FA/ARTH 1130
Introduction to Art History
Paper 1
Formal Analysis (20% of final grade) Due November 9th, 2020 (11:59
pm) through Turnitin
You are to write a 1000-word formal analysis of one work of art of your
choosing. You may choose a work in any medium. Please be sure to select a
work that you find particularly visually engaging. Since access to museums
may not be easy or comfortable for everyone, you are permitted to use an
artwork you find online. However, the work must be accessed through the
website of a museum or gallery, and you must have access on that website
to complete information about the work (artist’s name, materials,
dimensions, date of production). I am including a short list of museums with
very good online collections here for your perusal, but you are free to use
others. You are also free to write about a work you see in person at a major
museum or gallery.
-The Metropolitan Museum of Art: https://www.metmuseum.org
-The Museum of Modern Art: https://www.moma.org
-The Tate Modern: https://www.tate.org.uk
-The Victoria and Albert Museum: https://www.vam.ac.uk
-The Louvre: https://www.louvre.fr/en
-The Art Gallery of Ontario: https://ago.ca
-The Royal Ontario Museum: https://www.rom.on.ca/en
The purpose of this assignment is to develop your skills of visual observation
and your ability to describe, analyze, and interpret a work of art. You will
have the opportunity to apply the vocabulary and techniques of visual
analysis without becoming too involved in a discussion of the work’s larger
meanings or social significance.
A formal analysis is not simply an itemization or description of all the formal
aspects of a particular artwork. The paper will involve an analysis of which
aspects of form matter most and how the artist’s formal choices come
together to create particular effects. Therefore, as in almost all academic
writing, you will be building an argument in support of a thesis. Your
thesis is the central claim that you are going to make and provide evidence
Introduction to Art History
Paper 1
Formal Analysis (20% of final grade) Due November 9th, 2020 (11:59
pm) through Turnitin
You are to write a 1000-word formal analysis of one work of art of your
choosing. You may choose a work in any medium. Please be sure to select a
work that you find particularly visually engaging. Since access to museums
may not be easy or comfortable for everyone, you are permitted to use an
artwork you find online. However, the work must be accessed through the
website of a museum or gallery, and you must have access on that website
to complete information about the work (artist’s name, materials,
dimensions, date of production). I am including a short list of museums with
very good online collections here for your perusal, but you are free to use
others. You are also free to write about a work you see in person at a major
museum or gallery.
-The Metropolitan Museum of Art: https://www.metmuseum.org
-The Museum of Modern Art: https://www.moma.org
-The Tate Modern: https://www.tate.org.uk
-The Victoria and Albert Museum: https://www.vam.ac.uk
-The Louvre: https://www.louvre.fr/en
-The Art Gallery of Ontario: https://ago.ca
-The Royal Ontario Museum: https://www.rom.on.ca/en
The purpose of this assignment is to develop your skills of visual observation
and your ability to describe, analyze, and interpret a work of art. You will
have the opportunity to apply the vocabulary and techniques of visual
analysis without becoming too involved in a discussion of the work’s larger
meanings or social significance.
A formal analysis is not simply an itemization or description of all the formal
aspects of a particular artwork. The paper will involve an analysis of which
aspects of form matter most and how the artist’s formal choices come
together to create particular effects. Therefore, as in almost all academic
writing, you will be building an argument in support of a thesis. Your
thesis is the central claim that you are going to make and provide evidence
