Art is not just about being able to accurately render a scene. Art is a great status symbol in society, and sometimes, it can be quite intimidating to the inexperienced viewer. This article has been written for high school art students who are working upon a critical study of art, sketchbook annotation or an essay-based artist study. A statement addresses form, content or context (or their various interrelations). Step 3: Determine color and tone Determine the color and tone of the painting. Would it be appropriate to use shape and form in a similar way within your own artwork? Start with my free Beginner's Guide to Painting. This is explained in more detail in our article about high school sketchbooks. Has the artwork been organised using a formal. How do these wider contexts compare to the contexts surrounding your own work? Remember, the more you know, the better the experience. An artwork is not necessarily about what the artist wanted it to be about. How to understand a painting. Modern Islamic Art Reborn with Prophet Muhammad SAWS Daughters Paintings Series, Famous Artist from the past & Famous Abstract Paintings. Any artist asking for a critique takes the risk that they may not like what people say. – Terry Barrett, Criticizing Art: Understanding the Contemporary6, All shapes have silhouettes, and vision research has shown that one of the first tasks of perception is to be able to sort out the silhouette shapes of each of the elements in a scene. – John A. She is the author of How to Talk to Children about Art and How to Understand a Painting, both published in English by Frances Lincoln. But just as often the symbolism is unique, the … This is regrettable. That does not mean that a painting has to be beautiful to be good, but it should grab your attention in some manner. What can you learn from the way the artist has approached this subject? Are these methods useful for your own project. If You Fear Hurting the Artist's Feelings . There are some easy ways to understand a painting. A brief history of representing of the body in Western sculpture. The next consideration is style, which is fundamentally the mark of the artist's creativity in the picture. There are many good abstract artists, but Jackson Pollock isn’t one. Take your time. Are representations of three-dimensional objects and figures. Reading a painting is similar to reading a book: The reader decodes symbols to establish meaning The reader uses inference and deduction (e.g. How are textural or patterned elements positioned and what effect does this have (i.e. Composition in art is essentially the arrangement of visual elements using various principles and techniques. Notice how the various elements like shape, color and form affect you. Copying, sharing, uploading or distributing this article (or the PDF) in any other way is not permitted. Examine the colors, forms, materials, surface, and how they interact with each other. If possible do this whenever you can, not from a postcard, the internet or a picture in a book, but from the actual work itself. In both cases, you only learn by engaging. Art historical analysis (painting), a basic introduction using Goya's Third of May, 1808. Bonus Download: New to painting? This is not a complete introduction to reading wall art, let alone a comprehensive course, but it may help get you started in appreciating art as a casual observer least. Give the piece a minute to do its thing -- some works are intriguing in subtle ways. What is it about the painting that makes you happy? Motifs can be repeated in multiple artworks and often recur throughout the life’s work of an individual artist. A little more understanding is achieved merely by looking at it for longer than a few seconds. – John A. Picasso, on the other hand, is noteworthy for unbelievably deconstructed work, imparting a sort of modernity to the simple act of the subject matter. Although each aspect of composition is treated separately in the questions below, students should consider the relationship between visual elements (line, shape, form, value/tone, color/hue, texture/surface, space) and how these interact to form design principles (such as unity, variety, emphasis, dominance, balance, symmetry, harmony, movement, contrast, rhythm, pattern, scale, proportion) to communicate meaning. What purpose would the artist have in upsetting you? For example, Jackson Pollock's drip paintings convey the motion and freedom of the artist in the act of production. Some artists follow well-established fashions -- several Renaissance portraits look almost exactly alike to the casual viewer, for instance -- while others go out of their way to be different and hard. If you understand the story, you're one step ahead of the game, but it's possible to enjoy the work without knowing the story it exemplifies. Finally, remember that these questions are a guide only and are intended to make you start to think critically about the art you are studying and creating. A motif can be representational or abstract, and it can be endowed with symbolic meaning. If a job makes you angry, ask yourself why. If you don't have a lot of background in art, talking about art - whether at a museum or in conversation - can be a little stressful. It combines advice from art analysis textbooks as well as from high school art teachers who have first-hand experience teaching these concepts to students. How to Understand a Painting: Barbe-Gall, Francoise: Amazon.sg: Books. Are. … Pay a visit to the local art museum or gallery, and see if you can find something worth your time. Knowing that an artist might be deliberately evoking an emotional reaction, it is worth taking a moment and question our immediate response. What is the relationship between line and three-dimensional form? Sort by: Top Voted. Could your own artwork use a similar organisational structure? Why / why not? A painting can be wholly abstract (meaning, it has no resemblance to any natural shapes: a form known as non-objective art), or organically abstract (some resemblance to natural organic forms), or semi-abstract (figures and other objects are discernible to an extent), or representational (its figurative and other content is instantly recognizable). – Matthew Treherne, Analysing Paintings, University of Leeds3, It is often said that warm colors (red, orange, yellow) come forward and produce a sense of excitement (yellow is said to suggest warmth and happiness, as in the smiley face), whereas cool colors (blue, green) recede and have a calming effect. You must introduce and contextualize your descriptions of the formal elements of the work so the reader understands how each element influences the work’s overall effect on the viewer. Look for media and symbolism. And so forth -- take some opportunity to examine your feelings in front of the art. Give the piece a minute to do its thing -- some works are intriguing in subtle ways. The latter says that art is understood by everyone, and the third radically note that it is not necessary to “understand” because the paintings are designed only to give us pleasure. A simple art painting might give out different meanings to different people. It is not expected that students answer every question (doing so would result in responses that are excessively long, repetitious or formulaic); rather, students should focus upon areas that are most helpful and relevant for the artwork studied (for example, some questions are appropriate for analyzing a painting, but not a sculpture). Next lesson. COPYRIGHT NOTE: This material is available as a printable art analysis PDF handout. So understanding art is a process of understanding yourself, and vice versa. © 2020 Virtosu Art Gallery. From my perspective, engagement means writing. – Sylvan Barnet, A Short Guide to Writing About Art2, If a waiter served you a whole fish and a scoop of chocolate ice cream on the same plate, your surprise might be caused by the juxtaposition, or the side-by-side contrast, of the two foods. – Terry Barrett, Criticizing Art: Understanding the Contemporary6, Our interest in the painting grows only when we forget its title and take an interest in the things that it does not mention…” – Françoise Barbe-Gall, How to Look at a Painting8, What do the clothing, furnishings, accessories (horses, swords, dogs, clocks, business ledgers and so forth), background, angle of the head or posture of the head and body, direction of the gaze, and facial expression contribute to our sense of the figure’s social identity (monarch, clergyman, trophy wife) and personality (intense, cool, inviting)? But you do not have to know much to get at least something from a painting. ... some questions are appropriate for analyzing a painting, but not a sculpture). Art should attract you through your perceptions. No more! Art. Whether you're bidding on a paint job or shopping around for someone to paint your home, it's important to understand what goes into estimating the price. Simply look at what’s in front of you, the colours, the textures, the contrast, the size, the shininess, the dirtiness, the positioning of the objects in the painting. Pablo Picasso on reading art works said that if you want to tell a great painting from a bad one, consider looking at thousand paintings. LOOK AT WHAT’S IN FRONT OF YOU: When you’re standing in front of a painting, look at the painting. Would it be appropriate to use line in a similar way within your own artwork? The topic might be a scene, an individual or group of people, a scene in the story, a construction or town scene, an animal, a lifetime, a fantasy scene. The ideas here could be implemented not only to reading wall art but other mediums too (sculpture, drawing, also design, and style ), and quite easily. This article shall serve you as a starting point on how to read a modern painting. Are there thematic connections with your own project? Almost all high school art students carry out critical analysis of artist work, in conjunction with creating practical work. To share this material with others, please use the social media buttons at the bottom of this page. Let the painting "speak" to you. Some paintings won't have a topic -- a lot of the work of the 20th century is subjective, playing with shape and color and even the quality of the paint rather than representing reality. All it requires is moderate attention to detail, a bit of patience, and a willingness to reflect on your feelings. A symbol means something. Art is an excellent source of satisfaction and enjoyment in our lives. This is one of the best ways for students to learn. Art often serves as a reflection of our times and the artist's personal exploration of her own identity around the zeitgeist. – The Writing Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill 10, Although description is an important part of a formal analysis, description is not enough on its own. The transformation of characters into symbols. Step 1: Pick a painting Pick a painting that strikes your fancy, either in your art history book or in the museum. This video by Dr. Beth Harris, Dr. Steven Zucker and Dr. Naraelle Hohensee provides an excellent example of how to analyse a piece of art (it is important to note that this video is an example of ‘formal analysis’ and doesn’t include contextual analysis, which is also required by many high school art examination boards, in addition to the formal analysis illustrated here): The questions below are designed to facilitate direct engagement with an artwork and to encourage a breadth and depth of understanding of the artwork studied. Composition is a very broad but important term in art. Understand the Meaning – This is the hardest part, isn’t it?To read between the colors and lines of the painting, to understand what the artist meant, is never easy. Would it be appropriate to use value / tone in a similar way within your own artwork? Elements, whether figures or objects, in a painting or sculpture are endowed with symbolic meaning. 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