Assignment instructions: Observe the following work of art and use your observations to complete this formal analysis worksheet. The worksheet is intended to help guide you through the process of writing your first formal analysis essay of 3-4 paragraphs, which will be your response to the final question. You may use the spaces provided to type your answers as you move through the worksheet, or you may answer them in a separate (typed) document. All answers should be provided in full sentences with proper attention to spelling and grammar.
In order to complete this worksheet it is important that you 1) note the overall effect of the work on you, the viewer, and 2) take detailed notes about the artwork based on careful observation and close looking. Once you have taken your notes you are ready to complete this worksheet and write your analysis. The last question on this worksheet will prompt you to summarize your observations in a short analysis essay of 3-4 paragraphs.
Title of artwork: The Family of Street Acrobats: The Injured Child
Artist: Gustave Doré,
Culture/ location: Paris, France
Date/ period: 1832-1883
Patron: N/A
1. What is the subject of the work?
2. What is your initial impression of the work? What kinds of adjectives would you use to describe it?
3. What is the medium/ media? How does the medium affect the overall appearance or character of the work?
4. How would you describe the structure of the composition (horizontal, vertical, pyramidal, circular/ radial, diagonal)?
• Line: What kinds of lines are used (curvilinear/ angular/ calligraphic/ implied)? Is there more than one kind of line employed?
• How are lines used in this work (to outline, to contour, to construct the composition, to suggest movement, to add texture or depth)?
• Shape, Volume and Mass: What kinds of shapes does the artwork incorporate (geometric/ organic/ rectilinear/ curvilinear/ biomorphic/ amorphous/ positive or negative)?
• Does the work have the appearance of great volume?
• Does the work have actual mass or implied mass? Does it have great or little mass?
• How do mass and volume influence the work’s overall impact?
• Light and Value: How does the work incorporate light and shadow? Are there high value contrasts or low value contrasts? Does the artwork incorporate a gradual shift from light to dark (chiaroscuro)?
• Color: What colors are used in the work (cool or warm)? Are the colors complementary or analogous? Are they local or optimal?
• Texture: What kinds of textures does the artwork have and how are they created? Are they actual textures or visual textures? Are they subversive?
• Space: How is space dealt with in the work? Is there any type of perspective and if so how is it created? Is there any negative space and if so how does it form a part of the work?
• Time and Motion: Is there any implication of time or motion in the work? If so what formal elements are employed to create a sense of temporal passage and/ or motion? Is the motion actual or implied?
• Principles of Design: How does the artist deploy principles such as variety or unity, proportion, and scale?
• How is the composition balanced (horizontal, vertical, symmetrical, radial, imbalance)?
• Is there a focal point or use of visual emphasis? How is it created?
• Is there any sense of visual rhythm and if so is it regular, alternating, or eccentric? How is the appearance of rhythm created?
5. Concluding Questions: Which formal element do you feel is most important to the overall character of the work?
6. What do you think the artist intended for you to think/ feel while looking at this work?
7. Look back at your notes on your initial impression of the artwork on the first page of this worksheet. How do you think the artist employed the visual elements and principles of design you’ve noted above to create this impression in his/ her viewer? Answer this question in an essay of 3-4 paragraphs summarizing your notes and stating what you think the artist intended to communicate through the formal elements of the work.