This guide contains the
following sections:
• About Writing in Art
History
• Types of Writing in Art
History
• Evidence in Art History
• Conventions of Writing
in Art History
• Citations & Formatting
•
A Few Other Tips
Art history courses cultivate the skills you will need to
critically analyze images, objects, and architectural spaces as well as
academic discourse, scholarship, and historical sources. Art history is a
humanistic discipline that brings together research to explore historical
contexts while engaging in ways of looking at, describing, and
understanding works of art. In this discipline, developing your own
voice as a writer and creative thinker is just as important to your
success as developing the analytical scope of a research project.
The Disciplinary Writing Guides are
designed to provide an introduction to
the conventions, or rules, of writing in
different subjects. These guides have
been designed by Southwestern professors
to help you understand what will
be expected of you in your classes.
By Dr. Patrick Hajovsky
Guide for Writing in Art History
About Writing in Art History
As with academic writing in other disciplines, writing in art history
should both inform and persuade your reader. According to Sylvan
Barnet, author of A Short Guide to Writing About Art, successful papers
about art do at least one of the following:
• Introduce authors, artists, or works to a reader.
• Convince readers that they have undervalued an author,
artist, or a work because they have not read or looked at
them carefully enough.
• Show a relationship between different works that was
previously unknown or unobserved.
• Give an analysis of a work in order to increase common
understanding of it.
• Throw light upon a process of artistic invention.
•
Illuminate the relationship of art to life, science, economics,
ethics, religion, etc.
Types of Writing in Art History
In most art history classes at SU, students develop one or more short visual analyses that build toward an
independent research project, culminating in a full-length research paper. Full-length research assignments ask you to
analyze the context of an artwork by critically engaging with scholarly texts and comparing relevant ideas and images
About
this guide
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across them. Assignments usually begin by asking you to
select a particular artwork from a historical context
covered by the class and to spend time observing and
noting its formal composition. You then develop and
organize those observations into an interpretive thesis and
argument that explains a culturally relevant historical
context.
Classroom experiences allow you to practice
visual analysis, to apply particular vocabulary, and to
understand the important issues related to art historical
contexts in a variety of geographic areas, cultures, and
time periods. It is necessary to become familiar with the
issues and debates of your particular course as you develop
your research agenda. You should engage with the topics
and questions that are read and discussed in class and
critically challenge them by providing your own
interpretation within the academic discussion.
Independent research projects allow you to focus
on the context of one or more works using particular kinds
of evidence, from primary sources to more recent
scholarship. Research papers can examine the history of
particular artwork(s) at any point from their original
context(s) to their subsequent location(s). They can also
explore different theories and methods used in
understanding the artworks, from their production to
their reception. As you interpret one or more particular
artworks based on an informed thesis, you are often
encouraged to develop an interpretation based on your
own disciplinary interests. There are many ways that
you might apply your interests to art history.
● A history student might compare a biographical
figure as found between texts and images.
● A biology student might explore particular ways
that animals are represented.
● A political science major might research ways in
which images of rulers articulate structures of
power.
● A business major might investigate the economic
factors that contribute to the success of an artist.
● A philosophy student might compare aesthetic ideas
across cultures.
Here is an example of an art history thesis that could support either a visual analysis or a research paper:
“Michelangelo’s David is a monument dedicated to overcoming adversity.”
The visual analysis could describe David’s gesture and scale, its comparison to Classical models, its realism
versus idealism, and so on. A more informed analysis and research paper could investigate where the
statue was originally displayed and why.
Professors have different methods for guiding you through research projects, and it is always a good idea to
consult with them in an office visit as you develop and write. Remember that you are asked to write papers not just to
please your professor, but also to engage with an audience who is knowledgeable but perhaps not as informed about your
subject. Professors know that writing is a discovery process that involves positing ideas, testing them as you gain
knowledge, and revising as you narrow upon your topic. It is therefore necessary to be sure that your final essay makes a
clear argument and excludes extraneous information. It is also imperative that you begin early and work regularly rather
than wait until the last minute.
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For each of these sections, different types of research are required. First, the communication
object or artifact being analyzed must be researched. You will provide context for the object
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Visual analysis (sometimes
called formal analysis) is an
organized verbalization of the
visual aspects of an artwork.
Visual analysis usually begins
by describing the formal elements
that compose an image (such as line,
shape, color, and texture), noting
how the parts relate to one another
and to the image as a whole. Visual
analysis goes beyond mere
description by organizing the
relevant visual elements around a
main idea or interpretation.
Visual analyses can include
research on technique (how the
visual elements were created), style
(how they appear within a certain
tradition), and iconography (what
they mean culturally and
historically).
The best way to conduct a
visual analysis is to look at and study
an artwork before researching, write
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down your observations, and then
compose a description organized by
your interpretive angle that employs
the specific artistic vocabulary you
have learned in your course and/or
through research. You can then
compare your analysis with others
when available and adjust your
interpretation based on the
knowledge you have gained and your
responses to that knowledge.
Secondary sources include
scholarly perspectives about the
artwork and its historical
context.
It is important to find relevant
and current knowledge in recently
published, peer-reviewed sources and
to never reproduce a source without
critically analyzing it.
Avoid relying on
encyclopedias or broad survey books
for information; instead identify what
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kinds of arguments scholars are
making and engage your
interpretation within this
conversation. The library has many
peer-reviewed books and articles in
print and online. The Art History
Infoguides on the library website
contain additional scholarly resources.
Other website sources are only
occasionally useful and should be
verified by your professor.
Primary sources include the
artwork itself and information
from its historical context, such
as archival documents, historical
publications, and artists’
statements.
Primary sources are often
encountered within secondary
sources, but whenever possible you
should go back to the original sources
and find out more about them,
especially how knowledge about an
artwork is constructed from them.
Evidence in Art History
Art history assignments usually ask you to analyze one or more artworks as you formulate and explore
an interpretive thesis. To support your thesis, you can draw from various kinds of evidence:
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• Because art history is sometimes interdisciplinary, style guidelines may vary. Art historical texts
usually follow the Chicago Manual of Style (CMS or Turabian), and sometimes the
Modern Language Association (MLA). Author-date citations can be given in parentheses in the
text, or as footnotes or endnotes, depending upon the conventions used in the sub-discipline. You can
find more information on MLA, CMS, and Turabian styles in the “Student Resources” section of the
Debby Ellis Writing Center Website. A good way to determine the correction usage is to
identify the citation style of texts from your course readings. If in doubt, consult with
your professor for the best style to follow.
• Be sure to accurately cite your sources. Even “common knowledge” arguments and data can be
strengthened by citing authors who have more evidence for those claims than we do. Sometimes it is
difficult to determine when to cite, especially if the information is based on direct observation of an
artwork. Your sources may show you how to look at an artwork, and you should also observe how
they apply general observations to a particular idea or image. Though you may apply information and
knowledge from an in-class lecture or discussion, you should find where that information is published
rather than cite from your notes. When in doubt, ask your professor.
•
Page length assignments for papers do not include notes, illustrations, or bibliography.
Endnotes, illustrations, and bibliography go in that order on separate pages at the end after the text.
Do not insert illustrations into your text. Instead, assign numbers to the illustrations and insert
references to them in parenthesis at the end of the sentences or clause where they appear, like this
(Figure 1).
• Introduce authors by using their full name in the first instance in the text, and by last name only in
subsequent references. Artist names follow regional conventions (like authors in Western art, and always in
full in Chinese art). If an artist’s name is unknown, it can be cited as “Anonymous” or by an established
attribution such as “Master of the Aachen Altarpiece” or “Cuzco School of Painting.”
• Regional and period styles are capitalized, such as “Italian Renaissance,” “Abstract Expressionism,” and
“Han Dynasty.”
• Titles of artworks and exhibitions, like titles of books and journals, are capitalized and in
italics. If an artwork does not have an official or common title then a short descriptive title will suffice.
• Especially for full-length compositions, your paper should include a title that announces the theme of the
study and the way it will be analyzed; these two elements are usually separated by a colon. A good example of
this type of thesis is: “The Tlaloc Statue of Cuauhtinchan: Summoning Rain through Classical Imagery.”
•
Descriptions and analyses of artworks are put in the present tense; past tense is used when describing
historical contexts.
• In general, it is okay to use the first person “I” to express one’s intended argument or perspective, as
long as it expresses an informed opinion backed by evidence.
• Use your own words and paraphrase rather than cite directly from sources. It is acceptable to quote
directly from sources, but only if that quotation is under discussion and analysis.
Conventions of Writing in Art History
Citation and Formatting in Art History
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A Few Last Tips for Writing in Art History
•
Choose appropriately sized topics that are informed by class themes and reading assignments.
The “Student Resources” section of the Debby Ellis Writing Center website has
“Tips for a Strong Thesis
Statement” and “Tips for Beginning Research” that may be of use you as you begin your paper.
• Avoid tentative words or phrases. The point of academic writing is to make clear, strong
assertions and to back them with evidence. Words or phrases like “seems to be,” or “almost” often
undermine your assertions and make your reader less confident in your scholarship.
• Choose your words carefully. The nonspecific phrase “there is/there are” does little to guide your
reader into your thoughts about your topic. The verbs “illustrates,” “shows,” and “details,” and their
synonyms do not accomplish much in visual analysis. Your description should avoid these words and
instead clearly explain what is happening in the artwork(s).
• Choose descriptive adjectives and adverbs. Words like “very,” “extremely,” and “so” rarely
enhance an argument.
• In all analysis, show your work! Show your reader how images and concepts relate to one another,
and elaborate and detail your thought process as you describe and define your interpretation of the
artwork. Your goal is to help your reader form a mental image of an artwork and a complete
understanding about it. Don’t assume your readers (even your professor) can fill in the details.
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