Art Museum Assignment

This How-To covers the basic elements of art critique.

What is a critique?

A critique is an oral or written discussion strategy used to analyze, describe, and interpret works of art. Critiques help students hone their persuasive oral and writing, information-gathering, and justification skills.

Below is a sample set of focus questions for an art critique related to four major areas of art criticism: description, analysis, interpretation, judgment. (The number of questions and aspects of specificity will vary according to the art form and number of works in the critique).

Description

Describe the work without using value words such as “beautiful” or “ugly”:

• What is the written description on the label or in the program about the work?
• What is the title and who is (are) the artist(s)?
• When and where was the work created?
• Describe the elements of the work (i.e., line, movement, light, space).
• Describe the technical qualities of the work (i.e. what is it made of?, media).
• Describe the subject matter. What is it all about? Are there recognizable images?

Analysis

Describe how the work is organized as a complete composition:

• How is the work constructed or planned (i.e., line, color shape, depth and texture)?
• Identify some of the similarities throughout the work (i.e., repetition of lines, shapes, etc.).
• Identify some of the points of emphasis in the work (i.e., figure, movement, architectural devices, amorphic shapes).
• If the work has figures, what are the relationships between or among them?

Interpretation

Describe how the work makes you think or feel:

• Describe the expressive qualities you find in the work. What expressive language would you use to describe the qualities (i.e., raw, rough, refined, colorful, sad, funny)?
• Does the work remind you of other things you have experienced (i.e., analogy or metaphor)?
• How does the work relate to other ideas or events in the world and/or in your other studies?

Judgment or Evaluation

Present your opinion of the work’s success or failure:

• What qualities of the work make you feel it is a success or failure?
• Compare it with similar works that you think are good or bad.
• What criteria can you list to help others judge this work?
• How original is the work? Why do you feel this work is original or not original?