Art H 203: Visual Analysis Paper Assignment

Due at start of class, Friday May 24th

Assignment instructions:
1. For this paper you may write on the same work of art you selected for your one-page
visual analysis essay for the first section assignment or you may select a new work as
your focus.
2. In section during week 6, you will be introduced to several art historical research
databases. Using these tools, locate several articles and/or sections of books that deal
with your work of art. Choose one scholarly essay that you find offers an interpretation of
the work in its historical context.
3. Write a five-page paper (double-spaced, 12-pt Times New Roman font, 1-inch margins),
addressing the following issues:

Develop a visual analysis of the work, making use of the appropriate terms and
observation skills you have learned in section. Unlike the first section assignment,
you are now asked to begin to make connections between your visual observations
and your knowledge of the works historical context, using the course lectures, the
textbook, and the additional reading you have done for this paper. Your paper should
include a clear thesis statement.

In the final section of your paper (approximately the last 1 pages), compare your
interpretation of the work to the one offered by the author of your chosen article.
Does your own visual analysis tend to support or undermine the authors reading of
the work?

4. Be sure to use endnotes in the Chicago Manual of Style format, 15th edition (not counted
towards the five pages), supplying the full reference for the article or book section you
selected and additional references to specific passages discussed in the course of your
essay. For proper use of endnotes and the 15th ed. Chicago Style format, see Barnet, pp.
318-34. Submit your essay with a full-page color reproduction of your work and a copy
of the scholarly article you used and attach the assignment rubric (not filled out) as your
cover sheet.