Design principles look at the painting from a broader perspective
Visual analysis is the process of looking at a piece of visual art (painting, photography, film, etc.) and dissecting it for the artist’s intended meaning and means of execution. In some cases, works are also analyzed for historical significance and their impact on culture, art, politics, and the social consciousness of the time. This article will teach you how to perform a formal analysis of art.
For the sake of clarity, we’ve chosen to talk about painting, the most common medium for the formal analysis of art.
- Subject — who or what does this work represent?
- Artist — who is the author of this piece? Refer to them by their last name.
- Date and Provenance — when and where this work of art was made. Is it typical to its historical period or geographical location?
- Past and Current Locations — where was this work was displayed initially, and where is it now?
- Medium and Creation Techniques — what medium was this piece made for and why is it important to that medium? Note which materials were used in its execution and its size.
Step 2: Describe the Painting
Art elements deal mostly with the artist’s intricate painting techniques and basics of composition.
Next, describe what the painting depicts or represents. This section will be like an abstract, summarizing all the visible aspects of the piece, painting the image in the reader’s mind. Here are the dominant features to look for in a painting:
A visual analysis essay is a type of essay written mostly by students majoring in Art History and Communications. The process of visual analysis can be applied to painting, visual art, journalism, photo-journalism, photography, film, and writing. Works in these mediums are often meant to be consumed for entertainment or informative purposes. Visual analysis goes beyond that, focusing on form, themes, execution, and the compositional elements that make up the work.
Visual Analysis of Leonardo da Vinci's painting — La Belle Ferronnière
While structuring the essay, it is important that an appropriate thesis is chosen. The thesis is the first and foremost thing that should be kept in the mind while writing the essay, as it relates to the main idea(s) of the visual analysis essay. Another important thing that should be kept in mind while writing the essay is that the paragraphs should both be assertive as well as creative in nature. You should think and reflect on the artwork in a creative way in the initial few paragraphs of the essay. But the later paragraphs should solidify into a concrete statement, by becoming assertive and authoritative in nature. In the end a concluding paragraph should be made so that a proper conclusion is reached and a restatement of the thesis/essay title is clearly achieved.
The thesis statement explains what the visual means to you. This involves explaining aspects such as:
A visual analysis essay is quite different from a normal essay. Essays in general are descriptive, reflective, argumentative, etc. But a visual analysis essay is different from these as in the visual analysis essay there is no given topic or research statement. Students are supposed to think on the topic and content of the essay by interpreting and analyzing the visual stimulus which might be in the form of a photograph, a portrait, a painting, a sculpture or any kind of artistic object that has some amount of graphical element in it. However, quite often students find it difficult to write such essays as they are not aware of the steps and methods involved in writing a visual analysis essay and as such, the common query they make is: “how to write a visual analysis essay?” This article is aimed at such students who find writing a visual analysis essay a challenging and daunting task.
When you have assessed these points, you will need to determine what the issue is and the opinion of the cartoonist. You can then determine whether or not it was a persuasive cartoon and express your thoughts and opinions on it.
Most Frequently Asked Questions About Visual Analysis Paper Writing
The first step in writing a visual analysis paper is to review the piece of visual art carefully for a long period of time, ensuring you make note of all notable aspects such as the tone, characters, objects and setting. Record all your thoughts as this will be your guide to creating your visual analysis essay, as they will be the main points discussed. Next, you will want to write your essay starting with an introduction that explains your thesis statement for the art piece. This will be followed by the body of the essay, which explains your main points. The visual analysis paper can be concluded by summarizing the main points and giving your final opinion on the piece.
- Examine the visual carefully and thoroughly.
- Document details such as the artist, when it was created, any characters or objects in the visual, background setting, colors used, type of materials used, etc.
- Use the information you documented to form your visual analysis piece. These can be used throughout the introduction and body of the essay.
- Be sure to include your interpretation of the piece and give reasons for your opinion. Before you conclude, ensure that you have properly evaluated the piece and given sufficient arguments on what was seen and interpreted.
- End the visual analysis paper with a summary of the main points and your final thoughts on the evaluation of the piece.
Cartoonists are expressive persons who use visuals to send their messages. When evaluating a political cartoon, you need to assess the following points:
The thesis statement explains what the visual means to you. This involves explaining aspects such as:
When you have assessed these points, you will need to determine what the issue is and the opinion of the cartoonist. You can then determine whether or not it was a persuasive cartoon and express your thoughts and opinions on it.
- Examine the visual carefully and thoroughly.
- Document details such as the artist, when it was created, any characters or objects in the visual, background setting, colors used, type of materials used, etc.
- Use the information you documented to form your visual analysis piece. These can be used throughout the introduction and body of the essay.
- Be sure to include your interpretation of the piece and give reasons for your opinion. Before you conclude, ensure that you have properly evaluated the piece and given sufficient arguments on what was seen and interpreted.
- End the visual analysis paper with a summary of the main points and your final thoughts on the evaluation of the piece.
- Sculpture details – artist’s name, title of the piece, where it was made, when it was made, dimensions of the piece, ensuring that you state the height of it first and the material used to make it.
- Subject matter – determine whether the piece is abstract or representational, explaining reasons of your opinion, and give details on the characterization of the piece.
- Other observations to include content, lighting, color, lines/contouring, space and depth.
How to write a visual analysis thesis statement
- What the visual meant to the artist compared to what it means to you.
- What the visual meant in the time it was done compared to what it may mean now in the present day.
- Any changes to the meaning of the visual that may have occurred over time.
- Possible reaction of audiences and also your reactions and feelings towards the piece.
While structuring the essay, it is important that an appropriate thesis is chosen. The thesis is the first and foremost thing that should be kept in the mind while writing the essay, as it relates to the main idea(s) of the visual analysis essay. Another important thing that should be kept in mind while writing the essay is that the paragraphs should both be assertive as well as creative in nature. You should think and reflect on the artwork in a creative way in the initial few paragraphs of the essay. But the later paragraphs should solidify into a concrete statement, by becoming assertive and authoritative in nature. In the end a concluding paragraph should be made so that a proper conclusion is reached and a restatement of the thesis/essay title is clearly achieved.
- What is the object that the artwork is referring to? Is it animate or inanimate or a mixture of both?
- What is the material used in making the artwork? Is it stone, wood, canvas, paper, etc.?
- What is the form or structure of the artwork? Is it a sculpture, painting, image, portrait, etc.?
- What was the approximate era or period when it was made?
- What is the approximate era or time it refers to?
- Is it representational in nature? If it is, then what exactly is being represented by the image, painting, drawing or sculpture?
- What might be the reasons for the artist, painter to portray the artwork in that particular fashion?
- What emotion does the artwork convey to the mind: colour, texture, tone, shape, space of the sculpture/painting?
- What are the initial feelings that come to the mind after looking at the artwork?
- What are the secondary thoughts that come to the mind on a second look at the artwork?
- Do the initial and secondary feelings and thoughts correlate with each other or are they different from each other?
- What is the overall theme, motif or symbol that the artwork is trying to convey to the reader?
- Does the title of the artwork have any seemingly resemblance with the artwork or is it quite vague and abstract from the artwork?
Before discussing how to write a visual analysis essay, let’s clarify what this task suggests. Some specialists recommend interpreting an artwork as a series of decisions made by a creator. From this perspective, visual analysis essay provides effectiveness of those decisions with regard to an artwork’s major purpose. So, for completing an excellent visual analysis, specify particular purpose that the artwork pursues from your point of view. You should support your argument by analyzing specific elements of an artwork. It is evident that students should go beyond a mere description of object. Instead, they should evaluate, analyze, as well as synthesize the information, which undeniably includes detailed descriptions, in a manner that supports their argumentative thesis statement.
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Repeat same for other body paragraphs. Their number depends on the essay length and analysis complexity. You can systematize information by presenting stronger evidence first and weaker evidence last or vice versa.
When students frequently receive visual analysis essays, they start analyzing the same components or visual elements of design in every essay. For instance, they discuss color in every essay instead of trying to “dig deeper” and analyze other valuable characteristics their objects possess. Here is a table that can help you avoid this frequent writing trap that results in essay similarity. Rather than limiting analysis to several repeating components, mind considering this list that contains major visual elements of design:
Why Write Visual Analyses in the First Place?
Before preparing drafts or completing final essays, it is good if students also create outlines. Outlines definitely increase the quality of final papers, as they help improve structure, as well as enable writers better systematize and synthesize all the information they gathered during artwork observations and research. If you still wonder how to write a visual analysis, consider starting with an outline that follows this example:
Along with mentioned elements, you can discuss spaces, viewpoints, or media or materials use among other features. Depending on the academic level or curriculum, you may be required to use some professional language. For instance, Arts students should use more sophisticated word choice than students who write essays for an English class.
It is quite usual nowadays for students to write visual analysis essays for their English classes. For instance, in such essays are required to analyze paintings, advertisements, or other artworks, like picture or photograph. However, good visual analysis essay writing is especially important for those who study Arts and Art History. It enables them not only to reveal their writing skills, but also to learn more about art, other artists, and their styles. Although professors often list major requirements when assigning these essays, we’ve briefly listed really valuable tips as well as guides that will help you complete a visual analysis quickly and effectively.
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There are several things you need to do before you start writing your film analysis paper. First and foremost, you have to watch the movie. Even if you have seen it a hundred times, you need to watch it again to make a good film analysis essay.
You can find a great critical analysis template at Thompson Rivers University website. In case you need more guidance on how to write an analytical paper, check out our article.
Once you have watched and possibly re-watched your assigned or chosen movie from an analytical point of view, you will need to create a movie analysis essay outline. The task is pretty straightforward: the outline can look just as if you were working on a literary analysis or an article analysis.
❓ What Is Film Analysis?
Note that you might be given an essay topic or have to think of it by yourself. If you are free to choose a topic for your film analysis essay, reading some critical reviews before you watch the film might be a good idea. By doing this in advance, you will already know what to look for when watching the movie.
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Being assigned a film analysis essay might be the most exciting assignment you have ever had! After all, who doesn’t love watching movies? You have your favorite movies, maybe something you watched years ago, perhaps a classic, or something new. Or your professor might assign a film for you to analyze. Regardless, you are totally up for watching a movie for a film analysis essay assignment.