- [Light and Shade--Geo. Inness]
- [Fundamental Forms of Construction]
- [Why Art Without Composition is Crippled: The Madonna of the Veil--Raphael; The Last Judgement--Michael Angelo; Birth of the Virgin Mary--Durer; The Annunciation--Botticelli; In Central Park; The Inn--Teniers]
- [Three Ideas in Pictorial Balance]
- [Pines in Winter (Unbalance); The Connoisseurs--Fortuny (Balance of the Steelyards)]
- [Portrait of Sara Bernhardt--Clairin (Balance Across the Natrual Axis)]
- [Lady with Muff--Photo A. Hewitt (Steelyard in Perspective)]
- [Lion in the Desert--Gerome (Balance of Isolated Measures); Salute to the Wounded--Detaille (Balance of Equal Measures)]
- [Indian and Horse--Photo A.C. Bode (Oppposition of Light and Dark Measures); The Cabaret--L. L'hermitte (Opposition Plus Transition)]
- [Along the Shore--Photo by George Butler (Transitional line); Pathless--Photo by A. Horsely Hinton (Transitional Line)]
- [Hillside (Graded Light Upon Surfaces; Cloud Shadows); River Fog (Light Graded by Atmospheric Density); The Chant (Gradation through Values of Separated Objects)]
- [The View-Metre]
- [Three Pictures Found with the View-Metre]
- [View Taken with a Wide Angle Lens]
- [Photography Nearing the Pictorial]
- [The Path of the Surf--Photo (Triangles Occuring in the leading line); The Shepherdess--Millet (Composition Exhibiting a Double Exit)]
- [Circular Observation--The Principle; The Slaying of the Unpropitious Messengers (Triangular Composition--Circular Observation)]
- [Huntsman and Hounds (Triangle with Circular Attraction); Portrait of Van der Geest--Van Dyck (A sphere within a Circle)]
- [Marriage of Bacchus and Ariadne--Tintoretto (Circle and Radius); Endymion--Watts (The Circle--Vertical Plane)]
- [The Fight Over the Body of Patroclus--Weirls; 1807--Meissonier; Ville d'Avray--Corot; The Circle in Perspective]
- [The Hermit--Gerard Dow (Rectangle in Circle); The Forge of Vulcan--Boucher (Circular Observation by Suppression of Sides and Corners)]
- [Orpheus and Eurydice--Corot (Figures outside the natural line of the picture's composition); The Holy Family--Andrea del Sarto (The circle overbalanced)]
- [The Herder--Jaque]
- [Alone--Jacques Israels (Constructive Synthesis upon the Vertical); The Dance--Carpeaux (The Cross Within the Circle)]
- [Sketches from Landscapes by Henry Ranger; Parity of Horizonatals and Verticals; Crossings of Horizontals by Spot Diversion]
- [Sketch from the Book of Truth--Claude Lorrain (Rectangle Unbalanced); The Beautiful Gate--Raphael (Verticals Destroying Pictorial Unity)]
- [Mother and Child--Orchardson (Horizontals opposed or Covered); Stream in Winter--W. E. Schofield (Verticals and Horizontals vs. Diagonal)]
- [Hogarth's Line of Beauty]
- [Aesthetics of Line; The Altar; Roman Invasion--F. Lamayer (Vertical line in action; dignified, measured, ponderous); The Flock--P. Moran (The horizontal, typifying quietude, repose, calm, solemnity); The curved line: variety, movement; Man with Stone--V. Spitzer (Transitional Line, Cohesion); The Dance--Rubens (The ellipse: line of continuity and unity); Swallows--From the Strand (The diagonal: line of action; speed)]
- [Aesthetics of Line, Continued, Where Line is the motive and Decoration is the Impulse; Winter Landscape--After Photograph (Line of grace, variety, facile sequence); Line Versus Space (The same impulse with angular energy, The line more attractive than the plane); Reconciliation--Glackens (Composition governed by the decorative exterior line); December--After Photograph (Radial lines with strong focalization)]
- [Unity and its Lack; The Lovers--Gussow; The Poulterers--Wallander ]
- [Return of Royal Hunting Party--Isabey; The Night Watch--Rembrandt]
- [Departure for the Chase--Cuyp (Background Compromising Original Structure); Repose of the Reapers--L. L'hermite (The Curvilinear Line)]
- [The Decorative and Pictorial Group; Allegory of Spring--Botticelli (Separated concepts expressing separate ideas); Dutch Fisher Folk--F. V. S. (Separated concepts of one idea); The Cossack's Reply--Repin (Unity through a cumulative idea)]
- [Fundamental Forms of Chiaroscuro; Whistler's Portrait of his Mother; Moorland--E. Yon; Charcoal Study--Millet; The Arbor--Ferrier]
- [Fundamental Forms of Chiaroscuro, Continued; Landscape--Geo. Inness; The Kitchen--Whistler; St. Angela--Robt. Reid; An Annam Tiger--Surrand; The Shrine--Orchardson; Monastic Life--F. V. DuMond]
- [A Reversible Effect of Light and Shade (The Same Subject Vertically and Horizontally Presented)]
- [Spots and Masses; Note-book sketches from Rubens, Velasquez, Claude Lorrain and Murillo]
- [Death of Caesar--Gerome; The Travel of the Soul--After Howard Pyle]
- [Bishop Potter]
- [Decorative Evolving the Pictorial; The North River--Prendergast; An Intrusion--Bull; Landscape Arrangement--Guerin]
- [Stable Interior--A. Mauve (A simple picture containing all the principles of composition); Her Last Moorings--From a Photograph]
- [Alice--W.M. Chase (Verticals Diverted); Lady Archibald Campbell--Whistler (Verticals Obliterated); The Crucifixion--Amie Morot (Verticals Opposed)]
PART I
“The painter is a compound of a poet and a man of science.”
—Hamerton
“It is working within limits that the artist reveals himself.”
—Goethe.