1.3.7: Scale and Proportion
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\(\newcommand{\avec}{\mathbf a}\) \(\newcommand{\bvec}{\mathbf b}\) \(\newcommand{\cvec}{\mathbf c}\) \(\newcommand{\dvec}{\mathbf d}\) \(\newcommand{\dtil}{\widetilde{\mathbf d}}\) \(\newcommand{\evec}{\mathbf e}\) \(\newcommand{\fvec}{\mathbf f}\) \(\newcommand{\nvec}{\mathbf n}\) \(\newcommand{\pvec}{\mathbf p}\) \(\newcommand{\qvec}{\mathbf q}\) \(\newcommand{\svec}{\mathbf s}\) \(\newcommand{\tvec}{\mathbf t}\) \(\newcommand{\uvec}{\mathbf u}\) \(\newcommand{\vvec}{\mathbf v}\) \(\newcommand{\wvec}{\mathbf w}\) \(\newcommand{\xvec}{\mathbf x}\) \(\newcommand{\yvec}{\mathbf y}\) \(\newcommand{\zvec}{\mathbf z}\) \(\newcommand{\rvec}{\mathbf r}\) \(\newcommand{\mvec}{\mathbf m}\) \(\newcommand{\zerovec}{\mathbf 0}\) \(\newcommand{\onevec}{\mathbf 1}\) \(\newcommand{\real}{\mathbb R}\) \(\newcommand{\twovec}[2]{\left[\begin{array}{r}#1 \\ #2 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\ctwovec}[2]{\left[\begin{array}{c}#1 \\ #2 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\threevec}[3]{\left[\begin{array}{r}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\cthreevec}[3]{\left[\begin{array}{c}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\fourvec}[4]{\left[\begin{array}{r}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \\ #4 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\cfourvec}[4]{\left[\begin{array}{c}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \\ #4 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\fivevec}[5]{\left[\begin{array}{r}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \\ #4 \\ #5 \\ \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\cfivevec}[5]{\left[\begin{array}{c}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \\ #4 \\ #5 \\ \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\mattwo}[4]{\left[\begin{array}{rr}#1 \amp #2 \\ #3 \amp #4 \\ \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\laspan}[1]{\text{Span}\{#1\}}\) \(\newcommand{\bcal}{\cal B}\) \(\newcommand{\ccal}{\cal C}\) \(\newcommand{\scal}{\cal S}\) \(\newcommand{\wcal}{\cal W}\) \(\newcommand{\ecal}{\cal E}\) \(\newcommand{\coords}[2]{\left\{#1\right\}_{#2}}\) \(\newcommand{\gray}[1]{\color{gray}{#1}}\) \(\newcommand{\lgray}[1]{\color{lightgray}{#1}}\) \(\newcommand{\rank}{\operatorname{rank}}\) \(\newcommand{\row}{\text{Row}}\) \(\newcommand{\col}{\text{Col}}\) \(\renewcommand{\row}{\text{Row}}\) \(\newcommand{\nul}{\text{Nul}}\) \(\newcommand{\var}{\text{Var}}\) \(\newcommand{\corr}{\text{corr}}\) \(\newcommand{\len}[1]{\left|#1\right|}\) \(\newcommand{\bbar}{\overline{\bvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\bhat}{\widehat{\bvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\bperp}{\bvec^\perp}\) \(\newcommand{\xhat}{\widehat{\xvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\vhat}{\widehat{\vvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\uhat}{\widehat{\uvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\what}{\widehat{\wvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\Sighat}{\widehat{\Sigma}}\) \(\newcommand{\lt}{<}\) \(\newcommand{\gt}{>}\) \(\newcommand{\amp}{&}\) \(\definecolor{fillinmathshade}{gray}{0.9}\)Scale and Proportion
Scale and Proportion show the relative size of one form in relation to another. Relationships of scale are often used to create illusions of depth on a two-dimensional surface, the larger form being in front of the smaller one.
The scale of an object can provide a focal point or emphasis in an image, and so this Principle of Design may overlap with Emphasis and Subordination.
Scale can be used to point out relationships of size relative to the human body. Things on a human scale are the size we expect them to be in relation to our normal experience of the world. However, artists sometimes play with our expectations as a way of getting us to see and consider things in a new way. For example, American sculptor Claes Oldenburg and his wife Coosje van Bruggen create works of common objects at an unexpected and enormous scale. Their Spoonbridge and Cherry at the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis weighs almost 7000 lbs and measures over 50 feet from its longest end to the other! As big as it is, the work retains a comic and playful character, in part because of its gigantic size. This kind of sculpture lends itself to public art because it appeals to most viewers of all ages.
Claes Oldenburg and Coosje van Bruggen, Spoonbridge and Cherry, 1985-88, aluminum, stainless steel, paint, 354 x 618 x 162 inches. Walker Art Center. Photo by Lois Chattin with permission of the artist.
Scale and proportion are incremental in nature. Works of art don’t always rely on big differences in scale to make a strong visual impact. A good example of this is Michelangelo’s sculptural masterpiece Pieta from 1499. Here, Mary cradles her dead son, the two figures forming a stable triangular composition. Michelangelo sculpts Mary to a slightly larger scale than the dead Christ to give her more significance, both visually and psychologically. This helps make the image of a young woman with the body of a grown man in her lap seem believable. The artist thus plays with a distortion Mary's presented age as we would expect her to appear noticeably older than her son. While an untrue representation in that sense, the strategy stirs us to consider the import of Mary's life and the immense emotions she must have carried as the mother of one of the most remarkable figures in the history of the world.
Some cultures have used scale to indicate relative importance. Ancient Egyptian culture valued this tactic as they pictured their pharaohs as significantly larger than any of the lesser figures pictured around them. This kind of scale is called hierarchical. Notice thelarge figure of Pharaoh Narmer defeating his enemies which are pictured as significantly smaller. Smaller still is the servant behind him who carries his shoes.
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When scale and proportion are greatly increased the results can be impressive, giving a work commanding space or fantastic implications. Rene Magritte’s painting Personal Values constructs a room with objects whose size relationships are so out of whack that it becomes an ironic play on how we view everyday items in our lives. The Surrealists (a group of artists and thinkers that developed in Europe around the end of World War I) often employed the Principle of Scale and Proportion in exaggerated ways to create their unexpected and often unsettling images.
While scale and proportion both deal with issues regarding size relationships, they are distinctly different things. Scale has to do with the relative size of something, such as how an object in a work relates to it's actual, real-world size. Proportion is the comparative size of elements or objects within a composition. If a figure is given an oversized head compared to the rest of the body we would say that it is either "out of proportion" or has an exaggerated proportion. The phrase "out of proportion" suggests a mistake and artists often use amplified and unusual proportions intentionally for dramatic and metaphoric effect.
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