Visual Analysis Outline
Select a painting from the material we have covered so far. We will eventually be writing a formal analysis of that artwork. But first we will use the guide below to develop our analysis. Please, supply the artist’s name and title of the work. On the left side of the guide, you will see a list of the elements of art and design principles. On the right side, fill out how that element or principle is used in your painting. Not all will necessarily apply to every painting, but if you do your best at trying to find them all it will help your analysis. Please answer the questions by looking at the art work not looking the artwork up. Answer in full sentences, not one or two word answers.
You are able to turn in the assignment here on Blackboard on this page. Use the three dots on the left, select edit, write your answers into the outline, then click on the “Save” button at the bottom of the page. I will not accept a word document.
In a future module we will put this together in an essay format. The more complete your answers are, the better your grade.
Visual Analysis assignment: Due 9/28 at 11:59 pm
Please select a painting, you will not get credit if select a different type of work.
Identification of Painting-3 points
–Who is the artist?
–What is the title?
–When was the work painted?
Subject Matter-1 point
–What type of painting is it?
a. religious
b. historical
c. allegorical
d. genre (scene of everyday life)
e. still life
f. portrait
g. figure
h. landscape/cityscape
i. architectural view
j. style-abstract, surreal, etc.
–If the painting seems to belong to two or more
categories, which dominates?
Frame (the frame is the edge or boundary of the
painting, not the wooden frame.) 3 points
–What is the proportion of height to width? (Is it
wider than tall or taller than wide?)
–What is the actual size of the picture (height x
width)?
–Does the frame cut the shapes in the painting, or
does it contain them?
Picture plane-1 point
–What is the relationship of the shapes in the
painting to the frame? Are they harmonious or
discordant? What other ways can you
describe the relationship?
Media-3 points
–What materials are used for support: wood, canvas,
cardboard, paper?
–What kinds of paint are used: oil, tempura,
watercolor, pastel?
–Have other materials been used, as in a collage?
Technique-2points
–How is the paint applied: thickly or thinly, with a
or brush, or by
other means? Palette knife?
–Are colors transparent or opaque?
Lines (can be actual, the edges of shapes, planes,
forms, or implied)- 4points
–how do lines appear to you in this painting?
–What are the directions of the lines?
–Do the lines help create space?
–do the lines help create volume or shape?
Shapes-3 points
–Organic or geometric?
–use negative space? Remember there is always
negative space!
–actual or implied?
Implied Depth, Value and Space-7 points
–What is the degree of the illusion of space? Does
it look three dimensional? Or flat?
–What role does value have regarding the illusion of
space? (or contrast?)
–Where is the source of light, in the painting like
a lamp or candle or outside the painting like in a landscape?
–Is there a sense of contrast in the values
used? Light and dark?
–How is overlapping used to show depth or not?
–what type of perspective is used? If
there is space there is perspective.
–is there a vanishing point?
Color- 5 points
–Describe the color pallet used in the painting?
–What are the color relationships of this pallet?
–Describe the chroma, tone, shades and or tints in
the pallet.
–is there an expressive use of color in the
painting?
Composition (arrangement of the Elements and
Principles)
Organization: -5 points
–Describe the main sense of organization (what you
first see when you look at the work) is it simple or
complex? Ordered or seemingly accidental?
–do you find it stable?
What kind of balance do you see?
–Do some forms dominate? Sublimate?
–is there symmetry? If so what kind?
–Is the painting crowded or spacious?
