I choose to write my paper on both
1) The Mona Lisa by Leonardo De Vinci
2) The Starry Night by Vincent Van Gogh
Within your paper, describe what you see visually, using vocabulary from the textbook to
assist you.
The following questions should be considered in your paper of each art work you are
writing about:
•Who is the artist?
•What is the name of the artwork?
•What medium or material that us used?
•What is the size of the piece?
•Time period of art?
•What art movement or style is this artwork?
•What is the subject matter?
•What culture or country does the art work come from?
•Form (formal analysis)? (Page 37 of Henry Sayre’s World of Art)
Principles of Design (Page132 of Henry Sayre’s World of Art)
**AND usage and understanding of the vocabulary learned in this class.
•How do formal elements (color, line, texture, space, etc.) have an impact on the
work?* Be very specific and use vocabulary learned in the text. Explain your ob-
servations. (Ch. 3–6)
•What compositional principles (unity, variety, repetition, rhythm, balance, etc.) are
observed? *Be very specific and use vocabulary learned in the text. Explain your
observations. (Ch. 7)
•Function/Iconography/Value/Content
(The following are examples of questions that could help guide your focus*)
•Does the work serve a functional purpose? How does function relate with form or
aesthetics in the work? Would you regard the work as being more utilitarian or
more aesthetic?
•Does the work contain iconography or visual metaphors? If so, what is being rep-
resented? Is the iconography religious or secular?
•How valuable is the work? Consider value in its many forms; cultural, monetary,
historical, social, political, sentimental, etc.
•What is the meaning of the work? How may the content be understood or mis-
understood?
Cultural Context (The following are examples of questions that could help guide your focus*)
• What was happening historically, politically, socially, religiously, intellectually,
and/or economically at the time or place of creation? How do these events relate
to the art or artist?
• Would the work demonstrate a different interpretation based on culture or time
period? Is the work ethnocentric? Explain
How receptive was the public to the work, artist, or art movement at the time the
art was created?
FORMAL ANALYSIS OVERVIEW:
Formal analysis (also known as; visual analysis) is required for your compare-contrast
paper and includes the following 3 parts:
1- Formal element or principle NAMED.
2- Formal element or principle DESCRIBED
3- Formal element or principle ANALYZED.
For example, “The formal element of symmetrical balance (NAMED) is observed be-
cause the image is the same on both sides (DESCRIBED). This helps direct the focal
point and gives emphasis to the center (ANALYZED).”
