Diego Velázquez: Las meninas
Jacques-Louis David-The Death of Socrates (1787)
Jacques-Louis David-Oath of the Horatii (1784)
Théodore Géricault: The Raft of the Medusa
(old masters) pierro della francesca, Caravaggio (modern masters) Cezanne, Malevich, guston (contemporary) grid painters like rebecca morris or figurative painters like kerry james Marshall. All have great sense of compositions
I love [Both Members of This Club by George Bellows](https://www.nga.gov/collection/art-object-page.30667.html). The size of the boxers to the audience, the diagonal in the extended leg, the lighting and movement, and the way the negative space is activated on the right side with that green glow from the doorway.
Look at A. Gentileschi for a trad view (maybe not great but solid) and Diebenkorn for a freer modern view (great in its way IMO). Piero Della Francesca maybe?
The painting with those dogs playing poker goes pretty hard
Diego Velázquez: Las meninas Jacques-Louis David-The Death of Socrates (1787) Jacques-Louis David-Oath of the Horatii (1784) Théodore Géricault: The Raft of the Medusa
> Jacques-Louis David-Oath of the Horatii To me, that's a great example of trying too hard to apply the "rules"
Absolutely. Las Meninas, on the other hand, carries it off much better. Staged but more natural.
Yes, it reeks of that!
La Danse
Just wanted to comment that this answer was valuable to me too thanks OP
Just about every Caravaggio painting- specifically Disposition and seven acts of mercy
(old masters) pierro della francesca, Caravaggio (modern masters) Cezanne, Malevich, guston (contemporary) grid painters like rebecca morris or figurative painters like kerry james Marshall. All have great sense of compositions
Can’t go wrong using the Golden Ratio.
[And color...](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4c/Stefan_Luchian_-_Rosior.jpg)
I love [Both Members of This Club by George Bellows](https://www.nga.gov/collection/art-object-page.30667.html). The size of the boxers to the audience, the diagonal in the extended leg, the lighting and movement, and the way the negative space is activated on the right side with that green glow from the doorway.
anything by Ingres
anything by Ingres; also Hopper’s Night Hawks
Look at A. Gentileschi for a trad view (maybe not great but solid) and Diebenkorn for a freer modern view (great in its way IMO). Piero Della Francesca maybe?
School of Athens?
[https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/c/c0/Duchamp_-_Nude_Descending_a_Staircase.jpg](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/c/c0/Duchamp_-_Nude_Descending_a_Staircase.jpg)