Methodological Aspects of Compositional Analysis of Avant-Garde Artworks

Abstract

The article aims to theoretically conceptualise methodological approaches to compositional analysis in avant-garde art, specifically through the introduction of a parametric description system (descriptors). This system ensures a transition from the visual fixation of form to the decoding of a work’s ethical and philosophical manifesto. A revision of the analytical toolkit moves art history beyond linear descriptiveness, as the avant-garde canvas functions as a multi-level intellectual system. The methodology is structured upon the principle of systemic unity across formal, semiotic, and cognitive dimensions of analysis. Through the author’s visual logic model, “Compositional Vertical”, the work’s architectonics are highlighted in an inseparable connection with the psychological mechanisms of perception. The scientific novelty of the article is defined by the presentation of a five-level descriptive system. It enables the perception of avant-garde composition as a processual act that programs the viewer’s experience. The sequential decoding of the structure – from its framework to the ethical and philosophical subtext – significantly enhances the accuracy of professional expertise. Authorial techniques, typically overlooked by traditional compositional descriptions, come to light. Conclusions. Avant-garde composition acts as an open system, revealing its potential only within the act of the viewer’s perception. The structure of the canvas transforms into an active force that organises the viewer’s attention and guides it according to the logic of the author’s intent. The application of a visual logic matrix does not eliminate the researcher’s subjectivity but rather creates a coordinate system for the verification of findings. Implementing the proposed model into art historical practice shifts compositional analysis from the realm of purely intuitive assumptions to the field of verifiable interpretation. The author considers the development of the processual dimension of compositional analysis to be a promising trajectory, creating the conditions for establishing more universal models for non-figurative artistic systems.