When an artist uses scale to indicate the relative importance of elements in a composition, he or she is employing what kind of scale?

Hierarchical scale

Explanation:

Hierarchical scale is used in art to manipulate the size and space in specific drawing so a painter can highlight the significance of a certain object.

Example: If a person paints a picture of, let's say a Thanksgiving table, filled with food, candles and people sitting at that table and want the people to be in the ''centre of attention'', that person would enlarge the people in the picture. If a person wants a huge turkey to put in focus, he'd enlarge a turkey in it.

Hierarchical scale

Explanation:

The hierarchical scale is the administration of the objects on the composition in accordance with their importance and relevance.

It usually involves an unnatural scale of elements and figures in order to accent the importance of the ones artists find the be the point of the composition and work.

One of the prime examples is the Egyptian art in which the figures weren't drawn or sculptured according to their natural proportions, but according to their status in the society. Pharaohs and gods were always the largest, followed by more important figures and normal people.