Composition and Rules, etc

I'm curious on everyone's take on this Monet painting and it's composition. It appears to violate almost every 'rule' possible, but there seems to be something special about it, nonetheless.

:confused:

http://www.artchive.com/artchive/m/monet/bordighera.jpg

My views on rules. Know then, learn them...then

BREAK THEM!

I think it's because the painting breaks many rules that makes it special.

It's a Monet, duh?

And just what rules do you think it breaks in painting? By the way this is a trick question.

From the Expressionists forward if not slightly before most of those compositional structures from nature that had ruled art were rearranged if not even totally discarded.

The great paintings of the late nineteenth and the twentieth century are not all very good guides to basic composition. At best you have to look 'inside' or around the picture to find how the artist 'composed' them. Check out Picasso's cubist works to get your eye challenged.

If you want to see a photographer that broke them all and got away with it check out Garry Winogrand
http://www.google.com/images?um=1&hl...w=1895&bih=781

I'm in awe of anyone who can paint, draw, sculpt, blow, mold, or the like out of nothing. I didn't realize they had rules unlike us photo folk who are merely recorders of history.


(ok some are really creative bunch who are less historians and more creative)

I was actually referring to the same 'art rules' that we photographers must be aware of, specially

- rule of thirds
- don't clip things, if possible

and

- don't put a tree in between you and your subject! :eek:

but it sure seems to make for an interesting painting.

G

Screw the rules. Have fun.