Elemnts of a Well Thought Out College Thesis in Art History

What this handout is about

This handout discusses a few common assignments found in art history courses. To help you improve empathise those assignments, this handout highlights central strategies for approaching and analyzing visual materials.

Writing in art history

Evaluating and writing about visual cloth uses many of the same analytical skills that you lot have learned from other fields, such as history or literature. In art history, even so, you will be asked to gather your evidence from shut observations of objects or images. Across painting, photography, and sculpture, you lot may exist asked to write virtually posters, illustrations, coins, and other materials.

Fifty-fifty though art historians report a broad range of materials, there are a few prevalent assignments that testify upward throughout the field. Some of these assignments (and the writing strategies used to tackle them) are as well used in other disciplines. In fact, you lot may apply some of the approaches below to write near visual sources in classics, anthropology, and religious studies, to name a few examples.

This handout describes three basic assignment types and explains how you lot might arroyo writing for your fine art history class.Your assignment prompt can oft be an of import step in understanding your course's approach to visual materials and meeting its specific expectations. Start by reading the prompt carefully, and see our handout on agreement assignments for some tips and tricks.

Three types of assignments are discussed beneath:

1. Visual analysis essays
2. Comparison essays
3. Research papers

1. Visual analysis essays

Visual assay essays often consist of two components. Outset, they include a thorough description of the selected object or epitome based on your observations. This description will serve equally your "prove" moving forrard. 2d, they include an interpretation or argument that is built on and defended by this visual bear witness.

Formal assay is one of the master ways to develop your observations. Performing a formal analysis requires describing the "formal" qualities of the object or image that yous are describing ("formal" here means "related to the form of the paradigm," not "fancy" or "please, wear a tuxedo"). Formal elements include everything from the overall limerick to the use of line, color, and shape. This procedure often involves careful observations and disquisitional questions about what you see.

Pre-writing: observations and note-taking

To assistance you in this process, the chart below categorizes some of the most mutual formal elements. It also provides a few questions to get you thinking.

Composition How are all the different components of the object or prototype arranged? What do you notice first, and why? How does the work lead y'all through the composition? Is the limerick symmetrical or asymmetrical? If asymmetrical, is the composition balanced in some way?	Technique Was the object or image built up by adding material, or was it created by carving away fabric? What kind of paint or finish was added to the cloth? Does the technique seem methodical or spontaneous? How so?
Colour What colors are present? How are the colors bundled? Do the colors announced saturated or muted? Are the colors warm or cool? Do the colors complement i another or does one clash with the others?	Texture Does the material have a physical texture? How would yous depict it? What creates the texture? Does the fabric simulate or imply texture in some style, fifty-fifty if on a flat surface? How and so?
Line Are profile lines nowadays? How would you describe the quality and direction of the lines (for example, heavy or thin, rough or smooth, short or long, horizontal, vertical, or diagonal)? How do lines create movement or a sense of direction? What are whatsoever figures depicted looking at or gesturing towards?	Scale How large is the object overall? Is the size typical for this kind of object or for this kind of subject? Are some components of the object larger than others? For two-dimensional materials, how does scale affect the human relationship between the objects represented? Are some objects smaller or larger than you lot might wait? For two-dimensional materials, how is infinite suggested? Exercise forms overlap, or do they seem to stack on meridian of each other?
Material What materials is the object or prototype fabricated of? How are those materials distributed (if there'due south more than than i)? What furnishings practise the juxtaposition of materials create?	Shape Are the figures naturalistic or abstract? Are the forms geometric or organic? How do shapes repeat throughout the composition? For figures, are the proportions distorted, elongated, or idealized? What kinds of shapes are formed from the negative space?

Let's try this out with an example. You've been asked to write a formal analysis of the painting, George Morland's Pigs and Piglets in a Sty, ca. 1800 (created in U.k. and now in the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts in Richmond).

George Morland (English), Pigs and Piglets in a Sty, ca. 1800. Oil on sail, 9 ½ x 12 in. Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, Richmond. Epitome courtesy of the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts.

What practice you lot notice when you see this epitome? First, you might observe that this is a painting. Side by side, you might ask yourself some of the following questions: what kind of paint was used, and what was information technology painted on? How has the artist practical the paint? What does the scene describe, and what kinds of figures (an fine art-historical term that generally refers to humans) or animals are present? What makes these animals similar or dissimilar? How are they arranged? What colors are used in this painting? Are there any colors that pop out or contrast with the others? What might the artist have been trying to achieve by adding sure details?

What other questions come to mind while examining this work? What kinds of topics come up upwardly in class when y'all discuss paintings like this one? Consider using your class experiences every bit a model for your own description! This process tin be lengthy, then expect to spend some time observing the artwork and brainstorming.

Hither is an example of some of the notes 1 might take while viewing Morland's Pigs and Piglets in a Sty:

Composition

• The animals, four pigs total, form a gently sloping mound in the center of the painting.
• The upward mound of animals contrasts with the downward curve of the wooden contend.
• The gentle calorie-free, coming from the upper-left corner, emphasizes the animals in the heart. The residuum of the scene is more than dimly lit.
• The limerick is asymmetrical just balanced. The contend is balanced by the bush on the right side of the painting, and the sow with piglets is balanced by the squealer whose head rests in the trough.

Color

• Throughout the composition, the colors are generally muted and rather express. Yellows, greens, and pinks dominate the foreground, with dull browns and dejection in the background.
• Cool colors announced in the groundwork, and warm colors appear in the foreground, which makes the foreground more prominent.
• Large areas of white with occasional touches of soft pink focus attention on the pigs.

Technique

• The paint is applied very loosely, significant the brushstrokes don't describe objects with verbal details simply instead propose them with wide gestures.
• The basis has few details and appears almost abstruse.
• The piglets sally from a serial of wide, about indistinct, circular strokes.

Shape

• The painting contrasts angular lines and rectangles (some vertical, some diagonal) with the circular forms of the pig.
• The negative space created from the intersection of the fence and the bush forms a broad, inverted triangle that points down. The bespeak directs viewers' attention dorsum to the pigs.

Because these observations tin exist difficult to detect by simply looking at a painting, art history instructors sometimes encourage students to sketch the piece of work that they're describing. The epitome below shows how a sketch can reveal important details near the composition and shapes.

George Morland (English), Pigs and Piglets in a Sty, ca. 1800. Oil on canvas, 9 ½ 10 12 in. Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, Richmond. Image courtesy of the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts.
Marked-upward version includes the post-obit: large compositional elements in red, circular shapes in yellow, and rectangular shapes and vertical lines in white.

Writing: developing an estimation

In one case you have your descriptive information ready, y'all tin can begin to think critically about what the information in your notes might imply. What are the furnishings of the formal elements? How practise these elements influence your interpretation of the object?

Your interpretation does not demand to be earth-shatteringly innovative, but it should put forward an argument with which someone else could reasonably disagree. In other words, you should work on developing a strong analytical thesis about the meaning, significance, or event of the visual material that you've described. For more help in crafting a potent argument, encounter our Thesis Statements handout.

For example, based on the notes above, you might draft the following thesis statement:

In Morland's Pigs and Piglets in a Sty, the shut proximity of the pigs to each other–evident in the way Morland has overlapped the pigs' bodies and grouped them together into a gently sloping mound–and the soft atmosphere that surrounds them hints at the tranquillity of their apprehensive subcontract lives.

Or, y'all could make an argument about one specific formal element:

In Morland'due south Pigs and Piglets in a Sty, the precipitous contrast between rectilinear, oft vertical, shapes and circular masses focuses viewers' attention on the pigs, who seem undisturbed past their enclosure.

Support your claims

Your thesis argument should be dedicated by directly referencing the formal elements of the artwork. Try writing with enough specificity that someone who has non seen the work could imagine what it looks like. If you are struggling to detect a sure term, effort using this online art dictionary: Tate's Glossary of Art Terms.

Your trunk paragraphs should explicate how the elements piece of work together to create an overall effect. Avert listing the elements. Instead, explain how they support your analysis.

As an example, the following body paragraph illustrates this process using Morland's painting:

Morland achieves tranquility not only past grouping animals closely but also by using calorie-free and shadow carefully. Low-cal streams into the foreground through an overcast sky, in effect dappling the pigs and the greenery that encircles them while cloaking much of the surrounding scene. Diffuse and soft, the light creates gentle gradations of tone beyond pigs' bodies rather than abrupt contrasts of highlights and shadows. Past modulating the calorie-free in such subtle means, Morland evokes a quiet, even contemplative mood that matches the restful faces of the napping pigs.

This example paragraph follows the five-step process outlined in our handout on paragraphs. The paragraph begins by stating the main idea, in this example that the creative person creates a tranquil scene through the employ of light and shadow. The following ii sentences provide evidence for that idea. Because fine art historians value sophisticated descriptions, these sentences include evocative verbs (east.grand., "streams," "dappling," "encircles") and adjectives (east.yard., "overcast," "diffuse," "abrupt") to create a mental picture of the artwork in readers' minds. The last judgement ties these observations together to make a larger betoken about the relationship between formal elements and discipline matter.

There are usually dissimilar arguments that you could brand past looking at the aforementioned epitome. You might even notice a way to combine these statements!

Retrieve, however yous interpret the visual textile (for example, that the shapes draw viewers' attending to the pigs), the interpretation needs to be logically supported by an observation (the contrast betwixt rectangular and circular shapes). Once you have an argument, consider the significance of these statements. Why does it matter if this painting hints at the tranquility of farm life? Why might the artist have tried to achieve this event? Briefly discussing why these arguments matter in your thesis tin aid readers empathise the overall significance of your claims. This footstep may fifty-fifty lead you to delve deeper into recurring themes or topics from class.

Tread lightly

Avoid generalizing nigh art as a whole, and be cautious about making claims that sound similar universal truths. If you lot find yourself well-nigh to say something like "across cultures, blueish symbolizes despair," pause to consider the statement. Would all people, everywhere, from the beginning of human history to the present agree? How practise yous know? If yous find yourself stating that "fine art has pregnant," consider how y'all could explain what yous see every bit the specific significant of the artwork.

Double-check your prompt. Do yous need secondary sources to write your newspaper? Nearly visual analysis essays in art history volition not require secondary sources to write the paper. Rely instead on your shut observation of the image or object to inform your analysis and use your knowledge from class to support your statement. Are you existence asked to utilise the same methods to analyze objects as you would for paintings? Exist certain to follow the approaches discussed in class.

Some classes may use "clarification," "formal assay" and "visual analysis" equally synonyms, but others will non. Typically, a visual analysis essay may ask you to consider how form relates to the social, economic, or political context in which these visual materials were made or exhibited, whereas a formal analysis essay may ask you to brand an argument solely nearly form itself. If your prompt does inquire yous to consider contextual aspects, and you don't feel like you tin accost them based on knowledge from the course, consider reading the section on research papers for further guidance.

ii. Comparison essays

Comparison essays often require you to follow the aforementioned full general process outlined in the preceding sections. The primary departure, of course, is that they ask you to deal with more than ane visual source. These assignments unremarkably focus on how the formal elements of ii artworks compare and contrast with each other. Resist the urge to turn the essay into a list of similarities and differences.

Comparison essays differ in another of import mode. Considering they typically ask you lot to connect the visual materials in some way or to explicate the significance of the comparison itself, they may require that you comment on the context in which the fine art was created or displayed.

For example, you might have been asked to write a comparative assay of the painting discussed in the previous section, George Morland'due south Pigs and Piglets in a Sty (ca. 1800), and an unknown Vicús artist'due south Bottle in the Form of a Grunter (ca. 200 BCE–600 CE). Both works are illustrated below.

George Morland (English), Pigs and Piglets in a Sty, ca. 1800. Oil on sail, 9 ½ x 12 in. Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, Richmond. Image courtesy of the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts.

Unknown creative person (Vicús), Bottle in the Course of a Pig, ca. 200 BCE – 600 CE. Orangeware with black and cream slip, 8 ¾ x v x 9 ¼ in. Virginia Museum of Fine Arts. Paradigm courtesy of the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts.

Pre-writing: observations and annotation-taking

You tin can begin this kind of essay with the aforementioned procedure of observations and note-taking outlined above for formal analysis essays. Consider using the same questions and categories to get yourself started.

Here are some questions you might inquire:

• What techniques were used to create these objects?
• How does the use of color in these ii works compare? Is it similar or different?
• What can yous say most the composition of the sculpture? How does the creative person care for sure formal elements, for case geometry? How practise these elements compare to and contrast with those found in the painting?
• How do these works represent their subjects? Are they naturalistic or abstract? How practise these artists create these effects?
  Why practise these similarities and differences matter?

As our handout on comparing and contrasting suggests, you lot can organize these thoughts into a Venn diagram or a chart to help keep the answers to these questions distinct.

For instance, some notes on these ii artworks have been organized into a chart:

	Pigs and Piglets in a Sty	Both Art Works	Bottle in the Course of a Grunter
Topic		Both depict a pig-similar fauna
Number	Focus is on two pigs and 2 piglets (4 animals full)		Focus is on one pig-similar brute that makes upwards the majority of the vessel; vessel'south spout resembles a bird
Colors	White and pink colors on the animals contrast with browns and blues in background	Both employ contrasting colors to focus the viewer's eye	Borders and other elements are defined by black and cream slip to highlight specific anatomical features
Setting	Trees, clouds, and wooden contend in groundwork; animals and trough in foreground		No setting beyond the vessel itself
Shape	Rectilinear, vertical shapes of trees and fence contrast with circular, more horizontal shapes of animals	Both employ shape to link individual components to the whole composition	Equanimous of geometric shapes: the body is formed by a circular cylinder; ears are concave pyramids, etc.

As you make up one's mind points of comparison, think about the themes that y'all take discussed in class. You might consider whether the artworks brandish similar topics or themes. If both artworks include the same subject matter, for example, how does that similarity contribute to the significance of the comparing? How do these artworks relate to the periods or cultures in which they were produced, and what exercise those relationships suggest about the comparing? The answers to these questions can typically be informed past your noesis from class lectures. How take your instructors framed the introduction of private works in class? What aspects of society or civilization have they emphasized to explain why specific formal elements were included or excluded? Once y'all answer your questions, yous might notice that some observations are more of import than others.

Writing: developing an interpretation that considers both sources

When drafting your thesis, become beyond simply stating your topic. A statement that says "these representations of pig-similar animals have some similarities and differences" doesn't tell your reader what you lot will argue in your essay.

To say more, based on the notes in the nautical chart above, you might write the following thesis statement:

Although both artworks depict squealer-similar animals, they rely on different methods of representing the natural earth.

Now you have a identify to start. Adjacent, you can say more than about your analysis. Inquire yourself: "so what?" Why does information technology matter that these two artworks draw pig-similar animals? You might want to render to your class notes at this point. Why did your teacher have you clarify these 2 works in detail? How does the comparing relate to what you have already discussed in form? Remember, comparison essays volition typically inquire yous to think beyond formal analysis.

While the comparison of a similar field of study affair (pig-similar animals) may influence your initial argument, you may detect that other points of comparing (east.g., the context in which the objects were displayed) allow you to more fully address the matter of significance. Thinking about the comparison in this way, you tin write a more circuitous thesis that answers the "so what?" question. If your class has discussed how artists apply animals to comment on their social context, for instance, you lot might explore the symbolic importance of these hog-like animals in nineteenth-century British culture and in outset-millenium Vicús civilisation. What political, social, or religious meanings could these objects accept generated? If yous find yourself needing to do outside research, expect over the last section on research papers below!

Supporting paragraphs

The residual of your comparison essay should address the points raised in your thesis in an organized style. While you could effort several approaches, the 2 most common organizational tactics are discussing the material "subject-by-subject" and "signal-by-point."

• Field of study-past-subject: Organizing the body of the newspaper in this fashion involves writing everything that you want to say about Moreland's painting first (in a series of paragraphs) before moving on to everything about the ceramic canteen (in a series of paragraphs). Using our case, subsequently the introduction, you could include a paragraph that discusses the positioning of the animals in Moreland's painting, another paragraph that describes the depiction of the pigs' surroundings, and a third explaining the role of geometry in forming the animals. Y'all would then follow this discussion with paragraphs focused on the same topics, in the same order, for the ancient S American vessel. Yous could and then follow this discussion with a paragraph that synthesizes all of the data and explores the significance of the comparison.
• Point-past-indicate: This strategy, in contrast, involves discussing a single point of comparison or contrast for both objects at the same fourth dimension. For case, in a single paragraph, you could examine the utilise of color in both of our examples. Your adjacent paragraph could motion on to the differences in the figures' setting or background (or lack thereof).

Tread lightly

Every bit our utilize of "sus scrofa-like" in this section indicates, titles tin can be misleading. Many titles are assigned by curators and collectors, in some cases years after the object was produced. While the ceramic vessel is titled Bottle in the Form of a Hog, the date and location suggest information technology may depict a peccary, a pig-like species ethnic to Republic of peru. As you gather information about your objects, call back critically almost things similar titles and dates. Who assigned the title of the piece of work? If it was someone other than the artist, why might they have given it that title? Don't ever have information similar titles and dates at face value.

Exist cautious almost because contextual elements not immediately apparent from viewing the objects themselves unless you lot are explicitly asked to practice so (try referring back to the prompt or assignment description; information technology volition often depict the expectation of exterior research). You may be able to annotation that the artworks were created during different periods, in unlike places, with unlike functions. Even so, avoid making broad assumptions based on those observations. While commenting on these topics may only require some inference or notes from course, if your argument demands a large amount of outside research, you may exist writing a different kind of paper. If so, check out the next section!

iii. Enquiry papers

Some assignments in fine art history ask you to do outside research (i.e., beyond both formal analysis and lecture materials). These writing assignments may ask yous to contextualize the visual materials that you are discussing, or they may ask you lot to explore your material through certain theoretical approaches. More specifically, you may exist asked to look at the object's human relationship to ideas about identity, politics, culture, and artistic product during the period in which the work was made or displayed. All of these factors require y'all to synthesize scholars' arguments nearly the materials that you are analyzing. In many cases, you may find niggling to no research on your specific object. When facing this state of affairs, consider how you can apply scholars' insights well-nigh related materials and the period broadly to your object to class an argument. While we cannot cover all the possibilities hither, we'll highlight a few factors that your teacher may task you with investigating.

Iconography

Papers that ask you to consider iconography may crave inquiry on the symbolic part or significance of particular symbols (gestures, objects, etc.). For instance, yous may demand to do some research to sympathize how pig-similar animals are typically represented past the cultural group that fabricated this bottle, the Vicús civilisation. For the same paper, you would likely inquiry other symbols, notably the bird that forms part of the bottle'southward handle, to empathise how they chronicle to one another. This procedure may involve figuring out how these elements are presented in other artworks and what they mean more than broadly.

Artistic fashion and stylistic period

You may also be asked to compare your object or painting to a item stylistic category. To decide the typical traits of a fashion, you may need to hit the library. For instance, which period style or stylistic tendency does Moreland'due south Pigs and Piglets in a Sty belong to? How well does the piece "fit" that detail manner? Especially for works that draw the same or similar topics, how might their different styles affect your interpretation? Assignments that inquire y'all to consider style as a factor may require that you do some research on larger historical or cultural trends that influenced the development of a particular style.

Provenance

Provenance enquiry asks you to find out near the "life" of the object itself. This enquiry tin can include the circumstances surrounding the work'southward product and its later buying. For the two works discussed in this handout, you might research where these objects were originally displayed and how they concluded up in the museum collections in which they at present reside. What kind of argument could you develop with this information? For case, you might begin by considering that many bottles and jars resembling the Bottle in the Form of a Hog can be establish in various collections of Pre-Columbian art around the world. Where exercise these objects originate? Practise they come from the same community or region?

Patronage report

Prompts that ask you lot to talk over patronage might ask you to think about how, when, where, and why the patron (the person who commissions or buys the artwork or who supports the creative person) acquired the object from the creative person. The consignment may enquire you to comment on the artist-patron relationship, how the work fit into a broader series of commissions, and why patrons chose item artists or even particular subjects.

Additional resource

To look up recent articles, ask your librarian about the Art Index, RILA, BHA, and Avery Index. Check out www.lib.unc.edu/art/index.html for further information!

Works consulted

We consulted these works while writing this handout. This is not a comprehensive list of resource on the handout'due south topic, and we encourage you to do your own research to find additional publications. Please do not employ this listing as a model for the format of your own reference list, as it may not match the citation style you are using. For guidance on formatting citations, please meet the UNC Libraries commendation tutorial. We revise these tips periodically and welcome feedback.

Adams, Laurie Schneider. 2003. Looking at Art. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.

Barnet, Sylvan. 2015. A Brusk Guide to Writing about Art, 11th ed. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.

Tate Galleries. n.d. "Fine art Terms." Accessed November 1, 2020. https://world wide web.tate.org.united kingdom of great britain and northern ireland/art/art-terms.

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