Overview
FORMAL ANALYSIS (10%)
Length: 2-3 double-spaced typed pages, MLA format. *NO need for outside sources. Use key terms we learned. If you use outside sources, include Works Cited Page.
Choose one (1) of the following paintings from Reynolda House Museum of American Art:
- William Rimmer, Lion in the Arena, c. 1873-76.
- Thomas Hart Benton, Bootleggers, 1927.
- Albert Bierstadt, Sierra Nevada, c. 1872.
- Jacob Lawrence, Builders No. 2, 1968
- Thomas Cole, Home in the Woods, 1847.
- Robert Gwathmey, Belle, c. 1960.
View digital image here: Reynolda House Museum ART Collections
Please Note:
View IN PERSON for extra credit! Include a selfie of you in front of your painting.
Look carefully at the painting, but do not touch or get too close.
CHECKLIST: (THIS IS THE PART YOU WILL BE GRADED ON)
PAPER - using vocabulary we learned in class, describe the visual elements of the work of art:
1. INTRO: tell me the painting you chose. Artist (First and Last name), Title of Painting, date. What kind of medium did the artist use? Mention the form and content.
2. Formal Elements: Describe the visual elements and principles of design:
- LINE: give examples of outlines, contour lines, & implied lines. Describe thick or thin lines, curvy or straight lines, any directional lines.
- SPACE/DEPTH: discuss all the methods (used in your painting) to suggest depth. Describe overlapping; change in size; vertical perspective; atmospheric perspective or linear perspective.
- LIGHT/COLOR: describe the use of light and dark to create volume; use THE term we learned! Describe the use of color- hues, value, saturation, or intensity. Does the artist follow a specific color scheme? Decide if the artist uses abstract or naturalistic color, or BOTH?
- TEXTURE: describe the actual texture of the surface. Then discuss visual (or implied) texture.
3. DESIGN PRINCIPLES:
- describe focal point (emphasis),
- unity and variety,
- type of balance,
- scale and proportion,
- rhythm and repetition.
4. Conclusion: conclusion discuss style and context. Tell me if your painting is naturalistic or abstract (and give supporting reasons). And try to guess the context of the work of art.
GIVE EXAMPLES of each TERMS from the PAINTING YOU HAVE CHOSEN!
PLEASE NOTE:
I am interested in YOUR thoughts, so write about what YOU see, not what some book says. Do not repeat information in your papers that is NOT your work (unless you use quotes & footnotes). This is called plagiarism and is considered cheating. Don’t copy the text from an extended museum label OR your book without quotation marks and citations. Even when you change a few words, it is someone else’s work and sounds like their thoughts. Instead, read the information in books and make sense of it yourself, using your own ‘voice’ and writing.
NOTE: Using an AI generator is also plagiarism (this is a compilation of many people’s work, still NOT your thoughts or ideas). Do NOT USE AI. No credit will be issued if AI is used to write this assignment.