Movement

Movement is one of the eight principles of design, and one of the most important to me.  Movement is not so much the illusion that objects in the painting are moving, but rather, the technique that forces a viewer's eyes to move from one part of the canvas to another.  The painter might use focal points, diagonal lines (real or implied), color and shape to create movement in a work. 

I have collected quite a few paintings that emphasize the principle of movement on my Pintrest board over the years.  Emily Carr's "Zunoqua of the Cat Village" is interesting, it uses proportion and shape to create a sense of movement across the canvas. 

"Zunoqua of the Cat Village," Emily Carr, oil on canvas

Marc Chagell's barn owl painting uses implied line to trace the viewer's eye from the moon, to the owl and the two-headed figure that sees to be riding it. 






Henri Matisse uses the hilly landscape itself to create movement in "Conversation Under the Olive Trees."  The ladies talking are not on level ground, but rather, in the middle of a steep hill.  The  diagonal line of the hill moves the viewer's eyes from one part of the painting to the next. 

"Conversations Under the Olive Trees," Henri Matisse, oil on canvas

Maurice de Vlaminck creates implied line with the repetition of his trees, as well as color variety in the grass, to move the viewer's eye across the painting in "Le Pré." 

"Le Pré," Maurice de Vlaminck, oil on canvas

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