Crit

(look for elements and traits that repeatedly appear or dominate the composition.)

Color: predominantly orange tones - some rich, some muted and tan, some high tint peach, and also flesh tones.
Color/Value: predominantly fairly dark -- roughly 3-4 on a Munsell value scale.
Rather bold pattern and contrast throughout -- most areas of color separate well from their neighbors.
Organization: Upper area -- with the faces -- has clean foreground-background separation, then the lower two thirds is the busy, patterned and initially less scrutinized compared to the faces. The lines of sight, above, move from side-to-side, while the lower regions bold directional elements lead our eye up and down as well as across -- its generally a much more busy and active area.

Repetition and prominent use of Curves. Curves are the dominating type of line or edge.
Repetition and prominent use of Motif: the bird/swallow motif is the main recognizeable imagery.
Many overlapping shapes serve to connect regions of the composition.
Rhythm itself is a dominating unifying trait... the entire composition is a collection of light-dark rhythms that fade and transition into one another, and contrast with neighboring rhythms.

(look for alignments, structures, symmetries or groupings that organize parts into larger entities (gestalt))

Many of the lines and prominent edges move downward from the sides to the lower center of the composition -- the arm in a bold white sleeve on the left, and the colorful broad strips on the bodice of the woman on the right draw downward -- along with other edges and lines. So the upper 1/3 has almost constant side-to-side movement, but the lower 2/3 is generally a collection of "V" forms. These forms build up a shared movement, and a symmetry and a common direction leading to the initially unseen seconardy, but vital to the painting, focal areas.

There is a general symmetry -- though the center is shifted rightward a bit. The symmetry is broken by the at first unnoticed women on the far left edge.

Focus and Distraction.
The painting is about con artists and pick pockets that draw your attention and then get away with something thats going on elsewhere -- it is the basic magician's game of distraction.
However, the painter is playing that game as well -- the painting is not only depicting a con game of focus and distraction, but also the painting practices the same game.
de La Tour draws our attention where it naturally goes -- to the people's faces, to their eyes, to the interaction of, especially, the two who are engaged with each other. He knows we tend to go to the face and eyes for our meaning -- for our sense of what is relevant.
But, the painting actually has far more going on in the lower 2/3s. The really action, and the meaning of the depicted interaction, is down there. De La Tour creates edges and forms that lead us eventually through the color and patterns below, only for us to discover that the hands are busy. Our likable young rich guy is getting his pockets picked while we stare at the faces. He is as distracted as we are. We see (at least) two clear instances of theft in the shadows.
De La Tour, then, is playing a compositional game similar to the con artists game. He shows us that he can manipulate our attention through tactics of emphasis, relief, direction flow and generally through a graphic hierachy that unfolds only when we take time to observe beyond our initial impression.

 

(look for contrast of any and every kind. Look especially for similar forms that are varied in some way. Look for anomalies — patterns or norms that are broken.)

Contrast of color and tone via bold side illumination of the faces and headpiece is built up.
Colorful fabric patterns draw our attention, to the old woman on the right.

Light and Dark contrast is generally bold in focal areas.
There is over contrast between the people we are intended to notice, and those we initially overlook -- the play of well lit central figures versus the hidden-in-the-shadows pair on the left edge.
There is a contrast between the seeming innocence of these women and the apparent vulnerability of this wealthy young man -- he is accustomed, we presume, to being priveledged and being able to handle himself, but here, these 4 women appear initially benign but are organized to skillfully take what is precious from him. The woman in the center, cutting a pair of the man's cords may well involve a double entendre along these lines.

 

.Look, especially, for Major light and dark "points" or "peaks" -- where are the most severe tonal contrasts?

Initial focal areas are the three faces in the upper portion of the composition, particularly the man on the left, and the old woman on the right.
Pronounced Tonal Contrast: The tonal contrast established is strong -- very light areas against simple, undisturbed dark areas. The woman in the center has the most broad areas of light. The bright white-against-dark headpiece of the rightmost old woman draws our eye to her, despite her darker and less illuminated skin tones.
The young man also has prominent light-toned area against a dark field, but he, also, has directional elements leading to his face -- his prominent upper arm "aims" to his head and both women are looking at him -- one rather suspiciously.
Human Interest in Faces: Faces, generally, and eye especially, draw attention -- we are accustomed to ready a great deal of information in facial expressions and so activelylook for meaning clues. The three subjects, here, are interesting because their expressions are not easily explained -- there is a sort of disconnect or tension established as the man look a bit cautious and possibly incredulous at the old woman. She appears intent on having her message attended and accepted. The woman between them is the bigger puzzle -- she is the problem that has to be explained before we feel we have this situation figured out. She appears sweet, lovely and innocent, but she her eyes are swung far to our left -- she is facing us, the viewers, but her eyes are shifted directly at the young man. So she wants to appear to be ignoring him, but is focussing on him. Only later do we discover why.
Near central location of the group of key faces.
Isolation via Relief Area behind the three key faces -- the paint creates one of the few really simple, plain areas in the entire busy composition. That isolation heightens the emphasis on the key faces.
Lines of Sight connect each key face. Each person is looking at, or towards one of the others in the group. Since we tend to follow where others gaze, the faces are further reinforced as focal areas.

While trying to figure out the expressions of the prominent interconnected faces, we notice just below the center woman's neckline the coin apparently offered by the old woman to the young man -- which he appears ready to take --- or maybe he has just given the coin to her. In either case, some sort of a transaction is going on. We assume that he is watching and listening intently to assess if he is getting a good deal out of this transaction -- that's where his attention if focus -- the old woman is his current focal point.

After the first focal features are viewed -- the faces -- we follow other bold forms -- likely to the left, quickly along the young man's arm -- a prominent but seemingly unimportant feature. I leads to another odd and again, seemingly irrelevant form -- the sleeve of someone almost outside of the composition -- one of two initially unnoticed women. The bright white-against dark arm leads to a secondary focal area -- her hand picking the young man's pocket.

Then we follow further any of several edges that lead near the center-bottom of the composition where, in the dark, low contrast shadows we discover that the sweet young woman in the center is busy cutting away the young man's money pouch (a large medalion on a golden cord?).

In short, we are led from obvious focal areas to understated focal areas.
De la Tour is playing with us -- he is manipulating our focus in the same way that the team of pick-pockets is manipulating the attention of the hapless young man.

 

Dark areas with understated contrast provide relief for the rich focal and directional forms.

The very dark, under-contrasted area in the upper left both helps highlight the young man -- the victim -- as well as hiding two of his attackers.

the entire lower 2/3 of the composition is generally darker andmore subdued though there is a lot of pattern and detail of adequate contrast for closer viewing.