This assignment requires that you virtually visit a Museum of your choice online to evaluate in essay form your review of a work of art, specifically a painting.
Do not be overwhelmed by this Assignment. The instructions below are user friendly and are designed to make your exploration of the artwork fun,
interesting and engaging. Pay attention to each point of instructions and write a response in your own words, as if you were having a conversation with
someone about the painting you have chosen.
Do not use fancy words, artistic terminology with which you are not familiar, or any outside sources which show any reference to a review, recommendation
or personal observation from an academic, artistic or internet source. This is your project, your assessment, and your input only will be graded accordingly.
Check out Art Museums online to decide which painting you’d like to choose. (Note: If there is a Museum in your area that you would prefer to visit, that is
open, and is approved for physical distancing, etc., you may do so, but this is NOT mandatory).
Choose a painting only (no sculpture, tapestry, photograph, etc.) to which you are especially drawn. You will notice that the requirements to respond to the
assignment apply only to a painting. If any choice other than a painting is selected, the grade will be Zero, as the Elements of Art apply to a painting.
IMPORTANT: Do NOT use any art work from the textbook or any art work previously discussed in this course. Also, do NOT choose the Mona Lisa. or The
Last Supper by Leonardo da Vinci, nor Sunflowers or Starry Night by Vincent van Goh, as the essay will not be accepted for not having followed the
instructions. You do not want your Professor to have to review another 500th review of any of these stunning, wonderful, marvelous paintings. Find
something unique, different to you, unusual in nature, and perhaps something jaw dropping, or a painting that you would want to have in your home. There are
million choices to discover. Make this your artistic adventure for the semester, and really engage with the painting!
Select any one work and discuss it in a DOUBLE SPACED essay (1100 word minimum = 4 typed pages) in your own words. (Any essay less than 1100 words
will result in an automatic deduction of 20 points from your Essay grade). Do not repeat the Assignment questions in your essay. Make the answers to those
questions a part of your essay.
No late submissions are allowed.
Upload Word Document only for the Museum Report. Microsoft Word is the only format I accept. Don’t try to upload PDF or any other format. As far as
adding the photo of the art work, include it in the body of the text in your final report which is a Word document. The instructions on how to add a photo in
Word are at the bottom of the document.
For those of you who are using google docs, to prepare your final report, make sure you download the copy as Microsoft Word (.docx) and then upload in
Canvas.
Provide a review of your painting by responding to the following.
The title of the painting.
The name of the Museum where the artwork is located.
Include the name of the Artist – do not provide more than a maximum of 5 sentences about the artist. In other words, introduce the artist and only a few
points of interest, but nothing more. The Museum Report is about the art itself, so stay on point. This is a review of the artwork only.
When was the painting created?
What is the medium of the work of art? Acrylic, Oil, Pen & Ink, etc.
What are the dimensions? (Use inches, not centimeters; otherwise your audience may not understand or appreciate the size).
What made you choose this particular piece?
What makes this artwork a “must see” from your point of view?
What is represented?
Who is represented?
Is it
a myth?
a landscape?
a portrait?
a genre (a scene from everyday life) painting?Is the texture slick or matte? Shiny or dull?
Describe the color harmonies and contrasts in the composition. (Are the colors similar/blended or are they opposite and different?
Are warm colors (those colors that are warm in nature, red-yellow-orange) used by the artist?
Are cool colors (those colors that are cool in nature, violet-green-blue) used by the artist?
Is there an overall color theme used?
Interpretation
Your Museum Assignment is intentionally prepared for you to address the assignment questions (in essay form) in YOUR OWN WORDS. I do not want to
know what someone else knows or thinks about the art work you have chosen. However, to receive credit you must know this: you cannot just list references
at the end of the essay without giving credit to whose work you have used in your essay. Do not write more than a sentence or two in the entire Essay where
you have referenced information and you must include the cited source only at the end of the sentence (or within it) – not at the end of the essay.
A reminder that the paper MUST be in Essay Format. Do not include any of the Assignment questions in your Essay. They are a reference for you to address
ALL of them to create an academic paper.
Remember – if you have taken a sentence, sentences, or specific phrases from anyone else’s work,, then you MUST give a proper citation. Citations can come
in between the text, at the beginning of the text or at the end of the text. If you do not do this, and list citations only at the end of your essay, and not within
the body of your work, your grade will reflect a deduction of 50% . Your readership must know what part of the Report is in your own words, and what you
have copied. Also, the citation must be complete for me to find it.