History of Art I
Prehistory to Gothic, Catalog: AH201, Fall 2008
FIRST PAPER ASSIGNMENT: Due Thursday, October 2nd
In art history, the pieces are often discussed in pairs to
stress their similarities and their differences. For your first paper, you will
write a 2-4 page compare/contrast essay as preparation for the exams.
The paper must be typed using a readable font (i.e., Times New Roman or
Bookman in 12 point), number the pages, and staple together with your
name at the top of all the pages. Papers are due at the beginning of
class. If late, they will be marked down 5% per day (i.e., a paper that
would have earned an 85% if on time would be worth 75% if two days late).
For this compare/contrast essay, you must address three main areas: the
formal, the iconographic, and the historical.
1) Formal: A formal analysis is a verbal description of a
visual object. This information can help you determine the identity of
the artist, the time period, or the place where a piece was made. This
includes the color, the use of line and shape, its size, the use (or lack
of) a perspective, the use (or lack of) a canon, the materials used in
the piece, the technique the artist choose, and other visual information.
At first, you may find it difficult to distinguish between what is
important to note and what is not. Use the descriptions given and read
in your text and note what is considered relevant. Often, the notable
formal elements relate to the other two areas.
2) Sociological and Historical significance. All works of
art
reveal something about the historical moment and situation in which it
was made. Sometimes the artist intended the piece to refer to a specific
event, such as the Narmer Palette from the Egyptian Old Kingdom period,
c. 3200 BCE which commemorates the unification of Upper and Lower Egypt.
Sometimes a piece refers to a more general cultural shift, as with pieces
from the Amarna period from New Kingdom Egypt which reflect the change in
the religious structure.
3) Symbolic or Iconographic: many visual elements within an
art
work, including colors, materials, objects, and patterns, have
conventional symbolic meanings, especially in religious and political
pieces. Some common examples include the removal of shoes to indicate
sacred ground or raised arms to indicate prayer. Iconography creates a
complex visual language that can be decoded and read to further
understand the artist's and patron's intentions within a
work.
When writing a compare/contrast, it is best to begin with the
earlier piece. Using this six-paragraph format, you will cover all three
areas of both pieces in the following order:
1)Formal analysis of piece A;
2)Historical analysis of piece A;
3)Iconographic analysis of piece A;
4)Formal analysis of piece B, making reference to the formal analysis of
piece A (i.e., While the cave paintings at Lascaux were rendered
naturalistically, the figures in the Palette of Narmar followed a strict
canon that limited the realism of the bodies.
5)Historical analysis of piece B, making reference to the historical
analysis of piece A;
6)Iconographic analysis of piece B, making reference to the iconographic
analysis of piece A.
Choose one of these compare/contrast options:
Venus of Willendorf vs. Cycladic Figure
Victory stele of Naram-Sin vs. Palette of Narmar
Menkaure and Queen Khamerernebty vs. Riace Warrior
