Assembling the Ensembles

As Albert Barnes acquired art for his collection, he had to figure out how to display it. There are many ways he might have arranged the art, including by date, subject, artistic medium, artist, or geographic region. These were common ways to organize an art collection at the beginning of the 20th century. But Barnes opted for a revolutionary approach, developing what he called “ensembles.”

An ensemble includes the fine art, decorative art, and utilitarian objects displayed on a single wall. To construct these ensembles, the collector used the Barnes Method. But in this instance, rather than looking at a single artwork, he considered the elements of art and principles of design across multiple works, looking for visual relationships among them, based purely on how they look.

Barnes displayed works of all different mediums, time periods, and cultures together. And he provided no labels, titles, or contextual information, so viewers could focus exclusively on what they saw.

Dr. Albert Barnes had to decide how to display his collection. At the time, art galleries were often arranged by artist, time period, or artistic medium. Barnes did something revolutionary. He created “ensembles.”

In ensembles, fine art and decorative artworks are displayed on a single wall. Barnes considered the elements of art and principles of design across many works. He looked for connections among the objects.

Barnes displayed works from different cultures and time periods together. He didn’t use art labels. He wanted viewers to focus only on what they saw.

Today the Barnes Foundation still exhibits the collection according to the ensembles Barnes developed. Look closely. You may notice that there are countless ways to draw connections from one work to another. Here are a few ways to start:

BALANCE: Barnes displayed the objects in symmetrical columns. When you blur your eyes, you might notice how the colors and the size of each work are balanced. Now look at the subjects. The portraits form a V. And the landscapes form an upside down V.

EMPHASIS: Objects like the candlesticks emphasize the vertical symmetry. The scrolling metalwork above the paintings draws the eye to the curving lines found within the paintings, for instance the women’s bent arms in the two portraits in the top row.

COLOR: Notice how the arrangement of colors inspires you to look from one object to the next. The orange-red ceramic jar picks up the red of the candlesticks, which echoes the reddish pink of the sitters’ hats, clothing, and even their rosy cheeks.

UNITY: The arrangement is unified, as if the artwork and objects belong together. What other formal relationships can you identify? Use the elements of art and principles of design to guide your analysis.

The Barnes Foundation still uses the ensembles Barnes created. One is shown above. There are many ways to connect the works. Here are a few.

BALANCE: The objects are in symmetrical columns. Blur your eyes instead of looking directly at each work. The colors and sizes of the works are balanced. The portraits form a V and the landscapes form an upside down V.

EMPHASIS: Objects like the candlesticks emphasize shapes in the ensemble. The curvy metalwork above the paintings draws your eye to the curved lines in the paintings. Look at the two portraits in the top row. Both subjects have bent arms.

COLOR: Do the colors inspire you to look from one object to the next? Notice the orange-red ceramic jar, then the red candlesticks. The girls in the portraits have red and pink hats, clothes, and cheeks. All of these reddish areas visually connect.

UNITY: The ensemble is unified. The works seem to belong together. Can you find more visual connections among the objects?