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How to Analyze Art – Formal Art Analysis Guide and Example

What is this Guide Helpful for?

Every work of art is a complex system and a pattern of intentions. Learning to observe and analyze artworks’ most distinctive features is a task that requires time but primarily training. Even the eye must be trained to art -whether paintings, photography, architecture, drawing, sculptures, or mixed-media installations. The eyes, as when one passes from darkness to light, need time to adapt to the visual and sensory stimuli of artworks.

This brief compendium aims to provide helpful tools and suggestions to analyze art. It can be useful to guide students who are facing a critical analysis of a particular artwork, as in the case of a paper assigned to high school art students. But it can also be helpful when the assignment concerns the creation of practical work, as it helps to reflect on the artistic practice of experienced artists and inspire their own work. However, that’s not all. These concise prompts can also assist those interested in taking a closer look at the art exhibited by museums, galleries, and cultural institutions. They are general suggestions that can be applied to art objects of any era or style since they are those suggested by the history of art criticism.

Knowing exactly what an artist wanted to communicate through his or her artwork is an impossible task, but not even relevant in critical analysis. What matters is to personally interpret and understand it, always wondering what ideas its features suggest. The viewer’s attention can fall on different aspects of a painting, and different observers can even give contradictory interpretations of the same artwork. Yet the starting point is the same setlist of questions . Here are the most common and effective ones.

How to Write a Successful Art Analysis

Composition and formal analysis: what can i see.

The first question to ask in front of an artwork is: what do I see? What is it made of? And how is it realized? Let’s limit ourselves to an objective, accurate pure description of the object; from this preliminary formal analysis, other questions (and answers!) will arise.

You can ask yourself what kind of object it is, what genre ; if it represents something figuratively or abstractly, observing its overall style.
You can investigate the composition and the form : shape (e.g. geometric, curvilinear, angular, decorative, tridimensional, human), size (is it small or large size? is it a choice forced by the limits of the display or not?), orientation (horizontally or vertically oriented)
the use of the space : the system of arrangement (is it symmetrical? Is there a focal point or emphasis on specific parts ?), perspective (linear perspective, aerial perspective, atmospheric perspective), space viewpoint, sense of full and voids, and rhythm.
You can observe its colors : palette and hues (cool, warm), intensity (bright, pure, dull, glossy, or grainy…), transparency or opacity, value, colors effects, and choices (e.g. complementary colors)
Observe the texture (is it flat or tactile? Has it other surface qualities?)
or the type of lines (horizontal, vertical, implied lines, chaotic, underdrawing, contour, or leading lines)

After completing this observation, it is important to ask yourself what are the effects of these chromatic, compositional, and formal choices. Are they the result of randomness, limitations of the site, display, or material? Or perhaps they are meant to convey a specific idea or overall mood? Does the artwork support your insights?

Media and Materials: How the Artist Create?

First of all, the medium must be investigated. What are these objects? Architecture, drawing, film, installation, painting, performing art, photography, printmaking, sculpture, sound art, textiles, and more.
What materials and tools did the artists use to create their work? Oil paint, acrylic paint, charcoal, pastel, tempera, fresco, marble, bronze, but also concrete, glass, stone, wood, ceramics, lithography…The list of materials is potentially endless, especially in contemporary arts, but it is also among the easiest information to find! A valid catalog or museum label will always list materials and techniques used by artists.
What techniques, methods, and processes are used by the artist? The same goes for materials, techniques are numerous and often related to the overall feeling or style that the artist has set out to achieve. In a critical analysis, it is important to reflect on what this technique entails. Do not overdo with a verbose technical explanation.

Why did the artist choose to make the work this way and with such features (materials and techniques)? Are they traditional, academic techniques and materials or, on the contrary, innovative and experimental? What idea does the artist communicate with the choice of these media ? Try to reflect, for example, on their preciousness, or cultural significance, or even durability, fragility, heaviness, or lightness.

Context, Biography, Purpose: What’s Outside the Artwork?

Through formal analysis, it is possible to obtain a precise description of the artistic object. However, artworks are also documents, which attest to facts that happen or have happened outside the frame! The artwork relates to themes, stories, specific ideas, which belong to the artist and to the society in which he or she is immersed. To analyze art in a relevant way, we also must consider the context .

What are the intentions of the artist to create this work? The purpose? Art may be commissioned, commemorative, educational, of practical use, for the public or for private individuals, realized to communicate something. Let’s ask ourselves why the artist created it, and why at that particular time.
The artist’s life also cannot be overlooked. We always look at the work in the light of his biography: in what moment of life was it made? Where was the artist? What other artworks had he/she done in close temporal proximity? Biographical sources are invaluable.
In what context (historical, social, political, cultural) was the artwork made? Artwork supports (or may even deliberately oppose) the climate in which it is immersed. Find out about the political, natural, historical event; the economic, religious, cultural situation of its period.
Of paramount importance is the cultural atmosphere. What artistic movements , currents, fashions, and styles were prevalent at the time? This allows us to make comparisons with other objects, to question the taste of the time. In other words, to open the horizons of our analysis.

Subject and Meaning: What does it Want to Communicate?

We observed artwork as an object, with visible material and formal characteristics; then we understood that it can be influenced by the context and intentions of the artist. Finally, it is essential to investigate what it wants to communicate. The content of the work passes through the subject matter, its stories, implicit or explicit symbolism.

You can preliminarily ask what genre of artwork it is, which is very helpful with paintings. Is it a realistic painting of a landscape, abstract, religious, historical-mythical, a portrait, a still life, or much else?
You can ask questions about the title if it is present. Or perhaps question its absence.
You can observe the figures. Ask yourself about their identity, age, rank, connections with the artist, or cultural relevance. Observe what their expression or pose communicates.
You can also observe the objects, places, or scenes that take place in the work. How are they depicted (realistic, abstract, impressionistic, expressionistic, primitive); what story do they tell?
Are there concepts that perhaps are conveyed implicitly, through symbols, allegories, signs, textual or iconographic elements? Do they have a precise meaning inserted there?
You can try to describe the overall feeling of the artwork, whether it is positive or negative, but also go deeper: does it communicate calmness, melancholy, tension, energy, or anger, shock? Try to listen to your own emotional reaction as well.

Subjective Interpretation: What does it Communicate to Me?

And finally, the crucial question, what did this work spark in me ?

We can talk about aesthetic taste and feeling, but not only. A critical judgment also involves the degree of effectiveness of the work. Has the artist succeeded, through his formal, technical, stylistic choices, in communicating a specific idea? What did the critics think at the time and ask yourself what you think today? Are there any temporal or personal biases that may affect your judgment? Significative artworks are capable of speaking, of telling a story in every era. Whether nice or bad.

A Brief History of Art Criticism

The stimulus questions collected here are the result of the experience of different methods of analysis developed by art critics throughout history. Art criticism has developed different analytical methodologies, placing the focus of research on different aspects of art. We can trace three major macro-trends and all of them can be used to develop a personal critical method:

The Formal Art Analysis

Formal art analysis is conducted primarily by connoisseurs, experts in attributing paintings or sculptures to the hand of specific artists. Formal analysis adheres strictly to the object-artwork by providing a pure description of it. It focuses on its visual, most distinctive features: on the subject, composition, material, technique, and other elements. Famous formalists and purovisibilists were Giovanni Morelli, Bernard Berenson, Roberto Longhi, Roger Fry, and Heinrich Wölfflin, who elaborated different categories of formal principles.

The Iconological Method

In the iconological method, the content of the work, its meaning, and cultural implications begin to take on relevancy. Aby Warburg and later the Warburg Institute opened up to the analysis of art as an interdisciplinary subject, questioning the correlations between art, philosophy, culture. The fortune of the iconological method, however, is due to Erwin Panofsky, who observed the artwork integrally, through three levels of interpretation. A first, formal, superficial level; the second level of observation of the iconographic elements, and a third called iconological, in which the analysis finally becomes deep, trying to grasp the meaning of the elements.

Social Art History and Beyond

Then, in the 1950s, a third trend began, which placed the focus primarily on the social context of the artwork. With Arnold Hauser, Francis Klingender, and Frederick Antal, the social history of art was born. Social art historians conceive the work of art as a structural system that conveys specific ideologies, whose aspects related to the time period of the artists must also be investigated. Analyses on commissioning, institutionalization, production mechanisms, and the role and function of the artist in society began to spread. It also opens art criticism to researches on taste, fruition, and the study of art in psychoanalytic, pedagogical, anthropological terms.

10 Art Analysis Tips

We defined the questions you need to ask yourself to write a meaningful artwork analysis. Then, we identified the main approaches used by art historians while criticizing art: formal analysis, iconographic interpretation, and study of the social context. However, art interpretation is always open to new stimuli and insights, and it is a work of continuous training.

Here are 10 aspects to keep in mind when observing a good artwork (or a bad one!):

Any feeling towards a work of art is legitimate -whether it is a painting, picture, sculpture, or contemporary installation. What do you like or dislike about it? You could write about the shapes and colors, how the artist used them, their technique. You can analyze the museum setting or its original location; the ideas, or the cultural context to which the artist belongs. You can think about the feelings or memories it evokes. The important thing is that your judgment is justified with relevant arguments that strictly relate to the artwork and its elements.
Analyzing does not mean describing. A precise description of the work and its distinctive features is essential, but we must go beyond that. Consider also what is outside the frame.
Strive to use an inquiry-based approach. Ask yourself questions, start with objective observation and then go deeper. Wonder what features suggest. Notice a color…well, why that color, and why there?
Observe a wide range of visual elements. Artworks are complex systems, so try to look at them in all their components. Not just color, shapes, or technique, but also rhythm, compositional devices, emphasis, style, texture…and much more!
To get a visual analysis as accurate as possible, it might be very useful to have a comprehensive glossary . Here is MoMA’s one: https://www.moma.org/momaorg/shared/pdfs/docs/learn/courses/Vocabulary_for_Discussing_Art.pdf and Artlex: https://www.artlex.com/art-terms/
Less is more . Do you want to write about an entire artistic movement or a particularly prolific artist? Focus on the most significant works, the ones you can really say something personal and effective about. Similarly, choose only relevant and productive information; it should aid better understanding of the objects, not take the reader away from it.
Support what you write with images! Accompany your text with sketches or high-quality photographs. Choose black and white pictures if you want to highlight forms or lights, details or evidence inside the artwork to support your personal interpretations, objects placed in the art room if you analyze also curatorial choices.
See as much live artwork as possible. Whenever you can, attend temporary exhibitions, museums, galleries… the richer your visual background will be, the more attentive and receptive your eye will be! Connections and comparisons are what make an art criticism truly rich and open-minding.
Be inspired by the words of artists, art experts, and creatives . Listen as a beloved artwork relates to their art practice or personal artistic vision, to build your personal one. Here are other helpful links: https://www.moma.org/magazine/articles/154?=MOOC
And finally, trust your intuition! As you noticed in this decalogue, numerous aspects require study and rational analysis but don’t forget to formalize your instinctive impressions as well. Art is made for that, too.

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Writing About Art

Formal Analysis

Formal analysis is a specific type of visual description. Unlike ekphrasis, it is not meant to evoke the work in the reader’s mind. Instead it is an explanation of visual structure, of the ways in which certain visual elements have been arranged and function within a composition. Strictly speaking, subject is not considered and neither is historical or cultural context. The purest formal analysis is limited to what the viewer sees. Because it explains how the eye is led through a work, this kind of description provides a solid foundation for other types of analysis. It is always a useful exercise, even when it is not intended as an end in itself.

The British art critic Roger Fry (1866-1934) played an important role in developing the language of formal analysis we use in English today. Inspired by modern art, Fry set out to escape the interpretative writing of Victorians like Ruskin. He wanted to describe what the viewer saw, independent of the subject of the work or its emotional impact. Relying in part upon late 19th- and early 20th-century studies of visual perception, Fry hoped to bring scientific rigor to the analysis of art. If all viewers responded to visual stimuli in the same way, he reasoned, then the essential features of a viewer’s response to a work could be analyzed in absolute – rather than subjective or interpretative – terms. This approach reflected Fry’s study of the natural sciences as an undergraduate. Even more important were his studies as a painter, which made him especially aware of the importance of how things had been made. 17

The idea of analyzing a single work of art, especially a painting, in terms of specific visual components was not new. One of the most influential systems was created by the 17th-century French Academician Roger de Piles (1635-1709). His book, The Principles of Painting , became very popular throughout Europe and appeared in many languages. An 18th-century English edition translates de Piles’s terms of analysis as: composition (made up of invention and disposition or design), drawing, color, and expression. These ideas and, even more, these words, gained additional fame in the English-speaking world when the painter and art critic Jonathan Richardson (1665-1745) included a version of de Piles’s system in a popular guide to Italy. Intended for travelers, Richardson’s book was read by everyone who was interested in art. In this way, de Piles’s terms entered into the mainstream of discussions about art in English. 18

Like de Piles’s system, Roger Fry’s method of analysis breaks a work of art into component parts, but they are different ones. The key elements are (in Joshua Taylor’s explanation):

Color , both as establishing a general key and as setting up a relationship of parts; line , both as creating a sense of structure and as embodying movement and character; light and dark , which created expressive forms and patterns at the same time as it suggested the character of volumes through light and shade; the sense of volume itself and what might be called mass as contrasted with space; and the concept of plane , which was necessary in discussing the organization of space, both in depth and in a two-dimensional pattern. Towering over all these individual elements was the composition , how part related to part and to whole: composition not as an arbitrary scheme of organization but as a dominant contributor to the expressive content of the painting. 19

Fry first outlined his analytical approach in 1909, published in an article which was reprinted in 1920 in his book Vision and Design . 20

Some of the most famous examples of Fry's own analyses appear in Cézanne. A Study of His Development . 21 Published in 1927, the book was intended to persuade readers that Cézanne was one of the great masters of Western art long before that was a generally accepted point of view. Fry made his argument through careful study of individual paintings, many in private collections and almost all of them unfamiliar to his readers. Although the book included reproductions of the works, they were small black-and-white illustrations, murky in tone and detail, which conveyed only the most approximate idea of the pictures. Furthermore, Fry warned his readers, “it must always be kept in mind that such [written] analysis halts before the ultimate concrete reality of the work of art, and perhaps in proportion to the greatness of the work it must leave untouched a greater part of the objective.” 22 In other words, the greater the work, the less it can be explained in writing. Nonetheless, he set out to make his case with words.

One of the key paintings in Fry’s book is Cézanne’s Still-life with Compotier (Private collection, Paris), painted about 1880. The lengthy analysis of the picture begins with a description of the application of paint. This was, Fry felt, the necessary place of beginning because all that we see and feel ultimately comes from paint applied to a surface. He wrote: “Instead of those brave swashing strokes of the brush or palette knife [that Cézanne had used earlier], we find him here proceeding by the accumulation of small touches of a full brush.” 23 This single sentence vividly outlines two ways Cézanne applied paint to his canvas (“brave, swashing strokes” versus “small touches”) and the specific tools he used (brush and palette knife). As is often the case in Fry’s writing, the words he chose go beyond what the viewer sees to suggest the process of painting, an explanation of the surface in terms of the movement of the painter’s hand.

After a digression about how other artists handled paint, Fry returned to Still-life with Compotier . He rephrased what he had said before, integrating it with a fuller description of Cézanne’s technique:

[Cézanne] has abandoned altogether the sweep of a broad brush, and builds up his masses by a succession of hatched strokes with a small brush. These strokes are strictly parallel, almost entirely rectilinear, and slant from right to left as they descend. And this direction of the brush strokes is carried through without regard to the contours of the objects. 24

From these three sentences, the reader gathers enough information to visualize the surface of the work. The size of the strokes, their shape, the direction they take on the canvas, and how they relate to the forms they create are all explained. Already the painting seems very specific. On the other hand, the reader has not been given the most basic facts about what the picture represents. For Fry, that information only came after everything else, if it was mentioned at all.

Then Fry turned to “the organization of the forms and the ordering of the volumes.” Three of the objects in the still-life are mentioned, but only as aspects of the composition.

Each form seems to have a surprising amplitude, to permit of our apprehending it with an ease which surprises us, and yet they admit a free circulation in the surrounding space. It is above all the main directions given by the rectilinear lines of the napkin and the knife that make us feel so vividly this horizontal extension [of space]. And this horizontal [visually] supports the spherical volumes, which enforce, far more than real apples could, the sense of their density and mass.

He continued in a new paragraph:

One notes how few the forms are. How the sphere is repeated again and again in varied quantities. To this is added the rounded oblong shapes which are repeated in two very distinct quantities in the compotier and the glass. If we add the continually repeated right lines [of the brush strokes] and the frequently repeated but identical forms of the leaves on the wallpaper, we have exhausted this short catalogue. The variation of quantities of these forms is arranged to give points of clear predominance to the compotier itself to the left, and the larger apples to the right centre. One divines, in fact, that the forms are held together by some strict harmonic principle almost like that of the canon in Greek architecture, and that it is this that gives its extraordinary repose and equilibrium to the whole design. 25

Finally the objects in the still-life have come into view: a compotier (or fruit dish), a glass, apples, and a knife, arranged on a cloth and set before patterned wallpaper.

In Fry’s view of Cézanne, contour, or the edges of forms, are especially important. The Impressionists, Cézanne's peers and exact contemporaries, were preoccupied “by the continuity of the visual welt.” For Cézanne, on the other hand, contour

became an obsession. We find the traces of this throughout this still-life. He actually draws the contour with his brush, generally in a bluish grey. Naturally the curvature of this line is sharply contrasted with his parallel hatchings, and arrests the eye too much. He then returns upon it incessantly by repeated hatchings which gradually heap up round the contour to a great thickness. The contour is continually being lost and then recovered . . . [which] naturally lends a certain heaviness, almost clumsiness, to the effect; but it ends by giving to the forms that impressive solidity and weight which we have noticed. 26

Fry ended his analysis with the shapes, conceived in three dimensions (“volumes”) and in two dimensions (“contours”):

At first sight the volumes and contours declare themselves boldly to the eye. They are of a surprising simplicity, and are clearly apprehended. But the more one looks the more they elude any precise definition. The apparent continuity of the contour is illusory, for it changes in quality throughout each particle of its length. There is no uniformity in the tracing of the smallest curve. . . . We thus get at once the notion of extreme simplicity in the general result and of infinite variety in every part. It is this infinitely changing quality of the very stuff of painting which communicates so vivid a sense of life. In spite of the austerity of the forms, all is vibration and movement. 27

Fry wrote with a missionary fervor, intent upon persuading readers of his point of view. In this respect, his writings resemble Ruskin’s, although Fry replaced Ruskin’s rich and complicated language with clear, spare words about paint and composition. A text by Fry like the one above provides the reader with tangible details about the way a specific picture looks, whereas Ruskin’s text supplies an interpretation of its subject. Of course, different approaches may be inspired by the works themselves. Ignoring the subject is much easier if the picture represents a grouping of ordinary objects than if it shows a dramatic scene of storm and death at sea. The fact that Fry believed in Cézanne’s art so deeply says something about what he believed was important in art. It also says something about the taste of the modern period, just as Ruskin’s values and style of writing reveal things about the Victorian period. Nonetheless, anyone can learn a great deal from reading either of them.

Ellen Johnson, an art historian and art critic who wrote extensively about modern art, often used formal analysis. One example is a long description of Richard Diebenkorn's Woman by a Large Window (Allen Art Museum, Oberlin), which covers the arrangement of shapes into a composition, the application of paint, the colors, and finally the mood of the work. Although organized in a different order from Fry's analysis of Cézanne's still-life, her discussion defines the painting in similar terms.

[Diebenkorn's] particular way of forming the picture . . . is captivating, . . . organizing the picture plane into large, relatively open areas interrupted by a greater concentration of activity, a spilling of shapes and colors asymmetrically placed on one side of the picture. In Woman by a Large Window the asymmetry of the painting is further enhanced by having the figure not only placed at the left of the picture but, more daringly, facing directly out of the picture. This leftward direction and placement is brought into a precarious and exciting but beautifully controlled balance by the mirror on the right which . . . creates a fascinating ambiguity and enrichment of the picture space. . . . The interior of the room and the woman in it are painted in subdued, desert-sand colors, roughly and vigorously applied with much of the drawing achieved by leaving exposed an earlier layer of paint. The edges of the window, table and chair, and the contours of the figure, not to mention the purple eye, were drawn in this way. In other areas, the top layer, roughly applied as though with a scrub brush, is sufficiently thin to permit the under-color to show through and vary the surface hue. . . . [T]he landscape is more positive in hue and value contrasts and the paint more thick and rich. The bright apple-green of the fields and the very dark green of the trees are enlivened by smaller areas of orange, yellow and purple; the sky is intensely blue. The glowing landscape takes on added sparkle by contrast with the muted interior . . . . Pictorially, however, [the woman] is anchored to the landscape by the dark of her hair forming one value and shape with the trees behind her. This union of in and out, of near and far, repeated in the mirror image, emphasizes the plane of the picture, the two-dimensional character of which is further asserted by the planar organization into four horizontal divisions: floor, ledge, landscape and sky. Thus, while the distance of the landscape is firmly stated, it is just as firmly denied . . . . While the mood of the picture is conveyed most obviously through the position and attitude of the figure, still the entire painting functions in evoking this response . . . Lonely but composed, withdrawn from but related to her environment, the woman reminds one of the self-contained, quiet and melancholy figures on Greek funerary reliefs. Like them, relaxed and still, she seems to have sat for centuries. 28

Johnson’s description touches on all aspects of what the viewer sees before ending with a final paragraph about mood. Firmly situated in our understanding of specific physical and visual aspects of Diebenkorn’s painting, her analogy to the seated women on Greek funerary reliefs enhances our ability to envision the position and spirit of this woman. It makes the picture seem vivid by referring to something entirely other. The image also is unexpected, so the description ends with an idea that catches our attention because it is new, while simultaneously summarizing an important part of her analysis. An allusion must work perfectly to be useful, however. Otherwise it becomes a distraction, a red herring that leads the reader away from the subject at hand.

The formal analysis of works other than paintings needs different words. In Learning to Look , Joshua Taylor identified three key elements that determine much of our response to works of sculpture. The artist “creates not only an object of a certain size and weight but also a space that we experience in a specific way.” A comparison between an Egyptian seated figure (Louvre, Paris) and Giovanni da Bologna’s Mercury (National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC) reveals two very different treatments of form and space:

The Egyptian sculptor, cutting into a block of stone, has shaped and organized the parts of his work so that they produce a particular sense of order, a unique and expressive total form. The individual parts have been conceived of as planes which define the figure by creating a movement from one part to another, a movement that depends on our responding to each new change in direction. . . . In this process our sense of the third-dimensional aspect of the work is enforced and we become conscious of the work as a whole. The movement within the figure is very slight, and our impression is one of solidity, compactness, and immobility.

In Mercury , on the other hand, “the movement is active and rapid.”

The sculptor’s medium has encouraged him to create a free movement around the figure and out into the space in which the figure is seen. This space becomes an active part of the composition. We are conscious not only of the actual space displaced by the figure, as in the former piece, but also of the space seeming to emanate from the figure of Mercury. The importance of this expanding space for the statue may be illustrated if we imagine this figure placed in a narrow niche. Although it might fit physically, its rhythms would seem truncated, and it would suffer considerably as a work of art. The Egyptian sculpture might not demand so particular a space setting, but it would clearly suffer in assuming Mercury’s place as the center piece of a splashing fountain. 29

Rudolf Arnheim (1904-2007) also used formal analysis, but as it relates to the process of perception and psychology, specifically Gestalt psychology, which he studied in Berlin during the 1920s. Less concerned with aesthetic qualities than the authors quoted above, he was more rigorous in his study of shapes, volumes, and composition. In his best-known book, Art and Visual Perception. A Psychology of the Creative Eye , first published in 1954, Arnheim analyzed, in order: balance, shape, form, growth, space, light, color, movement, tension, and expression. 30 Many of the examples given in the text are works of art, but he made it clear that the basic principles relate to any kind of visual experience. In other books, notably Visual Thinking and the Power of the Center: A Study of Composition in the Visual Arts , Arnheim developed the idea that visual perception is itself a kind of thought. 31 Seeing and comprehending what has been seen are two different aspects of the same mental process. This was not a new idea, but he explored it in relation to many specific visual examples.

Arnheim began with the assumption that any work of art is a composition before it is anything else:

When the eyes meet a particular picture for the first time, they are faced with the challenge of the new situation: they have to orient themselves, they have to find a structure that will lead the mind to the picture’s meaning. If the picture is representational, the first task is to understand the subject matter. But the subject matter is dependent on the form, the arrangement of the shapes and colors, which appears in its pure state in “abstract,” non-mimetic works. 32

To explain how different uses of a central axis alter compositional structure, for example, Arnheim compared El Greco’s Expulsion from the Temple (Frick Collection, New York) to Fra Angelico’s Annunciation (San Marco, Florence). About the first, Arnheim wrote:

The central object reposes in stillness even when within itself it expresses strong action. The Christ . . . is a typical figura serpentinata [spiral figure]. He chastises the merchant with a decisive swing of the right arm, which forces the entire body into a twist. The figure as a whole, however, is firmly anchored in the center of the painting, which raises the event beyond the level of a passing episode. Although entangled with the temple crowd, Christ is a stable axis around which the noisy happening churns. 33

Although his discussion identifies the forms in terms of subject, Arnheim’s only concern is the way the composition works around its center. The same is true in his discussion of Fra Angelico’s fresco:

As soon as we split the compositional space down the middle, its structure changes. It now consists of two halves, each organized around its own center. . . . Appropriate compositional features must bridge the boundary. Fra Angelico’s Annunciation at San Marco, for example, is subdivided by a prominent frontal column, which distinguishes the celestial realm of the angel from the earthly realm of the Virgin. But the division is countered by the continuity of the space behind the column. The space is momentarily covered but not interrupted by the vertical in the foreground. The lively interaction between the messenger and recipient also helps bridge the separation. 34

All formal analysis identifies specific visual elements and discusses how they work together. If the goal of a writer is to explain how parts combine to create a whole, and what effect that whole has on the viewer, then this type of analysis is essential. It also can be used to define visual characteristics shared by a number of objects. When the similarities seem strong enough to set a group of objects apart from others, they can be said to define a "style." Stylistic analysis can be applied to everything from works made during a single period by a single individual to a survey of objects made over centuries. All art historians use it.

Introduction
Personal Style
Period Style
"Realistic"
The Biography
Iconographic Analysis
Historical Analysis
Bibliography
Appendix I: Writing the Paper
Appendix II: Citation Forms
Visual Description
Stylistic Analysis
Doing the Research
The First Draft
The Final Paper
About the Author

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AP®︎/College Art History

Course: ap®︎/college art history > unit 1.

What is art history and where is it going?
Introduction to art historical analysis

How to do visual (formal) analysis in art history

Art historical analysis (painting), a basic introduction using Goya's Third of May, 1808
A brief history of representing the body in Western painting
A brief history of representing of the body in Western sculpture

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4.2: FORMAL OR CRITICAL ANALYSIS

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Pamela Sachant, Peggy Blood, Jeffery LeMieux, & Rita Tekippe

Pamela Sachant, Peggy Blood, Jeffery LeMieux, & Rita Tekippe
University System of Georgia via GALILEO Open Learning Materials

While restricting our attention only to a description of the formal elements of an artwork may at first seem limited or even tedious, a careful and methodical examination of the physical components of an artwork is an important first step in “decoding” its meaning. It is useful, therefore, to begin at the beginning. There are four aspects of a formal analysis: description, analysis, interpretation, and evaluation . In addition to defining these terms, we will look at examples.

4.2.1 Description

What can we notice at first glance about a work of art? Is it two-dimensional or three-dimen- sional? What is the medium? What kinds of actions were required in its production? How big is the work? What are the elements of design used within it?

Starting with line: is it soft or hard, jagged or straight, expressive or mechanical? How is line being used to describe space?

Considering shape: are the shapes large or small, hard-edged or soft? What is the relationship between shapes? Do they compete with one another for prominence? What shapes are in front? Which ones fade into the background?

Indicating mass and volume: if two-dimensional, what means if any are used to give the illu- sion that the presented forms have weight and occupy space? If three-dimensional, what space is occupied or filled by the work? What is the mass of the work?

Organizing space: does the artist use perspective? If so, what kind? If the work uses linear perspective, where are the horizon line and vanishing point(s) located?

On texture: how is texture being used? Is it actual or implied texture?

In terms of color: what kinds of colors are used? Is there a color scheme? Is the image overall light, medium, or dark?

4.2.2 Analysis

Once the elements of the artwork have been identified, next come questions of how these ele- ments are related. How are the elements arranged? In other words, how have principles of design been employed?

What elements in the work were used to create unity and provide variety? How have the ele- ments been used to do so?

What is the scale of the work? Is it larger or smaller than what it represents (if it does depict someone or something)? Are the elements within the work in proportion to one another?

Is the work symmetrically or asymmetrically balanced?

What is used within the artwork to create emphasis? Where are the areas of emphasis? How has movement been conveyed in the work, for example, through line or placement of figures?

Are there any elements within the work that create rhythm? Are any shapes or colors repeated?

4.2.3 Interpretation

Interpretation comes as much from the individual viewer as it does from the artwork. It de- rives from the intersection of what an object symbolizes to the artist and what it means to the viewer. It also often records how the meaning of objects has been changed by time and culture. Interpretation, then, is a process of unfolding. A work that may seem to mean one thing on first inspection may come to mean something more when studied further. Just as when re-reading a favorite book or re-watching a favorite movie, we often notice things not seen on the first viewing; interpretations of art objects can also reveal themselves slowly. Claims about meaning can be made but are better when they are backed up with supporting evidence. Interpretations can also change and some interpretations are better than others.

4.2.4 Evaluation

All this work of description, analysis, and interpretation, is done with one goal in mind: to make an evaluation about a work of art. Just as interpretations vary, so do evaluations. Your evaluation includes what you have discovered about the work during your examination as well as what you have learned, about the work, yourself, and others in the process. Your reaction to the artwork is an important component of your evaluation: what do you feel when you look at it? And, do you like the work? How and why do you find it visually pleasing, in some way disturbing, emotionally engaging?

Evaluating and judging contemporary works of art is more difficult than works that are hundreds or thousands of years old because the verdict of history has not yet been passed on them. Museums are full of paintings by contemporary artists who were considered the next Michelange- lo but who have since faded from the cultural forefront.

The best art of a culture and period is that work which exemplifies the thought of the age from which it derives. What we think about our own culture is probably not what will be thought of it a century from now. The art that we believe best embodies our time may or may not last. As time moves on, our evaluations and judgments of our own time may not prove to be the most accurate ones. We live in a world full of art, and it is almost impossible to avoid making evaluations—pos- sibly mistaken—about its value. Nonetheless, informed evaluations are still possible and useful even in the short term.

4.2.5 Examples of Formal Analysis

Snow Storm—Steam-Boat off a Harbour’s Mouth by J. M. W. Turner

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Another example of formal analysis. Consider Lady at the Tea Table by Mary Cassatt Mary Cassatt (1844-1925, USA, lived France) is best known for her paintings, drawings, and prints of mothers and children. In those works, she focused on the bond between them as well as the strength and dignity of women within the predominantly domestic and maternal roles they played in the nineteenth century.

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How to analyze an artwork: a step-by-step guide

Last Updated on August 16, 2023

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. It contains a list of questions to guide students through the process of analyzing visual material of any kind, including drawing, painting, mixed media, graphic design, sculpture, printmaking, architecture, photography, textiles, fashion and so on (the word ‘artwork’ in this article is all-encompassing). The questions include a wide range of specialist art terms, prompting students to use subject-specific vocabulary in their responses. 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.

COPYRIGHT NOTE: This material is available as a printable art analysis PDF handout . This may be used free of charge in a classroom situation. To share this material with others, please use the social media buttons at the bottom of this page. Copying, sharing, uploading or distributing this article (or the PDF) in any other way is not permitted.

READ NEXT: How to make an artist website (and why you need one)

Why do we study art?

Almost all high school art students carry out critical analysis of artist work, in conjunction with creating practical work. Looking critically at the work of others allows students to understand compositional devices and then explore these in their own art. This is one of the best ways for students to learn.

Instructors who assign formal analyses want you to look—and look carefully. Think of the object as a series of decisions that an artist made. Your job is to figure out and describe, explain, and interpret those decisions and why the artist may have made them. – The Writing Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill 10

Art analysis tips

‘I like this’ or ‘I don’t like this’ without any further explanation or justification is not analysis . Personal opinions must be supported with explanation, evidence or justification.
‘Analysis of artwork’ does not mean ‘description of artwork’ . To gain high marks, students must move beyond stating the obvious and add perceptive, personal insight. Students should demonstrate higher order thinking – the ability to analyse, evaluate and synthesize information and ideas. For example, if color has been used to create strong contrasts in certain areas of an artwork, students might follow this observation with a thoughtful assumption about why this is the case – perhaps a deliberate attempt by the artist to draw attention to a focal point, helping to convey thematic ideas.

Although description is an important part of a formal analysis, description is not enough on its own. 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. – Sylvan Barnet, A Short Guide to Writing About Art 2

Cover a range of different visual elements and design principles . It is common for students to become experts at writing about one or two elements of composition, while neglecting everything else – for example, only focusing upon the use of color in every artwork studied. This results in a narrow, repetitive and incomplete analysis of the artwork. Students should ensure that they cover a wide range of art elements and design principles, as well as address context and meaning, where required. The questions below are designed to ensure that students cover a broad range of relevant topics within their analysis.
Write alongside the artwork discussed . In almost all cases, written analysis should be presented alongside the work discussed, so that it is clear which artwork comments refer to. This makes it easier for examiners to follow and evaluate the writing.
Support writing with visual analysis . It is almost always helpful for high school students to support written material with sketches, drawings and diagrams that help the student understand and analyse the piece of art. This might include composition sketches; diagrams showing the primary structure of an artwork; detailed enlargements of small sections; experiments imitating use of media or technique; or illustrations overlaid with arrows showing leading lines and so on. Visual investigation of this sort plays an important role in many artist studies.

Making sketches or drawings from works of art is the traditional, centuries-old way that artists have learned from each other. In doing this, you will engage with a work and an artist’s approach even if you previously knew nothing about it. 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. This is useful because it forces you to look closely at the work and to consider elements you might not have noticed before. – Susie Hodge, How to Look at Art 7

Finally, when writing about art, students should communicate with clarity; demonstrate subject-specific knowledge; use correct terminology; generate personal responses; and reference all content and ideas sourced from others. This is explained in more detail in our article about high school sketchbooks .

What should students write about?

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.

As complex as works of art typically are, there are really only three general categories of statements one can make about them. A statement addresses form, content or context (or their various interrelations). – Dr. Robert J. Belton, Art History: A Preliminary Handbook, The University of British Columbia 5

…a formal analysis – the result of looking closely – is an analysis of the form that the artist produces; that is, an analysis of the work of art, which is made up of such things as line, shape, color, texture, mass, composition. These things give the stone or canvas its form, its expression, its content, its meaning. – Sylvan Barnet, A Short Guide to Writing About Art 2

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):

Composition analysis: a list of questions

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. They are intended to prompt higher order thinking and to help students arrive at well-reasoned analysis.

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). The words provided as examples are intended to help students think about appropriate vocabulary to use when discussing a particular topic. Definitions of more complex words have been provided.

Students should not attempt to copy out questions and then answer them; rather the questions should be considered a starting point for writing bullet pointed annotation or sentences in paragraph form.

CONTENT, CONTEXT AND MEANING

Subject matter / themes / issues / narratives / stories / ideas.

There can be different, competing, and contradictory interpretations of the same artwork. An artwork is not necessarily about what the artist wanted it to be about. – Terry Barrett, Criticizing Art: Understanding the Contemporary 6

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 Painting 8

Does the artwork fall within an established genre (i.e. historical; mythical; religious; portraiture; landscape; still life; fantasy; architectural)?
Are there any recognisable objects, places or scenes ? How are these presented (i.e. idealized; realistic; indistinct; hidden; distorted; exaggerated; stylized; reflected; reduced to simplified/minimalist form; primitive; abstracted; concealed; suggested; blurred or focused)?
Have people been included? What can we tell about them (i.e. identity; age; attire; profession; cultural connections; health; family relationships; wealth; mood/expression)? What can we learn from their pose (i.e. frontal; profile; partly turned; body language)? Where are they looking (i.e. direct eye contact with viewer; downcast; interested in other subjects within the artwork)? Can we work out relationships between figures from the way they are posed?

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)? – Sylvan Barnet, A Short Guide to Writing About Art 2

What props and important details are included (drapery; costumes; adornment; architectural elements; emblems; logos; motifs)? How do aspects of setting support the primary subject? What is the effect of including these items within the arrangement (visual unity; connections between different parts of the artwork; directs attention; surprise; variety and visual interest; separates / divides / borders; transformation from one object to another; unexpected juxtaposition)?

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. – Vocabulary.com

A motif is an element in a composition or design that can be used repeatedly for decorative, structural, or iconographic purposes. A motif can be representational or abstract, and it can be endowed with symbolic meaning. Motifs can be repeated in multiple artworks and often recur throughout the life’s work of an individual artist. – John A. Parks, Universal Principles of Art 11

Does the artwork communicate an action, narrative or story (i.e. historical event or illustrate a scene from a story)? Has the arrangement been embellished, set up or contrived?
Does the artwork explore movement ? Do you gain a sense that parts of the artwork are about to change, topple or fall (i.e. tension; suspense)? Does the artwork capture objects in motion (i.e. multiple or sequential images; blurred edges; scene frozen mid-action; live performance art; video art; kinetic art)?
What kind of abstract elements are shown (i.e. bars; shapes; splashes; lines)? Have these been derived from or inspired by realistic forms? Are they the result of spontaneous, accidental creation or careful, deliberate arrangement?
Does the work include the appropriation of work by other artists, such as within a parody or pop art? What effect does this have (i.e. copyright concerns)?

Parody: mimicking the appearance and/or manner of something or someone, but with a twist for comic effect or critical comment, as in Saturday Night Live’s political satires – Dr. Robert J. Belton, Art History: A Preliminary Handbook, The University of British Columbia 5

Does the subject captivate an instinctual response , such as items that are informative, shocking or threatening for humans (i.e. dangerous places; abnormally positioned items; human faces; the gaze of people; motion; text)? Heap map tracking has demonstrated that these elements catch our attention, regardless of where they are positioned – James Gurney writes more about this fascinating topic .
What kind of text has been used (i.e. font size; font weight; font family; stenciled; hand-drawn; computer-generated; printed)? What has influenced this choice of text?
Do key objects or images have symbolic value or provide a cue to meaning ? How does the artwork convey deeper, conceptual themes (i.e. allegory; iconographic elements; signs; metaphor; irony)?

Allegory is a device whereby abstract ideas can be communicated using images of the concrete world. Elements, whether figures or objects, in a painting or sculpture are endowed with symbolic meaning. Their relationships and interactions combine to create more complex meanings. – John A. Parks, Universal Principles of Art 11

An iconography is a particular range or system of types of image used by an artist or artists to convey particular meanings. For example in Christian religious painting there is an iconography of images such as the lamb which represents Christ, or the dove which represents the Holy Spirit. – Tate.org.uk

What tone of voice does the artwork have (i.e. deliberate; honest; autobiographical; obvious; direct; unflinching; confronting; subtle; ambiguous; uncertain; satirical; propagandistic)?
What is your emotional response to the artwork? What is the overall mood (i.e positive; energetic; excitement; serious; sedate; peaceful; calm; melancholic; tense; uneasy; uplifting; foreboding; calm; turbulent)? Which subject matter choices help to communicate this mood (i.e. weather and lighting conditions; color of objects and scenes)?
Does the title change the way you interpret the work?
Were there any design constraints relating to the subject matter or theme/s (i.e. a sculpture commissioned to represent a specific subject, place or idea)?
Are there thematic connections with your own project? What can you learn from the way the artist has approached this subject?

Wider contexts

All art is in part about the world in which it emerged. – Terry Barrett, Criticizing Art: Understanding the Contemporary 6

Supported by research, can you identify when, where and why the work was created and its original intention or purpose (i.e. private sale; commissioned for a specific owner; commemorative; educational; promotional; illustrative; decorative; confrontational; useful or practical utility; communication; created in response to a design brief; private viewing; public viewing)? In what way has this background influenced the outcome (i.e. availability of tools, materials or time; expectations of the patron / audience)?
Where is the place of construction or design site and how does this influence the artwork (i.e. reflects local traditions, craftsmanship, or customs; complements surrounding designs; designed to accommodate weather conditions / climate; built on historic site)? Was the artwork originally located somewhere different?
Which events and surrounding environments have influenced this work (i.e. natural events; social movements such as feminism; political events, economic situations, historic events, religious settings, cultural events)? What effect did these have?
Is the work characteristic of an artistic style, movement or time period ? Has it been influenced by trends, fashions or ideologies ? How can you tell?
Can you make any relevant connections or comparisons with other artworks ? Have other artists explored a similar subject in a similar way? Did this occur before or after this artwork was created?
Can you make any relevant connections to other fields of study or expression (i.e. geography, mathematics, literature, film, music, history or science)?
Which key biographical details about the artist are relevant in understanding this artwork (upbringing and personal situation; family and relationships; psychological state; health and fitness; socioeconomic status; employment; ethnicity; culture; gender; education, religion; interests, attitudes, values and beliefs)?
Is this artwork part of a larger body of work ? Is this typical of the work the artist is known for?
How might your own upbringing, beliefs and biases distort your interpretation of the artwork? Does your own response differ from the public response, that of the original audience and/or interpretation by critics ?
How do these wider contexts compare to the contexts surrounding your own work?

COMPOSITION AND FORMAT

What is the overall size, shape and orientation of the artwork (i.e. vertical, horizontal, portrait, landscape or square)? Has this format been influenced by practical considerations (i.e. availability of materials; display constraints ; design brief restrictions; screen sizes; common aspect ratios in film or photography such as 4:3 or 2:3; or paper sizes such as A4, A3, A2, A1)?
How do images fit within the frame (cropped; truncated; shown in full)? Why is this format appropriate for the subject matter?
Are different parts of the artwork physically separate, such as within a diptych or triptych ?
Where are the boundaries of the artwork (i.e. is the artwork self-contained; compact; intersecting; sprawling)?
Is the artwork site-specific or designed to be displayed across multiple locations or environments?
Does the artwork have a fixed, permanent format, or was it modified, moved or adjusted over time ? What causes such changes (i.e. weather and exposure to the elements – melting, erosion, discoloration, decaying, wind movement, surface abrasion; structural failure – cracking, breaking; damage caused by unpredictable events, such as fire or vandalism; intentional movement, such as rotation or sensor response; intentional impermanence, such as an installation assembled for an exhibition and removed afterwards; viewer interaction; additions, renovations and restoration by subsequent artists or users; a project so expansive it takes years to construct)? How does this change affect the artwork? Are there stylistic variances between parts?
Is the artwork viewed from one angle or position, or are dynamic viewpoints and serial vision involved? (Read more about Gordon Cullen’s concept of serial vision here ).
How does the scale and format of the artwork relate to the environment where it is positioned, used, installed or hung (i.e. harmonious with landscape typography; sensitive to adjacent structures; imposing or dwarfed by surroundings; human scale)? Is the artwork designed to be viewed from one vantage point (i.e. front facing; viewed from below; approached from a main entrance; set at human eye level) or many? Are images taken from the best angle?
Would a similar format benefit your own project? Why / why not?

Structure / layout

Has the artwork been organised using a formal system of arrangement or mathematical proportion (i.e. rule of thirds; golden ratio or spiral; grid format; geometric; dominant triangle; or circular composition) or is the arrangement less predictable (i.e. chaotic, random, accidental, fragmented, meandering, scattered; irregular or spontaneous)? How does this system of arrangement help with the communication of ideas? Can you draw a diagram to show the basic structure of the artwork?
Can you see a clear intention with alignment and positioning of parts within the artwork (i.e. edges aligned; items spaced equally; simple or complex arrangement; overlapping, clustered or concentrated objects; dispersed, separate items; repetition of forms; items extending beyond the frame; frames within frames; bordered perimeter or patterned edging; broken borders)? What effect do these visual devices have (i.e. imply hierarchy; help the viewer understand relationships between parts of artwork; create rhythm)?
Does the artwork have a primary axis of symmetry (vertical, diagonal, horizontal)? Can you locate a center of balance? Is the artwork symmetrical, asymmetrical (i.e. stable), radial, or intentionally unbalanced (i.e. to create tension or unease)?
Can you draw a diagram to illustrate emphasis and dominance (i.e. ‘blocking in’ mass, where the ‘heavier’ dominant forms appear in the composition)? Where are dominant items located within the frame?
How do your eyes move through the composition?
Could your own artwork use a similar organisational structure?
What types of linear mark-making are shown (thick; thin; short; long; soft; bold; delicate; feathery; indistinct; faint; irregular; intermittent; freehand; ruled; mechanical; expressive; loose; blurred; dashing; cross-hatching; meandering; gestural, fluid; flowing; jagged; spiky; sharp)? What atmosphere, moods, emotions or ideas do these evoke?
Are there any interrupted, suggested or implied lines (i.e. lines that can’t literally be seen, but the viewer’s brain connects the dots between separate elements)?
Repeating lines : may simulate material qualities, texture, pattern or rhythm;
Boundary lines : may segment, divide or separate different areas;
Leading lines : may manipulate the viewer’s gaze, directing vision or lead the eye to focal points ( eye tracking studies indicate that our eyes leap from one point of interest to another, rather than move smoothly or predictably along leading lines 9 . Lines may nonetheless help to establish emphasis by ‘pointing’ towards certain items );
Parallel lines : may create a sense of depth or movement through space within a landscape;
Horizontal lines : may create a sense of stability and permanence;
Vertical lines : may suggest height, reaching upwards or falling;
Intersecting perpendicular lines : may suggest rigidity, strength;
Abstract lines : may balance the composition, create contrast or emphasis;
Angular / diagonal lines : may suggest tension or unease;
Chaotic lines : may suggest a sense of agitation or panic;
Underdrawing, construction lines or contour lines : describe form ( learn more about contour lines in our article about line drawing );
Curving / organic lines : may suggest nature, peace, movement or energy.
What is the relationship between line and three-dimensional form? Are outlines used to define form and edges?
Would it be appropriate to use line in a similar way within your own artwork?

Shape and form

Can you identify a dominant visual language within the shapes and forms shown (i.e. geometric; angular; rectilinear; curvilinear; organic; natural; fragmented; distorted; free-flowing; varied; irregular; complex; minimal)? Why is this visual language appropriate?
How are the edges of forms treated (i.e. do they fade away or blur at the edges, as if melting into the page; ripped or torn; distinct and hard-edged; or, in the words of James Gurney, 9 do they ‘dissolve into sketchy lines, paint strokes or drips’)?
Are there any three-dimensional forms or relief elements within the artwork, such as carved pieces, protruding or sculptural elements? How does this affect the viewing of the work from different angles?
Is there a variety or repetition of shapes/forms? What effect does this have (i.e. repetition may reinforce ideas, balance composition and/or create harmony / visual unity; variety may create visual interest or overwhelm the viewer with chaos)?
How are shapes organised in relation to each other, or with the frame of the artwork (i.e. grouped; overlapping; repeated; echoed; fused edges; touching at tangents; contrasts in scale or size; distracting or awkward junctions)?
Are silhouettes (external edges of objects) considered?

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. – James Gurney, Imaginative Realism 9

Are forms designed with ergonomics and human scale in mind?

Ergonomics: an applied science concerned with designing and arranging things people use so that the people and things interact most efficiently and safely – Merriam-webster.com

Can you identify which forms are functional or structural , versus ornamental or decorative ?
Have any forms been disassembled, ‘cut away’ or exposed , such as a sectional drawing? What is the purpose of this (i.e. to explain construction methods; communicate information; dramatic effect)?
Would it be appropriate to use shape and form in a similar way within your own artwork?

Value / tone / light

Has a wide tonal range been used in the artwork (i.e. a broad range of darks, highlights and mid-tones) or is the tonal range limited (i.e. pale and faint; subdued; dull; brooding and dark overall; strong highlights and shadows, with little mid-tone values)? What is the effect of this?
Where are the light sources within the artwork or scene? Is there a single consistent light source or multiple sources of light (sunshine; light bulbs; torches; lamps; luminous surfaces)? What is the effect of these choices (i.e. mimics natural lighting conditions at a certain time of day or night; figures lit from the side to clarify form; contrasting background or spot-lighting used to accentuate a focal area; soft and diffused lighting used to mute contrasts and minimize harsh shadows; dappled lighting to signal sunshine broken by surrounding leaves; chiaroscuro used to exaggerate theatrical drama and impact; areas cloaked in darkness to minimize visual complexity; to enhance our understanding of narrative, mood or meaning)?

One of the most important ways in which artists can use light to achieve particular effects is in making strong contrasts between light and dark. This contrast is often described as chiaroscuro . – Matthew Treherne, Analysing Paintings, University of Leeds 3

Are representations of three-dimensional objects and figures flat or tonally modeled ? How do different tonal values change from one to the next (i.e. gentle, smooth gradations; abrupt tonal bands)?
Are there any unusual, reflective or transparent surfaces, mediums or materials which reflect or transmit light in a special way?
Has tone been used to help communicate atmospheric perspective (i.e. paler and bluer as objects get further away)?
Are gallery or environmental light sources where the artwork is displayed fixed or fluctuating? Does the work appear different when viewed at different times of day? How does this affect your interpretation of the work?
Are shadows depicted within the artwork? What is the effect of these shadows (i.e. anchors objects to the page; creates the illusion of depth and space; creates dramatic contrasts)?
Do sculptural protrusions or relief elements catch the light and/or create cast shadows or pockets of shadow upon the artwork? How does this influence the viewer’s experience?
How has tone been used to help direct the viewer’s attention to focal areas?
Would it be appropriate to use value / tone in a similar way within your own artwork? Why / why not?

Color / hue

Can you view the true color of the artwork (i.e. are you viewing a low-quality reproduction or examining the artwork in poor lighting)?
Which color schemes have been used within the artwork (i.e. harmonious; complementary; primary; monochrome; earthy; warm; cool/cold)? Has the artist used a broad or limited color palette (i.e. variety or unity)? Which colors dominate?
How would you describe the intensity of the colors (vibrant; bright; vivid; glowing; pure; saturated; strong; dull; muted; pale; subdued; bleached; diluted)?
Are colors transparent or opaque ? Can you see reflected color?
Has color contrast been used within the artwork (i.e. extreme contrasts; juxtaposition of complementary colors; garish / clashing / jarring)? Are there any abrupt color changes or unexpected uses of color?
What is the effect of these color choices (i.e. expressing symbolic or thematic ideas; descriptive or realistic depiction of local color; emphasizing focal areas; creating the illusion of aerial perspective; relationships with colors in surrounding environment; creating balance; creating rhythm/pattern/repetition; unity and variety within the artwork; lack of color places emphasis upon shape, detail and form)? What kind of atmosphere do these colors create?

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. Experiments, however, have proved inconclusive; the response to color – despite clichés about seeing red or feeling blue – is highly personal, highly cultural, highly varied. – Sylvan Barnet, A Short Guide to Writing About Art 2

Would it be appropriate to use color in a similar way within your own artwork?

Texture / surface / pattern

Are there any interesting textural, tactile or surface qualities within the artwork (i.e. bumpy; grooved; indented; scratched; stressed; rough; smooth; shiny; varnished; glassy; glossy; polished; matte; sandy; grainy; gritted; leathery; spiky; silky)? How are these created (i.e. inherent qualities of materials; impasto mediums; sculptural materials; illusions or implied texture , such as cross-hatching; finely detailed and intricate areas; organic patterns such as foliage or small stones; repeating patterns ; ornamentation)?
How are textural or patterned elements positioned and what effect does this have (i.e. used intermittently to provide variety; repeating pattern creates rhythm ; patterns broken create focal points ; textured areas create visual links and unity between separate areas of the artwork; balance between detailed/textured areas and simpler areas; glossy surface creates a sense of luxury; imitation of texture conveys information about a subject, i.e. softness of fur or strands of hair)?
Would it be appropriate to use texture / surface in a similar way within your own artwork?

Industrial and architectural landscapes are particularly concerned with the arrangement of geometries and form in space… Dr. Ben Guy, Landscape and Visual Impact Assessment using CGI Digital Twins, Urban CGI 12

Is the pictorial space shallow or deep? How does the artwork create the illusion of depth (i.e. layering of foreground, middle-ground, background ; overlapping of objects; use of shadows to anchor objects; positioning of items in relationship to the horizon line; linear perspective ( learn more about one point perspective here ); tonal modeling; relationships with adjacent objects and those in close proximity – including the human form – to create a sense of scale ; spatial distortions or optical illusions; manipulating scale of objects to create ‘surrealist’ spaces where true scale is unknown)?
Has an unusual viewpoint been used (i.e. worm’s view; aerial view, looking out a window or through a doorway; a scene reflected in a mirror or shiny surface; looking through leaves; multiple viewpoints combined)? What is the effect of this viewpoint (i.e. allows certain parts of the scene to be dominant and overpowering or squashed, condensed and foreshortened ; or suggests a narrative between two separate spaces ; provides more information about a space than would normally be seen)?
Is the emphasis upon mass or void ? How densely arranged are components within the artwork or picture plane? What is the relationship between object and surrounding space (i.e. compact / crowded / busy / densely populated, with little surrounding space; spacious; careful interplay between positive and negative space; objects clustered to create areas of visual interest)? What is the effect of this (i.e. creates a sense of emptiness or isolation; business / visual clutter creates a feeling of chaos or claustrophobia)?
How does the artwork engage with real space – in and around the artwork (i.e. self-contained; closed off; eye contact with viewer; reaching outwards)? Is the viewer expected to move through the artwork? What is the relationship between interior and exterior space ? What connections or contrasts occur between inside and out? Is it comprised of a series of separate or linked spaces?
Would it be appropriate to use space in a similar way within your own artwork?

Use of media / materials

What materials and mediums has the artwork been constructed from? Have materials been concealed or presented deceptively (i.e. is there an authenticity / honesty of materials; are materials celebrated; is the structure visible or exposed )? Why were these mediums selected (weight; color; texture; size; strength; flexibility; pliability; fragility; ease of use; cost; cultural significance; durability; availability; accessibility)? Would other mediums have been appropriate?
Which skills, techniques, methods and processes were used (i.e. traditional; conventional; industrial; contemporary; innovative)? It is important to note that the examiners do not want the regurgitation of long, technical processes, but rather to see personal observations about how processes effect and influence the artwork in question. Would replicating part of the artwork help you gain a better understanding of the processes used?
Painting: gesso ground > textured mediums > underdrawing > blocking in colors > defining form > final details;
Architecture: brief > concepts > development > working drawings > foundations > structure > cladding > finishes;
Graphic design: brief > concepts > development > Photoshop > proofing > printing.
How does the use of media help the artist to communicate ideas?
Are these methods useful for your own project?

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-level: How to do visual (formal) analysis

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Composition in Red Yellow Blue and Black by Piet Mondriaan

Visual Arts

Formal Visual Analysis: The Elements & Principles of Composition Help students build techniques to interpret what they see into written words using art.

Lesson content.

Formal analysis is an important technique for organizing visual information. In other words, it is a strategy used to translate what you see into written words. This strategy can be applied to any work of art, from any period in history, whether a photograph, sculpture, painting or cultural artifact.

The Elements

The elements of formal analysis are building blocks that can be combined to create a larger structure.

Line is the most basic building block of formal analysis. Line can be used to create more complex shapes or to lead your eye from one area in the composition to another.

Value is the degree of light and dark in a design. It is the contrast between black and white and all the tones in between. Value can be used with color as well as black and white. Contrast is the extreme changes between values.

Shapes are created when lines are combined to form a square, triangle, or circle. Shapes can be organic (irregular shapes found in nature) or geometric (shapes with strong lines and angles such as circles, triangles, and squares).

Forms are three-dimensional shapes with length, width, and depth. Balls, cylinders, boxes and pyramids are forms.

Space is the area between and around objects. Increasing or decreasing the amount of space around an object affects the way we view that object.

Color differentiates and defines lines, shapes, forms, and space. Even black and white images have a huge number of different shades of gray.

Texture is the surface quality that can be seen and felt. Textures can be rough or smooth, soft or hard. Textures are often implied. For instance, a drawing of a rock might appear to have a rough and hard surface, but in reality is as smooth as the paper on which it is drawn.

The Principles

Notice how the following principles integrate the elements of formal analysis and build on one another. Note: Each principle below refers to the photograph of paddlers below to illustrate key concepts. Right-click and select "Open Image in New Tab" to view a larger version of the photo.

Article-Formal Visual Analysis-IMG_1921.png

Balance is created in a work of art when textures, colors, forms, or shapes are combined harmoniously. In this image, notice how the photographer achieves a sense of balance by dividing the image into two sections: one half occupied by trees, and the other half by the water.

Contrast is the use of several elements of design to hold the viewer's attention and to guide the viewer's eye through the artwork. In this image, the texture of the trees contrasts with the texture of the water.

Movement is the way a viewer's eye is directed to move through a composition, often to areas of emphasis. Movement can be directed by lines, contrasting shapes, or colors within the artwork. In this work of art, our eye moves up through the pattern in the rippling surface of the water to the two paddlers. From there, our eye moves to the contrasting textures and colors of the foliage in the top half of the image.

Emphasis is created in a work of art when the artist contrasts colors, textures, or shapes to direct your viewing towards a particular part of the image. In this image, the colors of the paddlers' kayaks contrasts with the muted tones of the background. Our attention is immediately drawn to the paddlers, even though they are relatively small in scale.

Pattern is the repetition of a shape, form, or texture across a work of art. The light reflecting off of the waves in the water creates a pattern in the bottom half of the image.

Proportion is created when the sizes of elements in a work of art are combined harmoniously. In this image, all of the proportions appear exactly as one would expect; the human figures are much smaller in scale than the natural world that surrounds them.

Unity is created when the principles of analysis are present in a composition and in harmony. Some images have a complete sense of unity, while some artists deliberately avoid formal unity to create feelings of tension and anxiety. In this image, the large areas of contrasting textures, patterns and colors create a sense of balance and unity within the composition.

Once students have an understanding of formal analysis, they will be well prepared to put this theory into practice by making their own images based on the elements and principles of design. Whether in photography, sculpture, or painting, the theory of formal analysis will help students to compose their works of art as professional artists would.

Print Vocabulary

Jeremy Glatstein

Joanna McKee

December 9, 2019

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Wednesday, August 24th, 2011

Ancient Art: Formal Analysis Example

Note: The following post is intended to be a resource for my ancient art students. If you know of any good examples of basic formal analysis that are available online, please leave links in the comments section below! I would like to build up a list of resources for my students.

Formal elements are things that are part of the form (or physical properties) of a work of art: medium, line, color, scale, size, composition, etc. Formal analysis involves an exploration of how these formal elements affect you, as a viewer.

Formal analysis involves describing a work of art, but formal analysis goes beyond mere description. Instead, description is used as an agent to support the argument-at-hand. Although your essay will likely introduce a work of art with some general descriptions, the rest of your descriptions should be very pinpointed and with purpose. Make sure that such detailed descriptions are used to back up specific points of your argument. For this formal analysis assignment, your argument will revolve around some type of reaction to the work of art.

Your formal analysis should include some type of thesis statement that revolves around your reaction. To help you think about your own assignment and personal reaction, I have written a short sample of formal analysis below (and have underlined the thesis statement). Please also note that I am not basing my reaction on content (i.e. the subject matter, narrative, or symbolism), nor on historical context. Instead, I am focusing strictly on formal (visual or physical) elements:

Great Lyre sound box, c. 2600-2500 BCE

The front panel of the Great Lyre sound box (shown above) is an example of Sumerian art from the Ancient Near East.The panel is divided into four different registers. These registers contain four scenes with figures (mostly animals) involved in various activities. Despite the rather rigid compartmentalization of the four sound box scenes, the overall effect of the front panel of the Great Lyre sound box is one of energy and dynamism. Such energy can be seen in the color of the figures and in curvy compositional lines.

The sound box is comprised of two different colors, a dark black and a light tan. These colors are caused by the medium of the panel. Dark black is the color of bitumen, which is used for the background of the panel and lines. Light tan is the color of the inlaid shell that is used for the bodies of the figures and objects. The stark contrast of light tan against a dark background adds a sense of dynamism to the figures. The figures seem to glow and hum with life. Furthermore, these lightly-colored figures are pushed closer toward the viewer, away from the black background, which gives the figures a sense of presence and energy.

Detail of top registers of Great Lyre sound box, c. 2600-2500 BCE

The composition of the figures also lends itself to this idea of energy. The figures fill the whole space of their respective registers and scenes, giving them a strong, energetic presence. In fact, some figures strain and twist so that their bodies can fill and fit within the register space. Such dynamic twisting is especially seen in the two bulls in the upper-most register (see image above). These bulls are symmetrically placed on either side of a central human figure, creating a “Master of the Animals” motif. The bodies of the bulls twist inward toward the human figure, and but their necks and heads twist outward and slightly downward. The theme of curves and energy is underscored in the beards and hair of these three figures: each lock of hair ends with a bouncy curl.

Energy can be seen in the curvaceous lines of other figures as well. In the second register from the top, the backs and tails of the hyena and lion are comprised of swooping lines. In fact, the lines of the lion’s back are reinforced and highlighted by swooping, short lines that suggest the lion’s bushy mane. While the lion’s mane swoops toward the center of the scene, the lion’s lower back curves in the other direction. These opposing compositional lines give the panel an added sense of energy and movement.

Detail of bottom registers of Great Lyre sound box, c. 2600-2500 BCE

In the second register from the bottom, the back of the bear curves upward and downward in a lyrical, dynamic swoop (see image above). In fact, the whole body of the bear is placed at a more dynamic angle, since the bear is leaning toward the lyre placed on the left side of the scene. Some of the strings of the lyre curve upward toward the right, opposite the angle of the bear’s body, to add more opposing movement and dynamism to the overall composition.

The lowest register of the front panel contains some of the most dynamic curves and lines. The most obvious curve is found in the tail of the scorpion man on the left side of the scene. This tail curls and swoops upward, only to end with a stinger that loops downward. The shape and detail lines of the scorpion tail are also energetic. The tail is comprised of several oval shapes of decreasing sizes. These shapes are combined together to creating a visually dynamic, bouncy outline for the tail. Furthermore, the tail is full of energy because of the multiple lines that appear within each oval shape. These lines look a little like a maze or labyrinth; they visually reinforce the idea of movement through their repetition and interlocking layout.

The front panel of the Great Lyre sound box embodies energy in many ways. This energy can be seen not only because of the colors of the panel, but also through several compositional devices and lines. Such visual interest in energy is fitting for this piece, given that this sound box originally hummed with musical vibrations and the energy created by sound.

For further information about formal analysis, you may want to look at the chapter, “Formal Analysis” by Anne d’Alleva. Preview is available online here .

3 Responses to Ancient Art: Formal Analysis Example —

Wonderful! Thank you.

Hi! I was referred to this blog by a mutual friend, Nik English. I received my bachelor's degree in Art History last year and am looking for opportunities to work or continue to study in this field so if you have any advise he thought you might be able to help.

As far as Formal Analysis examples go I liked this site from the University of Arkansas because these examples also show you the format for the paper as well as the writing style. Hope that helps:

http://ualr.edu/art/index.php/home/undergraduate-information/bachelor-of-arts-in-art-ba-in-art/bachelor-of-arts-in-art-art-history-track/formal-analysis-example-1/

Thanks for the comments!

Samantha, thanks for including the link to the University of Arkansas site. I wasn't familiar with that resource beforehand! It's nice to have some student examples posted online.

Also, I'd be happy to talk with you about job or schooling opportunities. It was kind of Nik to mention me. If you want to write me an email with more information about your background and interests, I can try and give you some recommendations. My contact info is at the top left hand side of my blog homepage.

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1 Visual Analysis 1: The Elements of Art

Visual analysis 1: the elements of art.

Visual Analysis is the backbone of art appreciation. It takes a bit of practice, but once you have mastered the skills, it can help you to analyze any works of art you come across. It will even help you to understand why things you see every day – ads in magazines, billboards, television shows, movies, really all things visual – are (or are not) effective.

In order to perform a visual analysis, you need to realize that in every visual image there are multiple things at work that affect our response to it: the visual elements (also called formal elements ) that compose the image; the way these elements relate to one another, called composition ; and the cultural context in which the image is made and viewed. Visual analysis only deals with the first two. This introduction will first provide a definition of each visual element, accompanied by examples, and then will define the principles of composition , also with examples. There will be a number of terms introduced here, but the point is not to overwhelm you with jargon. Once you know the terms for things, you see them more clearly. These terms are helpful not only to describe works of art but also to see them. It is important to note that these categories all blend into one another – textured forms existing in space can be made of colored shapes defined by lines!

The Elements of Art

Line : A path either represented or implied Shape : The property of a two-dimensional form, usually defined by a line around it Color : The light reflecting off objects, divided into hue, value and intensity Space : Depth, real or represented, as well as the general area within a work Form : The property of a three-dimensional object Texture : The feeling of a surface, real or represented [1]

Albrecht Dürer, Four Hoursemen of the Apocalypse, woodcut print, ca. 1497/1498 (Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York). Photo: Public Domain.

Line is the most basic visual element. Lines can be used to define shapes and figures, but also to indicate motion, emotion and other elements. In a woodblock print of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse by Albrecht Dürer (ca. 1497–98), contour lines – lines that define shapes – are used to mark the outside of all of the elements of the image. The outline of the hat on one of the horsemen, for example, is clearly made by a few black contour lines. This simple device is so effective that it is hard to remember that there is no hat here, only a few black marks on a creamy white page.

Detail of hat, Albrecht Dürer, Four Hoursemen of the Apocalypse, woodcut print, ca. 1497/1498 (Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York). Photo: Public Domain.

Note, though, that lines are also used to show shading – the representation of shadows caused when light hits one side of an object, leaving the other in shadow. On the hat, for example, the closely spaced lines, called hatching , show that the left side of his hat is in a shadow. This also helps the hat to look more three-dimensional, giving it a sense of form .

Contour lines outline all the figures and forms in the image, creating the illusion of shading and form. In addition, there are horizontal lines in the background. While these do create shading, they also help create the sense that the riders are moving rapidly from left to right. Motion lines may be familiar to you from comic strips, like in the Krazy Kat image below, but they appear in all sorts of work.

George Herriman, Krazy Kat - Out of My Way Woim, ink on paper, ca. 1920, Photo: CC BY-NC-ND 2.0.

In the Dürer print, we can also divide the lines into organic lines and inorganic or geometric lines (See the section on shape below for more on organic and inorganic). Organic lines are loose, curving, irregular lines like those found in nature. In the Dürer woodcut, the lines of the horses’ manes and tails, the figures’ hair, and the ruffled clouds are all organic. Inorganic lines are generally straight or perfectly curving lines, like those found in geometry. In Dürer’s image, most of the lines are organic, but the horizontal hatching lines in the background are inorganic.

Leonardo da Vinci, The Virgin and the Rocks, oil on poplar, thinned and cradled, ca. 1491 (National Gallery, London). Photo: CC BY-NC-ND 4.0.

We can also look for implied lines . These are not actually drawn, but we can connect the dots (literally or figuratively) to create the lines in our minds. Leonardo da Vinci’s Virgin of the Rocks (1483-1486) contains wonderful examples. Here, the implied lines are sight lines , which guide us throughout the image. These help us know where to look, and show us what is important in the painting. Follow the gazes of the figures as they look at and gesture toward one another.

Sight Lines in Leonardo da Vinci, The Virgin and the Rocks, oil on poplar, thinned and cradled, ca. 1491.

The angel at the right looks at the infant John the Baptist, at the left. He looks at the infant Jesus, who in turn looks back again at him. Above, Mary looks down at Jesus, and also gestures toward him with her hand. Basically, once we make it into the space of the painting, we become locked in a cycle of movement between the holy figures, guided by their sight lines.

Artists can use colors for many reasons other than to simply duplicate reality ( naturalism , discussed below) including setting moods and highlighting importance. The colors of the world can be divided on a few scales. When we use the term “color” casually, what we usually mean is hue. The hues appear on the visual spectrum:

On the spectrum, we see the pure hues. These can be divided into primary colors , secondary colors and tertiary colors , as on this color wheel. Primary colors are, for most art media , red, yellow, and blue (the exception is the additive color system, which is used in computer screens, theater lighting and the like, and has red, yellow, and green as its primary colors).

All the rest of the colors can be made from these. Secondary colors are made by mixing two primary colors: Red and yellow make orange, and so on. Tertiary colors are made by mixing a primary color with a secondary color. The colors opposite one another (like red and green or blue and orange) are complementary colors , which tend to stand out boldly next to one another. These are therefore often used for university colors and sport team logos. Colors next to one another (like red and orange or blue and green) are analogous colors , and these tend to blend together more smoothly.

Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Maternité, oil on canvas, 1885 (Musée d'Orsay, Paris). Photo: CC BY-NC 2.0.

The colors on the left of this wheel are called cool colors and those to the right are warm colors . Using cool or warm colors in an image can create moods. Pierre Auguste Renoir used warm colors for his Mother and Child (1886), creating a warm, cheerful, inviting scene. The oranges, pinks and yellows dominate the image. Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot presents a similar subject in his Mother and Child (ca. 1860), but through the use of cool colors, instead creates a sad, cold scene dominated by blues and greens. Neither of these artists was worried about portraying the world as it really looked. Instead, they used color to inspire feelings in the viewer.

Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot, Mother and Child, oil on wood, ca. 1860 (Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York). Photo: Public Domain.

Color can also be considered in terms of value , which is the degree of lightness or darkness of a color. If we add white to a hue, we get a tint . If we add black, we get a shade .

There are many tints in the Renoir’s Mother and Child , and many shades in Corot’s Mother and Child . Tints tend to be more cheerful – pastel colors are all tints. Shades tend to be gloomier. Indeed, some terms for moods are based on these properties. Some speakers of english might say that a cheerful person is “lighthearted,” or that an angry person is “in a dark temper.” It is important to note that the associations that cultures make with colors are somewhat arbitrary, and are not universal. Some cultures see black as the color of death, perhaps inspired by thoughts of the darkness of a grave, while others see white as the color of death, perhaps inspired by the whiteness of bones. Associating white and black with qualities that have nothing to do with appearance is particularly dangerous. For example, we are used to thinking of white as the color of goodness and black as the color of evil, but this arbitrary association reinforces racist modes of thought – think, for example, of “a white knight,” or of someone “going over to the dark side.” These sorts of expressions are extremely common, and most people use them unthinkingly, but they should be reconsidered. The same is true of interpretations of colors in works of art. Such things are rarely – if ever – neutral.

Henri Matisse, La Chambre Rouge, oil on canvas, 1908 (State Hermitage Museum, Saint Petersburg). Photo: CC BY-NC-SA 2.0.

Finally, intensity or saturation is how bright or dull a color is. Henri Matisse tended to use very saturated colors, as in his La Chambre Rouge (1908), whereas in Garden Flowers (1540), painted by a follower of the artist Chen Chun, we see a much more muted palette with very little saturation of colors. The colors in Garden Flowers are mostly washed out. The grey-green of the trees and pinks of the blossoms are low in saturation, and do not stand out sharply from the beige paper on which they were painted. The Matisse painting, on the other hand, is a blaze of colors. The vibrant reds of the wall and tablecloth dominate the image, in sharp contrast with the green grass showing through the window and the blues curving throughout the image.

Kazimir Malevich, Suprematist Composition: White on White, oil on canvas, 1918 (Museum of Modern Art, New York). Photo: Public Domain.

Contrast is the amount of variation between the highest and lowest values in a work of art. This is perhaps most commonly used to talk about photography, but can be applied to any works. Kazimir Malevich’s Suprematist Composition: White on White ( 1918) has very low contrast. There are no dark blacks, no stark whites; everything is in very similar shades of pale gray. The low contrast conveys the soft and gentle feeling of a heavy mist over quite water.

Nagesh Jayaraman, Freedom is to break free from all shackles....... 2012, (CC BY 2.0) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/

On the other hand, Nagesh Jayaraman’s Freedom is to break free from all shackles……. (2012) has extremely high contrast, meaning that the difference in the whites and blacks is much greater. Indeed, the images is almost entirely black and white. The effect is much sharper and crisper, making an ordinary scene feel weightier. Similarly, Kara Walker’s silhouette image Before the Battle (Chickin’ Dumplin’) (1995), the contrast is absolute.

Kara Walker, African't (detail), cut paper on wall, 1996 (The Broad, Los Angeles). Photo: CC BY-NC 2.0.

We see only black and white. In this case, the artist is using the power of this contrast to draw the viewer’s attention to some of the problems in US race relations, and their origins in the institution of chattel slavery, in which people and their children are bought and sold as property. This system of the dehumanization and abuse of human beings was justified by arguments that the world was, in a sense, black and white, that these two colors, when thought of as racial categories, were absolute and absolutely different. Seeing Walker’s images in only black and white. and reduced to two-dimensional cut-outs, is a reminder of the falseness of the racist claims on which the system of enslavement was built. Therefore, while visual elements produce visual effects, it is important to remember that their implications can extend well beyond the purely visual.

Shape and Form

Piet Mondrian, Composition with Yellow, Blue and Red, oil on canvas, 1937-1942 (Tate Modern, London). Photo: CC BY-SA 2.0.

Shape builds on line and color, as it has to be made of one or both of these. Shape is the property of a two-dimensional form, usually defined by a line around it or by a change in color. Like line, there are two main types of shapes, geometric and organic. While most works of art contain both geometric and organic shapes, looking at those that are more completely divided can serve to clarify the qualities. Piet Mondrian is an excellent example of an artist who used geometric shapes almost exclusively. In his Composition with Yellow, Blue and Red (1937-42), Mondrian uses straight, vertical and horizontal black lines to divide his canvas into rectangles of primary colors. Nothing here gives the impression of the natural world. On the other hand, Maori facial tattooing, known as moko , uses primarily organic shapes.

Maori, Australasia, 2013 -35. Photo by Steve, CC BY-NC-SA 2.0.

They are still, like Mondrian’s shapes, generally abstract – they do not depict any clear images – but the shapes are like those found in nature, curving, twisting and spiraling across their bearers’ faces. The edges of the lines and shapes are crisp, but the forms are curving fluid.

Form is actual, three-dimensional shape, though it is often used to describe the illusion of three-dimensionality, as well. Like shape, form can be geometric or organic.

Korvar (Korwar), wood with glass beads, Indonesia, 19th century (?), Etnografiska Museet, Stockholm. Photo: CC BY 2.5.

A small korvar – a representation of an ancestor – from Indonesia mixes these form types well. While the figure is predominantly geometric, with the squared-off face and the nose shaped like a arrow pointing downward, the curving organic shapes on the panel below the face soften this effect.

Space is used to refer both to depth, real or represented, and also to the general surface area within a work of art. Some periods of art history show a great deal of interest in creating convincing illusions of three-dimensional space in two-dimensional media. Perhaps the most iconic (though certainly not the only) example of this is the Italian Renaissance (ca. 1400-1600), when artists very deliberately worked to created convincing illusions of depth. Look at how Raphael creates an illusion of three-dimensional form in his La Donna Velata (c a. 1515). Through careful variations in value, particularly in shading – the use of darker colors to create the illusion of shadows – Raphael convinces us that the woman in the painting is really there in three dimensions. This is the same effect we saw in the Dürer woodcut print discussed above, but the medium – oil paint – allows for much smoother and finer variations in hue, value, shades and tints, creating a much more convincing illusion of three-dimensional forms.

Raphael, La Donna Velata, oil on canvas, ca. 1512-1515 (Pitti Palace, Florence). Photo: CC BY-NC 2.0.

Light seems to strike the woman from her left, casting her right side in shadow. The folds of her voluminous sleeve are a particularly splendid example of the illusion of space. Even examining a small detail of it, it is hard to believe that there is no depth, at all, just thin layers of paint sitting on flat canvas.

For sharp contrast, we can examine a detail of a page of a medieval Irish Book of the Gospels, ca. 750. Both images show a person in voluminous robes, looking out at us, but this is where the similarities end. Raphael’s figure is lit softly, creating highlights and shadows that create a sense of roundness and weight to her body and clothes. The figure of John the Evangelist from the Irish Gospels, on the other hand, is almost totally flat. There is virtually no shading to his body and the folds on his clothes are purely schematic patterns. If we isolate a small detail of John’s clothing, as we did with La Donna Velata’s , it is difficult to even recall that this series of lines and colors is intended to be seen as a three-dimensional form, at all.

Detail of clothing, Portrait of Luke, Gospel Book.

There are various methods used by artists to create the illusion that their figures exist in three-dimensional space. Among the more effective are linear perspective and atmospheric perspective . Another work from the Italian Renaissance will serve to demonstrate both. Pietro Perugino’s Christ Handing the Keys to St. Peter ( 1481-82), uses both linear and atmospheric perspective to create the very convincing illusion of depth.

Pietro Perugino, Christ Giving the Keys of the Kingdom to St. Peter, fresco, ca. 1481-1483 (Sistine Chapel, Vatican City). Photo: Public Domain.

Linear perspective is based on the optical illusion that parallel lines seem to converge as they recede into the distance. Railroad tracks are the classic example, as in Edouard Baldus’s Gare d’Enghein ( 1855).

Edouard Baldus, Gare d'Enghein, salted paper print from printed negative, 1855 (Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York). Photo: Public Domain.

If we overlay the lines used on Perugino’s painting, we can see how he used this effect.

Linear Perspective Diagram, Pietro Perugino, Christ Giving the Keys of the Kingdom to St. Peter.

The lines are called orthogonal lines or orthogonals and they meet on the horizon line , at the vanishing point . Note that as all the orthogonals converge, the forms also get smaller. The tool of one-point linear perspective is very simple, and artists can use it to create a convincing illusion of depth with only a few pencil strokes and without the careful measuring and use of a ruler, as in Rembrant van Rijn’s etching of Cottages and Farm Buildings with a Man Sketching ( ca. 1645).

Rembrant van Rijn, Cottages and Farm Buildings with a Man Sketching, etching, ca. 1645 (Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York). Photo: Public Domain.

Two- and three-point linear perspective are slightly more complicated, but operate on the same general principles and produce similar results.

1-, 2-, and 3-Point Perspective Diagrams. Image: Mari H.

Perugino also uses atmospheric perspective. This is based on the optical effect that makes objects in the distance appear paler, bluer, and less detailed that objects that are close to us. This effect is perhaps most striking when we look at images of mountains in the distance, as in Claude Lorrain’s Landscape with the Trip into Egypt ( ca. 1647). Note how the color of the figures in the foreground – the portion of the image that appears to be closest to the viewer – are more vibrant than the colors in the background .

Claude Lorrain, Landscape with the Trip into Egypt, oil on cavnas, ca. 1647 (Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister, Dresden). Photo: CC BY-NC-SA 2.0.

Returning to Perugino’s painting, we can see that he has also relied on this effect, carefully making the figures in the foreground bolder in color and the smaller figures in the middle ground paler, while the hills in the background seem to fade away into pale blues.

It is important to note, though, that the use of various techniques to create a convincing illusion of depth does not make Raphael or Perugino “better” artists than the anonymous medieval monk who painted the page of the Book of the Gospels, nor does it make their works any “better” or more sophisticated. The illusion of depth is one of the many tools in the artist’s toolbox, and it is serves some purposes very well, but it not always the most powerful or effective way to convey an idea. Indeed, sometimes it can be in direct conflict with the intentions of an artist.

Jeff Koons, Balloon Dog, mirror-polished stainless steel with transparent color coating, 2014 (Exhibition Center Pompidou, Paris). Photo: Public Domain.

Texture is the feeling of a surface, real or represented. This might refer to the roughness or smoothness of actual objects and art media, or to the illusion of these properties. Jeff Koons’ Balloon Dog (1994) has a perfectly smooth, mirrored surface it is difficult to resist touching (though we must). It is this surface texture that turns these replicas of commonplace, short-lived, disposable items into precious objects. In contrast, the coarse, bristly surface of an ancient Shang Dynasty Fang-Ding – a ritual vessel used in worshipping dead ancestors – grants the work a vibrant energy, but does not invite our touch.

Fang-ding, bronze, 12th-11th century B.C.E. (Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York). Photo: Public Domain.

The illusion of texture is no less important to our experience of works of art. Dutch still lifes are justly famous for their careful, illusionistic replication of objects. The smooth silver plates and glass goblet of Pieter Claesz’s Still Life (ca. 1623) seem to tease us, as do the rougher nuts and breads, and the flaky pie. The lemon peel appears to dangle out of the image itself, just beyond our grasp, and therefore makes this magnificent spread all the more tantalizing.

Pieter Claesz, Still Life with Meat Pie, oil on panel, 1640 (Guildhall Art Gallery, London). Photo: CC BY-NC-SA 2.0.

Media Attributions

Albrecht Dürer, Four Hoursemen of the Apocalypse, woodcut print, ca. 1497/1498 (Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York). Photo: Public Domain.
Detail of hat, Albrecht Dürer, Four Hoursemen of the Apocalypse, woodcut print, ca. 1497/1498 (Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York). Photo: Public Domain.
George Herriman, Krazy Kat – Out of My Way Woim, ink on paper, ca. 1920, Photo CC BY-NC-ND 2.0
Leonardo da Vinci, The Virgin and the Rocks, oil on poplar, thinned and cradled, ca. 1491 (National Gallery, London). Photo: CC BY-NC-ND 4.0.
Sight Lines in Leonardo da Vinci, The Virgin and the Rocks
Visible Light Spectrum. Image: Mari H.
Color Wheel. Image: Mari H.
Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Maternité, oil on canvas, 1885 (Musée d’Orsay, Paris). Photo: CC BY-NC 2.0.
Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot, Mother and Child, oil on wood, ca. 1860 (Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York). Photo: Public Domain.
Henri Matisse, La Chambre Rouge, oil on canvas, 1908 (State Hermitage Museum, Saint Petersburg). Photo: CC BY-NC-SA 2.0.
After Chen Chun, Garden Flowers, ink and color on paper, 1540 (Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York). Photo: Public Domain.
Kazimir Malevich, Suprematist Composition: White on White, oil on canvas, 1918 (Museum of Modern Art, New York). Photo: Public Domain.
Nagesh Jayaraman, Freedom is to break free from all shackles……. 2012, (CC BY 2.0) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/
Kara Walker, African’t (detail), cut paper on wall, 1996 (The Broad, Los Angeles). Photo CC BY-NC 2.0
Piet Mondrian, Composition with Yellow, Blue and Red, oil on canvas, 1937-1942 (Tate Modern, London). Photo: CC BY-SA 2.0.
Maori, Australasia, 2013 -35
Raphael, La Donna Velata, oil on canvas, ca. 1512-1515 (Pitti Palace, Florence). Photo: CC BY-NC 2.0.
Raphael, La Donna Velata, sleeve
Portrait of Luke, Gospel Book, London, British Library, MS Additional 40618, f. 21v, Ireland, 750-850. Creative Commons CC0 1.0 Universal Public Domain Dedication.
Detail of clothing, Portrait of Luke, Gospel Book.
Pietro Perugino, Christ Giving the Keys of the Kingdom to St. Peter, fresco, ca. 1481-1483 (Sistine Chapel, Vatican City). Photo: Public Domain.
Edouard Baldus, Gare d’Enghein, salted paper print from printed negative, 1855 (Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York). Photo: Public Domain.
Perugino Diagrammed
Rembrant van Rijn, Cottages and Farm Buildings with a Man Sketching, etching, ca. 1645 (Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York). Photo: Public Domain.
Perspectives
Claude Lorrain, Landscape with the Trip into Egypt, oil on cavnas, ca. 1647 (Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister, Dresden). Photo: CC BY-NC-SA 2.0.
Jeff Koons, Balloon Dog, mirror-polished stainless steel with transparent color coating, 2014 (Exhibition Center Pompidou, Paris). Photo: Public Domain.
Fang-ding, bronze, 12th-11th century B.C.E. (Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York). Photo: Public Domain.
Pieter Claesz, Still Life with Meat Pie, oil on panel, 1640 (Guildhall Art Gallery, London). Photo: CC BY-NC-SA 2.0.
The Elements of Art and Principles of Composition are here adapted from the J. Paul Getty Museum’s “Understanding Formal Analysis,” (accessed 4/29/2011) http://www.getty.edu/education/teachers/building_lessons/formal_analysis.html (no date). ↵

The process of breaking down works of art into their parts (such as line, color, balance, and symmetry), figuring out how they relate to one another, and considering their effects of viewers.

Line, Shape, Color, Space, Form, Texture

see: visual elements

How the visual elements of a work of art relate to each other

A path either represented or implied

The property of a two-dimensional form, usually defined by a line around it

The light reflecting off objects, divided into hue, value and intensity

Depth, real or represented, as well as the general area within a work

The property of a three-dimensional object; also used to describe the illusion of three-dimensionality

The feeling of a surface, real or represented

a form of printmaking where a wooden block is carved in reverse, inked, and then pressed into paper to create an image

lines that define shapes

The use of darker colors or lines to create the illusion of shadows

closely spaced lines used to create an illusion of shadow

lines used to create a sense of movement in an image

straight or smoothly, evenly curving lines found in geometric diagrams, and not common in nature

loose, curving, irregular lines like those found in nature

lines that are not actually drawn in an image, but can be inferred, such as the sight lines of figures in a work

lines that follow the direction of a figure's gaze

Making an image look like the “real world”

Colors from which all other colors can be made

Colors made by mixing two primary colors

Colors made by mixing a primary color with an adjacent secondary color

the materials used to make works of art, such as oil paint, marble, and steel

Colors opposite one another on the color wheel

Colors next to one another on the color wheel

Colors from green to purple on the color wheel

Colors from yellow to violet on the color wheel

The degree of lightness or darkness of a color

Value produced by adding white to a hue

Value produced by adding black to a hue

How bright or dull a color is

The amount of variation between the highest and lowest values in a work of art

Bright elements of an image that often draw the viewer's attention

A technique used to create the illusion of three-dimensional space on a two-dimensional image, achieved by drawing or implying a series of lines that all converge on one or more vanishing points

The simulation in a work of art of the optical effect that makes objects in the distance appear paler, bluer, and less detailed than objects that are close to us

Lines that meet at the vanishing point in linear perspective

The divide in an image between sky and land or sea

Point on the horizon line where orthogonal lines meet in linear perspective

The portion of the image that appears to be closest to the viewer

The portion of the image that appears to be furthest from the viewer

Images of objects, generally without human or animal figures

Look At This!: An Introduction to Art Appreciation Copyright © 2023 by Asa Simon Mittman is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.

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The Quick & Easy Beginner’s Guide to Art Analysis

Are you not quite sure how to get your head around art analysis, here’s a quick guide on where to start..

Art Lovers Australia works with a number of pretty amazing artists, and while it’s great to just look at and enjoy art as it is, isn’t it even better when you can adequately appreciate it too?

QuayPitReel – NATHAN PADDISON (50 x 60cm, Mixed media on board)

You’ve probably been introduced in one way or another to the world of art analysis. All those high school classes on how to interpret colour, texture, mood, and context. For some, analysis and interpretation was easy, but for many, it was an overly intellectual process.

But art analysis really isn’t as hard as it sounds, and interpretation is pretty easy once you’ve got an understanding of it.

Swamp Reflections: Veil Of Rain 30x40:75x100cm Watercolour

Swamp Reflections / Veil of Rain – IAN TREMEWEN (100 X 75CM, Watercolour on paper / Unframed)

The first step is observation:

#1 ~ what do you see and what don’t you see.

The first step in analysing anything is to establish what you actually see. There’s no use trying to pull meaning out of a hat. Your first question should always be: what am I looking at?

So plainly address what you see and keep an open mind. Try seeing it as trying to decipher shapes from clouds: if you have the creativity, then you can see nearly anything!

And just as you are stating what you see, you should also be stating what you don’t see, too. Are there blank spaces in the work or missing detail? Is colour, shape or line missing from it?

Always – CHRIS COX (43 x 53cm, Acrylic on 300 gsm acid free paper)

#2 ~ Examine the artist’s techniques, methods and materials.

The next best step is to decipher techniques, materials and methods that could be useful. While materials and methods are usually detailed in the description, it still can sometimes mean further inspection. Look closely at the work and try to outline in detail how the piece has been done (if you can establish the artist’s step by step process- even better).

Into the Abyss – CHERYL MCGANNON (43 X 41CM, Cold wax, oil, mixed media on oil painting paper / Framed)

An example of examining techniques is the work from Cheryl McGannon , who uses mixed media including wax and oil to create her works. One of her pieces, “ Into the Abyss ” is a part of her “ Coastal Fragments ” collection, and depicts what McGannon describes as a dream like image of a coastal shoreline. Looking closer, you see that the piece is created with a number of layers used to create an in depth texture to the piece. The painting also uses a similar colour palette throughout, using various cool tones to give justice to the coastal depiction.

This step has again established a starting point to further analysis, as it elaborates on the “what we see” point and gives us further examples to analyse.

Home View Cudgen – JANE HOGGARD (80 x 110cm, Mixed media on linen / Framed)

#3 ~ Consider how it makes you feel.

Your personal feelings towards the artwork are actually an essential part to the success and analysis of any artwork. As the audience is the consumer, it’s what they’re getting from the art that determines its meaning. Feel confident in your feelings because they always hold value.

Blue Night – MICHAEL BLACK (51 x 35cm, Mixed media on canvas paper)

Mood and feeling will usually be closely associated with colour and space of work, so when you are noting the methods and what you see, you’ll automatically be constructing an idea of how it makes you feel. Colour is a particularly important factor in determining the feeling of art, which you can find out more about at our Colour Psychology blog.

Petalis sol – TATIANA GEORGIEVA (101 x 101cm, Acrylic on canvas)

Take Tatiana Georgieva’s acrylic, abstract painting, “ Petalis sol ” , as an example. The piece is a parade of bright colours scattered across a canvas. Based on colour psychology, these intense colours stimulate excitement, happiness or high energy. This mood and emotion is probably one of the easiest ways to get an idea of the themes and ideas of an artwork, so remember to always consider it.

And finally:

#4 ~ ask “why”.

The last and most important step. All that comes before this is mere observation, but this is where your true understanding will lie. Making meaning of it all.

As you’d expect: ask yourself “why” and try your best to answer it.

Why does Tatiana’s painting give feelings of high energy and excitement? Is it because these colours chosen are associated with particular moments or events in our lives?

And why does Cheryl McGannon use complex layering in her painting? Is it to give justice to the complexities of a coastal sea-scape? Is its somewhat abstract portrayal reflective of an emotion or feeling over just a simple recreation?

Bondi Beach – JENNIFER BAIRD (122 x 91cm, Acrylic on canvas)

Really, it’s up to you where that “why” leads you. That’s the beauty of it. And once you’ve gotten a basic understanding of analysis, you’ll soon be able to start considering things like context, symbolism, genre and metaphor. But baby steps first.

If you felt something for any of the artworks above, check them out at the Art Lovers Australia shop , or try your luck at practicing some of your own analysis. Practice is the best way to gain confidence. So look through the artwork, have a go at giving a blind analysis and use the artist’s intent to see if you’re on the right track.

You might even find a piece you fall in love with.

We’ll watch the sky fall together – FERN SIEBLER (60.5 x 30cm, Mixed media on stretched canvas)

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4.2.1 Description; 4.2.2 Analysis; 4.2.3 Interpretation; 4.2.4 Evaluation; 4.2.5 Examples of Formal Analysis; While restricting our attention only to a description of the formal elements of an artwork may at first seem limited or even tedious, a careful and methodical examination of the physical components of an artwork is an important first step in "decoding" its meaning.
Describing Art: Writing a Formal Analysis
A formal analysis presents the difficult challenge of translating the visual (what you observe in the art) into the verbal (what you actually write). Not only do you have to describe the work, but you also have to use your description to support your argument. You are therefore simultaneously analyzing and describing the work.
How to analyze an artwork: a step-by-step guide
- Dr. Robert J. Belton, Art History: A Preliminary Handbook, The University of British Columbia 5 …a formal analysis - the result of looking closely - is an analysis of the form that the artist produces; that is, an analysis of the work of art, which is made up of such things as line, shape, color, texture, mass, composition.
Smarthistory
A-level: How to do visual (formal) analysis. by Dr. Beth Harris and Dr. Steven Zucker. With Giovanni Bellini, Madonna of the Meadow, c. 1500, oil and egg on synthetic panel, transferred from wood, 67.3 x 86.4 cm (The National Gallery). Speakers: Dr. Steven Zucker and Dr. Beth Harris.
Understanding Formal Analysis
The elements of art are components or parts of a work of art that can be isolated and defined. They are the building blocks used to create a work of art. The list below describes each element of art. Learn about the principles of design here. Download a student handout containing a list of the elements of art and their definitions. (PDF, 168KB)
Formal Visual Analysis: The Elements & Principles of Composition
This strategy can be applied to any work of art, from any period in history, whether a photograph, sculpture, painting or cultural artifact. The Elements. The elements of formal analysis are building blocks that can be combined to create a larger structure. Line is the most basic building block of formal analysis. Line can be used to create ...
Formal Analysis
This is a comprehensive examinationf the history and practice of writing about art, from simple criticisms to encyclopaedic histories. It seeks to reveal art's importance to the art museum, the art gallery, and general aesthetic theory. Paying special attention to the historical and social frameworks of the writers.
formal analysis
A formal analysis does not involve outside research beyond the most basic information on a work of art (artist, title, date, medium, etc.) Instead, it revolves around your ability to look (and look and look) closely at a work of art, to pay attention to its forms. The following terms will guide you in your looking. I recommend spending at least ...
Ancient Art: Formal Analysis Example
Formal elements are things that are part of the form (or physical properties) of a work of art: medium, line, color, scale, size, composition, etc. Formal analysis involves an exploration of how these formal elements affect you, as a viewer. Formal analysis involves describing a work of art, but formal analysis goes beyond mere description.
Understanding Formal Analysis (Education at the Getty)
Understanding Formal Analysis. Explore the elements of art and principles of design used by artists with your students. Students discover how to identify the elements and principles, and evaluate their role in the composition of a work of art. Exploring the elements and principles supports students' understanding of artist's choices and equips ...
Formal Analysis Chart
Formal Analysis Observation Chart. As an art and/or design student, you are asked to observe, interpret, and discuss art as well as create it. Describing and analyzing art and design is a way of participating in the disciplines of art and design history and criticism. It's also great practice for talking and writing about your own and fellow ...
Visual Analysis 1: The Elements of Art
Visual Analysis 1: The Elements of Art. Visual Analysis is the backbone of art appreciation. It takes a bit of practice, but once you have mastered the skills, it can help you to analyze any works of art you come across. It will even help you to understand why things you see every day - ads in magazines, billboards, television shows, movies ...
The Quick & Easy Beginner's Guide to Art Analysis
Your personal feelings towards the artwork are actually an essential part to the success and analysis of any artwork. As the audience is the consumer, it's what they're getting from the art that determines its meaning. Feel confident in your feelings because they always hold value. Blue Night - MICHAEL BLACK (51 x 35cm, Mixed media on ...