( 



moors and glowing fields, rocks of quaint geological formation, and cas- 

 cades past conception to the ordinary human mind ; but at last they are 

 all merged into the distance, and find repose in the " blues." 



We have seen, thus far, the most agreeable situation for the " horizon," 

 the position of the point of sight, the tendency of the general lines, the 

 disposition of the masses, and the desirability of maintaining " breadth" 

 to the exclusion of " spottiness " in our pictures. We must now consider 



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.utii- i^H^^y 



Fig. 6. 



the balance of parts, or the relation which one or more masses bear to 

 others in the composition. 



Balance of Parts. 



A balance of parts does not necessarily mean that equal quantities of 

 the subject should be placed on each side of the picture. We have 

 already noticed this unsatisfactory effect in the view of the roadway as 

 seen from a central position. A great preponderance of your subject 

 may exist on one side, and yet be sufficiently balanced on the other by a 

 group of figures, an object, or a mass of either light or shade. Indeed, 

 it is common, in most landscape compositions, to place a greater mass 

 on one side or the other, allowing it to slope into the distance, the mass 

 being balanced, say, if in a harbour, by " shipping," or, in the case of a 

 roadway, by " animals or figures," the shipping, animals, or figures, 

 always holding a secondary position in reference to the amount of space 

 they occupy (Fig. 7). 



Not only is this arrangement more pleasing in its lines, but it is 



