Tips on Writing an Art Analysis Essay





To write a stellar art analysis paper you need ask yourself questions, otherwise you will get stuck in the very beginning, or pay too much attention to some particular characteristic neglecting the others. True experts write an art analysis at several levels of understanding. Here, we present you with questions you may ask yourself describing each level. Of course, not all of the questions will be related to your assignments, so choose the relevant ones and think of some on your own. If after reading these tips and plans you still feel overwhelmed with the assignment, it is a wise idea to consider addressing an expert to write this analysis for you.

Tips on Writing an Art Analysis EssayImage credit: Myessaywriter

Emotional level

  • What impression gives this art piece?
  • What mood is the author trying to convey?
  • Which sensations can the viewer experience?
  • What is the nature of the art piece?
  • How is the emotional impression of this artwork supported by its scale, format, horizontal, vertical or diagonal arrangement of parts, the use of certain architectural forms, the use of certain colors in a picture and the distribution of light in an architectural monument?
  • Сoncept/Item Level
  • What (or who) is depicted in the picture?
  • What does the viewer see in the facade? In the interiors?
  • Who do you see in the sculpture?
  • Highlight the main point of what you see.
  • Try to explain why this is the main thing for you.
  • Using which means the artist (architect, composer) highlights the most important in the artwork?
  • How are the objects (subject composition) arranged in the work?
  • How are the main lines drawn in the work (linear composition)?
  • How are volumes and space compared in an architectural structure (architectural composition)?


    Story Level

    • Try to retell the plot of the picture.
    • Try to imagine what events may occur more often in this architectural structure.
    • What can this sculpture do (or say) if it comes to life?
    • Symbolic level
    • Are there objects in the work that symbolize something?
    • Do the composition and its main elements have a symbolic character: horizontal, vertical, diagonal, circle, oval, color, cube, dome, arch, arch, wall, tower, spire, gesture, posture, clothing, rhythm, timbre, etc.
    • What is the title of the piece? How does it relate to its plot and symbolism?
    • What do you think the author of the work wanted to convey to people?

      Example Plans for Your Successful Art Analysis

      Art analysis of the painting

      1. The author, the name of the work, time and place of creation, the history of the plan and its embodiment. Model selection.
      2. Style, direction.
      3. Kind of painting: easel, monumental (fresco, tempera, mosaic).
      4. he choice of material (for easel painting): oil paints, watercolor, gouache, pastel. The nature of the use of this material for the artist.
      5. The genre of painting (portrait, landscape, still life, historical painting, panorama, diorama, iconography, marina, mythological genre, everyday genre). This genre in other artist's works.
      6. Painted plot. Symbolic content (if any).
      7. Other characteristics of the artwork: colour, light, volume, flatness, color, artistic space (space transformed by the artist), line.
      8. Details.
      9. Personal impression obtained when viewing the work.

      Sculpture Analysis Plan
        1. The author, the name of the work, time and place of creation, the history of the plan and its embodiment.
        2. Style.
        3. Kind of sculpture: round sculpture, monumental sculpture, small plastic, relief and its type (bas-relief, high relief), sculptural portrait, herm, etc.
        4. Selected model (a real person, an animal, an artist’s fantasy, an allegorical image).
        5. Plastic (body language), cut-off modeling.
        6. Interaction with the environment: the color of the sculpture (coloring) and color background of the environment, lighting effects (backlight); sculpture as an element of architecture, a freestanding statue, etc.
        7. The choice of material and its conditionality (marble, granite, wood, bronze, clay, etc.).
        8. National features.
        9. Personal perception of the monument.
        10. Architectural Analysis Plan
        11. The author, the name of the facility, the time and place of creation, the history of the plan and construction.
        12. Style, direction. Is it a large or small form of architecture?
        13. Place in the architectural ensemble (inclusiveness, isolation, correlation with the landscape, the role of organic details, etc.). Tectonics: wall systems, masonry, post-felling construction, frame construction, vaulted construction, modern spatial structure (folded, screw, etc.).
        14. The material used and its participation in the creation of a special architectural appearance. The nature of this work in terms of the design: the pillars are carried, the vaults spring, the eaves rest, the arches rise, the domes crown, etc.
        15. The peculiarity of the architectural language in a particular work expressed through: symmetry, dissymmetry, asymmetry; the rhythm of parts, details; volume (flattened, vertically constricted, cubic, etc.); proportions (harmony of parts and parts); contrast (contrasting forms); silhouette (external contours); scale; color and surface texture.
        16. National features of the structure.
        17. The presence of the synthesis of arts (the relationship of architecture with sculpture and painting).
        18. Personal impressions.


        Writing your art essay from scratch, pay less attention to your emotions and more to the specific questions of the plan. Good luck!






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