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Writing a Critical Analysis of a Painting

If you are assigned to write about a painting remember that it is not necessary to write a highly technical
analysis. You only need to look carefully at the painting then analyze and classify what you see. If you have
never written about a painting before, it may be helpful for you to consider the following list when studying the
painting.

How old is the painting you are writing about?

What is its size and proportions?
Is it a landscape, a portrait, or a still life?
Look at the artist's use of space.
- Is there a center of interest?
Look at the artist's use of color and shape.
Look at the movement of the forms.
Write down your impression of the mood.
Does the painting have narrative content (tell a story)?
- How do you know?
- What do you think the story is?
Who is the artist?
Do you think the artist used symbols?
Look at the brushwork.
- Is the paint applied thickly or thinly?
- Is it transparent or opaque? Is it mixed media?

If the work you are studying is an abstraction you will need to focus on:

Paint handling
Direction and flow
Color use
Mood
Researching the artist

Begin The Essay

Introduction:
Just like all other essays, your first paragraph serves as your introduction. This section should identify the title of the
painting, the artist, what year the painting was created, and where the painting is located.You should also introduce your
thesis in this paragraph. Your thesis could be about one specific aspect of the painting, or it could be a broad statement
about the painting as a whole.
Analysis:
Your next several paragraphs should analyze the painting. For example, if your thesis is that the painting is a "startling piece
of work," then the body of your paper should describe why you find it to be startling. Within your analysis you should
include specific descriptions of the piece itself. However, do not focus only on describing the painting; presumably your
audience is familiar with the work. You should describe aspects of the painting only as they relate to your thesis. For
example, if your thesis is that the painting is "startling," perhaps it is the subject's body language that makes it startling. You
may want to include a description of that figure's body language and explain the impact the body language has on the
audience.
In an informal essay about art it is acceptable to include your own feelings and behavior as you looked at the painting. You
can include information like how long you studied the painting, whether you compared it to other paintings in the gallery,
whether or not you made a sketch of the work, how the painting made you feel, etc. If the painting makes you feel sad, then
explain what evokes that feeling. Is it the colors the artist used? Is it the figure's pose, or the facial expression, etc.?
Drawing Conclusions:
It is then important for you to make some conclusions about why you think the artist made the decisions that he/she did. If
the painting looks startling or sad, why do you think the artist chose to paint it that way? Is part of the painting dark or dull
simply to draw the audience's attention to another part of the canvas? You may also want to research what was happening
during that time of the artist's life. Often there will be a correlation between the mood of the painting and the events in the
artist's life during that time
Conclusion:

The end of your essay should reiterate the important points that you made, yet leave the reader with something more to
think about.

Sample Critical Essay of a Painting

Introduction:
This is a very brief essay, and as a result, the introduction is concise. The thesis is in the first sentence.
Rembrandt's Self Portrait in the National Gallery
By M. Lewinski
November 1, 2001
Submitted for Art History 101
Rembrandt's "Self Portrait" in the East Wing of the National Gallery is a startling painting. Rembrandt placed
his face in the upper two thirds of the canvas which is 33" by 26". It was painted in 1656.
Analysis:
Now you can begin to explain why you find this painting to be startling.
Artists usually paint themselves well dressed, happy, sitting at an easel, working. In this painting, however,
Rembrandt looks inexpressibly sad, timeworn, and defeated. While everything else is in shadow, the face is
illuminated as if it attracts all the light. His face is softening with age; his unruly hair is tinged with gray. His
eyes look out, capturing and pinning me the moment I enter the gallery. I feel as if I had disturbed him while he
was painting.
What about this painting has given the impression that Rembrandt looks sad or defeated? Is it the colors the
artist used? Is it the pose, or the facial expression? You should describe some specific parts of the painting in
order to support your thesis. You may also wish to compare this work to other paintings by the same artist.
His coat looks dull, nondescript. In contrast to other self-portraits where Rembrandt painted himself in finery,
in this painting he looks like he is wearing an old coat, and an old hat. The color and quality of his clothing
adds to the somber mood of the painting.
His hands are not visible. In fact, no skin other than his face is visible. Perhaps his hands would have taken
some of the light away from his face, and he wanted to draw the audience's attention immediately to his face. It
is as though he meant to emphasize the importance of his facial expression and the lines in his face, and deemphasize the importance of everything else. It looks like he's just turned around to see who entered the
room-- and he'd rather not have been interrupted from his thoughts. The only other form that captures any light
is the curved form in the lower portion of the painting. It is possible that shape is his palette.

Drawing Conclusions:
You should attempt to explain why you think the artist painted himself in this way.
Rembrandt made a self-portrait almost every year of his life, beginning about age twenty. The early portraits
depict a smiling, self-confident, prosperous Rembrandt. These were probably intended to be advertisements of
his skill to attract commissions. Clearly this painting was not designed to attract commissions. Perhaps this
painting's intent was to capture a more honest, uncensored truth of the artist's life. He could have made himself
look however he wanted, but he chose this somber pose.
Conclusion:
Reiterate your thesis and the important points you made, and leave the reader with something more to think about.
Though we do not absolutely know why he depicted himself in this dark way, we must assume that Rembrandt
was certainly trying to both evoke and express a feeling of uncomfortable defeat. Perhaps Rembrandt has
painted the reality of his life-- a dimly lit, cold room; worn, dark clothes; a pensive, tired expression-- and his
current emotional state without hiding behind flashy clothes and bright colors.

Writing Critical Essays:

Essays about Literature
The critical essay should have the same structural characteristics as any other kind of essay. Please see our
Structure of an Essay explanation and picture to refresh your memory. However, the kind of information that a
critical essay should include can be very different from the information included in other kinds of essays. The
critical essay must have the following parts:
Introduction:
Every essay must have an introduction. This section should clearly identify the title, author, and kind of writing
you are analyzing. It also needs to have a clearly stated thesis. The thesis could be about the work's strengths
and weaknesses, or it could be about a specific aspect of the work ( a character, the tone, the use of symbols,
etc.) The essays does not need to criticize the work, it can simply analyze one aspect of the work.
Summary (refreshing the reader's memory of the work) :
You cannot just assume that the reader knows exactly which part of the work, which argument, which symbols,
etc. you are writing about. It is best to spend a bit of time reminding the reader about the main points of the
original work. This section should explain the author's presentation of the subject that will be evaluated. This
part of the paper should not be very long. Good papers leave this section brief and spend most of the time on
analysis. If you are critiquing the author's argument, you need to include the author's conclusion, supporting
ideas, implied ideas, and assumptions. However, if you are analyzing the author's method of writing, (i.e.
his/her use of literary devices, imagery, development of a specific character, structural choices, etc.), you only
need to mention the one aspect of his/her work you are discussing.
Remember, you should refrain from analysis in the summary section. This section is used only to refresh the
reader's memory of a specific aspect of the piece. Depending on the essay, the summary could be a separate
paragraph or two, or, you could include the summary information at the beginning of each body paragraph. If
you include it at the beginning of each body paragraph, you should state the author's presentation briefly, then
present your own analysis of it.
Criticism/Analysis:
These are the main body paragraphs of the essay. This will be the longest part of the essay, because it is the
part in which you prove your thesis.
Here, you evaluate and analyze the work. Depending on the thesis, you may be assessing the author's
argument, use of figurative language, development of a specific character, repetition of a theme, etc. In this
section, you should use examples from the work and analyze them in a way that supports your thesis. If you
spend too much time on reconstruction and not enough on criticism, you will not score very well on the essay.
Conclusion:
You should use the conclusion to summarize the main points of your analysis. Here you should restate the
thesis briefly. You can opt to leave the reader with a broad statement to provoke further thought about the
subject.
Outline for a Critical Essay
I. Introduction
A. Identify the title and author.
B. Present your THESIS STATEMENT
(this should be a sentence or two that summarizes your opinion/argument regarding the text).
II. Body
A. Summary
1. Refresh the reader's memory of the text as a whole.
2. Remind them of the specific part you will be analyzing
B. Criticism/Analysis
1. Evaluate and analyze the text

2. Use specific examples (quotes) from the text to support your thesis.
3. Analyze the quotes that you use in a way that proves your argument.
III. Conclusion
A. Summarize the main points of your argument.
B. Briefly restate your (now proven) thesis.
C. Perhaps leave the reader with a broad statement to provoke further thought.