Contemporary Philippine

Arts in the Regions 12

Critiquing an Artwork
 What can you say about this piece of art?
 What style of painting is used?
 How did the artist use the elements of art
and the principles of design in this painting?
 What do you think is the message behind the
painting?
 Do you think the artist is successful in trying
to convey his message through this artwork?
What is an Art
Critique?
 An art critique is a detailed analysis
and evaluation of a work of art.
Different people may have different
interpretations of a single artwork and
they may have varying reactions to it
but to achieve a more detailed,
thoughtful critique, a few basic
guidelines could be used.
Components of an
Art Critique
1. Description
- the visual facts
 An art critique can be written by first
providing some basic information about the
artwork like the title of the work, artist’s name,
when the piece was created, where it was
made, the types of media used to create the
work (e.g., oil paint on canvas), and the exact
size of the work
 Example:
“This is a huge landscape painting of a
volcano, showing thick clouds around it,
with an orange sky in the background.
Down in the foreground are green rice
terraces and 3 men walking on the
paddies…”
Avoid using adjectives like “beautiful” or
“ugly”. At this point, you are not judging,
you are simply talking about what you
see. This is also the part where you
describe the artwork in terms of the
elements of art used.
What kinds of colors do you see? Are
there lines in the work? If so, what
kinds of lines are they? What sort of
textures do you see? What are the
shapes used? And so on
1. Description
- the visual facts
An art critique can be written by first providing
some basic information about the artwork like
the title of the work, artist’s name, when the
piece was created, where it was made, the types
of media used to create the work (e.g., oil paint
on canvas), and the exact size of the work
 2. Analysis
- the use of design principles
 Discuss how the artwork uses the principles
of design. In this step consider the most
significant art principles that are used in the
artwork. Describe how the artist used them to
organize the elements: Balance, Contrast,
Movement, Proportion, etc.
3. Interpretation
- the meaning of the artwork
 An interpretation seeks to explain the
meaning of the work based on what you
have learned so far about the piece.
What do you think is the message
behind this artwork? What do you think
the artist is trying to convey?
4. Judgment
- personal evaluation
 This is your personal evaluation based on your
understanding of the artwork.

• Decide whether you think the work is successful

or not.
• Explain how you are judging the work.
• Summarize why you think it is successful or
unsuccessful.
“The Weeping
Woman”

Pablo Picasso
France, 1937
Description:
The Weeping Woman is a painting finished
by Pablo Picasso in France, 1937. This
type of artwork can be considered to be
expressionism. There isn’t an actual
background scene in the painting. The
background is completed with different
lines and colors.
Description:
The woman is the focus point of
this painting. She is wearing an accessory
on top of her head which demonstrates her
elegance. My first impression of the
artwork is that the face of the woman is not
proportionate and is only painted with
lines, no curves.
Description:
The main colors that are used in this
painting are green, yellow, blue, purple, red
and black. The painting is set mainly of
lined and little curves. The mood and visual
effect that this painting portrays can be
considered to be suffering, and sadness.
Analyze
The colors that the author uses can be
considered to be quite different as each
color conveys a separate impression. The
light purple that begins at the bottom top
of the woman’s eyes can convey sadness.
Analyze
The other half of the face is mainly
covered in green and yellow; these can be
said to interpret other solid emotions that
the painter must have towards this woman
as she was a vital character in Picasso’s
life.
Analyze
The painting is created with mainly lines
which can mean that the woman had
strong physical features or that her
different emotions were felt passionately
as lines are usually seen as strong
technical elements.
Analyze
The only curves that are being used are
for her hair and eyes. The eyes look quite
down or depressive. This is because the
woman is crying, which goes back to the
main mood which is suffering.
Interpretation
I believe that Picasso wanted the audience
to feel pain and provide a
statement that explains how all women feel
and the agony that they are consistently in.
The audience can see that the woman has
peeled away her flesh by corrosive tears to
reveal her white bones.
Interpretation
The handkerchief she tries to stuff in her
mouth seems as a shard of glass. This
vivid image can convey pain and hurting.
Picasso has expressed the behavior of this
woman several times and often describes
the constant tears that fall off her eyes.
Interpretation
So, the feeling conveyed by the
artwork is definitely suffering. Picasso
wanted us to feel her and understand the
pain that she was going through. It was
not easy to be a woman during that time
since females where often frowned upon.
Interpretation

Picasso demonstrates the appreciation

that he has for her through this painting as
he wants the audience to understand her.
Judge
Finally, the artist’s value may be to evoke
pain, as mentioned previously. This is due
to the colors that Picasso used and the
shapes that he draws; not only these
technical elements but also the images
that the painter uses within the actual face
of the woman.
Judge
The painting relates to the entire female
community. This community can understand the
painting and know what Picasso was trying to
portray. Every woman is able understand and
comprehend the message behind this painting as
we all feel the same way at one point in our
lives. I believe that this
is a strong value in the painting.
Judge
The weak value lies in the different colors
that the painter chooses. I found it
confusing to interpret other areas of the
face as the colors that were used didn’t
seem to match other locations of the face.