ART HISTORY WRITING GUIDE

Read the Topic | Look at the Objects | Choices
Questions to Ask of... Painting |  Architecture | Sculpture
Organization | The Thesis | Logical Progression | Categorizing | Comments

For another source on art history writing, the Writing Workshop has a copy of Sylvan Bamet's A Short Guide to Writing About Art which is very helpful.

Read the Topic

The first step to writing an art history paper -- or any paper, for that matter -- is to read the topic very carefully. What kind of analysis does it ask you to make?  If you are asked to write about a specific time and place, make sure that the objects you write about were made in that time and place. If you are asked to write about "art" in Florence from 1500-1520, remember that "art" refers to painting, sculpture and architecture. 

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Look at the Objects

The next step is to look very hard at the objects that you are writing about.  If at all possible, find and stare at the original work.  There is really no substitute, and New York is only two hours away.  If you can't do this, go to the Art Library and find not just one but numerous large, color photos of the work, from different angles.  To write effectively about any work of art, you absolutely have to know it inside and out.

If you have done a lot of reading and engaged in a lot of discussion about a work of art, it can be dangerously tempting to write a paper about it without actually looking at it.  Be aware of this and instead base your analysis on what YOU see in the objects.  Use the reading only to support what you find.

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Choices

The fundamental basis of your inquiry is to explain the choices made by the artist in the presentation of the work and then to analyze the effects of these choices on the viewer, in historical context.  Given numerous options, why did they do it the way they did?

Ask yourself the following questions of the work and then consider how the answers might contribute to your paper. If you can answer these questions, you have a lot of information to use in your paper. 

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Questions to Ask of Painting

• What is the subject? Is it religious, secular, mythological, or historical? How does the title relate to the subject? (Keep in mind that in many cases paintings were not titled by the original artists.)
• Can you identify a system of lines in the painting? In other words, are diagonal, vertical or horizontal lines painted or suggested?
• What sort of pictorial space is used? Is it deep or shallow? Did the painter use linear or atmospheric perspective, or foreshortening? Do the perspective lines point to something in the picture?
• Is the color realistic, expressionistic, or symbolic? In other words, does the color look "real?" Is color used to emphasize a certain feature of the painting or to structure the composition in any way?
• How big is it?
• How is light used? Does it appear artificial? What is the apparent source of light, and what does it emphasize?
• How are the human figures related to one another? Do they link with each other or contrast, are they active or passive? Who are the most important figures? Follow their eyes and see where they look. Do they look out at the viewer, or do their eyes point to a significant object or person? Are they all the same size? Are they in proportion? Who are they? If they are portraits, are they idealized or naturalistic?
• Are the figures set in architecture or landscape? What is their relation to the background?
• What is the medium? What type of paints were used on what type of surface?
• What is its architectural context?
• Is it part of a cycle of paintings?
• Who was the patron? Under what circumstances?
• Does the contemporary image represent the original appearance of the painting, or does the original appearance need to be mentally constructed?
• What type of work is it? Does it conform to a tradition within that type? (For example, if it is an altarpiece, does it conform to established altarpiece traditions?)

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Questions to Ask of Architecture

• How does it shape space? How is the plan arranged in terms of entrance, movements, or uses?
• How do spaces relate to other spaces?
• How does one perceive the structure and mass, of the building? How are they manipulated, disguised, or emphasized?
• Think of yourself in the space. How does the building move you physically through space?
• What does the plan tell you about spatial organization and movement?
• How is it lit? (Keep in mind that the lighting in modern photos is potentially artificial.)
• Is the building inviting?
• What is the building's function? Does its form reveal its function?
• What are the materials? How are they decorated?
• Who is the patron?
• Does it express propaganda through symbols of rulership?
• Does it replace a significant previous building on the same site?
• How does it compare with surrounding buildings, for example in size, style, and materials? How does it relate to nature?
• What tradition does it come out of? Does it conform to that tradition?

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Questions to Ask of Sculpture

• How does the sculpture treat volume and mass?
• Imagine yourself in the sculpture's space. How does it relate to the space in which it exists?
• What sort of negative space does the sculpture create? (Negative space is the space surrounding the sculpture, as opposed to the positive space created by the sculpture itself.)
• If the sculpture is figural, what is the effect of the pose?
• If the sculpture is figural, what is its scale in relation to actual human size? How does it function in your space as another human being?
• What is the effect of the drapery, if any?
• What geometric shapes can you find within the sculpture?
• Does the appearance change as you move around the sculpture?
• What effect does color or whiteness have?
• What are the materials?
• What is the site? Does it have a specific architectural framework within that site?
• For what purpose was the sculpture made?
• Who is the patron?
• What tradition does it come out of? Does it conform to that tradition?

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Organize the Paper

Once you have assembled enough information about the work in question, organize your paper into an outline. If you are writing a comparison between two works of art, choose either a point by point or a whole by whole comparison. In the first, each paragraph should compare the two works on a specific point, such as the use of linear perspective in the two paintings. In the second, discuss the first work in its entirety and then the second work in its entirety, and then tie them back together in the conclusion.

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The Thesis Statement

In Art History papers you are not always given the opportunity to develop an original thesis which delves deeply into a specific problem.  When you are asked to compare two churches on an exam, for example, you need a broad thesis that covers a lot of information. But make sure that your thesis answers the question of the essay. Don't leave the reader in suspense, but state your purpose in the first paragraph.

Begin each paragraph with a topic sentence that supports the thesis. The paragraph should follow the topic sentence, asserting its validity using specific examples. Try to obtain your specific examples as much as possible from looking at the works of art themselves and try to describe these specifics with as precise a vocabulary as possible. For example, if your topic sentence is "church A breaks from tradition in its form, while church B uses traditional forms," use precise terms such as apse, nave, and choir for discussing the forms of the churches. These terms can be found in your handouts, and in the glossary of Janson's History of Art.

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Maintain a Logical Progression

Make sure you keep a logical progression to your arguments. Describe the elements of the work of art you are analyzing before you discuss their meaning. When you make the conclusion, for example, that the contrapposto pose of Michelangelo's David recalls antiquity, a clear way to present your argument would be:

1. Michelangelo's David is depicted in a contrapposto pose.

2. In the Renaissance, contrapposto poses were thought of as a distinctive feature of antique sculpture.

3. Therefore, David recalls antiquity.

This pattern first establishes a specific formal element of the work of art, the contrapposto pose. Why do you say that the pose is contrapposto? Point to specific aspects of the work of art which lead you to make conclusions about it. Then link the contrapposto pose with antiquity. Only then can you logically establish that the specific work of art recalls antiquity. It might be a good idea to write out your analogies in a simple form like the example above, and examine your argument carefully. It is very important that you support your arguments with specific elements found in the work of art itself. Avoid the verbs "seems" and "appears".  As a writer, you should always be able to prove your arguments with concrete, specific examples. Can you find specific aspects of the work which prove your statements? Are all of the statements valid? Pay close attention to the second assertion in particular; this one seems to make a broad generalization. Is it true?

You should also be very careful using vague terms like "classical," and "renaissance" without being totally clear on what you mean and suporting it to the teeth.  In and of themselves, these terms mean nothing. 

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Categorize Information

It is a good idea when you are writing about art to keep your ideas separated into categories. The categories might include:

Form
Materials and technique
Content
Context (including patronage and site)

It is impossible to write about these categories in complete isolation from one another, but by thinking in terms of these categories, you might be able to organize your paper around them. You will also be more specific in your observations about the work of art. For example, you write that "Gentile da Fabriano's Adoration of the Magi asserts its patron's political and social power in the city of Florence." Certainly this painting's form, its materials, its content, its technique, and its site all work simultaneously to express power, but an essay could analyze each element in isolation. It could be organized into sections, one for each of these five categories. If, in fact, the content did not express political power, your essay could discuss why it did not. Perhaps the patrons were trying to hide their intentions, and did not want an expressly aggrandizing content. Certainly there are other categories under which your information could fall, the suggested categories are meant only as possible ones that might lead you to think of others.

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Look at the Comments

Once the professors have returned your paper with comments, read the comments carefully. Learn from your mistakes and from your successes.

Good luck.

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