What is Proportion in art?

Proportion refers to the relative size relationships between parts of an artwork or between elements within a composition. Classical art traditions established ideal proportions for the human figure and architectural elements. Surrealists deliberately violated conventional proportions to create uncanny effects: elongated limbs, shrunken heads, bodies with impossible anatomies. These distortions evoke dream logic where spatial relationships shift unpredictably. Related to scale, proportion manipulation makes familiar forms strange and suggests psychological rather than physical reality. Understanding how proportion affects perception helps decode Surrealist imagery.