This painting by Gustav Klimt has a very simple subject but, because of the considered placement of the four main trees, there is a beautiful linear balance that leads the eye into the painting and maintains interest.
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Klimt’s placement of the distant trees also holds interest due, not only to their spacing across the picture plain, but also their varied placement back into the picture plane.
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The broken white suggestion of a building in the distance acts as a well placed focal point. The eye is coaxed up through the foreground by the staggered trees, focuses on the building, then moves across the painting via the horizontal tree line.
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Balance of Line
![Gustav Klimt [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/4897a5_66d4f17f99344e2b8f955ce291647970~mv2.jpg/v1/fill/w_721,h_730,al_c,q_85,usm_0.66_1.00_0.01,enc_auto/4897a5_66d4f17f99344e2b8f955ce291647970~mv2.jpg)
Gustav Klimt (1862-1918) “Birch Trees” (1900)
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The wrought iron grid in this old French archway demonstrate balanced linear symmetry in an aesthetic solution to a practical security problem. The decorative design of graceful curves and varying line thickness disguise the fact that the real purpose of the object is to secure the opening.
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Symmetrical Balance