How To Write An Art Essay

Writing An Art Essay

Writing an art essay is writing an account of what you see and justifying your analysis of that art. Your task is to use words to explain images. In addition, you must familiarize yourself with the language of the craft, and be knowledgeable of the terms and percepts. Steps to writing an art essay:

1. Examine the medium – Determine the rationale of the artist for selecting a certain medium, including its advantages and even its limitations.
2. Use of lines – Did the artist use heavy or light lines? Do the lines run vertically or horizontally? Are the lines curved or straight? Is there a specific goal or outcome achieved by the use of these lines?
3. Coloration – did the artist use realistic colors, or are the colors more expressive in nature? Does the color give the sense of being warm or cool? Perhaps the colors are bright or subdued. If so, what is the overall effect of those colors?
4. Light – How does the artist employ light? Does the artist use shadows? Perhaps there is a play or interaction between the two, and what message is communicated to the audience of the work?
5. Space – Is there any sense of space within the work you have selected? Does the visual plane show great depth or is it shallow? What is the arrangement of the shapes used within the space of the work? How does the application of sense affect the artist’s subjects? How might that use of space influence your own response to the art?
6. Style – Are there any elements within the work, which identifies the artists’ specific style, whether it is unique to that artist or common to a specific period?
7. Composition – Are there any formal aspects or elements of the work, which interact with each other? Does the composition of the work convey the theme or idea of the artwork? Does it make your eye travel in a consistent manner across the piece of art? Does the composition of the art influence that movement?
8. Examine the context of the work - Consider when the work was painted, who is the artist and where was the work completed? How have culture or history influenced the work? Does it address any specific historical or cultural matters? As you are learning how to write an art essay, consider writing down questions that you may choose to answer within the scope of your essay. These questions will likely guide your examination of existing library sources. You may also desire to examine and keep any documentation or brochures that the gallery or museum may have available.