Appreciation and Analysis of a Christian Art

Hi, there. Thank you for writing a good paper for me last time.

Use this link to find the artwork http://allenartcollection(dot)oberlin(dot)edu/emuseum/

Please choose a artwork that from Western Artwork, Ancient European Artwork would be good. But if are good at writing other artworks, as long as it's Western Artwork, that would be fine. Or you can also check with me when you have any questions. I will check my email every hours.

It's a very formal Analysis, please write very professionally...

Interpretive Analysis Paper I (10%)

Formal analysis is about describing and analyzing how an artwork is composed, designed, and constructed: form, shape, scale, line, color, texture, technique, composition, etc. To fully understand an artwork, however, we must also understand what the work says, means, or represents. In other words, we must recognize and articulate the textual associations, symbols, ideas, concepts, metaphors, or cultural context via interpretive analysis.  

This information – what a work represents, and what concepts it conveys – is distinct from formal composition. For example, an artist might use same technique in two works, but each might produce a different interpretation: a portrait painted in a loose painterly style means something different than a landscape painted in the same manner, such as:  

In these two works, Vincent Van Gogh used the same painterly technique: the paint is applied with thick (impasto) and broad, visible, linear brushstrokes. In the painting on the left, this technique enlivens the landscape. The sunshine appears physical, tangible, and seems to radiate toward the viewer. The same technique produces a melancholy psychological effect in the self-portrait, however. Instead of appearing enlivened, the effect deadens the artist’s features, producing a strange and uncomfortable effect.

Your interpretation of an artwork is formed by several things. First, the artist may have included certain types of images, or used a specific technique, to convey a message intentionally. Utilizing iconographical analysis, for example, allows us to decode the religious themes of Renaissance Christian works: in Raphael’s depiction of Mary with Jesus and St. John the Baptist, we know Jesus is the baby on the right because of his halo, and John is on the left because of his large cross: a symbol of the church that he “founded.” These are clearly defined images with specific meaning, which are interpreted by the viewer.  

Technique can also convey a meaning: when Caravaggio uses a blackened background, he is intentionally seeking to heighten a viewer’s sense of drama and excitement (core Baroque theme), which helps to strengthen the narrative (e.g., St. Paul’s spiritual conversion is sensed as immediate and shocking, because of Caravaggio’s painterly technique, foreshortened composition,  and use of spotlight). These formal elements help support a fundamental meaning, or interpretation of the work, that is additional to the technique itself. If we only look at formal technique, we miss this primary meaning.

We can also use our knowledge of historical context to inform our understanding and interpretation of an artwork. Fragonard’s The Meeting could be analyzed only in formal terms, but it is particularly meaningful when understood in the context of the tastes of French aristocracy: themes of romantic escapism, popularization of the ancient past and mythology, Baroque decoration, fascination with natural environments, and courtly desires precipitating revolution.

This assignment, in two double-spaced pages, asks you to look for this sort of information, in your artwork:

• What is the general ‘meaning’ of the artwork (i.e., what is its primary ‘big idea’ as you understand it)?


• What specific concepts/themes are conveyed – and how?


• Are these ideas intentional (i.e., put in place by the artist) or unintentional (i.e., an accidental marking of the culture that surrounded the artist)?


• How are these ideas shown to you – are they embedded in a particular object/image (iconography) or conveyed through a general sense of composition (technique/style)?


• Are there identifiable people or environments? Can you tell if they are contemporaries of the artist (i.e., of their period) or historical/allegorical figures (i.e., not of their period)?


• Do you see any objects? What are they? How do they relate to each other? What do you think they symbolize?


• Is the artwork religious or secular? What sort of cultural context does the artwork reflect (i.e., political, financial, religious, racial, societal)?


• How does the artist use form to accentuate meaning?

For this assignment, you can use class notes and do not need to do additional research. However, you may further use the Janson textbook, or an additional academic resource (like a journal article or book) as an additional reference if desired. But this is not a research paper, and you do not need to include a formal bibliography or citation page.

This assignment is meant to introduce you to interpretive critical thinking in terms of visual art. You should apply what we have learned in this class (language and methods) as well as other ideas from courses you are taking this semester, if relevant and useful. (If you are not sure if something is worth mentioning, please send me an email.)

In your Art Appreciation Paper, you were asked to write about one artwork in the Allen Memorial Museum, focusing on what you had appreciated about the work, how it made you feel, and what ideas it conveyed to you. For this short paper, you will both locate and analyze, generally speaking using the questions on the previous page, where those ideas come from in an artwork: where are they located and how are they perceived?