Related to Major Learning Outcomes:
Distinguish between and analyze the various techniques and formal visual elements of individual works of art in different media.
Evaluate works of art in relation to the context and historical background in which they were created.
Examine and appraise works of art for formal elements and content, and demonstrate the ability to compare and contrast stylistic elements that distinguish aesthetic and cultural trends.
Instructions:
Analyze the style of a work of art and the historical context in which it was created.
Stylistic analysis: Analyze how the artist achieves the final composition by carefully detailing how s/he utilizes the “formal” elements of the work (i.e. color, composition, shapes or forms, line or contour, mass and volume, light, texture, depth, balance, etc.) and how these elements work together to create the final composition as well as to shape the content and meaning.
Compare-contrast: You may compare-contrast with a related work, such as another work by the artist or a work by a stylistically related artist. (Refer to Barnets A Short Guide to Writing About Art for details about composing a comparison-contrast.)
Historical context: Integrate this analysis of the style with information from secondary sources so as to place the work in its historical context. This information from sources must be: (1) paraphrased in your own words and (2) properly cited (in MLA (Links to an external site.), APA or Chicago format).
Sources: Sources must be either peer-reviewed or generated by reliable sources, such as museums or other institutions.
Quotations: Quotations from secondary sources should be used sparingly and they must be properly introduced and discussed. Quotations from primary sources can be used as appropriate.
Paragraph 1: Documentation/Introduction. In complete sentences, state the artist, if known, title, date, period/origin, medium. This will be a short paragraph that excludes a biographical sketch of the artist or a historical overview of the period.
Paragraph 2: General Condition and Description: Introduce the subject matter depicted, and give a general description.
Paragraph 3: Thesis Statement. What is the overall effect of the artwork (geometric, organic, realistic, abstract, monumental, etc.)?
Paragraphs 4 to ?: Support the thesis by systematically discussing the different visual elements, such as composition and design, movement, carving (for sculpture), use of space, color (painting; discuss color only if a sculpture is painted), and represented texture. Discuss each in a separate paragraph, showing how the artist, through each element, achieves the effect you stated in Paragraph 3.
Conclusion: Wrap up with reference to the thesis, and summarize the supports you have made in the preceding paragraphs.
