Introduction to the History of Western Art Paper assignments

For the final paper assignment, select a work of art of your choosing and write a short research paper (4-5 pages; 1200 word limit) analyzing it both visually and historically. The art work can be in any medium and from any time period in Western history, but you must have personally encountered the work for the purpose of this assignment. You may not choose something that you saw at an earlier date or in a reproduction. The quality of your writing should make it clear that you have examined the work in person. You should start on this project as soon as possible.

Note: it is in your best interest to choose a work of art that is not on view at the Mead Museum. If you would like to do your paper on a work that is in storage, however, do not hesitate to contact the staff at the Mead. They will be more than happy to arrange for you to see it, as long as you give them advance notice (at least a week):  https://www.amherst.edu/museums/mead/collection/work_in_storage

Your paper should be equal parts visual analysis of the work and exploration of its historical context. Spend time looking carefully at your art work-- at least 15 minutes. Take notes on its appearance and its various compositional elements (e.g. use of color, line, light and shade, scale, size) and obtain an illustration of the work for later reference. You will need to illustrate the work in your paper. Think about how the formal characteristics of the work combine to present the subject matter. What can be deduced about the artist's intentions in its presentation of form?

Consult S. Barnet, A Short Guide to Writing about Art, Chapter 12 before you begin your research. It will save you a lot of wasted time and effort. Also, use the resources made available by the College's librarians. They provide a webpage specifically for research on art that will provide you with credible sources both online and in print (https://www.amherst.edu/library/resources/subject_guides/art).

Make sure you consult both books and articles in your research. I will be suspicious of a paper that cites only online sources. If you have questions related to research, please contact the reference librarian or me.

While formulating your approach for the paper, think about the following questions: 

What are the circumstances of the work's creation? Where does the work fit into the artist's oeuvre? Is it typical of his/her work or something different?

How are the facts and interpretations that you discover about the artist and the work supported or refuted by what you see in the art work itself? Stick to solid historical fact and scholarly sources rather than be distracted or romanced by arcane theoretical interpretations. Use the work as your guide when determining which sources or arguments to incorporate into your paper.

What are the themes explored in the work and how might they relate to the artist and his/her time period?

Where does the work fit into the broader spectrum of art historical movements and developments? How does its style and mode of presentation correlate or diverge from to the prevailing artistic norms of the culture and period in which it was made?

Remember to use third person in your paper. This is art historical research, not art criticism. Also, be selective about the sources you use for your research. Use your judgment when reading the scholarship; do not simply reiterate someone's else argument unless you are planning to refute or elaborate upon it. I will be looking for intelligent use of sources, not wholesale repetition or antagonistic nitpicking.

You can use any format to cite your sources, as long as it contains an author's name, the title of the cited work, its publication information, a date, and a page number. Please be consistent in your formatting. Any edition of Kate Turabian, A Manual for Writers of Term Papers, Theses, and Dissertations, is a good place to go if you do not have a preferred format in mind. There are several copies in Frost Library.

A note about plagiarism: if you use an idea, phrase, or interpretation that is not your own, you must cite your source in a footnote, endnote or parenthetical citation. It is always best to err on the side of caution rather than inadvertently plagiarize. Direct quotations should be used only for primary sources, i.e. the artist's own words, a contemporary biographer or critic; all secondary sources should be paraphrased.

Your paper must follow all the guidelines indicated on the syllabus. Late papers will not be accepted and you must turn the paper in during class on December 4.  You must provide an illustration of the work with your paper.

If you have any questions about the assignment, please come see me, preferably well before the deadline.

For this paper, go to the Mead Art Museum and select one pair of paintings from the list below. Write a short paper (3-4 pages, double-spaced, no more than 1,000 words) comparing and contrasting the pair of works.

Charles Henry Eaton, Beginning of a Stormy Day (AC 2002.75)


J.H. Twachtman, Winter Silence (AC 1955.298)

Gimignani, Narcissus (AC 1977.2)


H. Taraval, Triumph of Amphitrite (AC 1976.2)



Frans Snyders, Still Life
 (AC 1962.20)

Mary Jane Peale (attr.), Still Life
(AC 1975.86)

Natalia Goncharova, Self-Portrait (AC 2001.11)


Vigee-Lebrun (after), Self-Portrait (AC 1961.9)

It is a good idea to spend at least 15 minutes in front of each work, taking notes on your observations for later consultation. You should re-visit the works after you have written a draft of your paper to make sure that what you have written corresponds to the works.

The objective of this paper is to explain how the paired paintings are similar and how they are different in terms of both content and form.  This is a visual exercise.  Do NOT research the works of art you choose, nor be distracted by information on the museum label. Write it in the third person to maintain your objectivity and use terminology and methods of visual analysis that we have discussed in class. Avoid subjective or vague words such as “amazing”, “important”, “beautiful”, “talented”, “impressive”.

Think about why these paintings are paired together. This reason should be the point or thesis of your essay and the remainder of the paper should discuss the details found in the works that support this observation. Simply stating that the paintings have “many similarities and differences” is not an acceptable thesis. It is best to progress from basic observations to more complex ideas. 

Concentrate on visual analysis (description plus analysis) of the two works in terms of each other.  Any interpretive or concluding statements you make should be supported by specific examples found in the paintings. You should consider the following issues as they apply when writing your comparison:  subject matter, setting, composition, technique, space, form, line (contours, directional, seen and unseen), size and scale, proportion and balance, color, light and shadow, texture, brushstroke and paint handling, pose, gesture, movement, expression, emotion, figure style.  

Consult S. Barnet, "A Short Guide to Writing about Art," chapters 2- 6, 8-9.  Chapter 5 is especially important.

This paper must follow all the guidelines set out in the syllabus. I will not accept untyped or late papers. You must print out your paper (stapled) and turn it in during class on the due date. Papers turned in via email will not be accepted.

For this assignment, write a 2-3 page, double-spaced paper (no more than 800 words) on the work of art in the Mead Art Museum that you chose for your paragraph assignment. This is meant to be an exercise in intensive looking and reasoned visual analysis, not a reaction paper or forum for creative reflections on the work. Nor does it require research in other sources. (If you feel it necessary to incorporate information found on the wall label or in an outside text, you must cite it properly in a footnote. However, this should not be the main substance of this paper.)

Note: your paper should be written in the third person--a more objective mode of presentation than the first person.

Instead, focus your skills on analyzing the work's compositional elements and how they combine to convey the subject of the work. Think about the criteria we use in class to analyze a work's purpose or intent (i.e., compositional emphasis through the use of line, light, shade, form, and color) and make logical assumptions about the way these aspects reflect the content or message behind each work. Your words should re-present the artwork as an image in the mind of your reader. Thus, you must reconstruct in writing the act of seeing the artwork. You do not necessarily need to report each and every detail but rather those that will give the reader enough information to comprehend the object’s appearance.

This is not a simple description of the object, but you must support your assumptions and conclusions with specific details found within in the work. Your essay should be based on your own observations of the work. Everything you need to write your description can be found in the artwork itself.

Give yourself a healthy amount of time to observe the work and you may want to return to see the work again after you have written a draft of your paper. Leaving this assignment to the last minute is inadvisable.

I strongly suggest that you consult the following in S. Barnet, "A Short Guide to Writing about Art": pp. 31-33 ("Arguing an Interpretation" and "Expressing Opinions"), 113-132 (Chapter 4)

This paper must follow all the guidelines set out in the syllabus. I will not accept untyped or late papers.