Length: 1,250-1,750 words (5-7 pages)
Formatting requirements: Times New Roman, 12 pt. font, double-spaced, 1-inch margins.
Include page numbers on each page and a word count at the end of the essay.
A formal analysis is one of the fundamental building blocks of art historical writing. It has two principal components: 1) The detailed description of an artwork’s formal components, such as scale, material, line, color, tone, and composition. 2) A thoughtful and well-reasoned claim about how these elements come together to produce a particular visual or symbolic effect. Such a claim might, among other things, relate to the particular mood the art object evokes, the symbolic significance of the chosen subject matter, or even the artist’s attitude toward the act of art-making itself.
For this formal analysis assignment, choose one of four works, or compare and contrast two of the following.
Hieronymus Bosch, The Garden of Earthly Delights, 1503-1515.
Hans Holbein, The Ambassadors, 1533.
Francisco Goya, The Sleep of Reasons Produces Monsters, 1797-1799.
Georges Seurat, A Sunday Afternoon on the Isle of La Grande Jatte, 1884-1886.
Your final submission should consist primarily of your own observations and insights about the work of art you choose, supporting your claims with details from the textbook or any outside sources. No outside research is required, but any research and references (including the textbook) must be properly cited using MLA style documentation to receive credit and to avoid plagiarism. Students will receive a grade of zero for plagiarized work.
The essay should have an introduction that clearly states your thesis (the reader should be able to underline your thesis statement), supporting paragraphs that further develop your claims, and a conclusion paragraph.
