HISTORY OF ART AND VISUAL CULTURE 101 – SECTION 11/15
FIRST PAPER: FORMAL ANALYSIS
Your overall task in this assignment is to explore what you can learn about an object by looking
at it carefully. To begin, you should go to the RISD Museum and examine the following artwork:
Figure of a Woman, around 3500 BC Terracotta Egyptian,
Pre-dynastic Nagada 1c-Nagada II B
Write a formal analysis or “analytical description” of the artwork (see Barnet, “What formal
analysis is” and “Formal analysis versus description” for a definition and brief discussion of
“formal analysis”). When constructing your formal analysis, consider issues such as size,
materials, composition, and color [this list might change depending on the medium of the object
chosen]. You should think about how these aspects of the [picture] affect your perception of it
and shape its meaning. The Barnet reading contains questions that you can use to generate
further ideas [assign relevant section(s) of Barnet]. You need not, however, address all of
Barnet’s questions in your paper. You should focus on formal characteristics of your chosen
[painting] that you are particularly interested in.
Your paper should have an introduction that names the work you will be discussing and that
indicates the principal points you want to make about it. Your paper should also have wellorganized paragraphs, a sense of development, and a conclusion. You should ensure that general
claims you make about your chosen piece are backed up with specific visual evidence. You
should make claims about the artwork based on your viewing experience, but you should not, in
general, narrate that experience. Thus, “the size of the painting overwhelms the viewer,” rather
than “when I entered the room, I felt overwhelmed by the size of the painting.”
Do not forget to number the pages, include your name on the first page, and staple or clip your
paper together.
Format
Your paper should be typed in twelve-point Times New Roman font and double-spaced. Margins
should be one inch on all sides. It should be about one thousand words/four pages long.
Deadline
Friday October 4, 2013 in section
Late policy
Late papers will be downgraded by a third of a letter grade per day of delay. For example, a B
paper that is one day late will get a B-; if it is three days late, it will receive a C.
Additional help
When developing your paper, you may, of course, ask me for help. Additionally, you can make
use of RISD’s writing center, located in CB 240.