The Arcadian Shepherds: a painting by Poussin

What are the main compositional differences between the two versions of
The Arcadian Shepherds (Plates 10 and 11? Use the list of compositional
elements at the end of the paragraph before last for guidance; in particular,
consider which of the paintings gives the greater sense of movement.
Discussion
In the first place, Plate 11 has an upright (vertical) format and Plate 10 a
horizontal format. Overall, the figures seem to take up somewhat more of
the space in the earlier version (Plate 11); we get only a fleeting glimpse of
the setting rather than a broad view. The figures here also occupy most of the
central and lower part of the composition while the tomb is shown to the
right. In the later version (Plate 10) it is the tomb that occupies the centre
while the figures are grouped around it in a more or less symmetrical fashion,
facing inwards. In Plate 11, by contrast, the three central figures are all looking
in the same direction, and the general impression is that they have just rushed
up to the tomb; for example, the girl on the left has lifted her dress so as to
run more easily. This produces a strong sense of movement whereas, in the
later composition, the figures seem to be standing motionless around the
solid mass of the tomb; the overall effect there is extremely calm and still.
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Indeed, it could be said that the most striking feature of the later composition
is its almost geometric simplicity. The tomb forms a dominant horizontal
element which is balanced by a number of vertical features; for example, the
tall figure of the standing woman forms an upright which is carried on by
the tree behind her. We can read the whole composition as a triangle or (as it
is usually called) pyramid, which rises up from the two bottom corners of
the painting and culminates in a point at the centre above the tomb, where a
leafy branch is silhouetted against the sky. The figures are all placed to form
a more or less straight line parallel with the bottom of the painting, whereas
in the earlier version they are arranged on a diagonal with the woman in
white standing furthest away from us. The paintings also differ in their overall
colouring: predominantly warm and subdued in the first version, more
inclined to cool, clear tones in the second. A shift also takes place from
flickering effects of light and shade (notice especially the clouds and leaves
in Plate 11) to much broader contrasts with sun-lit foreground elements
standing out against a sombre background in Plate 10.
In conventional art-historical terms, the stillness and clarity of the later
painting offer a model of classical principles of composition (we will consider
the idea of classicism more fully below). For the present, it should be noted
that the account of The Arcardian Shepherds given in the preceding paragraph
constituted a formal analysis. Whereas, in the past, accounts of paintings
tended to focus on their subject-matter, in the last century or so it has become
possible to conceive of the form (line, colour, etc.) of a work as something
quite distinct from its content or subject-matter. 4 To conclude our formal
analysis of The Arcadian Shepherds, let us compare Plate 10 with another work
by Poussin, The Calm (also known as Landscape with Calm Weather) (Plate 12).
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