Rhythm can best be described as a” movement or procedure with uniform or patterned recurrence of a beat, accent or the like.” Dictionary.com.
From 1906 until 1908 there was a Symbolist artist association in Moscow. They emphasised color as a ‘tonal’ medium to construct rhythm in a painting and the elimination of shape and contour. Their style was inspired by the Russian Impressionist, Viktor Borisov-Musayov. The name of the group was “Blue Rose” and was derived from the poem Blue Flower by the poet Novalis.*
Vladimir Mayakovsky, the poet/critic said of the group in 1907, “The artists are in love with the music of color and line.
In our case, the word rhythm is used to indicate the power of lines, tones, colors and masses by the way they are arranged in a painting.
These are used as different notes and combinations as sound is used in music. Just as in music, sounds appeal directly to our inner life. It’s the same in our paintings. It is an abstract music of lines, tones, colors and masses.
The study of rhythm is a very interesting subject. It can be traced back to primitive man when we see the work he left behind. We find deep feelings that moved him as he expressed his emotional life on painted walls and carved into stone.
Rhythm, line and mass are tools used as the basis of artistic expression. Without these tools it would be difficult to produce a painting without creating total calamity.
When we use these principles, we gain experience, and save ourselves needless frustration.
In every picture there is a structure of lines and masses. This may not be obvious, at first, as they will be found in the basis of every painting.
We could view this structure of lines as boundaries of the masses, or that masses are the spaces between the lines. But however we look at it, there are emotional qualities similar to music that affect us in line arrangements , tone and mass arrangements.
Please continue to read the Valle of Yellow Creek Art Studio Blog as I bring this study of rhythm, line and mass and how to achieve it in fine art paintings.
Remember to “Honor Your Creative Spirit.”
Ellene
Ellene Breedlove Davis
http://ellenebreedlovedavis.com
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*Reference from “The Blue Rose: Russian Symbolism in Art” by John E. Bowlt, retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blue_Rose_(art_group)”
