We have three high-contrast value a

We have three high-contrast value areas. These are the places where we see the lightest and darkest values placed edge-to-edge. We see this in the window on the left, in the fireplace on the right. These serve as left/right counterweights. The third high-contrast zone is the figure grouping. This last is dominant because the value contrast is compounded by other factors: It’s in the center, both topographically and in spatial depth; it also gets those active diagonals; and, last, these are figures. All else being equal, we’ll pay more attention to people than windows.