Work by: Giorgio de Chirico, The dream of Tobias, 1917
Your paper should be:
-Double-spaced
-In a 12-point sans serif font (Helvetica, Arial or equivalent)
-Between 2 to 3 pages (3 to 5 paragraphs maximum)
Your paper should include the following:
IDENTIFICATION OF WORK
Who made the work? If it is not attributed to a specific artist, in which culture/geographical region was
it produced? When was it made? If it is not have a specific date, what is its approximate period of
production? What is its title? If it does not have a title, what kind of object is it?
MEDIUM/SUPPORT/FORMAT/DIMENSION
What is the medium/support of the work? What is the format or dimension? Describe the size of the
work (example: the painting is a miniature no bigger than an index card; the sculpture is slightly larger
than life-size; etc.)
NOTE: In two-dimensional works, the medium (fresco, tempera, oil, acrylic, watercolor, graphite) is always applied upon a support (paper, canvas, panel). In three-dimensional work such as sculpture and assemblages, materials may be wood, bronze, plastic, even objects such as porcelain urinal.]
SUBJECT MATTER
What does the work depict? (For instance, “A seated young boy is picking out a thorn from the bottom of his feet”; or “a tiny human figure stands on the shore an immense, desolate seascape.”) Whatever the subject matter, describe it as vividly as you can. Does the work depict a particular setting (place or space)? How specific or generic is the setting? What objects in the work helps you identify it? What are the main objects and figures? What actions, if any, are the objects and figures engaged in?
NOTE: The subject matter refers to what is physically shown in the painting (for instance, “The
painting depicts a woman in a plain, white dress.”) It does not include the subjective projections of the
viewer (for instance, “I believe her white dress symbolizes her purity”).
COMPOSITION
Composition refers to how a work of art is put together. In a two-dimensional work, composition most likely refers to the artist’s division of the ground/space, and the arrangement figures and objects in relation to one another. In a three-dimensional work, composition may refer to placement of figures in relation to a frame, arrangement of the poses, even combination of modules.
The following are examples of remarks pertaining to composition:
“Painting X is divided into three equally sized parts, each one containing two figures.”
“Photograph Y is an aerial view of the airport where geometric patterns on the ground.”
“This sculptural column is made of of 37 identical blocks of cylindrical wood, stacked on top of one another.”
FACTURE
The term facture refers to material qualities of the work, such as color, texture, and quality of the surface. These qualities may result from the kinds of mediums used or the gestures of the artist.
The following are examples of remarks referring to facture:
“Each color is homogeneous and unmodulatd.”
“The sketch in pencil is schematic and has an unfinished look.”
“The number of hues is limited but each is bright.”
“Much of the cardboard paper beneath the broadly applied crayon is exposed.”
“The terra cotta shows ripples and irregularities that result from the sculptor’s hands.”
FORM
Form is arguably the most abstract element of a visual work of art. Frequently, it refers to the style or
visual/plastic language that employed by the artist.
The following are examples of remarks referring to form:
“The torso of the male nude is elongated and emaciated.”
“The body parts of the Virgin are mathematical shapes, such as a tube for the neck and an oval for the face.”
“The abstract forms on this canvas are highly variable and unpredictable in shape, most of which are jerky lines and erratic dabs of color.”
IMPORTANT NOTES
YOU MUST STUDY THE WORKS IN PERSON. Your paper should be based on your own
observations of the work chosen. If there is evidence that you plagiarized from another source or
wrote the paper based on a digital reproduction on the internet, your paper will receive a “0.”
THIS IS NOT A RESEARCH PAPER. While it does not hurt to have some knowledge of the artist or
culture that produced the work, your grade on the paper is based on the quality of your visual
analysis.
