Building Context Around a Work of Art: Worksheet 2 (Developing Chronological Circumstances)
Artist Name: _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Title and date of Artwork: _____________________________________________________________________________________________
The next stage of research is to begin to broaden your understanding of the artist’s and the artwork’s context by finding out a little more about
what was going on at the time the work was created.! Worksheet 1 will have allowed you to identify basic chronological and geographical facts
about this piece. Now you need to delve a little more deeply to answer questions about the circumstances and significance of the piece within
its historical moment.
As you do this, it’s best to begin to think about historical contexts, rather than just a single context—our worlds have many facets, and if you can
begin to think of context as having multiple facets, you will develop richer knowledge. The categories below are designed to help you begin to
isolate those areas.
This process may well begin to answer some of the questions that you had about the work of art in your observations/close looking, but it will
likely prompt new questions as well—this is something to be celebrated!
Political and Economic
Contexts
Research Questions
Answer
Source(s)1
What major political events or
movements occurred during the
immediate period surrounding
the creation of the work?
What significant economic
changes or developments
occurred during this period?
Here, please include Author/Editor, Title (including article and journal titles if appropriate), Publication Place and Publisher, Date of Publication, and relevant
page numbers; if a website, give as much of above as possible in addition to a URL.
1
Keeping in mind the specific
geographic context of your artist,
were there other political or
economic issues of important
happening in that region, state, or
city?
Cultural Contexts
Research Questions
Answer
Source(s)2
What religious movements or
ideas, if any, were notable during
this time period?
What artistic or literary movements
were significant during this period?
What scientific or technological
developments occurred during
this period?
Here, please include Author/Editor, Title (including article and journal titles if appropriate), Publication Place and Publisher, Date of Publication, and relevant
page numbers; if a website, give as much of above as possible in addition to a URL.
2
Keeping in mind the specific
geographic context of your artist,
were there other cultural,
religious, artistic, scientific, or
technological issues of important
happening in that region, state, or
city?
Other Contexts
Research Questions
Answer
Source(s)3
Are there any other notable
chronological markers, concepts
or issues for the period in which
this work was created?
Here, please include Author/Editor, Title (including article and journal titles if appropriate), Publication Place and Publisher, Date of Publication, and relevant
page numbers; if a website, give as much of above as possible in addition to a URL.
3
Suggested Source List
The best sources to answer most of the questions above will again be reference sources:
timelines of American history and art history
the Art Institute’s web page for the artwork
art historical and/or general encyclopedias
good quality college history textbooks
Timelines (free)
African American History Timeline (BlackPast.org): http://www.blackpast.org/african-american-history-timeline-home-page
The Civil War Timeline (National Park Service): http://www.nps.gov/civilwar/customcf/timeline.html
Faith in America Timeline (PBS): http://www.pbs.org/godinamerica/timeline/
Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History (Metropolitan Museum of Art): http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/ht/?period=09&region=na
History by Era: http://www.gilderlehrman.org/history-by-era
Technology in America Timeline (PBS): http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/telephone/timeline/index.html
United States History Timeline (BlackPast.org): http://www.quintardtaylor.com/us-history-timeline/united-states-history-timeline-16001700
Art Institute Online Access Resources
askARt
Provides biographical and professional data on over 120,000 American artists from the early 16th century through the present.
Encyclopedia Britannica
Provides access to more than 72,000 articles from the print version of the Encyclopedia, as well as access to more than 75,000 definitions.
Funk & Wagnall’s
General encyclopedia written at the popular level. Includes full-text articles and biographies.
Oxford Art Online
Provides access to The Grove Dictionary of Art, The Oxford Companion to Western Art, Oxford's Encyclopedia of Aesthetics, The Concise Oxford
Dictionary of Art Terms, and The Benezit Dictionary of Artists. These can all be searched simultaneously or separately.
Oxford English Dictionary
Provides detailed etymologies—and historical usages--for nearly every word in the English language.
Oxford Music Online
Provides access to Grove Music Online, The Oxford Dictionary of Music, and The Oxford Companion to Music.
Other Resources
Credo Reference is excellent, where you can find it. Wikipedia can be useful, but approach with caution (check citations, etc.) and use sparingly. In
general, the Library of Congress curates a reliable and useful set of informational websites here:
https://www.loc.gov/teachers/additionalresources/relatedresources/.