Art History
: Instructions for the Critical Paper ARTH 102 Dr. Gregory Choose any artwork from the period under study (ca. 1400 – 1850) from any fine arts collection (Philadelphia Museum is, of course, the most accessible). I want you to analyze the chosen work to determine what meaning(s) it may have had for its original audience. You should proceed in the same manner as we do in class, asking yourself all the same questions and providing answers based upon both your observations and your research. First tell me who created the image, and provide a brief biographical sketch. Include his/her artistic education, other artists who may have influenced him/her, and artistic groups or movements s/he belonged to. If there is a movement, e.g., Mannerism, Rococo, etc., provide a succinct description of its characteristics. What is the medium used? How large is it and where is it housed? If it was commissioned, who paid for it? Where was it to be cited? What was the primary audience for the work? Then examine the work carefully in order to determine what is shown (this includes the identities of the things represented, including �setting,� and what actions or events, poses, gestures or expressions, costumes, etc., seem to be depicted). How is the image composed, i.e., how are it parts arranged in relation to one another? Then address the issue of subject matter. Is there a narrative context to which the image belongs? Is there any use of symbolism? Is it a scene taken directly from life? Is it an image that references earlier artworks? Carefully observe and describe the formal properties of the work (i.e., composition, the use of color, light and dark, space, texture, line). Does the aesthetic form of the work (the arrangement of formal properties) contribute to the expression of the meaning of the work? How? As you put forward an interpretation of the artwork, substantiate your ideas by means of historical/contextual evidence. Most of this material is already cited in the secondary art historical literature; you need to research it and report it in your paper. The paper should be at least 5 pages long (1250 words). Please provide me with a reproduction (i.e., photo or xeroxed image of the work) and proof that you actually attended a gallery or museum in order to examine the chosen work (e.g., a receipt or admission button, or a �selfie� at the museum). You should use some form of citation system (footnotes, endnotes) and include a bibliography. You must consult scholarly literature in your research (look on JSTOR, for instance, and read books). At least 4 or 5 sources such as books and articles will do. For this use an artwork from the Philadelphia Museum of Art, more specifically and preferrably Prayer before the Meal by Jan Steen.

 Art
: Undergraduate
: Research Paper
: English (U.S.)
: 4 pages/1100 words
:MLA 

4 sources 

 due 5 hours