A Cocked Hat…

The dimensions of the background are a very great importance  The space on either side of the

head and above the head can do so man things good and bad to the head and the figure that it is remarkable how little attention is generally paid to them.  A figure can be dwarfed by its placement and if there is no sense of distance back of it and on this side of it, it will most surely be flattened.

The simpler a background is, the better the figure in the front will be and the better the figure is the less the observer will need entertainment in the background.  A cocked hat won’t make a general.

The simpler a background is the more mastery there must be in it. A full and satisfying result must be accomplished with extremely limited means.

Many an artist has fussed all day with a face, changing  and changing and never getting it right because the fault should have been found in the background which he has neglected.

‘The Art Spirit” by Robert Henri p. 38

“When reading what Robert Henri said, I know which one I find more appealing.  The thing to remember the most is that the background is much more important than we think.”  The first painting is by Walt Kuhn (1877 – 1949)