Identify, formally analyze and contextualize ONE artwork from the Prehistoric period through Medieval Art.

Identify, formally analyze and contextualize ONE artwork from the Prehistoric period through Medieval Art.

The paper will be six pages in length and consult and cite at least five scholarly sources using Chicago Author-Date style, which is the standard style for the discipline of Art History. Your paper will contain footnotes and a bibliography. Your bibliography will be a list of at least three scholarly sources you will cite in the body of your paper.

Your paper will contain a specific thesis statement and will explain HOW your artwork is representative of its culture.

All papers must be double-spaced with 1″ margins on all sides. Please use Times New Roman 12 pt. font. Please check for spelling and grammatical errors. Points will be deducted for these errors.

Papers submitted without footnotes, with footnotes in improper form, or without a proper bibliography will not be accepted.

DIRECTIONS FOR WRITING YOUR RESEARCH PAPER

Please note that each of these steps will be broken down into separate pages/resources in the research assignment course module. More detailed instructions for each step and due dates will be provided in these separate pages/resources!

Step 1: Select an art object to research. Your object must be dated before 1400 CE.

Step 2: Find at least five sources of scholarly information you can use in your paper. These sources will be your working bibliography. Scholarly sources are peer-reviewed books and articles.

Step 3: Create and submit your annotated bibliography.

Step 4: After reviewing your sources, formulate a thesis and outline for your research paper. The thesis should advance a specific argument about your artwork (see below). Your thesis and outline will be submitted to the instructor.

Step 5: Using your thesis and outline as a guide, complete your research paper.

PAPER OUTLINE

Your paper will consist of five sections:

Introductory Paragraph with THESIS STATEMENT

Formal Analysis of your artwork (refer back to thesis statement)

Iconography of your artwork (refer back to thesis statement)

Iconology of your artwork (refer back to thesis statement)

Summary Paragraph with reiteration of thesis statement

Introductory Paragraph Identify your artwork and state your thesis.
Formal Analysis – Description and analysis of the work in your own words:
Detailed formal description of the works, moving from the general to the specific (Analysis: breaking the whole into parts for understanding.) Include elements and principles of design: subject, lines, medium, color, light, space, composition, scale, and technique. Ask and answer: How does the art work in formal terms?

Iconography
Discussion of the content, symbolism and meaning of the work as conveyed through its formal elements. Include information about what story or idea the object depicts.

Iconology (Contextual Analysis) – Synthesis – Thesis of paper: SO WHAT factor
Discussion of period style revealed in the form of the artwork and contextualization of the object in a specific movement/era. Thesis communicates to viewer how to see and experience the artworks.
Your synthesis should make clear the relevance of THIS WORK. Your reader should understand why it is meaningful and useful to study the work and form discussions around it.

Summary Paragraph Reiterate your thesis.

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