Critical Analysis of a Work of Art

Analysis Overview:
Whether or not you are aware of it, when confronted with a new image, your brain automatically attempts to understand it on multiple levels – from the surface value to the deepest meaning. Again, whether you realize it or not, you subconsciously want to know several things about a work of art. That includes:

Form: all things presented in a work of art. This is all of the tools and required materials associated with it’s creation. Often referenced a category such as painting or sculpture.
Subject: all things represented in a work of art. This is when you describe what you see.
Content: the meaning, message, or idea, trying to be expressed by the artist. Content can be interpreted by the culture, religion, personal ideals, etc.
Context: the circumstances surrounding the works creation. Who made it? When? Why? Who was the intended audience? etc.
Analyzing a work of art begins by describing what you see. This process is called formal analysis (visual analysis). Formal analysis relies on only what you see with your eyes. It allows us to distinguish the form and subject of the art. This can be done with any work of art ever created. But for a more thorough understanding, you must examine a work with also your mind, making interpretation, assertions, and relying on facts known/presented/discovered by the audience. Critical analysis of a work provides this deeper understanding. The process relies on 4 steps:

Describe – what do you see (formal analysis)
Analyze – break down the Elements of Art (line, shape, color, etc) and Principles of Design (texture, time, pattern, etc.)
Interpret – attempt to identify and understand the meaning of the work
Judge – make personal subjective assertions about the piece
Steps 2 and 3 of critical analysis, along with research help us to identify and understand content and context. It is important to note, that it isn’t possible to know the content and context of every work of art created. This is often due to the lack of documentation. Some works were created before written language. Others may have no written accounts of their circumstances. Artists names get lost. Or in more modern times, artist paint their own personal truths without explanation. No matter the case, content and context occasionally rely on hypotheses, interpretation, speculations, and educated guesses.

Art work eligibility:
the Early Renaissance, Renaissance, Mannerism, Baroque, Neoclassical, Rococo, Romanticism, Realism, Impressionism, Post-Impressionism, Cubism, Surrealism, Expressionism, Abstract Expressionism, Pop Art, and Contemporary art.
Art work eligibility:

Students must select a work of art that is appropriate for our class. This means that the work should come from one of the periods/artistic movements covered during the scope of our semester.