Itxaso Eckel

10/31
Art Tour Balance
The example of symmetrical balance that I chose was titled “Young Girl Reading”
by Jean Honore Fragonard. It was painted from 1732-1806 (time period) and the
medium was oil on canvas. On the website, I found it under French paintings in the
15th-18th centuries. The subject is the girl, reading, in the center of the painting. She is
holding a book in front of her, which is balanced by the cushion of the couch she is
sitting on behind her (on her other side). It gives her a good silhouette of her looking
down at the book. Negative space is used around her to highlight her shape and action.
Her being in the center of the painting draws attention and the viewer's eye to her, the
subject.

The example of asymmetrical balance (photo on the right) was titled “Family of
Saltimbanques” found in the Collection highlights on the website. Pablo Picasso created
the piece from 1881-1973, and was also created using oil on canvas. It is asymmetrical
because there are many people on the left side of the painting, and only one person on
the far right. This unbalances the photo because there is more happening on the left
side. I think that the subject is most likely the man wearing the red outfit because he is
in the middle of the people on the left, and his colors are the brightest, drawing attention
and the viewer's eye to it.
Personally, I like the painting on the left, the symmetrical one, more than
asymmetrical paintings. I like it because of the balance and easy flow of the painting. It
draws the eye to the subject easily while adding a relaxing aspect to the painting (it is all
even).