of circular observation--where the circle expresses the first
thought in the composition.

This introduces us to the widest reaches of pictorial art, for in this
category lie the greatest of the world's pictures. Slight analysis is
necessary to discover this arrangement in the majority of the strongest
compositions which we encounter. In the Metropolitan and Lenox Galleries
of New York, the following pictures may be looked at for this form of
structure, showing the circle either in the vertical plane or in
perspective. A