A GUIDE FOR THE SYSTEMATIC ANALYSIS OF A WORK OF ART

The categories listed below are not inclusive. Not all of them will apply to any single work of
art. This is a guide only but one that may help you to ask some of the relevant questions when
writing museum papers. Do not think of this as outline, but rather a list of the issues that you
should consider, and then arrange things according to the needs of your particular work of art.

I. OBJECT
Identification - Title, museum, museum number.
Subject Matter - Bible, mythology, historical, genre, portrait. Give source if
known such as a quotation from the Bible.
Technical Information - Materials, size, condition, etc. (oil? tempera?)

II. FORMAL ANALYSIS PAINTING (composition and formal organization)

A. Line Organization: How does the system of lines and outlines relate to each
other? To the whole picture? What is their inherent nature and effect? Consider
silhouettes, internal lines, horizon lines, etc.)
B. Surface Plane (Composition): What is the decorative quality of the two-
dimensional organization of the forms within the picture? Symmetry?
Asymmetry? What kind of rhythm?
C. Spatial System: How is the illusion of space created? Or is it denied?
(Linear perspective or an approximation of it?)
D. Function of Color: Describe the organization of color, if any, its distribution and
focus. Is it representational (descriptive and natural ) or expressive (purely
formal)? In monochrome painting consider variations in tonal values.
E. Light: Where is the source of light? In what direction does light fall into the
picture? What is its intensity and character? What does light do for the picture
or for the forms in the picture?
F. Brushwork: Is it visible, independent or not? Does it produce tight forms, or free,
irregular spots? How is it related to texture, light, color, plastic form, rhythm?
G. Figures: proportions, drapery, stance, action.

III. ICONOGRAPHIC ANALYSIS

A. Subject: What subject is represented? Does it come from the Old or New
Testament; from classical literature, hagiographical writings or traditions;
renaissance literature, etc.? Quote the story directly from the source if you can.
How does your work of art conform to the literary source? How does it differ
from it?
B. History of Subject: Is the subject created in the same way in other contemporary
works? Has this been a constant tradition or has the theme varied over the
centuries? Is it a new theme without an established iconography? (First year art
history students are unlikely to have access to a long tradition of representation,
but you may be able to compare your work with another one of the same subject
 from the identical time period of a period close by.)
C. Relationship of iconography and form: Do the iconographical demands affect the
formal elements? Has the artist felt he/she must include some details which have
primarily iconographic, not formal, significance? Does the artist ignore
iconographic traditions in order to assert formal ideas? How does the subject
condition the form?

IV. FUNCTION OF THE WORK

Was the work part of a larger decorative program? Was it intended for public viewing or
for private study or devotion? How might the function have affected the form?

V. CONTENT
Through the formal and iconographic elements what mood or interpretation has the artist
expressed?

VI. STYLE
Style is a broad term which includes all the elements in II and III above, when they are
considered primarily historically.
A. The Period Style: (Early or High Renaissance, Baroque, Gothic, etc.)
B. Style of the School: (National and geographic variations of a style.
For instance, Italian vs. Flemish)
C. Style of the Artist:
1. The permanent characteristics of an artist. (What are the non-changing
features of an artist's style that reveal his authorship? For instance, special ways
of handling the brush or cutting the stone, or specific use of perspective modes, or
specific color choice, etc.)
2. The changing aspects of an artist's style. (How does his/her mature work differ
from the early work? What are the features of this late work? What changes
occur as the artist grows and different influences bear upon him or her?) In most
instances, you will not have seen enough works by any individual artist to make
comments on this aspect of your picture, but in some instances, even as a
beginning student, you can recognize the changes over the life of artists like
Titian or Rembrandt, whose works become looser and more painterly in their
mature period

A CAVEAT: THE FOREST OR THE TREES

This guide shows you how you can analyze a work of art by looking closely at its component
parts. This will certainly help you to understand it and the artist's working methods better.
However, a series of unconnected analyses of isolated aspects of a work is seldom satisfying.
What is important is how the separate factors all work together toward a common goal. The
communication of an idea, the expression of an emotion, the solution of a formal or technical
problem. Step back from the work and look at it afresh. Try to see it as a whole once again. As
you write your paper, bear in mind that the ideal essay would evoke for the reader as vivid and
as unified an impression as the work of art has created for you. This is not easy, but it is success
on this level which separates an outstanding essay from a merely competent one.