Clustering in Landscape

A few months ago, I suggested the concept of clustering. As you recall, in a scene with a lot of figures, it helps to bunch some of them together, leaving other parts of the picture relatively empty.

The idea of clustering also applies to other design elements, too. This landscape by Emilio Sanchez-Perrier gains much of its compositional interest from the fascinating tangle of trunks and branches in its center.

If you look closely, there’s even man visible through the cluster of branches, and we see why the woman on the bank is gazing in that direction.

Such complexity attracts the eye, which loves to untie knots. But empty areas in other parts of the picture are essential to give the eye a welcome rest.

Previous post on clustering, link.
More at ARC on Sanchez-Perrier, link.