What is Visual Analysis?
And why am I doing it?
An Educational Endeavour
I started studying art history with the Open University in 2020 as a way of doing something useful and interesting during the pandemic lockdowns. I decided to start this newsletter in 2023 as an outlet for all my art historical thoughts, and as a way to develop my skills in visual analysis. Once I have completed my Bachelor’s degree, which I am doing part-time while working, I plan on continuing my education with a Master’s degree, also in art history, so this newsletter, as a secondary objective, will document that journey.
My primary objective, however, is to write about one work of art per week, diving as deep into it as my time and resources will allow. In addition to visual analysis, which you can read about below, I’m interested in the context of each work, and how it affected and fit into the time and place in which it was concieved.
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The Basics of Visual Analysis
When looking at a work of art from an art historical perspective, there are a few main areas to keep in mind, form, subject matter, and function. Let’s have a look at each of them in that order.
Form
Form includes all the things that makes an artwork look the way it looks. These include:
Medium
What is the artwork made of? In painting this could, for example, be watercolour on paper or oil on panel. When talking about sculpture, this describes the material and sometimes the technique used.
Scale
This describes the physical size of a work of art, as well as the scale of the figures or scene depicted. This is important for understanding the type of effect a painting may have on the viewer.
Composition
The composition is how a painting or sculpture is put together. This includes how the objects depicted are arranged in relation to each other, as well as any symmetries or shapes that affect the overall effect of the piece.
Pose & Gesture
Looking at how figures in a work of art are posed in themselves and in relation to each other, and how they are represented is an important part of visual analysis. This can help us understand the significance of different figures and figure out what they signify. Certain gestures or poses had specific significance during different periods. (I know this sounds vague, but we’ll see plenty of examples in due time.)
Expression
Expression can refer both to the expression on the faces of figures in works of art - these can be both historically and culturally significant - and to the formal qualities of a piece. For example, a certain bright colour or the way a painting is lit can contribute to its expression.
Colour
How is colour used? How do they affect how a work is received? Is a particular colour dominant? This can also describe colour temperature and the mood created by the colour palette used.
Light
Light, just like colour, can help set the mood of a painting, and can help indicate temperature. More importantly, how a work is lit will direct where the viewer looks first. The eye of the viewer is drawn to light areas first. In addition, light can be used in combination with colour to denote important parts. Material used can also affect how light plays on surfaces, affecting how a piece comes across.
Viewpoint
The viewpoint refers to the relationship between the position of the viewer and what is depicted.
All of the above can of course vary depending on the medium, i.e. a sculpture will be described differently to a painting.
Subject Matter
Like me, you might find this bit more interesting than the formal analysis above. The subject matter of a work of art deals with who is depicted, what they are doing, and whether the work contains a narrative of some sort. It also looks at how the figures are depicted and whether there are any symbols included that the viewer should be aware of. This is also where the artwork is put into its cultural and historical context. If the work is particularly culturally or temoprally distant, symbolism such as gestures or the meaning of particular elements like animals or flowers can be difficult. It should also be noted that not every element included in every painting has a particular meaning. Sometimes a flower is just a flower.
Function
Last, but not least, we have to consider the function of the work of art we’re analysing.
Who was it for?
Where was it displayed?
Was it public or private?
Was it religious or secular?
The subject matter and form of a work is often related to its function and can be clues as to how, where, and by whom it was meant to be viewed.
I know this all sounds like rather a lot to take in, but I think it’s important to define the scope of upcoming instalments of this newsletter early on, you know, so you know what you’re getting yourself into.
If you got this far, I applaud you. Perhaps your endurance also means you are finding the subject of art history and visual analysis quite interesting, and that you should subscribe so you don’t miss the next one.