First, select a work of art you would like to write about. It can be from any p

First, select a work of art you would like to write about. It can be from any period / country and
any medium (painting, sculpture, ceramics, collage, archaeological object, etc.) that you would
like to study.
The paper will consist of two parts:
I. Formal Descriiption (1/2 page to 1 page)
Describe the work of art that you select. The goal is to write a descriiptive essay that clearly and
concisely describes what you see without inserting any critical or evaluative language. As you
look at and study the work, it is often useful to sketch what you see.
II. Contextual Analysis (1 1/2 pages)
Place the work within its original historical and cultural context. In other words, what role did
the work play in society? Who made it (if we know)? When was it made? What was it used
for? Who would have seen it? What subject is depicted? What factors influenced the
circumstances of its creation? How does the work exemplify the time and place in which it was
made? These are some of the questions that you should think about as you write this part of the
paper. (These questions also come to the heart of what our “Art in Society” class is about).
Your paper should not address these questions as a list, but should be organized around a
thoughtful thesis statement. **Please be sure to underline your thesis statement before
submitting your paper.
This is not a research paper, so footnotes and a bibliography are not necessary. However, you
may need to do some research to place a work of art within its cultural context. Any information
that you find should be paraphrased into your own words in order to avoid plagiarizing word-for-
word from any source.
The paper should be typed (double-spaced) and formatted in Times New Roman 12-point font,
with one-inch margins all around. A photograph or photocopied image of the work you are writing about must also be submitted with the paper. Illustrations should be included as
appropriate for any comparanda mentioned in the text.