What we’re NOT going to do today!
Step 1: Description
⬧ Information about the artist and JUST THE
FACTS
⬧ Describe what you see in the piece of artwork.
NO OPINION HERE – STAY NEUTRAL!
⬧ Describe what objects/people/things you see.
Describe where they are.
⬧ Describe it like you were describing it to
someone who cannot see it.
Step 1:
DESCRIPTION
*2-3+ GOOD paragraphs
**1-2 PPT slides
*ALL of the information
and Elements on this
first page MUST be
included in the opening
description paragraph
*Include approximate
dimensions of the piece
(height, width, depth)
BROAD to SMALL details
*2-3+ GOOD paragraphs
**1-2 PPT slides
Description
*BEFORE you see the artwork
The French painter, Jacques Joseph Tissot, more
commonly known as James Tissot, created the painting
Young Woman in a Boat in 1870. It is an oil-on-canvas
painting (25” X 19”) turned in a landscape format.
There is a woman and dog sitting in a row boat. The
row boat sits in the foreground and takes up most of the
canvas. The woman is sitting in the front of the rowboat
and the pug dog is sitting in the back of the boat. The
woman is wearing a lot of clothing, a long dress and
bonnet. She is holding a fan in her left hand and resting
her chin in her right hand. The boat seems to be stopped
among lily pads and reeds in the water because the
woman’s ore is resting on the side of the boat.
Young Lady in a Boat
by Jacques Joseph Tissot
Description
*After you have seen the artwork
The French painter, Jacques Joseph Tissot, more
commonly known as James Tissot, created the painting Young
Woman in a Boat (Italicize artwork titles) in 1870. It is an oil-oncanvas painting (25” X 19”) turned in a landscape format.
(landscape-vs-portrait, horizontal-vs-vertical) (Artist/artwork
info + BROAD info)
There is a woman and dog sitting in a row boat. The row
boat sits in the foreground and takes up most of the canvas.
The woman is sitting in the front of the rowboat and the pug
dog is sitting in the back of the boat. The woman is wearing a
lot of clothing, a long dress and bonnet. She is holding a fan in
her left hand and resting her chin in her right hand. The boat
seems to be stopped among lily pads and reeds in the water
because the woman’s ore is resting on the side of the boat.
Take a minute to “Describe”
your artwork
(Use the Art Criticism checklist)
Continue to Describe
into Analysis…..
Lines…...What kind & where?
Shapes/Forms…..Which ones &
where?
Colors…..Which ones & where?
Textures……What kind & where?
Space/Depth….What type? Deep or
shallow?
Step 2: Analysis***
⬧ The Design (Use the Principles of Design to
explain the Elements you just described)
⬧ Relationships between the elements and
principles and the things mentioned in the
Description.
***Hardest section to write & probably the
longest
ANALYSIS
*4-5 paragraphs
**1-2 PPT slides
*Foreground, middle ground, background – in
front, middle, back?
*Space/perspective – deep or shallow
space/depth?
*Picture arranged – if you wrote a very
detailed description, you will not need much
here – is it “portrait” or “landscape” oriented?
*Most important part? – leave for Judgment
*Colors & Shapes – Description or go into
more depth here
*Leading lines – Where? What are they? What
do they lead you to?
*Contrast – Colors? Shapes? Lines? Objects?
*Patterns
*Special techniques – How the artist puts their
artwork together? New process? New
materials?
Analysis
This picture is asymmetrically
balanced. The length of the pug’s body
is the same length that is between the
woman’s two hands. I think this is why
the artist drew her leaning forward, to
create the balance. (this almost gets into
opinion)
The background of the painting is
not as detailed or focused as the boat,
the pug, or the woman. This puts
emphasis on those objects. Within the
boat, the most emphasis is put on the
woman. Her bright clothes and “needy”
eyes catch your attention almost
immediately. Her white dress contrasts
with the yellow and red blanket. The
blanket’s bright colors contrast with the
dullness of the painting’s background.
The line of the woman’s hand and pinky
finger frame her face in a way that turns
the focus to her eyes and lips. The
intersecting lines of the fan and the ore
indirectly draw attention to the woman.
(Go from BROAD to small details)
Analysis cont’d
The boat in the water seems to occupy a deeper space because
the background gets darker the further back you look. The boat, woman,
and pug are forms that have height, width, and depth and all occupy a
shallow space on the boat.
The artist used the warm colors of the blanket to create a focal
point of the woman within the cool color scheme of the rest of the
painting. The flowers are painted using complementary colors of yellow
and purple.
Step 3: Interpretation
⬧ Meaning of the work
⬧ What is the purpose or meaning of the
artwork?
⬧ START to get into opinion – may have to
speculate
INTERPRETATION
* 2-3 paragraphs
**1-2 PPT slides
*Imitating nature, expressing
feeling/emotion, &
design/composition – if YES,
then explain where you see it &
why you think that was the
artist’s purpose or meaning
*What does the title tell you
about the meaning?
*How does it make you feel and
WHY does it make you feel that
way?
Interpretation
This is where your opinion "starts"
to come in. You may need to do
some research on your artist to
completely understand what he/she
was trying to communicate with the
audience.
Tissot’s paintings were admired and
often criticized. He was very famous for
painting beautiful English women in a
seductive way. I think the pug was
included just to create balance in the
picture; it isn’t even relevant enough to
be included in the title.
When I first interpreted this
painting, I thought the woman was just
sad and lonely, which could be partially
accepted as correct. However, after
learning the background of the artist I
interpreted it in a different way. Now I
see the woman as trying to be seductive.
She has “needy” eyes as any woman
would if she was trying to draw a man in.
Her pinky finger is lightly rested on her
bottom lip as if she is drawing the man in
for a kiss. She is covered from head to
toe with the intent to “leave some for
the imagination”. I believe this artwork
was painted as an example of subtle
seduction in real life.
Step 4: Judgment
⬧ Based on the 3 previous sections, what do you
think about the artwork now?
⬧ What do you like or dislike about the artwork?
Why?
⬧ How successful do you think the artist was or was not?
Why?
⬧ Do you think this artwork is worth sharing with others?
Why or why not?
⬧ What do think is worth remembering about this
artwork?
JUDGMENT
*2-3 paragraphs
**1-2 PPT slides
*In ALL of these prompts, you
have to explain WHY you think
something.
*Attach a picture (if you can) of
the piece you are writing about
Judgment
I love the fact that there is a random
pug in the artwork. If I was an art critic, I
would have seen the seductive stare of
the woman, but instead, the pug caught
my attention. It was the main reason I
decided to use it. Even though after much
research I found that it had no relevance
to the meaning of the artwork, the pug
became much more. It’s like the
interesting pug in the background drew
me into researching the artwork’s true
meaning, much like the seductive stare of
the woman is meant to draw in a man.
This artwork began as a very
interesting picture that transformed into
a mesmerizing work of art. Tissot did a
magnificent job of conveying subtle
seduction, and the pug adds a little
humor. This artwork is the perfect blend
of everything that makes art interesting.
Based on the information you gathered in
the first three sections,
form your opinion now.
Use this information and format
for your typed “paper” version
due: Thursday, February. 12
You will use this same information
for your PPT later in the semester!
Meet in Malone Gallery THIS
Thursday, February 05 – bring
clean copy of the Art Criticism
papers – I WILL take them up that
day!
Please focus on the?MOST important information?(the stuff you think you would
eventually put in your PPT),?double-space, MLA style, headings?(Description,
Analysis, Interpretation, Judgment),?2-3 pages, attach a picture if you can, cite
works if you use other resources?(not required for this part), and if?all else
fails (Blackboard, that is) email it to me or hand in a hard copy.
Purchase answer to see full
attachment