Principles of Design Research

In what ways did the artist's use of The Principles of Design support the story or message of the work?

The Midnight Ride of Paul Revere by Grant Wood

The art piece I looked at the other day was called The Midnight Ride of Paul Revere, by Grant Wood.  It was a painting of Paul Revere riding through a small town at midnight, warning the colonists of the British.  Around the town, you can see the countryside and the road trailing off into the distance.  As you can see, Paul over there is pictured really small, with the majority of the emphasis on the church and the colonial houses.  They are very noticeable due to their placement in the center of the painting and the fact that their brightness contrasts the rest of the painting.  As the viewer looks at the painting, the eye is immediately drawn to the light, and then is led down the road (an example of a leading line), away from Paul. In fact, it doesn't seem like Grant Wood cares as much about the person as he does about the landscape.  The road that goes off into the distance is an example of leading lines because the viewer naturally will look along the road as they first look at the painting (starting with the emphasized church).  Finally, even though Paul Revere is not emphasized, some amount of attention is drawn towards him due to his placement in the light, the title of the painting, and the implication that he is moving down the road to the left.  The Midnight Ride of Paul Revere is definitely an asymmetrical painting, and it could even be argued that it is unbalanced because all of the light and focus is on the bottom left corner.  However, I think that Grant Wood's use of the principles of design definitely added to the story and the general feel of the painting.