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| Assignment | Searching the Shelves | Learning Research
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Select one painting that is of particular interest to you and study it carefully. Attempt to determine the artist’s intent as well as the emotional qualities and mood that is dominant in the work. Prepare an outline or web that illustrates your ability to create a expressive analysis of this painting. The outline/web is due no later than the end of class on October 14.
Outline/Web: Due October 14 with references
Final paper: Due November 3, 4 to 5 pages, minimum of 4 references; 2 texts, and 2 Internet resources.
(To prepare correct bibliographic citations look at Works Cited Format.)
The following are some suggestions of things you should include in
your analysis. All aspects may
not be relevant and you do not need to discuss them in any particular
order. Your task is to communicate
verbally what it is that you see visually. In art historical
writing it is important to use examples to prove your points. Do
not speculate. Report what is visually evident and be specific.
I. Physical qualities
A. Artist (name, nationality)
B. Title of the work
C. Date of the work (specific date or century)
D. Medium (what it is made of)
E. Size
F. Location (National Gallery of Art, University of Notre Dame, etc.)
II. Expressive Description (This is where you present
your thesis statement.)
A. Factual description (e.g. an abstract painting with its organically framed, brightly colored shapes disposed against a neutral gray background; a moonlit landscape dotted with dense clumps of trees)III. Formal AnalysisB. Expressive content (the work seems to radiate a sense of elation; there is a comical quality in the painting)
(This is where you convince the reader that the artist has organized the work of art in such a way as to create a message which you have read into the work, showing the reader how the individual parts of the work have been manipulated for a certain emphasis or effect.)A. Spatial and surface arrangement
1. How is your eye led through the composition? How do lines and shapes create emphasis on one or another aspect of the work?
2. Is the work well balanced? How? Why?
3. Is there deep or shallow space? How does it draw attention towards or away from one particular areas?
4. Do the figures create a sense of movement or order? Is the movement fast, slow, rhythmic, or sporadic?
5. Is there emphasis on line, shape, or something inbetween? Are the lines or shapes large or small, thick or thin?
6. Is the drapery heavy or light, opaque or transparent? Does it show movement or rest?
7. What is the sense of scale in the painting? Do the objects seem small or large? Aggressive or vulnerable?
8. Are the shapes organic, simple, or complex? Are the proportions of the figures normal or distorted? If distorted, in what way?
9. What textures are visible in the work? Is the brushwork revealed or suppressed? Are the surfaces rough or smooth?
10. What is the landscape like? Ordered or wild, inhabited or barren?B. Light and color
1. How does the light create a mood? Is it focused or diffused? Mysterious or clarifying?
2. What colors does the artist use? Are they bright or dark? Warm or cool? Monochromatic, analogous, complementary? Highly saturated or muted?
IV. The Work in Tradition
How does this work relate to some of the works which are in your text or others that you know? Does it clearly illustrate a particular tradition? (other Venetian, Renaissance, Realism, Surrealism, etc.)
V. Synthesis
This section should reiterate your opening thesis statement concerning the expressive quality of the painting and summarize the supporting evidence. You might want to include a quote or historical statement.In order to find a work of art that interests you and to gather information overall, you may search the
Instructor: Ms. Venesky 10/99 (Outline from
sample syllabus from AP
Art History Teacher's Guide)
If you wish to expand your research use this link to Other Libraries. This link provides direct connections to the Montgomery County Public Library system, as well as libraries at NIH, University of Maryland, the Library of Congress and others.
For this assignment, the following Dewey Decimal classification
numbers will be helpful:
700-799 The Arts: 700 701 703 709 751.4 759.5
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General Resources* Encyclopedia, Almanacs, Dictionaries, Atlases
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* When using GaleNet select: DISCovering Biography
and/or DISCovering World History
GATEWAY TO ART HISTORY: compiled for use with Gardner's Art Through the Ages
(Corresponding to the chapters in the text. Supports the web site Art History Resources on the Web- sequential outline by period supporting general information and additional links)World Museums and Galleries
(Provides a means of locating alphabetically any listed museum or gallery.University of Michigan: Mother of all Art History Links Pages
This is helpful if you know where a work is located.)
(A variety of resources provided by the University of Michigan including art history research, museum links, art history departments, just to name few.)Smithsonian Institution: Museums and Research Centers
(The Getty Center’s listing of research and links to resources including the research library and vocabulary program)Rice University: History of Art (Libraries, Databases and Archives)
(A directory of libraries, databases and museums)Additional Museums:
Art Institute of Chicago
Guggenheim MuseumArtists:
Albrecht Durer 1471-1528