he opens the pomegranate at the center of the frame — and the size you choose decides whether the room witnesses the descent or is enclosed by it.

The composition gathers low and wide: the seated figure at the axis, two more reclining outward to either side, weathered columns rising behind, darkness closing above. Symmetry wants to sit centered and level, but the furniture governs the hang, not the wall — a work chased upward toward a tall cornice strands the seating beneath it and pulls the scene off the sightline it was built for. Width is firmly the governing dimension at nearly twice as wide as tall. In a room of these proportions the larger formats are the honest choice: eleven feet of wall absorbs a small work rather than framing it. Smaller sizes hold the split fruit, the sheen of silk, the beasts at the figures' feet. Chosen large, the work becomes the deep horizontal the room arranges itself around.

• Lateral Clearance — 12–18 in (30–46 cm) per side for small works; 18–30+ in (46–76+ cm) for large
• Hang Height — lower edge 8–12 in (20–30 cm) above the furniture, read from seated and standing
• Artwork Width — 70–85% of the console or sofa width beneath it
• Viewing Distance — 5–8 ft (1.5–2.4 m) for detail; 10–16 ft (3.0–4.9 m) for the full composition