From: Sayre, Henry M. Writing about Art. 4th ed., Prentice Hall, 2002, pp. 64-65.
Questions to ask before writing about a work of art
What is the subject matter of the work?
- What is its title?
- Does the title help you interpret what you see?
- Can you imagine different treatments of the same subject matter that would change the way you read the work?
What formal elements are important to the work and how do they relate to its subject matter?
- How is line employed in the work?
- Does it seem to regulate or order the composition?
- Does it seem to fragment the work?
- Is it consistent with traditional laws of perspective or does it violate them?
- What is the relation of shape to space in the work?
- How do light and dark function in the work? Is there a great deal of tonal contrast, or is it held to a minimum?
- What is the predominant color scheme of the work? Are complementary or analogous colors employed?
- What other elements seem important? Is your attention drawn to the work's texture? Does time seem an important factor in your experience of the work?
How are the elements organized?
- Is there significant use of visual rhythm and repetition of elements?
- Is the composition balanced? Symmetrically? Asymmetrically?
- Do the work's various elements seem proportional, and how does the question of scale affect your perception?
- Does the composition seem unified or not?
How has the artist's choice of medium played a role in the presentation of the various elements and their organization or design?
- Are effects achieved that are realizable only in this particular medium?
- If more than one medium is involved, what is their relation?
What does this all mean?
- What are the artist's intentions? How do these intentions manifest themselves in the composition? Are there other feelings or attitudes that the composition seems to evoke, and what specific elements or design choices account for those feelings?
