introduction-content analysis

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FUNDAMENTALS

Gateways to Art: Understanding the Visual Arts, Debra J. DeWitte, Ralph M. Larmann, M. Kathryn Shields

Chapter 1.10 Content and Analysis

INTRODUCTION-CONTENT ANALYSIS

The artist uses a visual language to communicate ideas, beliefs,

emotions, and opinions

Content: Subject /theme including point of view, historical

influence, background influences- love interest, politics, etc.

Analysis: Finding meaning and do the formal elements convey

that meaning effectively?

Imitation versus individual style

Learning from the masters more important pre-20th Century

and in the realm of craft

Developing a unique style more important late 19th century

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Content

Content refers to the meaning and the subject of a work

of art

Identifying the subject of an artwork:

Representational (one can identify the subject)

Non-objective (unrecognizable subject matter)

Abstraction-here discerning content and meaning can be

tricky

Equestrian statue of Marcus

Aurelius, c. 175 CE. Bronze,

11’6” high. Musei Capitolini,

Rome, Italy

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Equestrian statue of Marcus Aurelius

Representational

Recognizable as a man on a horse

Artist tries to create realistic movement and expressions

Much more than that-It is a homage to Greco-Roman ideals,

humanism, intellectual enlightenment and the man himself

José de Rivera, Infinity, 1967. Stainless steel sculpture in front of National Museum of American History,

Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C.

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José de Rivera, Infinity

Non-objective

Unrecognizable subject matter

Subjective: individual viewer creates his

or her own interpretation

Here the form is more important than the

content-visual appeal and beauty

What are your thoughts

about pure abstraction?

Allan Houser, Reverie, 1981.

Bronze, 25 x 23 x 13”, edition

of 10. Allan Houser Archives

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Allan Houser, Reverie

Has elements of the

representational

Can identify two faces

Size of faces and positioning of

forms suggest mother

and child

Has elements of abstraction

To emphasize, distort or simplify

forms

The degree to which an artwork

is less representational

and moves toward non-objective

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Modes of Analysis

Iconographic-meaning attached to images of a particular

subject-like the clef in music or the fish in Christianity

Biographical

Social-Feminist, cultural, political

Contextual-seen in its roll in history or the life of the artist

or as a reaction to something, etc.

Psychological

Formal (or visual)-meaning the formal visual elements-

color, pattern, motion, shape, line, emphasis, form, etc.

Personal-interpretation/viewpoint of the artist and viewer

Analysis is something we do in our heads as the viewer. One cannot point to a

painting and say, “This is where I see the formal analysis.” Analysis is something we

consider when interpreting the artwork, like when it was made (history and context)

or the mindset of the artist (psychology and biography) or by looking for the formal

(visual) elements while searching for meaning.

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Relates artist’s life and experiences to artwork

Training and education

Time in history

Personal influences-health?, teachers, family life?

Considers gender, race, nationality, and class

Sometimes this analysis should be set aside-the work

should “stand on its own”

Rembrandt The Anatomy Lesson of Dr. Nicolaes Tulp

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PowerPoints developed by CreativeMyndz Multimedia Studios


This was a socially acceptable even popular event-a

social occasion

Celebrates an age embracing scientific

advancement and knowledge

Rembrandt is only 26, yet is commissioned by this

league for the portrait

He uses the latest anatomy texts to depict the

autopsy as anatomically correct

Magdalena Abakanowicz, 80 Backs 1976-80, burlap and resin

Polish artist who grew up during World War II during the Nazi occupation and then spent 45 years in the

communist Russian regime dominating Poland. Originally a weaver, she worked with the perishable materials that

were available to her at the time given her constraints. Her experience of the living under totalitarian regimes

where the emphasis on the collective is expressed. Here the back are recognizable as human even without

heads. According to the artist, “A human being turned into a crowd lose its human qualities. Among such a great

number, one person is extremely close at the same time terribly distant." Her work often talks about the dignity,

courage, and the will to survive of the individual under a totalitarian government. She's as perishable fibers to

reflect her awareness of human vulnerability and fragility in the face of such crushing control.

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Contextual Analysis

Interprets artwork based on time and place in which it

was made

Considers historical, religious, political, economic, and

social factors

Harold Lloyd, “Safety Last” 1923

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VFBYJNAapyk



Laucaux Cave Paintings

17,000-18,000 B.C.E.

We consider these partially

due to the time in human

history these were made.

What was important to

these people at this

particular time?

The “Toreador” fresco. c. 1500 BCE.

Height, including upper border, approximately 24 1/2 in.

Iconographic Analysis- the meaning attached to symbols

Christ, from Deësis mosaic. Thirteenth century.

Yukinori Yanagi. America. 1994.

each 8 x 12 in.

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Psychological Analysis

Considers the mental state of the artist when the artwork

was being made and uses this to help interpret the work

1.168 Edward Hopper, Nighthawks, 1942. Oil on canvas, 33⅛ x 60”. Art Institute of Chicago

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Edward Hopper, Nighthawks

Psychological analysis

Made during America’s entry

into World War II

Emotion conveyed through

figures and setting

What is your interpretation

of the mood? What do you

think Hopper is saying about

these people?

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Vincent Van Gogh Wheat Field with Crows 1890

“This sadness will last forever.”

This was the last piece he, for he shot himself right as it was

completed. How much of his mental/emotional state should we

consider to weigh the piece as art. How much should it add or detract

from its meaning? Should it be a factor at all?

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Formal Analysis

Considers the elements and principles used by the artist

Elements of art: line, shape, form, mass, volume, color, texture,

space, time and motion, and value

Principles of art: contrast, balance, unity, variety, rhythm,

emphasis, pattern, proportion, and scale

Diego de Silva y

Velázquez, Las Meninas,

c. 1656. Oil on canvas,

10’5¼” x 9’¾”. Museo Nacional

del Prado, Madrid, Spain

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Diego (de Silva y) Velázquez, Las Meninas

Combining modes of analysis

Formal analysis—Multiple focal points discovered:

Contrast, space (linear perspective, focal point, red color as

accent, rhythm in the horizontal shapes of the paintings, etc.

Historical analysis

• Princess Margarita, King and Queen of Spain

• Velázquez in the painting to elevate his social status and painting

profession as a whole.

• Nieto the Queen’s secretary in doorway

Biographical analysis

• Artist’s desire to be knighted and artist’s relationship with King

• Iconographical analysis

• Cross on Velázquez

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Imitation and Individual Style

Artists often train themselves by studying and copying

earlier masterpieces

By referring to earlier masterpieces in new artworks,

artists associate themselves with other artists who preceded

them

By studying other artworks, artists may learn how to

differentiate themselves-or not

Picasso, Las Meninas, first in a series, 1957. Oil on canvas, 6’4⅜” × 8’6⅜”. Museo Picasso, Barcelona, Spain

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Picasso, Las Meninas

Picasso painted 45 paintings using a

poster of the original Las Meninas (by

Velázquez) as a model

Picasso competing with earlier Spanish

master (seeking more fame and prestige

for himself and Spain)

Yet he completely differentiates himself

from Velazquez

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David was schooled at the Royal Academy in France

Traveled to Rome and apprenticed under Mengs and

Wincelmann-two proponents of Neoclassicism

He studied and copied Raphael extensively

He embraced his masters’ style and went on to foster

other painters to follow his artistic lead

Winslow Homer, Prisoners from the Front, 1866. Oil on canvas, 24 × 38”.

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Conclusion

Artworks can be representational or non-objective; the

degree to which they are non-objective is based upon the

level of abstraction

Best interpretations are based on synthesis of several

modes of analysis

Artists look to earlier artists for inspiration

Remember the juxtaposition of these two problems for us

as viewers-how much to interpret historically and how

much to judge the work for itself

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