European Art - Consult the Art Institute of Chicago’s

EUROPEAN ART

Consult the Art Institute of Chicago’s Website: www.artic.edu for research information and visual images of the art work you have chosen. Give yourself plenty of time to complete this assignment. If you have questions, do not hesitate to discuss them with me. 

To begin, consider the artwork you are planning to write about, observing it closely and thoughtfully. Keep the following in mind.

Subject Matter – theme, possible symbolic or iconographic meanings, historical or social relationships, the mood and the ideas conveyed

Composition – organization of the work: arrangement of forms (verticals, horizontals, diagonals); balance, symmetry and scale; handling of space and perspective (linear, atmospheric, etc.)

Color – contrast of light and dark, intensity and mood created from color

Technique – thick, translucent glazes, visible or invisible brush strokes. If a sculpture, discuss the materials used and textures applied

1. Style – How does this work exemplify the style of the artist; style of time period. Describe characteristics of the style
2. Cultural significance – In what social, historical context was the work created? 
3. Expressive content – combined effect of subject matter and visual form. How does the artist render the subject matter to create a unique depiction?
4. Final Paper Organization
5. Fully identify the work you have chosen (artist, title, date, medium, dimensions) and introduce it in general terms
6. Provide only enough biographical information about the artist appropriate to your discussion of the work and the points you are trying to make
7. Provide a detailed description of the work. Your formal analysis of the work should provide a vivid visual image of the art work. 

Discuss your interpretation of the work. What kind of statement is the artist trying to make? How did the techniques and materials used by the artist communicate the meaning of the work and support its expressive content?

What does the work communicate about the time period, culture or environment in which the artist worked?

Support your arguments and observations with specific evidence from the work of art and research. 

1. Be sure to include an introduction, thesis, and persuasive conclusion. 
2. Proofread your paper. Your paper will be evaluated on the form, content, and strength of your presentation. This includes the quality of your observations and research, how well you discuss the points outlined above, and the quality and clarity of your writing. 
3. Illustrations: Attach color copy images to demonstrate your statements. This will include an overall view of the art work you have chosen as the subject of your paper. You may wish to include details or close-up sections of the art work. . Label image(s) with artist name, title of the work, date, medium, and dimensions. Note: Images do not contribute to the fulfilling the page length requirements for the assignment. 
4. Include citations and bibliography – see section below for additional guidelines
5. Choose one work from the list below as the subject for your Museum Paper.
6. American Painting
7. Mary Cassatt, American, 1844-1926, Woman Bathing, 1890-91
8. Winslow Homer, American, 1836-1910, Croquet Scene, 1866
9. Georgia O'Keeffe, American, 1887-1986, Black Cross, New Mexico, 1929

Archibald Motley Jr., American, 1891-1981, Nightlife, 1943

1. Jacob Lawrence, American, 1917-2000, The Wedding, 1948

Stuart Davis, American, 1892-1964, Ready-to-Wear, 1955

European Painting

Edouard Vuillard, French, 1868-1940, Landscape: Window Overlooking the Woods, 1899

Claude Monet, French, 1840-1926, Water Lilies, 1906

Berthe Morisot, French, 1841-1895, Woman in a Garden, 1882/83

Vincent van Gogh, Dutch, 1853-1890, The Drinkers, 1890

Edvard Munch, Norwegian, 1863-1944, The Girl By the Window, 1893

Paul Gauguin, French, 1848-1903, Why Are You Angry? (No te aha oe riri), 1896

Pablo Picasso, Spanish, 1881-1973, Mother and Child, 1921

Rene Magritte, French, 1898-1967, Time Transfixed, 1938

Marc Chagall, French, born Vitebsk, Russia (present-day Belarus), 1887–1985, White Crucifixion, 1938 

Modern and Contemporary Art

Ivan Albright, American, 1897-1983, Picture of Dorian Gray, 1943-1944

Rufino Tamayo, Mexican, 1899-1991, Woman with a Bird Cage, 1941

Willem de Kooning, American (born Netherlands), 1904-1997, Excavation, 1950

Gerhard Richter, German, born 1932, Woman Descending the Staircase, 1965

Eva Hesse, American, born Germany, 1936–1970, Hang Up, 1966

David Hockney, English, born 1937, American Collectors (Fred and Marcia Weisman), 1968

Betye Saar, American, born 1926, Eshu (The Trickster), 1971

Kerry James Marshall, American, born 1955, Africa Restored (Cheryl as Cleopatra), 2003

Research and Citations

The DePaul University Library has created a resource for research in art history. Go to the DePaul University library web site and follow the prompts to the Research Guides section. Click on the “Art” entry. You will be directed to various resources for research. Click on the “Art History Research Guide” and you will be directed to suggestions and resources for research in art and architectural history. You should consult a minimum of 4 varied scholarly research sources for your paper. Do not rely solely on Internet research. You may also wish to consult the Art Institute of Chicago online resources, including the section devoted to its collections: http://www.artic.edu/aic/collections.

Document all research using the long style notational form as defined in Manual for Writers of Research Papers, Theses, and Dissertations: Chicago Style for Students and Teachers by Kate L. Turabian.  You will find guidelines for using the Turabian notational style on DePaul University’s Center for Writing-based Learning site,www.depaul.edu/writing. Follow the links to Resources & Advice, Citations & Style, http://www.press.uchicago.edu/books/turabian/turab.... Turabian long notational form is the citation style required for History of Art and Architecture writing at DePaul University. 

A good general source for writing about art has been prepared by Sylvan Barnet, A Short Guide to Writing About Art, Addison-Wesley Educational Publishers, 2000. For information on subjects and symbols in art, you may wish to consult standard dictionaries on mythology, history or religion as well as James Hall, Subjects and Symbols in Art, Harper & Row, 1979. These resources will assist you in researching, writing and documenting your sources.