Art Historical Research Paper: Visual and Historical Analysis

Selecting a Work of Art

Paper Description: For your paper assignment, select a single work of art from your textbook or the Google Arts and Culture website (https://artsandculture.google.com/) that represents the art featured in a chapter covered in class and write a research paper analyzing it both visually and historically.

The works of art must relate to the class. In other words, you should select works of art that match the cultures and time periods presented in your textbook and class. You can select a work of art from ancient Egypt, Greece, or Rome to analyze; or, you could decide to write about a Medieval cathedral; or you could choose works from ancient China, Japan, Africa, or the Americas. 

Your paper should be 25% visual analysis of the work and 75% exploration of its historical context. So, one page should be a thorough description of the physical characteristics of the work of art and three pages should be contextual exploration.

For the visual analysis portion of the paper, spend time looking carefully at your art work. Take notes on its appearance and its various compositional elements. What is it made of? What is its texture? Thoroughly describe the colors, lines, shapes, light, space, in the composition. Where are figures located within the composition? In relation to each other? Think about how the formal characteristics of the work combine to present the subject matter. What can be deduced about the artist's intentions in its presentation of form? A visual analysis is simply a thorough description of the physical characteristics of a work of art. Think of it as you describing a work of art to someone who cannot see it. 

While formulating your approach for the research/historical part of the paper, think about the following questions:
What are the circumstances of the work's creation? Where does the work fit into the artist's oeuvre? Is it typical of his/her work or something different? What is this artwork about?

How are the facts and interpretations that you discover about the artist and the work supported or refuted by what you see in the art work itself? Stick to solid historical fact and scholarly sources rather than be distracted or romanced by arcane theoretical interpretations. Use the work as your guide when determining which sources or arguments to incorporate into your paper.

What are the themes explored in the work and how might they relate to the artist and his/her time eriod? How does this work of art represent the culture that made it?

Where does the work fit into the broader spectrum of art historical movements and developments that we studied in other similar or different cultures? How does its style and mode of presentation correlate or diverge from to the prevailing artistic norms of the culture and period in which it was made?

About sources for your research:
You should have at least four resources for your paper, and they need to be included in your bibliography. Your textbook can be a source, and you can use ONE online source (ending in .org or .edu), but the other sources should be actual books or periodicals. You can access books and 
periodicals online—that doesn’t count as a website if a book or periodical is published and available online. If you have questions related to research, please contact the reference librarian or me. Also, be selective about the sources you use for your research. Use your judgment when reading the scholarship; do not simply reiterate someone's else argument unless you are planning to refute or elaborate upon it. I will be looking for intelligent use of sources, not wholesale repetition or antagonistic nitpicking.

A note about plagiarism: if you use an idea, phrase, or interpretation that is not your own, you must cite your source in a footnote, endnote or parenthetical citation. It is always best to err on the side of caution rather than inadvertently plagiarize. Direct quotations should be used only for primary sources, i.e. the artist's own words, a contemporary biographer or critic; all secondary sources should be paraphrased. If you have any questions about the assignment, please contact me, preferably well before the deadline. Good luck!

Summary:
Select one art historical object (that coordinates with the objects studied in class)
Research the object using legitimate sources
You will need four sources, one can be your textbook, one can be a legitimate online source ending in .edu or .org, others must be published books or periodicals
Write a four-page analysis of the object (see questions on previous page)
Must be four FULL pages, double spaced
One-inch margins
12-point NY Times or similar font
Use MLA formatting for paper, including works cited page
Add a cover page with your name, date, title of paper
Paper must be submitted through Blackboard
Late papers are accepted up to one week late; ten points are taken off per day