Criticism of the Arts

Criticism of a work of art doesn't necessarily involve saying negative things. Indeed, criticism
should be seen as a way to enhance the artistic experience, as the 18th century English author
Samuel Johnson explained: "Criticism, as it was first instituted by Aristotle, was meant as a
standard of judging well."

It is helpful to start with a consideration of how we respond to the arts. As humans, we have both
objective (or sensory) and subjective responses to artworks of all types.

An objective response is one that is undistorted by emotion or personal bias and is based on what
you have observed.

A subjective response is a judgment based on your feelings and opinions rather than on external
facts.

"Objective" comes from the word "object." An objective perspective is supposed to be more
accurate because it takes as its focus the object itself, while a "subjective" perspective is the
impression this object (or anything else) makes on the "subject" viewing it.

In practice, the distinction cannot be rigid since no description can occur without a subjective
viewer who decides which aspects of an object are most important. It's best to think of these two
terms as two ideal (non-existent) end points on a continuum. Descriptions can be more objective,
that is impartial and neutral if they focus on the material object itself, listing its attributes.

Formal and Contextual Criticism

We can approach a work of art through several kinds of criticism. Formal criticism of art applies
to what you can see in the object of art itself: lines, curves, shape, form, space, color, and texture.
Contextual criticism applies to what you can't necessarily see: the history, culture, and other
situations that gave rise to the artist's work and vision.

Formal criticism focuses on the work of art in a descriptive way, criticizing only what we see and
hear (excluding most external information, such as historical context and intent of the
creator/artist). Formal analysis typically consists of four aspects:

Description: What is it?

Analysis: How did the artist do it?
Interpretation: Why did the artist create it?
Judgment: Is it any good?

This formal analysis, in theory, it supposed to be objective and not attentive to the viewer's
emotional response. What is the color scheme like? What materials are used? Are the
lines/curves vertical, horizontal, diagonal, or mixed? Lots of space or are things cramped? How
about the distant between elements in the piece?

Contextual criticism adds to formal criticism the facts and information about the artist, his or her
life, the culture and history involved, response to the artwork, etc. which provides context for our
evaluation and interpretation.

A contextual analysis brings to bear the personal, cultural, societal, and political background of
the piece. Who commissioned the work? Why? Was it the Church, State, or a private party? To
whose glory was the piece executed? Why was this particular artist chosen? What else has that
artist done? What were other artists of the same period doing? What influenced the artist? Who
was his or her teacher? This analysis will also examine the intellectual background of the artist,
piece, and time period. What was the philosophical influence of the day? What about the subject,
is it biblical, historical, or literary?

Gender also plays a role in the contextual analysis, both of the artist and the subjects depicted in
the piece. Is there evidence of patriarchy or matriarchy? Where is the piece of art seen? Where
was it intended to be seen? A church? A public square? A private home? A government
building? And, who was meant to see it?

Lastly, what was the effect on the viewer? Now we have the subjective and emotional response
of the viewer enter into the analysis. Were viewers driven to worship more fervently? To fight
for their country more fiercely? Or view local and national politics differently?

These web pages contain links to art history resources on the web:
http://arthistoryresources.net/ARTHLinks.html

https://www.khanacademy.org/

http://www.wga.hu/index1.html

http://arthistoryresources.net/ARTHLinks.html

http://www.topsite.com/goto/vos.ucsb.edu

Websites: Museums

The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York

Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
Philadelphia Museum of Art
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
The Louvre, Paris
The Prado Museum, Madrid
The Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam
The National Gallery, London
The British Museum, London
Other important links:

Writing about Art: http://writingaboutart.org/

Essay Structure Guidelines - http://www.arthistoryrules.com/Essay_Writing/Structure.html

MLA Formatting Guidelines - OWL Purdue:

https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/747/01/