Art 10000 Paper Assignment 1

Paper Due: Thursday, October 11. No late papers will be accepted. Staple your admission
receipt and/or button to the upper left hand corner of your paper. I will NOT accept any
papers without the receipt or button stapled to the front of the paper.

Assignment: Visit the Metropolitan Museum of Art on a day when you have 3-4 hours for
transportation and to spend time in the museum. (Admission is suggested: ie pay what you wish)
Using these instructions, the Museum Notes Worksheet, and the relevant readings in Barnet as
guides, write a visual analysis of ONE of the works listed on the next page.

Required Background Reading:

● Refer to Barnet, chaps. 1-4 and 9-10. Adapt his methods to suit your needs.
● You may want to read these sections before you visit the museum, and again when you
start putting your paper together.
NOTE: Your paper should be written in the third person (he, she, one), which is a more objective
mode of presentation than the first person (I).
Your main aim for the visual analysis essay is to recreate in words the visual experience and
forms of your selected object. What does it look like? Your words should re-present the artwork
as an image in the mind of your reader. You do not necessarily need to report each and every
detail but rather those that will give the reader enough information to comprehend the object’s
appearance.

Develop and write an analytical essay with a strong thesis (please underline) and clear,
thorough supporting paragraphs. Analyze the work in- depth and use art historical vocabulary
when applicable. Reference the starter kit in the Stokstad book as a guide.

Use your Museum Notes Worksheet to make notes and sketches to record the visual evidence
you will use to write your description. Describe the artwork so that a friend who has never seen it
could pick it out in the museum or draw a picture of it based on your words.

Your essay should be based on your own observations of the work. Everything you need to write
your analysis can be found in the artwork itself. No research is allowed. Keep in mind that
visual analysis should rely on what you can glean from an object based on its appearance alone,
rather than on researched information. Thus, please do not research the object beyond reading the
museum’s wall labels.

Format: your paper MUST be 2 typed, double-spaced, stapled, and numbered pages with
standard margins (1- 1½ in.) and font size (Times New Roman 12 pt.). Include the artist’s full
name, the work’s title, its date, and its medium in the introductory paragraph of your paper.
Please provide a cover page with your name and the title of your paper.

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Currently on view at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1000 Fifth Ave. @ 82nd St.
(4-5-6 to 86th St. or 6 to 77th St; M79 or M86 to 5th Ave.) Open Seven Days a Week
Sunday–Thursday: 10 am–5:30 pm/Friday and Saturday: 10 am–9 pm

Choose ONE of the following (ensure that you have the correct work by matching the accession
number on the label to the one listed below in parentheses):

1. Chinese, Female Dancer, 2nd century B.C., (1992.165.19) Gallery 207

2. Indian, Standing Buddha Offering Protection, late 5th century (1979.6) Gallery 236
3. Cycladic, Marble Female Figure, c. 4500-4000 BCE (1972.118.104) Gallery 150
4. Ancient Near Eastern, Kneeling Bull Holding a Spouted Vessel, 3100-2900-BCE, silver
(66.173) Gallery 402
5. Greek, Marble Relief with a Dancing Maenad, Roman copy (c. 27 B.C.- A.D 14) of a Greek
relief (c. 425-400 B.C.) (35.11.3) Gallery 153
6. Greek, Marble stele (grave marker) of a man, ca. 375-350 B.C. (59.11.27) Gallery 158
7. French Gothic, Column Statue of an Old Testament King, ca. 1150-1160 (20.157) Gallery
304
8. African (Mali), Bamana Peoples, Seated Female Figure, 15th-20th cent. (1978.412.338)
Gallery 350
9. African, Reliquary: Standing Male Figure, 19th century, (2002.456.17) Gallery 352
10. Mesoamerican (Veracruz, Mexico), Smiling Figure, 7th- 8th century (1979.206.1211) Gallery
358
11. Mesoamerican (Aztec), Seated Standard Bearer, 2nd ½ of 15th cent/early 16th cent. (62.47)
Gallery 358

Please do not leave this assignment for the last minute! You should write at least one initial draft,
one or more rough drafts, and a final version. The more you revise, edit, and proofread your
paper, the better it will be. Please visit me and/or the Writing Center with questions, concerns,
and hard-copy drafts for review. To request an appointment, go to
http://www.ccny.cuny.edu/writingcenter/.

______I have described and analyzed my chosen artwork so that someone else could recognize it
______My essay is written in the third person. It does not contain the words “I,” “we,” or “you”
______I have proofread my paper (reading out loud to catch mistakes)
______I have not used contractions, that is, I have spelled out combined words like: it’s (it is),
don’t (do not), can’t (cannot), etc.
______I have not used the phrase “piece of art” or “art piece.” The museum object is a “work of
art” or a “sculpture.”
______I have either underlined or italicized the title of the work of art
______I have numbered the pages of my paper and stapled them together with my button
______I have not used any unauthorized sources or passed off another’s work as my own

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 Art 10000: Museum Notes Worksheet
Use this worksheet to make notes on the work of art you have chosen for your paper assignment. Use both sides of
the paper if needed! You may want to take an additional copy of this blank worksheet with you, in case you change
your mind about your subject. These questions are designed to be a starting point in your note-taking process; you
should also develop some of your own questions to ask and answer of your chosen artwork.

Artist and title of object:

_________________________________________________________________________
Date of object (not the same as the artist’s birth/death dates):
____________________________________________
Accession number (confirm against number on handout):
_______________________________________________
Original Location/country of origin:
________________________________________________________________

SUBJECT MATTER: What do you see? Other than the title, how do you know? Do you need to
consult a reference work to identify/understand the subject/story/characters beyond what is mentioned in
the museum label?

SIZE/SCALE & PROPORTION: How large is the artwork? Does it seem to be heavy (as
perceived by looking, NOT by touching)?

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MEDIUM: What materials has the artist used? How does the artist handle these materials – what
equipment did s/he use? What is the work’s texture (as perceived by looking, NOT by touching)? Is it
smooth? Shiny? Rough?

CONDITION: Has the object survived well over time? Are parts damaged, broken, or missing?

COLOR: Does the object’s color(s) result from the material chosen, or has the artist used additional
pigments? What are the main colors used?

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OVERALL SHAPE AND DESIGN: Sketch the main outlines and two-dimensional formations
and patterns that you see. How do the figures/objects/forms/lines relate to each other?

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INDIVIDUAL DETAILS: Identify the different parts/elements/components of the artwork. What are
the individual details that make up the whole?

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SCULPTURE
What is represented? Is it a single figure or multiple figures?
● What, if anything, is the figure wearing?
● What is the figure doing?
● If the figure is seated or standing—DESCRIBE HOW
● How many sides can you see?

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FINAL THOUGHTS AND CONSIDERATIONS: when you are at home writing up your
description, you will be relying on these notes (and perhaps a photograph or two that you took at the
museum). Check over your notes to ensure that you have looked and recorded enough. When writing your
description, you should:

• write assuming your reader has never seen the object

• summarize the overall appearance in general terms before describing individual details. Set the scene
broadly, then go into more detail

• describe the composition (who is doing what to whom and where)

• describe the materials used

• think about how you order your description. It may make sense to move from one side of the object to
the other (top to bottom or left to right) but it is usually better to focus on what seems to be the most
important aspects first (where does the artist want us to look most?) followed by the secondary and
tertiary elements.

** You will not necessarily include every detail you have noted on this worksheet in your description**
**Choose the most relevant and useful details to develop your description**