Course Objective(s):
CO-1: Identify major works of Western and Non-Western art from the Neo-Lithic to the Post-Modern periods.
CO-2: Identify major artists and their time periods in Western and Non-Western art.
CO-3: Interpret art terminology in relationship to works of art.
CO-4: Describe major works of art.
CO-5: Compare and contrast works of art.
CO-6: Analyze works of art within their social and historical contexts.
Write a 2 page descriiption, formal analysis, and interpretation of one work of art from a virtual museum online. Visit the museum virtually. Please visit an art
museum, not a children’s museum for this project. Use the Week 1 How to Write a Critique format. You are writing in an informal manner and are
discussing/describing the object with us. Be sure to review the lesson of Descriiption, Formal Analyze, and Interpretation learned in Unit 2. It may be helpful
to review the Third of May, 1808 short videos in Unit 2 lecture.
This How-To covers the basic elements of art critique.
What is a critique?
A critique is an oral or written discussion strategy used to analyze, describe, and interpret works of art. Critiques help students hone their persuasive oral and
writing, information-gathering, and justification skills.
Below is a sample set of focus questions for an art critique related to four major areas of art criticism: descriiption, analysis, interpretation, judgment. (The
number of questions and aspects of specificity will vary according to the art form and number of works in the critique).
Descriiption
Describe the work without using value words such as “beautiful” or “ugly”:
What is the written descriiption on the label or in the program about the work?
What is the title and who is (are) the artist(s)?
When and where was the work created?
Describe the elements of the work (i.e., line, movement, light, space).
Describe the technical qualities of the work (i.e. what is it made of?, media).
Describe the subject matter. What is it all about? Are there recognizable images?
Analysis
Describe how the work is organized as a complete composition:
How is the work constructed or planned (i.e., line, color shape, depth and texture)?
Identify some of the similarities throughout the work (i.e., repetition of lines, shapes, etc.).
Identify some of the points of emphasis in the work (i.e., figure, movement, architectural devices, amorphic shapes).
If the work has figures, what are the relationships between or among them?
Interpretation
Describe how the work makes you think or feel:
Describe the expressive qualities you find in the work. What expressive language would you use to describe the qualities (i.e., raw, rough, refined, colorful,
sad, funny)?
Does the work remind you of other things you have experienced (i.e., analogy or metaphor)?
How does the work relate to other ideas or events in the world and/or in your other studies?
Judgment or Evaluation
Present your opinion of the work’s success or failure:
What qualities of the work make you feel it is a success or failure?
Compare it with similar works that you think are good or bad.
What criteria can you list to help others judge this work?
How original is the work? Why do you feel this work is original or not original?
Museum Paper Grading Rubric:
The Museum Paper is an analysis paper, not a history or research paper. It is worth 100 points.
60 points: If the student demonstrates a clear understanding of the topic being discussed and addresses all required points in the writing prompt. Be sure to
describe the artwork, name and discuss line, texture, space, color and shape, and arrive at an interpretation. What does the artwork say to you personally? Be
sure that the paper is two full pages aside from the descriiption of the museum. The museum descriiption should not be included as part of the two page
length requirement. Try to choose a museum locally so that you can visit in person at some point and see the artwork that you wrote about. Have fun!
30 points: If the student follows the Writing a Critique Guide provided
10 points: If the student has no spelling or grammatical errors