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Art Critique Examples & Essay Writing Guide

Art is an integral part of the human experience, as it inspires and helps us develop a sense of beauty. It can catch you off guard during a visit to an art gallery or on a forest walk in the autumn. Even such a mundane thing as a sunset can invoke expressive feelings you can’t quite explain. And oftentimes, the emotion spectrum of a painted sunset differs from a photograph. However, writing your critique review about art can be more challenging than admiring it.

Don’t stress and fret if you get an art critique assignment and need to improve your skills. Our team has created a guide that contains everything you need to know about writing this type of essay. We will also explain its four components and provide art critique examples that can inspire your own writing.

🎭 What Is an Art Criticism Essay?

• 🖼️ How to Write an Art Critique
• 🧐 10 Questions to Ask
• 👩‍🎨 Tips for Writing Art Criticism

🎨 Artwork Critique Examples

• 💡 Essay Topic Ideas

📎 References

“Why do you even need to criticize art?” is a legitimate question that you might be asking. Isn’t it enough that someone spent their time and made something? What’s the point of breaking down their work?

While it is true that the word “critique” evokes negative associations, there is more to it than just pointing out an artwork’s flaws. A well put criticism allows you, your audience, and the artist themselves to see the work from a different angle.

A good critique paper provides several things:

• An outside opinion of the work. Despite the common misconception, artists love to discuss their creations and those of their peers. A critique provides valuable data for their subsequent artistic pursuits and may point towards things artists didn’t consider because of their limited scope of work.
• A better understanding of one’s skills. A well-written art critique never seeks to tear down its subject. Instead, it serves as an assessment of the person’s artistic skills . A good analysis helps them pay attention to unexplored parts of their work.
• A new perspective. An artist can grow only when they know what needs improvement. Listening to praise all the time limits their development. A critical paper can point them in a better direction without being obnoxious or judgmental.
• A more profound sense of community. An art critique helps artists develop and see themselves from the other side. It makes them more open to discussing their opinions and values. That gives them a better understanding of what motivates and guides others.

An art critique is an outside opinion of the creator’s work that helps them improve their style and techniques. A well-made art critique tells what other people think of the artist’s efforts and draws attention to issues that must be solved, which leads to better professional and personal growth. Additionally, it lets us understand the work of old masters on a deeper level, evaluating where they succeeded or failed.

🖼️ Guide: How to Write an Art Critique

When you get down to basics, criticizing a creative work is also an art form in itself. That’s why students often struggle to describe works of art, especially if it’s their first time doing so.

When working on a critique, you must include several components we’ll cover later:

• Description of the work.
• Artist’s intentions and analysis.
• Response and interpretation.
• Conclusions and evaluation.

This approach is also known as the Feldman model and is widely used in art. Let’s look at each part and its role in writing an excellent art critique.

Description of the Work

When making an art critique, examining the subject thoroughly is essential. Your first impression and initial response to the piece are critical, so take the time to absorb it. When evaluating an artwork, learn about its background (author, significance, prominent motifs , and techniques.) You can also discuss the work’s medium, brushstrokes, color scheme, or any other relevant details.

Next, address the content of the work: the scene, figures, and objects depicted on the canvas or in the sculpture. You can mention the size of the work, texture, lines, composition, and perspective. If you’re looking for excellent art to examine, check out Caravaggio’s The Calling of St. Matthew . It’s a masterpiece that combines light, shadow, expressions, and movement to tell a story in a single frame.

Artist’s Intentions & Analysis

After you’re done admiring the piece, it’s time to determine what makes it work. When going through your visual findings, try answering the reason behind their use. For example, why did the artist use a particular type of paint or composed the frame in a certain way? It helps to establish an artist’s intent behind their work.

To make a comprehensive art criticism essay, look at the larger context. Learn about the artist, what drove them to create, and the biggest influences on their work. This helps better understand why they chose to create a particular piece during a certain artistic period. For example, Carravagio made some of his best paintings as church commissions, hence the wide use of Christian symbolism in many of his works.

Response & Interpretation

Art critique essays often hyperfocus on the artist and their work, forgetting that, ultimately, spectators are the ones experiencing it. In this part of the analysis, share what feelings the painting or sculpture evokes in your mind. There are no wrong answers here, as everybody sees art from their perspective. Look past what the artist tries to depict and explain the meaning you see behind the art.

When evaluating a work of art, think about what it makes you feel (joy, anger, sadness, and so on.) Next, think about the area or figure that draws your attention. Note the artistic choices that brought the whole thing together. Addressing these things will make your analysis more comprehensive.

Conclusions & Evaluation

Remember that a criticism is largely a personal opinion based on your experience and interpretation. The conclusion section of the art criticism essay should also evaluate the effectiveness of the artist’s choices in creating the right impact on the viewers and seeing their vision through. Think about how the artwork made you feel, using personal thoughts and feelings.

Once everything is said, you have to provide a summary of the art piece. Don’t try to imagine what the person could have done with the work. Instead, evaluate what they achieved with it. When working on this part of the essay, analyze the author’s intention, whether they were successful, and whether the piece was worth evaluating.

🧐 Artwork Critique – 10 Questions to Ask

In addition to this guide, we would like to provide a set of questions that will help you with your art criticism essay. There’s no need to answer all of them in your work, but knowing about them won’t hurt. Whether you’re writing a work about one of the classical pieces or contemporary abstract art, these questions can guide you. They can help you overcome your writer’s block, provide new ideas, or ensure that you stay on the right track.

• Is the choice of colors balanced, or do they clash?
• Where is the horizon line placed, and how does it influence the work?
• How does the color scheme work to set the piece’s mood?
• Is the composition set to make the scene look three-dimensional?
• Are the elements of the art piece positioned the right way?
• What idea did the artist want to convey in the work?
• Does the author use light and shadow properly?
• How does the artist express human emotions?
• Are there any errors with the composition?
• What is the main focus of the artwork?

👩‍🎨 Helpful Tips for Writing Constructive Art Criticism Essay

Sometimes, it is challenging to describe some details or set the tone for a critical essay. So, we’ve picked tips to help you create the perfect analysis paper.

To provide a better understanding of writing an art criticism essay, we’d like to give you a couple of examples to think about. These small samples will help you choose the proper language and paragraph structure to create a good artwork analysis. We hope you’ll find our art critique essay examples inspiring.

Raphael’s Madonna in a Chair .

Rightfully admired as one of the best painters of the High Renaissance era , Raphael showed a human side of the divine, most notably in his works related to the Madonna and baby Christ. Even the small-scale Madonna in a Chair showcases his talent despite the size of the canvas. The title is a bit misleading, as its main focus is the Son of God. Here, he is depicted in the embrace of Mary, cradling him with both her arms. The piece heavily utilizes the U shape in the figures of the Madonna, Christ, and the praying child who’ll grow up to be John the Baptist. The latter looks at them with awe and adoration, hands clasped in prayer. As in all his works, Raphael depicted the Mother of Christ not as a divine figure but as a mother, fearful and protective of her child. A slight off-balance to the left makes this scene more warm and intimate, with Christ’s and Madonna’s shapes radiant with an inner light. The color scheme used lighter hues for parts of the shawl, dress, and cloth the baby was wrapped in. Raphael showed a true mastery of color, light, and shadow to capture the essence of motherhood. He deliberately dimmed the colors on the sides of the painting to make its centerpiece more vibrant and life-like. The rounded shape of the work accentuates the effect of looking at people through an open window. This is how the painter made it feel like we have witnessed the tender moment and have been discovered, with both Madonna and Christ looking at us.

A Bar at the Folies-Bergere by Edouard Manet.

Edouard Manet is a figure well-known to the admirers of the French impressionist movement. His works gave a rare insight into Paris’s everyday and social life during the mid-1800s. One of Manet’s later works, A Bar at the Folies-Bergère, continues this pursuit and takes us to the rowdy scene of a nightclub in the historical district of the capital. Instead of painting a vibrant scene, Manet focused on a single person working at the establishment’s bar. She’s a young woman (probably in her 20s) who stands behind the counter selling fruit and alcohol to the patrons of Folies-Bergère . Despite the atmosphere of the place, the woman looks detached from things happening around her. She’s the only person to have distinguishing features. Manet used multiple brushstrokes for each object to make them look distorted and out of focus. The further we get from the center of the piece, the blurrier the lines become. Sometimes, they turn into haze, erasing the lines between individuals. The use of dark and gray tones in the mirror’s reflection further emphasizes the cold feel of the place despite its intended atmosphere. In my opinion, the mirror lets the audience perceive the scene from the eyes of the woman as if we were the ones looking at the bar. The painting beautifully depicts two things: isolation and movement. Although visitors surround her, the person in the center of the image doesn’t seem to enjoy it. Her eyes are slightly cast down, perhaps in contemplation or daydreaming. Despite her state, the world carries on.

Artwork Critique: How to Choose Masterpiece for Analysis

In this section, we’ve compiled a little guide for picking the perfect piece of art for you to analyze. Check it out:

📌 Make preliminary research to understand different art forms, styles, or movements. It’s beneficial to familiarize yourself with artists’ backgrounds and historical context.

📌 Think about the themes and concepts you want to reveal in your analysis. Do you want to explore the artwork’s symbolism, aesthetic qualities, or historical significance?

📌 Select an artwork that personally resonates with you or piques your interest. A genuine connection with the piece will make the analysis more enjoyable and insightful.

📌 Consider exploring a diverse range of art periods. Analyzing a variety of artworks will broaden your perspective and enhance your critical analysis skills.

💡 Art Criticism Essay Topic Ideas

Finally, we’d like to offer a list of topics on which you can write your following critical paper. Perhaps here you’ll find something inspiring for your next piece of work.

• The role of Christian symbolism in Caravaggio’s works.
• Van Gogh’s Starry Night and the impressionist movement.
• Claude Monet’s Poppies : a study in perspective.
• Pablo Picasso’s Les Demoiselles d’Avignon and 20th century art.
• Explore the composition of Sandro Botticelli’s Adoration of the Magi .
• Describe the main focus of Raphael’s The School of Athens piece .
• Edward Hopper’s Nighthawks and social isolation.
• Evaluate the use of light and shadow in Rembrandt’s The Night’s Watch.
• How did Johannes Vermeer achieve the realistic effect in his Girl with a Pearl Earring portrait?
• Discuss the symbolism of The Creation of Adam by Michelangelo.
• What message did Hieronymus Bosch try to convey in The Garden of Earthly Delights ?
• Explore the minimalist style used in Georges Seurat’s A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte .
• Comparison of the Caravaggio, Bernini, and Rembrandt Artworks.
• Describe the artistic significance of Emanuel Leutze’s Washington Crossing the Delaware .
• The use of color in J. W. Waterhouse’s The Lady of Shalott .
• Explain the use of the perspective in Claude Monet’s Woman with a Parasol .
• Which techniques were used to paint the Sistine Chapel ceiling?
• Peter Paul Rubens’ The Raising of the Cross .
• Explore the use of color in Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona Lisa .
• Which events are depicted in Delacroix’s Liberty Leading the People ?
• The Persistence of Memory and the surrealist movement.
• The Swing by Jean-Honoré Fragonard.
• Analyze The Great Wave of Kanagawa and its influence on the ukiyo-e genre.
• Wanderer above the Sea of Fog and solitude.
• Explore the themes of Pieter Bruegel’s The Hunters in the Snow .
• Claude Monet’s Water Lilies .
• Examine the use of color in Leighton’s Flaming June .
• How Renoir composed the scene in Bal du moulin de la Galette .
• A critical look at The Sistine Madonna .
• Gustav Klimt’s The Kiss.

Our guide will help you write a better art critique essay about ancient and contemporary masterpieces. We’re sure that it has all the answers you seek. And if you still need to come up with a topic, you can always try our essay topic generator.

• Guidelines for Analysis of Art. – UA Little Rock, School of Art and Design
• Art History Writing Guide. – Swarthmore College
• How to Critique a Work of Art. – Holland Central School District, Finalsite
• The Value of a Good Critique. – Georgia Schumacher, The Arts Institutes International
• How to Become an Art Critic in 5 Steps (Definition and FAQs). – Indeed
• 4 Reasons Critiques Need to Be Part of Your Curriculum. – Debi West, The Art of Education University
• Elemental Questions for Art Critique. – Lyric Montgomery Kinard
• How to Approach Writing Art Criticism. – Collin Kavanaugh, The Wheaton College Writing Center Blog
• Art Critique Vs. Art Bashing: How To Art Critique Right. – Nicole Adamson
• What is the Purpose of Art Criticism Today? – Elena Martinique, WideWalls

How to Write an Art Critique? Secrets of Expert Art Criticism

“Please do not shoot the pianist. He is doing his best – ” the note that Oscar Wilde saw in the dancing saloon in the Rocky Mountains. When he wrote about his impressions later, he said it was “the only rational method of art criticism.”

Indeed, the meaning of critique seems limited. People often focus on the drawbacks and flaws. But art critique is much more than highlighting just the negative sides of the work.

In this article, our team looked into the rules of art critique, spotted the most spread mistakes, and picked some excellent examples.

• 🔑 Art Critique Definition
• 🏆 The Challenges of Art Critique
• 🎓 Art Criticism Step by Step
• 🎨 Art Critique Examples
• ✅ Art Critique Checklist

🔑 What is an Art Critique?

An art critique is the analysis, evaluation, and interpretation of an art product. It is one of the fundamental parts of art studies. Art critics usually review artworks from the point of aesthetics or the theory of beauty. So, art critique aims to provide the rational ground for art perception and admiration.

🏆 Art Critique Challenges

Let’s start to learn this backward! We suggest you get to know the main challenges of the art review. A conventional image of critique is a process of describing weak aspects of an artwork. It’s essential to understand the critique is analysis, not naming things you don’t like.

Here are the five biggest challenges to overcome for an excellent art review:

• Don’t critique the style of the author.
• Don’t fill up your review with negative impressions only.
• Don’t be too subjective. Rely upon art history.
• Don’t demand from an artist to follow your recommendations.
• Don’t retell/describe the object. Add your comments and analysis.

#1 MYTH: Art Criticism Is Usually Negative

Performing the critique isn’t only about looking for failures. Though you can get confused by the semantic ambiguity of this word. For example, Mariam-Webster Dictionary offers the following definitions of ‘criticism’:

• The act of criticizing, usually unfavorably.
• The art of evaluating or analyzing works of art or literature; also: writings expressing such evaluation or analysis.

So, the latter definition proves that criticism doesn’t necessarily have a negative connotation.

Writing a Critique ≠ Listing What You Don’t Like

That’s great if you get a strong impression of an artwork. But for a good analysis, it’s not sufficient just to spot the points you find unsatisfactory. It’s essential to go deeper in reviewing. The point here is to set up a firm ground for the analysis based on objective analytical arguments.

For example, you can use art history facts to justify your opinion about a particular piece.

Critiquing Artwork ≠ Critiquing the Style

When you analyze an art product, it’s tempting to go off course and start criticizing the style. It’s one of the major challenges but you should stay solid. The author’s style is the basis for authenticity and self-expression. It’s a chosen path, not a mistake, remember that! However, if the author claims they work in a particular style, but the artwork doesn’t express that, it changes everything. In this case, you can compare the characteristics of the declared style and the features of the particular work.

Art Critique ≠ Just a Description

An art critique is also much broader than retelling and describing what you see , read or hear. Let’s say you are writing an essay or a review on Kerouac’s novel. You don’t have to retell the plot in detail. It’s not the point of the analysis.

Not more than 5% of your text can be dedicated to retelling.

The same rule is relevant for any other piece of art. Don’t say that The Venus of Milo lacks arms. Elaborate on reasons why it happened, conduct some comparative work.

🎓4 Steps of Art Criticism & 20 Questions to Answer

Alright, let’s dig deeper now! To compose a well-structured critique, you should consider the necessary constituents:

• Description.
• Interpretation.
• Evaluation.

The section below contains more than twenty helpful questions to build a fine art critique piece!

1. Writing a Critique Description

First, you should define and describe what is in front of you. Take a look, put down what you see, note some general details and facts.

We’ve prepared two examples to show better how to write an art critique step-by-step. Example 1 – David of Michelangelo, example 2 – Girl with a Pearl Earring by Johannes Vermeer.

2. Writing a Critique Analysis

3. Writing a Critique Interpretation

4. Writing a Critique Evaluation

🎨 How to Critique Art: Different Forms of Artwork

The variety of art forms is wide: sculpture, painting, cinematography, literature , music, and many others. Each of them has peculiarities in terms of critique evaluation.

We offer you to learn how to critique different art forms : sculpture, painting, movies, and architectural objects.

Sculpture Critique

The initial point is to define the basic facts:

• Who made the sculpture?
• The name or the title of the work.
• When was it carved?
• What is the place where it appeared.

With this information, you are ready to proceed with revealing broader information:

• Technical characteristics of a sculpture: its size and height, materials used, current state, its relation to other pieces.
• Study the sculpture’s subject(s): who or what is represented, the identity, and anatomic features. For example, you can consider posture and pose, face expression, and constitution.
• Reflect on how the sculpture fits the space around and what axis and lines are typical.
• Pay attention to colors and light and shadow balance.
• Carefully explore the details of execution: what technique is used? Did the artist polish the sculpture, or is it a roughly made historical artifact?
• What ideas and message does the work carry and deliver? Does it symbolize or embody anything?

Painting Critique

First, get the essential information:

• Who is the artist?
• What is the name of the painting?
• When did they create the artwork?
• Where were they working on it?

Keep on exploring the details asking the right questions:

• Who or what is depicted? If it’s a portrait, analyze the significance of age, gender, pose, clothes, accessories.
• Focus on the composition: how are objects arranged? What is in the background and the foreground?
• What style did the artist paint in? What are the techniques and means he used? Does the frame fit the painting?
• The colors, shades, and lights are significant in painting. Try to figure out what their role is.
• What is your emotional impression of the work? What feelings and thoughts appear when you’re looking at it?

A helpful tip: take a closer look at the image. Now try to step away to get the overall picture!

Film Critique

A helpful tip: don’t read other reviews and watch trailers before watching the movie. Why? It will allow you to preserve the purity of perception, and your experience will be unbiased.

Let’s see what has to be done for the sake of a good review:

• While watching the movie, don’t get distracted. Try to get absorbed with what is happening on the screen. Let your mind observe while emotions and thoughts flow naturally.
• You can take a couple of good notes to get back to the particular scene.

Once you’ve finished watching, you should reflect on the following details:

• Is the plot grasping, consistent? Does it make sense at all?
• Try to define the director’s message. What is the main idea of the film?
• How good was the cast? Are the characters deep and vivid enough? Are the dialogues believable and sensible?
• How was the movie shot and edited? Elaborate on the meaning of colors, soundtrack, visual effects, camerawork.
• What is your impression of the picture? Did it make you reflect and think?

Architecture Critique

To criticize architecture, one should have background knowledge of design and architecture itself. It is a bit less complex thing in terms of critique. The architecture critique will be arranged around the most fundamental and general criteria: the functionality of the building.

The analysis can be separated into different directions:

• Define the primary goal of the building. What was it constructed for? Is it a block of flats? Or a modern gallery? Does the construction serve its purposes?
• What is it made of? Explore the materials: wood, marble, concrete, glass. Try to figure out what role the particular material plays.
• Reflect on the forms and shapes: are they classical or modern?
• Does the building harmonically fit in the surrounding area? How balanced is this union?
• Does the building allow a person to move freely and easily in it? Does it have a transparent navigation system?
• How the natural light interacts with the construction? Is it lit enough?

🎨 What Is a Good Art Critique Example?

In the section below, you’ll see critique examples of different art products. We’ve prepared a movie review, a painting analysis, architecture, and a sculpture critique.

Study these illustrative critique samples to understand the critiquing art mechanism better.

Sculpture Critique Example

Ancient Indian and Greek Sculptures Comparison | Free Paper Examples This critique sample focuses on the comparison of ancient Indian and Greek sculptures. The subject of analysis is the difference between the style of depicting gods and humans in a statue. The identity of both cultures serves as a comparison base in the text. According to it, Ancient Indian sculpture reflects collectivism, while Greek sculpture displays individualism.

Painting Analysis Example

Portrait of Ginevra De’Benci by Leonardo da Vinci | Free Paper Examples This painting critique elaborates on features that make the image of Ginevra de Benci by da Vinci so remarkable. It studies painting techniques, setting details, and the sitter’s appearance. The analysis concludes that da Vinci created the portrait under the Flemish painting style influence. This peculiarity defines the portrait’s novelty.

Architecture Critique Example

Sydney Opera House Construction Project | Free Paper Examples The following text provides a broad critique of the Sydney Opera House. It touches upon why this construction is a failure in project management. The main issue is the budget overrun that occurred during the construction. At the same time, the analysis also shows the significance of the Sydney Opera House for Australia that cannot be denied.

Film Analysis Example

‘Glory’ – the Drama Movie by Edward Zwick | Free Paper Examples This movie review highlights the importance of Edward Zwick’s “Glory” as a historical drama. The critique explores its reasons, focusing on the movie’s credibility in historical facts. According to the text, this film contributed significantly to people’s awareness of black American soldiers’ role in the Civil War.

✅ How to Write an Art Critique: Checklist

Do you already feel like you can run a critique column in a famous art magazine?

Even if your plans are not that big, it’s good to revise everything we’ve found out today:

• Be honest, unbiased, and constructive when writing a critique. Artists are indeed sensitive creatures. Even if the author of the artwork passed away long ago, show your respect.
• Enlarge your background knowledge about the art form you are going to criticize. Your opinion is precious, but you should solidify it with authoritative sources.
• Remember that the focus of your critique is the art object, not the artist’s style.
• Consider the context! Don’t analyze an artwork separately from other essential things: epoch, circumstances, historical situation.
• Be precise in your reasoning. Often seemingly unimportant details about an artwork or an artist play a significant role.
• Don’t let your critique piece be the list of things you don’t like about the art product. It’s not the point of genuine critique.
• Take notes when you are getting your first impressions from the artwork. These immediate thoughts will help you construct your critique.
• Remember to interpret and analyze, not to retell and describe only.
• Try to figure out the author’s message: what idea did they want to get across?
• Express your own emotions, thoughts, and ideas about the analyzed work.
• How to Write an Art Review – What You Need to Know
• Critique vs. Criticism | Daily Writing Tips
• 7 Ways to Voice Criticism Without Being Negative | Inc.com
• How to analyze an artwork: a step-by-step guide for students
• Guidelines for Analysis of Art – Art and Design
• How to Analyze a Movie: A Step-by-Step Guide

Research Paper Analysis: How to Analyze a Research Article + Example

Film analysis: example, format, and outline + topics & prompts.

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How to Critique Artwork

Last Updated: May 20, 2024 Fact Checked

This article was co-authored by Kelly Medford and by wikiHow staff writer, Megaera Lorenz, PhD . Kelly Medford is an American painter based in Rome, Italy. She studied classical painting, drawing and printmaking both in the U.S. and in Italy. She works primarily en plein air on the streets of Rome, and also travels for private international collectors on commission. She founded Sketching Rome Tours in 2012 where she teaches sketchbook journaling to visitors of Rome. Kelly is a graduate of the Florence Academy of Art. There are 10 references cited in this article, which can be found at the bottom of the page. This article has been fact-checked, ensuring the accuracy of any cited facts and confirming the authority of its sources. This article has been viewed 746,723 times.

An art critique is a detailed analysis and evaluation of a work of art. While no two people will experience the same reaction to a work of art, or interpret it the same way, there are a few basic guidelines you can follow to achieve a thoughtful, thorough critique. The basic elements of an art critique are description, analysis, interpretation, and judgment.

Describing the Work

• Title of the work
• Artist’s name
• When the piece was created
• Where it was made
• The types of media used to create the work (e.g., oil paint on canvas)
• The exact size of the work

• For example, you might say, “This is a small-scale portrait painting of a young woman, shown from the mid-torso up, against a dark background. She is clasping her hands in front of her chest and looking up and slightly to the viewer’s right. She wears a pink dress, and a long veil that falls behind her head.”
• Avoid using terms like “beautiful,” “ugly,” “good,” or “bad.” At this point, you’re just talking about what you see, not judging the art!

• Curved lines can create a calming effect, while jagged lines might feel harsher and wild, or create a sense of energy.
• Rough, sketchy lines create a sense of movement and freedom, while smooth, solid lines feel more still and carefully planned.
• A line of sight or action might be suggested by the arrangement of figures and objects within a scene. For example, a group of figures all looking or pointing the same way can create an implied line that draws your eye through the work in a particular direction.

• For example, do the colors clash, or are they harmonious? Does the work use a variety of colors, or is it monochromatic (all shades of blue, for example)?

• If you are describing a two-dimensional work of art, like a painting, talk about whether or not the work creates the illusion of three-dimensional space and depth.

• If you’re talking about a two-dimensional work, like a painting, your focus might be on how the artist creates the illusion of light.
• For a three-dimensional work, like a sculpture, you could discuss how actual light interacts with the work. For example, is the surface reflective? Does the sculpture cast interesting shadows? Are some parts of the sculpture more shadowed or well-lit than others?

• Shapes play an important role in both abstract and representative works. For instance, in a portrait of a bride by James Sant, there are notable triangle shapes made by the drape of the bride’s veil around her shoulders and the clasped hands in front of her chest.
• Once you notice one shape in a painting, look to see if it is repeated anywhere else.

Analyzing the Work

• Balance: How do the colors, shapes, and textures in the piece work together? Do they create a balanced or harmonious effect, or is the piece imbalanced in some way?
• Contrast: Does the work make use of contrasting colors, textures, or lighting? Contrast can also be found in the use of different shapes or contours, like jagged versus curved lines, or geometric versus natural shapes.
• Movement: How does the work create a sense of movement? Is your eye drawn through the composition in a particular way?
• Proportion: Do the sizes of the different elements in the work appear the way you would expect, or are they surprising? For example, if the work shows a group of people, do any of the figures look larger or smaller than they would in real life?

• Look at the work and make note of which feature(s) jump out at you right away, or keep drawing your eye back to them.
• Ask yourself why your eye is attracted to the feature(s) in question. For example, if you find yourself fixating on one figure in a group, is it because that figure is larger than the others? Are they closer to the viewer? More brightly lit?

• The use of a color scheme to give the work a particular mood or meaning. See, for example, the paintings of Picasso’s Blue Period. [11] X Research source
• Symbolism and religious or mythological imagery. For example, look at the use of figures and symbols from classical mythology in Renaissance works like Botticelli’s “Birth of Venus.” [12] X Research source
• Repeating images or motifs within a work or group of works. For a good example of this, look at how plants and flowers are used in many of the paintings of Frida Kahlo. [13] X Research source

Interpreting the Work

• Use expressive language to talk about your reaction to the work. For example, is the mood of the work sad? Hopeful? Peaceful? Would you describe the work as beautiful, or ugly?

• For example, “I believe that James Sant’s portrait of a young bride is intended to give a sense of the bride’s spiritual devotion. This is indicated by the line of the composition, which draws the viewer’s eye upward, following the upward gaze of the subject. It is also suggested by warm light, coming from a source somewhere above the young woman.”

Judging the Work

• Do you think the work says what the artist wanted it to say?
• Did the artist use their tools and techniques well?
• Is the art original, or does it imitate other works?

• For example, “I believe this work is successful because the use of light, shape, gesture, and line all work together harmoniously to portray the mood of the subject.”

Expert Q&A

You Might Also Like

• ↑ https://www.hollandcsd.org/cms/lib/NY19000531/Centricity/ModuleInstance/702/HOW_TO_CRITIQUE_A_WORK_OF_ART.pdf
• ↑ https://legacyweb.philamuseum.org/doc_downloads/education/lessonPlans/Digging-Deep%20Elements%20of%20Art.pdf
• ↑ https://oercommons.org/courseware/lesson/32528/student/?section=10
• ↑ Kelly Medford. Professional Artist. Expert Interview. 2 July 2019.
• ↑ https://www.pablopicasso.org/blue-period.jsp
• ↑ https://www.italianrenaissance.org/botticelli-birth-of-venus/
• ↑ https://isfdn.org/art-docent-lessons/3rd-grade/frida-kahlo-portrait/
• ↑ https://iep.utm.edu/art-and-interpretation/
• ↑ https://www.citewrite.qut.edu.au/write/writing-well/critique.html

About This Article

When you’re critiquing artwork, start with the facts about the piece, including the title of the artwork, the artist’s name, when and where the piece was made, the media used in the artwork, and the dimensions of the piece. Next, describe what you see, using the elements line, color, space, light, and shape as your guidelines. Use these components to describe how the piece comes together, and identify the focus of the work, then offer your interpretation of the artwork. To learn how to express your reaction to a piece of artwork, keep reading! Did this summary help you? Yes No

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By Will Fenstermaker

June 14, 2017

There has never been a time when art critics held more power than during the second half of the twentieth century. Following the Second World War, with the relocation of the world’s artistic epicenter from Paris to New York, a different kind of war was waged in the pages of magazines across the country. As part of the larger “culture wars” of the mid-century, art critics began to take on greater influence than they’d ever held before. For a time, two critics in particular—who began as friends, and remained in the same social circles for much of their lives—set the stakes of the debates surrounding the maturation of American art that would continue for decades. The ideas about art outlined by Clement Greenberg and Harold Rosenberg are still debated today, and the extent to which they were debated in the past has shaped entire movements of the arts. Below are ten works of criticism through which one can trace the mainstreaming of Clement Greenberg’s formalist theory, and how its dismantling led us into institutional critique and conceptual art today.

The American Action Painters

Harold Rosenberg

Harold Rosenberg, a poet who came to art through his involvement with the Artist’s Union and the WPA, was introduced to Jean-Paul Sartre as the “first American existentialist.” Soon, Rosenberg became a contributor to Sartre’s publication in France, for which he first drafted his influential essay. However, when Sartre supported Soviet aggression against Korea, Rosenberg brought his essay to Elaine de Kooning , then the editor of ARTnews , who ran “The American Action Painters” in December, 1952.

RELATED: What Did Harold Rosenberg Do? An Introduction to the Champion of “Action Painting”

Rosenberg’s essay on the emerging school of American Painters omitted particular names—because they’d have been unfamiliar to its original French audience—but it was nonetheless extraordinarily influential for the burgeoning scene of post-WWII American artists. Jackson Pollock claimed to be the influence of “action painting,” despite Rosenberg’s rumored lack of respect for the artist because Pollock wasn’t particularly well-read. Influenced by Marxist theory and French existentialism, Rosenberg conceives of a painting as an “arena,” in which the artist acts upon, wrestles, or otherwise engages with the canvas, in what ultimately amounts to an expressive record of a struggle. “What was to go on the canvas,” Rosenberg wrote, “was not a picture but an event.”

Notable Quote

Weak mysticism, the “Christian Science” side of the new movement, tends … toward easy painting—never so many unearned masterpieces! Works of this sort lack the dialectical tension of a genuine act, associated with risk and will. When a tube of paint is squeezed by the Absolute, the result can only be a Success. The painter need keep himself on hand solely to collect the benefits of an endless series of strokes of luck. His gesture completes itself without arousing either an opposing movement within itself nor the desire in the artist to make the act more fully his own. Satisfied with wonders that remain safely inside the canvas, the artist accepts the permanence of the commonplace and decorates it with his own daily annihilation. The result is an apocalyptic wallpaper.

‘American-Type’ Painting

Clement Greenberg

Throughout the preceding decade, Clement Greenberg, also a former poet, had established a reputation as a leftist critic through his writings with The Partisan Review —a publication run by the John Reed Club, a New York City-centered organization affiliated with the American Communist Party—and his time as an art critic with The Nation . In 1955, The Partisan Review published Greenberg’s “‘American-Type’ Painting,” in which the critic defined the now-ubiquitous term “abstract expressionism.”

RELATED: What Did Clement Greenberg Do? A Primer on the Powerful AbEx Theorist’s Key Ideas

In contrast to Rosenberg’s conception of painting as a performative act, Greenberg’s theory, influenced by Clive Bell and T. S. Eliot, was essentially a formal one—in fact, it eventually evolved into what would be called “formalism.” Greenberg argued that the evolution of painting was one of historical determinacy—that ever since the Renaissance, pictures moved toward flatness, and the painted line moved away from representation. Henri Matisse and Pablo Picasso were two of the landmarks of this view. Pollock, who exhibited his drip paintings in 1951, freeing the line from figuration, was for Greenberg the pinnacle of American Modernism, the most important artist since Picasso. (Pollock’s paintings exhibited in 1954, with which he returned to semi-representational form, were regarded by Greenberg as a regression. This lead him to adopt Barnett Newman as his new poster-boy, despite the artist’s possessing vastly different ideas on the nature of painting. For one, Greenberg mostly ignored the Biblical titles of Newman’s paintings.)

Greenberg’s formalist theories were immensely influential over the subsequent decades. Artforum in particular grew into a locus for formalist discourse, which had the early effect of providing an aesthetic toolkit divorced from politic. Certain curators of the Museum of Modern Art, particularly William Rubin, Kirk Varnedoe, and to an extent Alfred Barr are credited for steering the museum in an essentially formalist direction. Some painters, such as Frank Stella , Helen Frankenthaler , and Kenneth Noland, had even been accused of illustrating Greenberg’s theories (and those of Michael Fried, a prominent Greenbergian disciple) in attempt to embody the theory, which was restrictive in its failure to account for narrative content, figuration, identity, politics, and more. In addition, Greenberg’s theories proved well-suited for a burgeoning art market, which found connoisseurship an easy sell. (As the writer Mary McCarthy said, “You can’t hang an event on your wall.”) In fact, the dominance of the term “abstract expressionism” over “action painting,” which seemed more applicable to Pollock and Willem de Kooning than any other members of the New York School, is emblematic of the influence of formalist discourse.

The justification for the term, “abstract expressionist,” lies in the fact that most of the painters covered by it took their lead from German, Russian, or Jewish expressionism in breaking away from late Cubist abstract art. But they all started from French painting, for their fundamental sense of style from it, and still maintain some sort of continuity with it. Not least of all, they got from it their most vivid notion of an ambitious, major art, and of the general direction in which it had to go in their time.

Barbara Rose

Like many critics in the 1950s and 60s, Barbara Rose had clearly staked her allegiance to one camp or the other. She was, firmly, a formalist, and along with Fried and Rosalind Krauss is largely credited with expanding the theory beyond abstract expressionist painting. By 1965, however, Rose recognized a limitation of the theory as outlined by Greenberg—that it was reductionist and only capable of account for a certain style of painting, and not much at all in other mediums.

RELATED: The Intellectual Origins Of Minimalism

In “ABC Art,” published in Art in America where Rose was a contributing editor, Rose opens up formalism to encompass sculpture, which Greenberg was largely unable to account for. The simple idea that art moves toward flatness and abstraction leads, for Rose, into Minimalism, and “ABC Art” is often considered the first landmark essay on Minimalist art. By linking the Minimalist sculptures of artists like Donald Judd to the Russian supremacist paintings of Kasimir Malevich and readymades of Duchamp, she extends the determinist history that formalism relies on into sculpture and movements beyond abstract expressionism.

I do not agree with critic Michael Fried’s view that Duchamp, at any rate, was a failed Cubist. Rather, the inevitability of a logical evolution toward a reductive art was obvious to them already. For Malevich, the poetic Slav, this realization forced a turning inward toward an inspirational mysticism, whereas for Duchamp, the rational Frenchman, it meant a fatigue so enervating that finally the wish to paint at all was killed. Both the yearnings of Malevich’s Slavic soul and the deductions of Duchamp’s rationalist mind led both men ultimately to reject and exclude from their work many of the most cherished premises of Western art in favor of an art stripped to its bare, irreducible minimum.

How I Spent My Summer Vacation

Philip Leider

Despite the rhetorical tendency to suggest the social upheaval of the '60s ended with the actual decade, 1970 remained a year of unrest. And Artforum was still the locus of formalist criticism, which was proving increasingly unable to account for art that contributed to larger cultural movements, like Civil Rights, women’s liberation, anti-war protests, and more. (Tellingly, The Partisan Review , which birthed formalism, had by then distanced itself from its communist associations and, as an editorial body, was supportive of American Interventionism in Vietnam. Greenberg was a vocal hawk.) Subtitled “Art and Politics in Nevada, Berkeley, San Francisco, and Utah,” the editor’s note to the September 1970 issue of Artforum , written by Philip Leider, ostensibly recounts a road trip undertaken with Richard Serra and Abbie Hoffman to see Michael Heizer’s Double Negative in the Nevada desert.

RELATED: A City of Art in the Desert: Behind Michael Heizer’s Monumental Visions for Nevada

However, the essay is also an account of an onsetting disillusion with formalism, which Leider found left him woefully unequipped to process the protests that had erupted surrounding an exhibition of prints by Paul Wunderlich at the Phoenix Gallery in Berkeley. Wunderlich’s depictions of nude women were shown concurrently to an exhibition of drawings sold to raise money for Vietnamese orphans. The juxtaposition of a canonical, patriarchal form of representation and liberal posturing, to which the protestors objected, showcased the limitations of a methodology that placed the aesthetic elements of a picture plane far above the actual world in which it existed. Less than a year later, Leider stepped down as editor-in-chief and Artforum began to lose its emphasis on late Modernism.

I thought the women were probably with me—if they were, I was with them. I thought the women were picketing the show because it was reactionary art. To the women, [Piet] Mondrian must be a great revolutionary artist. Abstract art broke all of those chains thirty years ago! What is a Movement gallery showing dumb stuff like this for? But if it were just a matter of reactionary art , why would the women picket it? Why not? Women care as much about art as men do—maybe more. The question is, why weren’t the men right there with them?

Why Have There Been No Great Women Artists?

Linda Nochlin

While Artforum , in its early history, had established a reputation as a generator for formalist theory, ARTnews had followed a decidedly more Rosenberg-ian course, emphasizing art as a practice for investigating the world. The January 1971 issue of the magazine was dedicated to “Women’s Liberation, Woman Artists, and Art History” and included an iconoclastic essay by Linda Nochlin titled “Why Have There Been No Great Women Artists?”

RELATED: An Introduction to Feminist Art

Nochlin notes that it’s tempting to answer the question “why have there been no great women artists?” by listing examples of those overlooked by critical and institutional organizations (a labor that Nochlin admits has great merit). However, she notes, “by attempting to answer it, they tacitly reinforce its negative implications,” namely that women are intrinsically less capable of achieving artistic merit than men. Instead, Nochlin’s essay functions as a critique of art institutions, beginning with European salons, which were structured in such a way as to deter women from rising to the highest echelons. Nochlin’s essay is considered the beginning of modern feminist art history and a textbook example of institutional critique.

There are no women equivalents for Michelangelo or Rembrandt, Delacroix or Cézanne, Picasso or Matisse, or even in very recent times, for de Kooning or Warhol, any more than there are black American equivalents for the same. If there actually were large numbers of “hidden” great women artists, or if there really should be different standards for women’s art as opposed to men’s—and one can’t have it both ways—then what are feminists fighting for? If women have in fact achieved the same status as men in the arts, then the status quo is fine as it is. But in actuality, as we all know, things as they are and as they have been, in the arts as in a hundred other areas, are stultifying, oppressive, and discouraging to all those, women among them, who did not have the good fortune to be born white, preferably middle class and above all, male. The fault lies not in our stars, our hormones, our menstrual cycles, or our empty internal spaces, but in our institutions and our education.

Doctor, Lawyer, Indian Chief

Thomas McEvilley

One of the many extrapolations of Nochlin’s essay is that contemporary museum institutions continue to reflect the gendered and racist biases of preceding centuries by reinforcing the supremacy of specific master artists. In a 1984 Artforum review, Thomas McEvilley, a classicist new to the world of contemporary art, made the case that the Museum of Modern Art in New York served as an exclusionary temple to certain high-minded Modernists—namely, Picasso, Matisse, and Pollock—who, in fact, took many of their innovations from native cultures.

RELATED: MoMA Curator Laura Hoptman on How to Tell a Good Painting From a “Bogus” Painting

In 1984, MoMA organized a blockbuster exhibition. Curated by William Rubin and Kirk Varnedoe, both of whom were avowed formalists, “‘Primitivism’ in 20th Century Art: Affinity of the Tribal and the Modern” collected works by European painters like Paul Gaugin and Picasso with cultural artifacts from Zaire, arctic communities, and elsewhere. McEvilley takes aim at the “the absolutist view of formalist Modernism” in which MoMA is rooted. He argues that the removal tribal artifacts from their contexts (for example, many were ritual items intended for ceremonies, not display) and placement of them, unattributed, near works by European artists, censors the cultural contributions of non-Western civilizations in deference to an idealized European genius.

The fact that the primitive “looks like” the Modern is interpreted as validating the Modern by showing that its values are universal, while at the same time projecting it—and with it MoMA—into the future as a permanent canon. A counter view is possible: that primitivism on the contrary invalidates Modernism by showing it to be derivative and subject to external causation. At one level this show undertakes precisely to coopt that question by answering it before it has really been asked, and by burying it under a mass of information.

Please Wait By the Coatroom

Not content to let MoMA and the last vestiges of formalism off the hook yet, John Yau wrote in 1988 an essay on Wifredo Lam, a Cuban painter who lived and worked in Paris among Picasso, Matisse, Georges Braque, and others. Noting Lam’s many influences—his Afro-Cuban mother, Chinese father, and Yoruba godmother—Yau laments the placement of Lam’s The Jungle near the coatroom in the Museum of Modern Art, as opposed to within the Modernist galleries several floors above. The painting was accompanied by a brief entry written by former curator William Rubin, who, Yau argues, adopted Greenberg’s theories because they endowed him with “a connoisseur’s lens with which one can scan all art.”

RELATED: From Cuba With Love: Artist Bill Claps on the Island’s DIY Art Scene

Here, as with with McEvilley’s essay, Yau illustrates how formalism, as adapted by museum institutions, became a (perhaps unintentional) method for reinforcing the exclusionary framework that Nochlin argued excluded women and black artists for centuries.

Rubin sees in Lam only what is in his own eyes: colorless or white artists. For Lam to have achieved the status of unique individual, he would have had to successfully adapt to the conditions of imprisonment (the aesthetic standards of a fixed tradition) Rubin and others both construct and watch over. To enter this prison, which takes the alluring form of museums, art history textbooks, galleries, and magazines, an individual must suppress his cultural differences and become a colorless ghost. The bind every hybrid American artist finds themselves in is this: should they try and deal with the constantly changing polymorphous conditions effecting identity, tradition, and reality? Or should they assimilate into the mainstream art world by focusing on approved-of aesthetic issues? Lam’s response to this bind sets an important precedent. Instead of assimilating, Lam infiltrates the syntactical rules of “the exploiters” with his own specific language. He becomes, as he says, “a Trojan horse.”

Black Culture and Postmodernism

Cornel West

The opening up of cultural discourse did not mean that it immediately made room for voices of all dimensions. Cornel West notes as much in his 1989 essay “Black Culture and Postmodernism,” in which he argues that postmodernism, much like Modernism before it, remains primarily ahistorical, which makes it difficult for “oppressed peoples to exercise their opposition to hierarchies of power.” West’s position is that the proliferation of theory and criticism that accompanied the rise of postmodernism provided mechanisms by which black culture could “be conversant with and, to a degree, participants in the debate.” Without their voices, postmodernism would remain yet another exclusionary movements.

RELATED: Kerry James Marshall on Painting Blackness as a Noun Vs. Verb

As the consumption cycle of advanced multinational corporate capitalism was sped up in order to sustain the production of luxury goods, cultural production became more and more mass-commodity production. The stress here is not simply on the new and fashionable but also on the exotic and primitive. Black cultural products have historically served as a major source for European and Euro-American exotic interests—interests that issue from a healthy critique of the mechanistic, puritanical, utilitarian, and productivity aspects of modern life.

Minimalism and the Rhetoric of Power

Anna C. Chave

In recent years, formalist analysis has been deployed as a single tool within a more varied approach to art. Its methodology—that of analyzing a picture as an isolated phenomena—remains prevalent, and has its uses. Yet, many of the works and movements that rose to prominence under formalist critics and curators, in no small part because of their institutional acceptance, have since become part of the rearguard rather than the vanguard.

In a 1990 essay for Arts Magazine , Anna Chave analyzes how Minimalist sculpture possesses a “domineering, sometimes brutal rhetoric” that was aligned with “both the American military in Vietnam, and the police at home in the streets and on university campuses across the country.” In particular, Chave is concerned with the way Minimalist sculptures define themselves through a process of negation. Of particular relevance to Chave’s argument are the massive steel sculptures by Minimalist artist Richard Serra.

Tilted Arc was installed in Federal Plaza in lower Manhattan in 1981. Chave describes the work as a “mammoth, perilously tilted steel arc [that] formed a divisive barrier too tall to see over, and a protracted trip to walk around.” She writes, “it is more often the case with Serra that his work doesn’t simply exemplify aggression or domination, but acts it out.” Tilted Arc was so controversial upon its erecting that the General Services Administration, which commissioned the work, held hearings in response to petitions demanding the work be removed. Worth quoting at length, Chave writes:

A predictable defense of Serra’s work was mounted by critics, curators, dealers, collectors, and some fellow artists…. The principle arguments mustered on Serra’s behalf were old ones concerning the nature and function of the avant-garde…. What Rubin and Serra’s other supporters declined to ask is whether the sculptor really is, in the most meaningful sense of the term, an avant-garde artist. Being avant-garde implies being ahead of, outside, or against the dominant culture; proffering a vision that implicitly stands (at least when it is conceived) as a critique of entrenched forms and structures…. But Serra’s work is securely embedded within the system: when the brouhaha over Arc was at its height, he was enjoying a retrospective at the Museum of Modern Art…. [The defense’s] arguments locate Serra not with the vanguard but with the standing army or “status quo.” … More thoughtful, sensible, and eloquent testimony at the hearing came instead from some of the uncouth:

My name is Danny Katz and I work in this building as a clerk. My friend Vito told me this morning that I am a philistine. Despite that I am getting up to speak…. I don’t think this issue should be elevated into a dispute between the forces of ignorance and art, or art versus government. I really blame government less because it has long ago outgrown its human dimension. But from the artists I expected a lot more. I didn’t expect to hear them rely on the tired and dangerous reasoning that the government has made a deal, so let the rabble live with the steel because it’s a deal. That kind of mentality leads to wars. We had a deal with Vietnam. I didn’t expect to hear the arrogant position that art justifies interference with the simple joys of human activity in a plaza. It’s not a great plaza by international standards, but it is a small refuge and place of revival for people who ride to work in steel containers, work in sealed rooms, and breathe recirculated air all day. Is the purpose of art in public places to seal off a route of escape, to stress the absence of joy and hope? I can’t believe this was the artistic intention, yet to my sadness this for me has become the dominant effect of the work, and it’s all the fault of its position and location. I can accept anything in art, but I can’t accept physical assault and complete destruction of pathetic human activity. No work of art created with a contempt for ordinary humanity and without respect for the common element of human experience can be great. It will always lack dimension.

The terms Katz associated with Serra’s project include arrogance and contempt, assault, and destruction; he saw the Minimalist idiom, in other words, as continuous with the master discourse of our imperious and violent technocracy.

The End of Art

Arthur Danto

Like Greenberg, Arthur Danto was an art critic for The Nation . However, Danto was overtly critical of Greenberg’s ideology and the influence he wielded over Modern and contemporary art. Nor was he a follower of Harold Rosenberg, though they shared influences, among them the phenomenologist Maurice Merleau-Ponty. Danto’s chief contribution to contemporary art was his advancing of Pop Artists, particularly Andy Warhol and Roy Lichtenstein .

In “The End of Art” Danto argues that society at large determines and accepts art, which no longer progresses linearly, categorized by movements. Instead, viewers each possess a theory or two, which they use to interpret works, and art institutions are largely tasked with developing, testing, and modifying various interpretive methods. In this way, art differs little from philosophy. After decades of infighting regarding the proper way to interpret works of art, Danto essentially sanctioned each approach and the institutions that gave rise to them. He came to call this “pluralism.”

RELATED: What Was the Pictures Generation?

Similarly, in “Painting, Politics, and Post-Historical Art,” Danto makes the case for an armistice between formalism and the various theories that arose in opposition, noting that postmodern critics like Douglas Crimp in the 1980s, who positioned themselves against formalism, nonetheless adopted the same constrictive air, minus the revolutionary beginnings.

Modernist critical practice was out of phase with what was happening in the art world itself in the late 60s and through the 1970s. It remained the basis for most critical practice, especially on the part of the curatoriat, and the art-history professoriat as well, to the degree that it descended to criticism. It became the language of the museum panel, the catalog essay, the article in the art periodical. It was a daunting paradigm, and it was the counterpart in discourse to the “broadening of taste” which reduced art of all cultures and times to its formalist skeleton, and thus, as I phrased it, transformed every museum into a Museum of Modern Art, whatever that museum’s contents. It was the stable of the docent’s gallery talk and the art appreciation course—and it was replaced, not totally but massively, by the postmodernist discourse that was imported from Paris in the late 70s, in the texts of Michel Foucault, Jacques Derrida, Jean Baudrillard, Jean-François Lyotard, and Jacques Lacan, and of the French feminists Hélène Cixous and Luce Irigaray. That is the discourse [Douglas] Crimp internalizes, and it came to be lingua artspeak everywhere. Like modernist discourse, it applied to everything, so that there was room for deconstructive and “archeological” discussion of art of every period.

Editor’s Note: This list was drawn in part from a 2014 seminar taught by Debra Bricker Balken in the MFA program in Art Writing at the School of Visual Arts titled Critical Strategies: Late Modernism/Postmodernism. Additional sources can be found here , here , here (paywall), and here . Also relevant are reviews of the 2008 exhibition at the Jewish Museum, “Action/Abstraction: Pollock, de Kooning, and American Art, 1940–1976,” notably those by Roberta Smith , Peter Schjeldahl , and Martha Schwendener .

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How to Critique Art – An Easy Guide to Critiquing Art

What is an art critique example, and how does one learn how to critique art? While art critics may specialize in the field of analyzing, interpreting, and judging artworks, anyone who wishes to understand art on a deeper level will benefit from learning about critiquing art. This article will break down the various steps of critiquing art so that we gain a clearer understanding of how to critique art. Read more below as we examine art critique examples and history, as well as tips on how to provide feedback.

Table of Contents

• 1 How to Critique Art
• 2 A Brief History of Art Critique
• 3.1 Why Do Art Critics Need to Understand Forms of Art?
• 3.2 The Importance of Understanding the Art Fundamentals
• 4.1 Observing Art
• 4.2 Asking Questions
• 5.1 Identifying the Main Theme
• 5.2 Interpretation of the Artwork
• 5.4 Judging Artworks
• 6 Providing Feedback
• 7.1 What Is an Art Critic?
• 7.2 What Is an Art Critique Example?

How to Critique Art

Appreciating art is similar to the experience of appreciating music. For example, most people listen to music and enjoy the way it makes them feel, or perhaps it reminds them of a specific person or place. They may even enjoy the instrumentation and the lyrics of the song. Yet, music aficionados and critics will listen to the same piece of music and analyze it in an entirely different manner. They will perhaps analyze the song’s chord progressions and the arrangement of the instruments, or they will try to interpret the meaning of the song. Others will critique the overall engineering and production of the piece on a technical level. It is the same with art – while the masses enjoy how it makes them feel, art critics analyze works of art based on certain criteria by which they can all be equally measured.

A Brief History of Art Critique

The history of the critique of art is a record of the reactions that produced a social and aesthetic change in the public perception and idea of art, sometimes justifying its shift in direction. As far back as antiquity, philosophers have theorized about and criticized art. Plato, for instance, considered art to be a less advanced type of knowledge, if not an outright illusion of it. While he too saw art as a sort of imitation, Aristotle approached art critique in a somewhat different manner. 

He states clearly in his Poetics, possibly the most significant treatise on art ever written, that art is a moral matter as it deals with human character.

He contended that imitation is a human tendency, and thus, imitative works of art, regardless of media, can deeply impact and move people. Plotinus, an ancient philosopher, considered art as more mystical than just representational of the earthly, and he popularized the concept that art could be full of beauty and that its worldly beauty is a mirror of greater, divine beauty. In some ways, all art criticism that subsequently followed is an expansion of these three thinkers’ concepts, often in tandem: art can be viewed as imitation, moral and psychological, or spiritual.

Understanding Art Forms

Despite the fact that the philosophers mentioned above produced important, long-lasting concepts about art philosophy, they were not what we would consider art critics, but instead set the stage for it. Art criticism, although guided by theoretical philosophies, is inherently more specific than philosophical discussions about art. “What is art criticism if not the relationship between the intuition of a work of art and a principle of judgment?” Lionello Venturi once asked.

Generalized notions about art can guide the principle of judgment, but understanding the “intuition” of artwork requires getting down to the particulars. Art critics have a thorough understanding of the finer details that makes an artwork great. This knowledge ranges from understanding the artist’s intention to analyzing the technical aspects of the work. In order to do this, they require a thorough understanding of the various mediums with which artists work as well as an understanding of the fundamental principles of art , such as the elements of art.

Why Do Art Critics Need to Understand Forms of Art?

Art critics interpret and judge artworks for the population at large. Therefore, they must have a thorough understanding of the different forms of art they are analyzing, such as painting, sculpture, installations, sketches, and other mediums, in order to perform their role properly. This analytical expertise enables them to offer educated opinions and analyses on the techniques, composition, cultural importance, and aesthetic worth of artworks. For example, an art critic who is unfamiliar with painting would essentially be unable to grasp the nuances of a painting’s color palette choices, particular brushwork technique, or composition. 

They would also potentially be uninformed of the historical background that shaped the creative process of the artwork, which can have a big impact on how it’s interpreted and appreciated.

The Importance of Understanding the Art Fundamentals

Not only do artist critics need to be informed about the various mediums and forms, but they also need to have an understanding of the fundamental art principles and theories. One cannot describe an artwork if one does not speak the language, and art critics need to be well-versed in the terms and techniques associated with the various art forms. For example, they need to study the elements of art, the principles of art, and the fundamentals of art , just to get a better understanding of the building blocks that artists use to produce their works.

The Art of Observation

In art criticism, the act of attentively and thoughtfully analyzing artwork and acquiring information about its different features and characteristics is referred to as the art of observation. This involves examining the piece’s use of color, composition, textures, and underlying subject matter, in addition to its cultural, historical, and social contexts. This method entails looking beyond the artwork’s surface elements and analyzing its underlying meaning. The art of observation also entails engaging with the piece through one’s own sensory experiences and individual points of view. 

This entails taking into account one’s intellectual and emotional reaction to the piece and using it as a foundation for subsequent analysis and interpretation.

Observing Art

Observing art is an important component of art critique, and it requires a thorough visual examination of the piece before going on to analysis and interpretation. An art critic will begin by taking a step back and viewing the piece as a whole, examining its general composition, colors, and shape. After that, they will walk closer to examine its nuanced details, paying special attention to the artist’s application of lines, forms, and textures. They will look at the media used in the piece, and consider how the artist utilized it to produce the piece.

Asking Questions

Observing art is all about asking questions. Art critics need to be able to describe a work, and they can do so by asking various questions about the work, relating to what the artist hoped to convey and if they did so effectively. They could ask questions about the context in which the work was made, how it compares to similar works, and its impact. They can observe the colors used and ask themselves questions about how the use of colors makes them feel, and what thoughts they evoke. 

Asking the right questions is a useful tool when it comes to the next steps – analyzing and interpreting art.

Analysis of Art

When art critics analyze artworks, they usually follow a set of steps that help them gain a better understanding of the piece. For example, they may first want to identify the main themes of the artwork. Then they would begin to interpret those themes and the various messages and symbols within the work. They will also analyze the style of the artwork, and how it fits into a specific period of time. They will initially mentally divide the sections or elements by considering the textures, shapes, use of light and dark or vivid and dull colors, linework, and sensory attributes. They will examine the most fundamental art principles that were applied in the artwork at this stage.

Identifying the Main Theme

While the subject matter of artwork can often be clearly conveyed, sometimes the underlying themes can be missed or misinterpreted. A good art critic knows what to look for in a work that reveals its underlying themes and messages. The artwork’s subject matter is typically a good place to start when looking for a piece’s themes. If the artwork represents a historical event, for instance, it may allude to themes of power, war, or social injustice.

Art critics can also search for recurrent motifs or symbols, such as repeated patterns or the incorporation of specific meaningful objects. The artwork’s composition can even reveal information about its underlying themes. Asymmetrical works, for instance, can imply themes of instability.

Interpretation of the Artwork

Based on what you know so far about the piece, what do you believe the artist was attempting to convey? This is the question that art critics ask themselves at this stage of analysis. Besides the artist’s intention, how did you react to it? What was your emotional response and did it trigger something deeper within when you viewed it? Was the artist successful in conveying what he wanted to? Interpreting an artwork is not only based on your own reaction but also a consideration of how it fits into the era and style in which it was made. How does it compare to other works from the same movement, and did it offer anything new to the style it was produced in?

That brings us to the question of style. While artwork can be produced using certain aesthetic elements derived from art styles, not all art falls into a style or movement, such as outsider art, and needs to be appreciated for its unique aspects. Even so, art critics can still apply the same set of criteria they would with established styles to analyze how it was produced, such as its use of complementary colors , the quality of the linework, the shading, textures, and so on. 

The importance of critiquing styles is that it often results in the emergence of new styles in reaction to older styles that are deemed too outdated and restrictive, allowing innovative and fresh ideas to flourish.

Judging Artworks

The first step of judging a work is using the various criteria that one would use to assess the work on a technical level. Following that, you are then able to make your own judgment after considerable observation, analysis, and interpretation of the piece in question. This is your personal assessment based on your perspective of the work of art. Why do you believe this work has inherent quality? What is the work of art’s worth to you? Is it, for instance, an aesthetically pleasing work of art that conveys an essential social message, influences how I perceive the world, draws perceptive connections, or confirms a religious belief?  Do you believe the work communicates a valuable concept, sentiment, or principle to others? Could the improper use of the various elements of art be the source of your dissatisfaction with the piece?

Providing Feedback

While any critique in general can be viewed as negative, this is not always the case. Art critics are also able to impart useful and constructive criticisms that can potentially help an artist improve their works. In fact, one does not even need the word of an art critic; artists often critique each other’s work, as well as their own, by stepping back during the process and asking themselves whether the work adheres to fundamentals, such as scale and perspective, and if they are applying the elements and principles of art effectively.

That concludes our article on how to critique art. As we have discovered, critiquing art is not simply about whether a person likes or dislikes a piece, but is more about the criteria that critics use to assess a piece of art and determine its value. Critiquing art is not about finding fault with works of art, but learning how to appreciate them on a deeper level.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is an art critic.

An art critic is similar to a film critic – they examine the work and determine its significance and value by analyzing it. Art critics need to have a fair amount of knowledge of how art is created and its history in order to effectively critique it. However, it is not only for specialists, as anyone wishing to learn how to appreciate art should learn how to critique it properly too.

What Is an Art Critique Example?

Any artwork can be critiqued using the method above, such as Pablo Picasso’s Guernica (1937). We can observe the subject matter and gain an understanding of the historical context. We can analyze the anguished and contorted figures for clues on the themes, and we can interpret it as a statement against war. We can then judge it based on his skill as an artist and his ability to convey a message.

Nicolene Burger is a South African multi-media artist, working primarily in oil paint and performance art. She received her BA (Visual Arts) from Stellenbosch University in 2017. In 2018, Burger showed in Masan, South Korea as part of the Rhizome Artist Residency. She was selected to take part in the 2019 ICA Live Art Workshop, receiving training from art experts all around the world. In 2019 Burger opened her first solo exhibition of paintings titled, Painted Mantras, at GUS Gallery and facilitated a group collaboration project titled, Take Flight, selected to be part of Infecting the City Live Art Festival. At the moment, Nicolene is completing a practice-based master’s degree in Theatre and Performance at the University of Cape Town.

In 2020, Nicolene created a series of ZOOM performances with Lumkile Mzayiya called, Evoked?. These performances led her to create exclusive performances from her home in 2021 to accommodate the mid-pandemic audience. She also started focusing more on the sustainability of creative practices in the last 3 years and now offers creative coaching sessions to artists of all kinds. By sharing what she has learned from a 10-year practice, Burger hopes to relay more directly the sense of vulnerability with which she makes art and the core belief to her practice: Art is an immensely important and powerful bridge of communication that can offer understanding, healing and connection.

Nicolene writes our blog posts on art history with an emphasis on renowned artists and contemporary art. She also writes in the field of art industry. Her extensive artistic background and her studies in Fine and Studio Arts contribute to her expertise in the field.

Learn more about Nicolene Burger and the Art in Context Team .

Cite this Article

Nicolene, Burger, “How to Critique Art – An Easy Guide to Critiquing Art.” Art in Context. May 12, 2023. URL: https://artincontext.org/how-to-critique-art/

Burger, N. (2023, 12 May). How to Critique Art – An Easy Guide to Critiquing Art. Art in Context. https://artincontext.org/how-to-critique-art/

Burger, Nicolene. “How to Critique Art – An Easy Guide to Critiquing Art.” Art in Context , May 12, 2023. https://artincontext.org/how-to-critique-art/ .

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One comment.

Hi Nicolene, I am thinking of quoting and using your blog “How to Critique Art” on my own blog. My insight will be about differentiating “human generated art” and “machine generated art” that are two different things to critique and evaluate, differently (in substance). Frederic.

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Master Art Criticism: Write Thoughtful Engaging Art Reviews

Table of Contents – Click any heading to be taken to that section

The Basics of Art Criticism

What is the point of art criticism, # 1 define your audience, # 2 evaluate the artwork, # 3 weigh the pros and cons, # 4 analyze the creator’s personality, # 5 understand the artwork’s context, # 6 use online translation services, # 7 write purposefully and effectively, # 8 follow the review’s composition, # 9 enhance your argument, # 10 include your opinion, stages of the reviewer’s professional activity, the bottom line.

Art criticism is a fundamental facet of the art world, and art review has become a vital part of any artist’s journey. And whether you’re writing your reviews or studying someone else’s, the process gives you a unique insight into the artwork. Therefore, an art review can safely be called an independent form of artistic commentary and evaluation that makes you think about out-of-the-box questions about a particular creative work.

And since this article is about art and creativity, we’ll allow ourselves a slightly longer and more literary introduction. It is also because the art review is at the intersection of literature and journalism. However, hardly anyone would deny that there is also a bit here-psychology and even psychiatry. Remember at least the favorite question of psychiatrists: “What is depicted in this picture?” in the Rorschach test.

And what the text says, according to Umberto Eco, is an individual forest. Thus, any art review mirrors the critique’s inner world. That’s not a typo: we meant exactly the critique, from whose work you learn about their life and experience, interests and outlook, mind and knowledge, as well as desires, fantasies, and thoughts. Reviewers give books, paintings, and sculptures new motifs, interpretations, and meanings.

Thus, we can assume that each person is a unique mirror. This mirror may not be perfect in some places, but it should never cease to reflect. And you, as a reviewer, should do it as accurately as possible. In this challenging endeavor, this article will help you with a guide to art criticism, valuable tips on improving your critical opinion, composing an exhaustive art review, and making it meaningful, engaging, and effective.

The basics of art criticism are rooted in an understanding of the fundamentals of art and the ability to identify its various elements and principles. These basics include meanings (e.g., light, dark), color, shapes, lines, and texture. Then, to develop an opinion and write a review, you must consider the elements and principles of art, analyze how they have been used, and consider how they create an overall effect.

It is also essential to consider the artistic means, the artist’s intent, and its impact on the viewer. By examining a work’s message, context, and meaning, the critique can tap into the emotional or intellectual response that the work evokes in the viewer and gain insight into the artist’s intentions.

This knowledge and understanding can be used to form and write an opinion. Art criticism looks at the aesthetic properties of a work, its creation, and its potential for impact. However, it must also consider the effect the piece of art can have in a broader cultural and artistic context. Nevertheless, most people assume that the role of art criticism is to make a negative assessment of a piece.

However, the definition of art criticism means informed discussion, which is to gain insight into a work of art and interpret its meaning. Art critiques use a combination of analysis and evaluation of facts to form an opinion based on the strengths and weaknesses of a work of art. Art criticism seeks to improve understanding and appreciation of a specific masterpiece and may take the form of written or oral commentary.

Art has been an influential part of culture throughout history, manifesting in many forms, such as images, objects, music, writing, drama, and dance. Art forms evolve as the characteristics of beauty, expressiveness, effectiveness, and utility are determined by the culture in which it is present.

To make an overview of works of art and to be sure to evaluate art consistently, in the 5th century CE the Chinese scholar Xie He developed the “six laws” of art criticism. This principle allowed for an objective art evaluation, adding subjective interpretations and assessments when critiques shared them.

Art criticism involves carefully examining and analyzing a work of art using knowledge of history and theory. In this process, the critique can interpret, evaluate, and share a work of art with others. In addition, examining a work of art and its context within a historical and theoretical framework allows for a deeper understanding of the piece, its meaning, and its significance.

For centuries, wealthy patrons who wished to acquire works of art for themselves judged them on whether they liked the art pieces; over time, however, the role of the art critique has changed radically. Art criticism originated in the seventeenth century in French salons. In the modern period, however, it was able to show its full force thanks to Europe’s various social, political, and cultural changes in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.

As a result, art historians and academics now use this practice to understand better the purpose and meaning of a work of art. This process involves carefully studying a creative piece and then understanding the facts of art history and theory. Finally, by critically reflecting on the information available, art historians seek to interpret and evaluate a work of art in terms of its significance.

At an exhibition of works of art rejected by the official salon, one critic called Claude Monet’s Impression Sunrise the famous term “Impressionism,” a term that would later become the designation of an entirely new movement. More than a century later, Monet’s Impressionism is now well known in prestigious collections worldwide.

In his assessment of Impression Sunrise , the critic drew on the principles of painting popular at the time that paintings should be realistic representations of their subjects. This view has since waned in the modernist era. Art criticism encourages an ongoing exchange of ideas and opinions, allowing those who have the desire to join the discussion.

Every work of art may be criticized in the light of contemporary postulates, but ultimately no critique interprets a work of art once and for all. And if you want to learn more about all the intricacies of art criticism, go to the Grab My Essay writing service, where you can find an expert to help you with this question. And we move further to a guide on writing thoughtful and engaging art reviews.

10 Steps to Writing a Perfect Art Review

Visiting museums and exhibitions brings great pleasure to lovers of beauty and art critics who come to see new works for analysis and evaluation. Likewise, professional art connoisseur is interested in evaluating their work, on which the further development of their talent depends.

Of course, anyone can express their opinion about the author’s work and say what they like or dislike in the picture. But only some people know how to do excellent reviews because the ability to evaluate someone else’s art and see its main idea without resorting to other people’s opinion is already an art in itself. So let’s take it all in order, one step at a time.

When it comes to art criticism, it’s essential to determine what audience you’re writing for. For example, are you writing a review for yourself to get a creative outlet and better understand your feelings about a work of art, or are you putting it together for publication on a particular website or magazine? So think carefully about which audience you write for, as this can help determine the overall style, vocabulary, and tone.

One of the essential elements of art criticism is evaluating a work of art. When considering a particular piece, deciding whether to take a qualitative or quantitative approach is vital. Qualitative reviews are subjective and look at the work through your artistic experience, feelings evoked while viewing the art, and interests. Quantitative ones are more objective and seek to evaluate the artist’s skill, use of materials, and general technical aspects.

Whether you take a qualitative or quantitative approach to art criticism, weighing the pros and cons of the work you discuss is essential. Consider what aspects of the artwork make it appealing and unique. Also, think about what parts of the artwork let it down, are unsuccessful, and could be improved.

When evaluating an artist’s personality, you should consider their style, interests, and what message they try to convey. Also, analyze the mediums they used, forms, perspectives, and their impact on art in general. For example, did they have a dominant color palette or a specific color scheme? How did they approach composition and form?

Understanding the context of a work of art is critical in art history. First, consider the artist’s goals, the meaning of the work, its relationship to the broader artistic community, and its cultural identity. Next, how does the work fit into the artist’s portfolio, narrative, and career trajectory? Finally, try to relate the work to its general influence on painting and the historical period to which it belongs.

You may wonder why we mentioned online translation services in this article. Still, they help write artwork reviews because they allow you to dive into artwork more profoundly and write the essay in a comfortable language. Moreover, it is crucial to understand the artwork’s cultural context better. It can also help make the review accessible to readers from different countries who may not be familiar with the artist’s native language or the cultural context of their work.

The style of words you use in your art history article is significant. Use accessible yet intelligible language to explain the artwork and the artist’s purpose. Follow the basic grammar and punctuation principles, and be accurate and engaging in using words and phrases.

Remember that the primary purpose of any art review should be to draw attention to the work, artist, or medium of art in a creative and inspiring way. Therefore, when writing a review, use creative language to “paint a picture” of the artwork and the artist’s story. Use metaphors, allusions, similarities, and exciting phrases to help the reader better understand and appreciate the creator’s work.

The need to write a review arises when a work of art begins to act as a subject of interpretation, and the author sets forth their understanding and experience of that subject. A review is a text about a text or a secondary text resulting from the author presenting their interpretation of the primary text (work of art) to the reader.

If we talk about the concept of the primary text and its transmission in reviews, it is worth noting that reviews differ in the degree of depth and development of the logical scheme, namely:

✔️ The analytical review provides an in-depth and comprehensive artwork analysis.

✔️ Review opinion emphasizes the piece’s strengths and provides an assessment based on reflection, comparison, and other intellectual activities.

✔️ Impression review evaluates a work purely emotionally.

In addition, the composition of a review should be logical, which in turn divides it into such subparagraphs:

• Direct: contains in the title the central thesis, which is then argued;
• Inverse: built as a chain of questions and partial answers to them, leading to the final one at the end, namely, the central thesis.

Event composition occurs when the author uses the technique of commented retelling of the reviewed work. And once again (because it is hugely vital), the reviewer must consider the interests of their readers, among whom there are specialists and non-specialists and among the latter who are familiar with the reviewed work and those who are not familiar with it.

If it is about a work that obviously can’t be known to the general audience, it is necessary to present its content in one way or another; otherwise, the review will be incomprehensible to the reader. On the other hand, if the work is well known to the audience, such treatment is not required, and the reviewer can immediately begin to interpret the primary text (artwork).

Art criticism is an excellent form of art commentary and discussion based on creating an argument that should be reinforced throughout the art review. To strengthen your argument, use data and evidence, reference other stylistically similar works of art, compare the artist’s work to other pieces of the same period, and use various sources to support your argument.

Consider also that the necessary element of the argument is the sounding of the primary text in the form of quotations, paraphrases, and descriptions. And since the content is retold, the reader can join the reviewer’s unspoken but understandable opinion. In addition, you can use the views of others (letters from readers, reviews by experts, judgments of figures of literature and art) as arguments in your review.

As mentioned above, art criticism is based on opinions, so you should ensure your views are visible throughout your work. A critique should include their judgment as well as refer to the views of others. Try to look at the artwork from different angles, provide historical context , and pinpoint elements that can influence opinion or divide your audience.

Finally, in the concluding paragraph of our article, we will talk about the reviewer’s activity, which consists of two main stages. The first aims to lead the critic to a particular interpretation of the primary text. First, the reviewer creates a mental model of the artwork, which requires a special reading of it, according to the rules of which it is necessary to go from the parts to the whole and from the whole to the single elements.

Then, based on the new material, the hypothesis is refined: adjusted, and detailed to obtain a clear and coherent text picture. This stage of the reviewer’s activity ends with creating a model of the primary text. In other words, it is a theoretical reconstruction of the work to most accurately reproduce the meaning put into it by the author and to give it an additional sense.

The new meaning brought to the reconstruction of the text by the interpreter is a necessary moment of “co-creation” with the author. Thus, the reviewer has their understanding of the artistic concept and the techniques by which the concept is expressed. And finally, the critic can get a general understanding of the actual significance of the specific artwork.

The second stage consists of presenting the result of the previous activity to the reader. Here formal logic comes into play since the text of the review must be consistent in the course of thought and justified in its conclusions and inferences. The result is a logical model of the original work.

Suppose that the primary text is a work of fiction. In this case, there is a kind of translation from the language of art into the language of logic: logical categories, terms, notions, and definitions highlight, fix the main pattern, and thereby complement, deepen, and enrich our ideas about the work compared with its direct reader’s perception.

It is also important to remember that analyzing a work of art is not limited to taking it on different parts, which are then classified by the impartial mind. Otherwise, live artwork will turn into a pile of untold truths. The logic of the reviewer’s creative thinking is akin to that of a writer, director, actor, or painter. They act in close unity with intuition, artistic flair, and emotional assessment of the work.

A good reviewer in the first stage of their activity is a good reader, viewer, and listener who intensely perceives the artwork. Second, the reviewer must be a master of words. And if the artist thinks in images, the reviewer should write in terms that most people will understand.

Writing a thoughtful and engaging art review is true art. It requires skill, research, and a deep understanding of the artwork and the creator. The tips in this article are a brief guide to writing an informative and inspiring review that will accurately capture the essence of the artwork and the artist engagingly and creatively.

About the Writer

Lillie Jenkins is a creative copywriter and content writer. She has worked as a copywriter since graduating school, so her writing skills are well-honed. She writes publications in such fields as marketing, business, education, and personal life. More than writing Lillie loves to travel and read professional literature.

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The role of the critic

• Foundations of art criticism in antiquity and the Middle Ages
• Renaissance art criticism
• Art criticism in the 17th century: Programmatic theory
• Art criticism in the 18th century: Enlightenment theory
• The growth of power and influence
• The avant-garde problem
• Critical response to early avant-garde art
• The new conceptual orientation
• Avant-garde art comes to America
• Clement Greenberg
• “Other Criteria”: Rosenberg and Alloway
• Formalism’s legacy
• The irony of the avant-garde
• Art criticism at the turn of the 21st century

art criticism

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art criticism , the analysis and evaluation of works of art. More subtly, art criticism is often tied to theory; it is interpretive, involving the effort to understand a particular work of art from a theoretical perspective and to establish its significance in the history of art.

Many cultures have strong traditions of art evaluation. For example, African cultures have evaluative traditions—often verbal—of esteeming a work of art for its beauty, order, and form or for its utilitarian qualities and the role it plays in communal and spiritual activities. Islamic cultures have long traditions of historiographical writing about art. Works such as Mustafa Ali’s Manāqib-i hunarvarān (1587; “Wonderful Deeds of the Artists”) often focus on the traditions that define Islamic art, such as calligraphy , woodwork, glassware , metalwork , and textiles . China also has a strong tradition of art evaluation, dating back to writers such as Xie He (active mid-6th century), who offered the “ Six Principles ” for great art—a major principle being the qi yun sheng dong (“spirit resonance , life-motion”)—and to literati , who wrote biographies of great artists. For these and other regional approaches to art evaluation and historiography, see art, African ; arts, Central Asian ; arts, East Asian ; arts, Islamic ; arts, Native American ; art and architecture, Oceanic ; arts, South Asian ; and arts, Southeast Asian .

Like all these examples, the Western tradition has a set of evaluative criteria—sometimes shared with other cultures, sometimes unique—as well as elements of historiography . Within the history of Western art writing, however, is a distinct critical tradition characterized by the use of theory; theoretical analyses of art in the West—made either to oppose or to defend contemporary approaches to art making—led to what is generally understood as the discipline of “art criticism.” Art criticism developed parallel to Western aesthetic theory, beginning with antecedents in ancient Greece and fully taking form in the 18th and 19th centuries. This article explores this trajectory, also charting the divergent trend, beginning in the 20th and continuing into the 21st century, of the use of social and linguistic, rather than aesthetic , theoretical models by some critics. For the history of this tradition, see painting, Western , and sculpture, Western . See also Sidebar: Art Appreciation .

Critical approaches vary and depend upon the kind of art engaged—it makes a certain critical difference whether critics deal with painting , sculpture , photography , video , or other media. This article does not single out critics in terms of their engagement with a particular medium but rather presents the essentials of what appear to be coherent critical positions, often influential beyond the period of their formation. Architecture presents a distinct set of issues that require a unique critical approach; for architectural criticism, see architecture .

The critic is “minimally required to be a connoisseur,” which means he must have a “sound knowledge” of the history of art, as Philip Weissman wrote in his essay “ The Psychology of the Critic and Psychological Criticism” (1962), but “the step from connoisseur to critic implies the progression from knowledge to judgment.” The critic must make judgments because the art dealt with is generally new and unfamiliar—unless the critic is trying to reevaluate an old art with a fresh understanding of it—and thus of uncertain aesthetic and cultural value. The critic is often faced with a choice: to defend old standards, values, and hierarchies against new ones or to defend the new against the old. There are thus avant-garde critics, who become advocates of art that departs from and even subverts or destabilizes prevailing norms and conventions and becomes socially disruptive (one thinks, for example, of the furor caused by Caravaggio and Édouard Manet ), as well as reactionary critics, who defend the old order of thinking and values and the socially established familiar art that goes along with them. Extreme innovators—artists whose work is radically different, even revolutionary—pose the greatest challenge to the critic. Such artists push the limits of the critic’s understanding and appreciation or else force the critic to fall back on established assumptions in intellectual self-defeat. The greatest threat to art criticism is the development of defensive clichés—settled expectations and unquestioned presuppositions—about art, while the adventure of art criticism lies in the exposure to new possibilities of art and the exploration of new approaches that seem demanded by it.

The critic thus has a certain power of determination over art history , or at least great influence in creating the canon of art, as is evident, for example, in the naming by critics of many modern movements and in the “basic understanding” of the ostensibly incomprehensible, unconventional artists who initiated them. The British critic Roger Fry , who created the name “ Post-Impressionism ” and wrote brilliantly and convincingly about Paul Cézanne , is a classic example. Art criticism may also encompass historiography; while “art history” is often spoken of as an objective field, art historians’ own preferences cannot always be separated from their judgments and choices of emphasis, and this makes many art-historical narratives a subtler form of art criticism.

The French poet and critic Charles Baudelaire famously said, in his review of the Salon of 1846, that “to be just, that is to say, to justify its existence, criticism should be partisan, passionate, and political, that is to say, written from an exclusive point of view, but a point of view that opens up the widest horizons.” In this way, criticism is subjective as well as objective. It should be a matter of considered choice rather than arbitrary in its decisions of significance, but an emotional factor necessarily enters, as Baudelaire readily admitted. This can make criticism impressionistic or poetic as well as descriptive, analytic , and scholarly. Even the most journalistic criticism—and modern criticism is often a species of journalism—is rarely neutral and detached. The subjective affinities and cognitive interests of the critic and, however subliminally, a critic’s perception of social needs inevitably affect the content of criticism. In the 20th and 21st centuries theoretical bases such as Marxism and feminism have often entered art criticism more directly, making the critic’s perceptions of social needs more directly applicable to evaluations of art. As the German theorist Hans Robert Jauss wrote, every work of art exists within a social and historical “horizon of expectation.” The aesthetic response elicited by the work often depends upon how much it does or does not conform to historically conditioned social expectations. Critical recognition and advocacy , as Jauss says, is a complicated response to an often complicated art. The history of art criticism is a narrative of the responses that made an aesthetic as well as social difference in the general perception and conception of art, often legitimating its change in direction.

ARTH 702 - Art Criticism

• Analyzing and Critiquing Art
• Conducting Research
• Find Articles
• Find Images
• Evaluate Sources
• Writing and Citing

Elements of Art by Smarthistory

More on the Elements of Art...

•   Line        
•   Shape and Form       
•   Color       
•   Space  
•   Texture       
•   Surface and Depth        
•   Light and Shadow  

More on the Principles of Composition...

• Balance, Symmetry, & Emphasis
• Proportion and Scale
• Pattern, Repetition, and Rhythm

Analyze a Work Of Art

When analyzing a work of art, it's helpful to develop and apply a list of relevant questions. Consider:

• Subject matter - What is being depicted? (May require researching a related place, figure or event - e.g. from religion or mythology)
• Material and form - What is the size, shape, line, texture, color, etc.? How do these affect the way you "see" the subject?
• Social and historical contexts - When, where, and why was the work made?
• What were the artist's intentions (if known)?

Barnet's A Short Guide to Writing About Art provides many useful examples of analytical questions and is a required/recommended text for most Art History courses.

Feldman's Model of Art Criticism

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.

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., tools, materials, instruments).
• Describe the subject matter. What is it all about? Are there recognizable images?

Describe how the work is organized as a complete composition:

• How is the work constructed or planned (i.e., acts, movements, lines)?
• Identify some of the similarities throughout the work (i.e., repetition of lines, two songs in each act).
• Identify some of the points of emphasis in the work (i.e., specific scene, figure, movement).
• If the work has subjects or characters, 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., tragic, ugly, 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?

Source: Kennedy Center Digital Resource Library

Visual Analysis Resources

• Handout: Getty Museum - Basic Elements of Art Guide

via Smarthistory

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August 24, 2015 2 Comments

10 Artworks Perfect for an Art Criticism Lesson

Through my many years of teaching, I’ve accumulated a nice list of artworks that are perfect to discuss with students and teach them how to analyze art. These artworks spark lots of interesting ideas, have easy to notice design choices that contribute to the meaning and always lead to a great art criticism discussion (or a great student-written essay) with the students.

These artworks are great for high school and college students, but many work for elementary and middle as well. You can use your judgment to decide what works best for your students.

The Four Steps of Art Criticism Lesson Plan

I created this list for my lesson on the art criticism steps available for sale. The Four Steps of Art Criticism lesson teaches students how to analyze art through the art criticism steps of description, analysis, interpretation, and evaluation. This resource includes a lesson outline (pdf), a PowerPoint, a written assignment instructions handout (pdf and editable .doc), a quiz (pdf and editable .doc), and a list of artworks including (but not limited to) the ones below. Buy it now for $14 , and use it in your classroom tomorrow!

This lesson covers the four steps of art criticism using artworks. Explore description, analysis, interpretation, and evaluation with your students using engaging activities and examples.

Ten Artworks Perfect for Art Criticism with Students

Most of these are not in the public domain. I have included small thumbnails for your reference. Click the picture to view a larger image.

Marc Chagall, Young Girl in Pursuit , ca. 1927-28

This one is so simple and straight-forward, but it always sparks the imagination of the students.

Questions to Ask: How does this artwork make you feel? What choices does the artist make to make you feel that? Who is this woman? Why is there a woman in her hair? What is the meaning of this artwork?

Salvador Dalí, Persistence of Memory , 1931

Everyone knows this one. I read some study one time that said Salvador Dalí was the most recognized artist name among people interviewed on the street. I found that to be fascinating. From the melting clocks to the sleeping head, to the ants crawling all over the pocket watch, to is that a snake coming out of his nose?, this one has a lot for students to unpack.

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John Feodorov, Animal Spirit Channeling Device for the Contemporary Shaman , 1963

I wrote more about this one on the post: 5 Artworks to Intrigue your High Schooler .

Frida Kahlo, The Two Fridas , 1939

This one is also on 5 Artworks to Intrigue your High Schooler . Read more there. 🙂

Edvard Munch, Separation , 1896

Students love coming up with stories about this one. He is having a heart attack, and the woman is an angel taking him away. The woman is the ghost of his wife who has passed. And more, lots of great stories. The artist’s use of line, color, and contrast adds meaning to the student’s interpretations.

Luis Felipe Noé, Cerrado por brujería [Closed by Sorcery] , 1963

This is one of my all time top artworks to discuss with students. I usually show it on the first day of class in my community college art appreciation class. I wrote a whole post about it here .

Pablo Picasso, Girl before a Mirror , 1932

This painting made me weep when I saw it the first time. It’s stunning in person. Read more about it on 5 Artworks that Promote Introspection . This is a great one to have students write about at the beginning of class.

Lawrence Beall Smith, Don’t Let That Shadow Touch Them , 1942

I love connecting history and art. I include this piece of propaganda art on one of my tests for students to write about. You would be surprised how many students don’t recognize the swastika. In addition to discussing the power images have on our feelings and decision, the historical significance of the image is an important discussion to have with the students.

George Tooker, The Subway , 1950

Creepy, suspicious men and multiple perspectives make this one a fun one to talk about with students. The lone, solitary woman with the concerned expression makes us think, and why is she holding her stomach? Lots to talk about.

Kara Walker, Darkytown Rebellion , 2001

This one has some sensitive subject matter. I wouldn’t hesitate to use this for a college class, but only you can decide if it works for your students. I actually got in an argument with one of my friends in front of one of Kara Walker’s artworks like this one. I love art that sparks opinion and discussion. I don’t shy away from big topics in my classroom. Art opens up important dialogues, so I think it is important to let those happen in the classroom. After students look and figure out what is going on through art criticism, we discuss the element of the projection and how the viewer can become a part of the art by standing in between the light and the wall. It leads to some interesting thoughts.

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Reader Interactions

September 4, 2015 at 1:24 pm

Hello I enjoy you art lessons. I teach three year old students and I would like to know how to show them art and I would like to know how to ask the correct questions to help them think about art. Any help would be lovely. Nancy

September 4, 2015 at 6:38 pm

Hi Nancy! Here are some of my posts that might help you: How to Look at Art with Toddlers and Preschoolers , A video of me talking about art with my 2yo , 10 Activities to Engage with Works of Art , Another Video of me talking with my 2yo about art , and How to Look at Art with Kids . Hope this helps! 🙂

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Free Worksheets!

*Free Bundle of Art Appreciation Worksheets*

In this free bundle of art worksheets, you receive six ready-to-use art worksheets with looking activities designed to work with almost any work of art.

How to Analyze Art – Formal Art Analysis Guide and Example

What is this Guide Helpful for?

Every work of art is a complex system and a pattern of intentions. Learning to observe and analyze artworks’ most distinctive features is a task that requires time but primarily training. Even the eye must be trained to art -whether paintings, photography, architecture, drawing, sculptures, or mixed-media installations. The eyes, as when one passes from darkness to light, need time to adapt to the visual and sensory stimuli of artworks.

This brief compendium aims to provide helpful tools and suggestions to analyze art. It can be useful to guide students who are facing a critical analysis of a particular artwork, as in the case of a paper assigned to high school art students. But it can also be helpful when the assignment concerns the creation of practical work, as it helps to reflect on the artistic practice of experienced artists and inspire their own work. However, that’s not all. These concise prompts can also assist those interested in taking a closer look at the art exhibited by museums, galleries, and cultural institutions. They are general suggestions that can be applied to art objects of any era or style since they are those suggested by the history of art criticism.

Knowing exactly what an artist wanted to communicate through his or her artwork is an impossible task, but not even relevant in critical analysis. What matters is to personally interpret and understand it, always wondering what ideas its features suggest. The viewer’s attention can fall on different aspects of a painting, and different observers can even give contradictory interpretations of the same artwork. Yet the starting point is the same setlist of questions . Here are the most common and effective ones.

How to Write a Successful Art Analysis

Composition and formal analysis: what can i see.

The first question to ask in front of an artwork is: what do I see? What is it made of? And how is it realized? Let’s limit ourselves to an objective, accurate pure description of the object; from this preliminary formal analysis, other questions (and answers!) will arise.

• You can ask yourself what kind of object it is, what genre ; if it represents something figuratively or abstractly, observing its overall style.
• You can investigate the composition and the form : shape (e.g. geometric, curvilinear, angular, decorative, tridimensional, human), size (is it small or large size? is it a choice forced by the limits of the display or not?), orientation (horizontally or vertically oriented)
• the use of the space : the system of arrangement (is it symmetrical? Is there a focal point or emphasis on specific parts ?), perspective (linear perspective, aerial perspective, atmospheric perspective), space viewpoint, sense of full and voids, and rhythm.
• You can observe its colors : palette and hues (cool, warm), intensity (bright, pure, dull, glossy, or grainy…), transparency or opacity, value, colors effects, and choices (e.g. complementary colors)
• Observe the texture (is it flat or tactile? Has it other surface qualities?)
• or the type of lines (horizontal, vertical, implied lines, chaotic, underdrawing, contour, or leading lines)

After completing this observation, it is important to ask yourself what are the effects of these chromatic, compositional, and formal choices. Are they the result of randomness, limitations of the site, display, or material? Or perhaps they are meant to convey a specific idea or overall mood? Does the artwork support your insights?

Media and Materials: How the Artist Create?

• First of all, the medium must be investigated. What are these objects? Architecture, drawing, film, installation, painting, performing art, photography, printmaking, sculpture, sound art, textiles, and more.
• What materials and tools did the artists use to create their work? Oil paint, acrylic paint, charcoal, pastel, tempera, fresco, marble, bronze, but also concrete, glass, stone, wood, ceramics, lithography…The list of materials is potentially endless, especially in contemporary arts, but it is also among the easiest information to find! A valid catalog or museum label will always list materials and techniques used by artists.
• What techniques, methods, and processes are used by the artist? The same goes for materials, techniques are numerous and often related to the overall feeling or style that the artist has set out to achieve. In a critical analysis, it is important to reflect on what this technique entails. Do not overdo with a verbose technical explanation.

Why did the artist choose to make the work this way and with such features (materials and techniques)? Are they traditional, academic techniques and materials or, on the contrary, innovative and experimental? What idea does the artist communicate with the choice of these media ? Try to reflect, for example, on their preciousness, or cultural significance, or even durability, fragility, heaviness, or lightness.

Context, Biography, Purpose: What’s Outside the Artwork?

Through formal analysis, it is possible to obtain a precise description of the artistic object. However, artworks are also documents, which attest to facts that happen or have happened outside the frame! The artwork relates to themes, stories, specific ideas, which belong to the artist and to the society in which he or she is immersed. To analyze art in a relevant way, we also must consider the context .

• What are the intentions of the artist to create this work? The purpose? Art may be commissioned, commemorative, educational, of practical use, for the public or for private individuals, realized to communicate something. Let’s ask ourselves why the artist created it, and why at that particular time.
• The artist’s life also cannot be overlooked. We always look at the work in the light of his biography: in what moment of life was it made? Where was the artist? What other artworks had he/she done in close temporal proximity? Biographical sources are invaluable.
• In what context (historical, social, political, cultural) was the artwork made? Artwork supports (or may even deliberately oppose) the climate in which it is immersed. Find out about the political, natural, historical event; the economic, religious, cultural situation of its period.
• Of paramount importance is the cultural atmosphere. What artistic movements , currents, fashions, and styles were prevalent at the time? This allows us to make comparisons with other objects, to question the taste of the time. In other words, to open the horizons of our analysis.

Subject and Meaning: What does it Want to Communicate?

We observed artwork as an object, with visible material and formal characteristics; then we understood that it can be influenced by the context and intentions of the artist. Finally, it is essential to investigate what it wants to communicate. The content of the work passes through the subject matter, its stories, implicit or explicit symbolism.

• You can preliminarily ask what genre of artwork it is, which is very helpful with paintings. Is it a realistic painting of a landscape, abstract, religious, historical-mythical, a portrait, a still life, or much else?
• You can ask questions about the title if it is present. Or perhaps question its absence.
• You can observe the figures. Ask yourself about their identity, age, rank, connections with the artist, or cultural relevance. Observe what their expression or pose communicates.
• You can also observe the objects, places, or scenes that take place in the work. How are they depicted (realistic, abstract, impressionistic, expressionistic, primitive); what story do they tell?
• Are there concepts that perhaps are conveyed implicitly, through symbols, allegories, signs, textual or iconographic elements? Do they have a precise meaning inserted there?
• You can try to describe the overall feeling of the artwork, whether it is positive or negative, but also go deeper: does it communicate calmness, melancholy, tension, energy, or anger, shock? Try to listen to your own emotional reaction as well.

Subjective Interpretation: What does it Communicate to Me?

And finally, the crucial question, what did this work spark in me ?

We can talk about aesthetic taste and feeling, but not only. A critical judgment also involves the degree of effectiveness of the work. Has the artist succeeded, through his formal, technical, stylistic choices, in communicating a specific idea? What did the critics think at the time and ask yourself what you think today? Are there any temporal or personal biases that may affect your judgment? Significative artworks are capable of speaking, of telling a story in every era. Whether nice or bad.

A Brief History of Art Criticism

The stimulus questions collected here are the result of the experience of different methods of analysis developed by art critics throughout history. Art criticism has developed different analytical methodologies, placing the focus of research on different aspects of art. We can trace three major macro-trends and all of them can be used to develop a personal critical method:

The Formal Art Analysis

Formal art analysis is conducted primarily by connoisseurs, experts in attributing paintings or sculptures to the hand of specific artists. Formal analysis adheres strictly to the object-artwork by providing a pure description of it. It focuses on its visual, most distinctive features: on the subject, composition, material, technique, and other elements. Famous formalists and purovisibilists were Giovanni Morelli, Bernard Berenson, Roberto Longhi, Roger Fry, and Heinrich Wölfflin, who elaborated different categories of formal principles.

The Iconological Method

In the iconological method, the content of the work, its meaning, and cultural implications begin to take on relevancy. Aby Warburg and later the Warburg Institute opened up to the analysis of art as an interdisciplinary subject, questioning the correlations between art, philosophy, culture. The fortune of the iconological method, however, is due to Erwin Panofsky, who observed the artwork integrally, through three levels of interpretation. A first, formal, superficial level; the second level of observation of the iconographic elements, and a third called iconological, in which the analysis finally becomes deep, trying to grasp the meaning of the elements.

Social Art History and Beyond

Then, in the 1950s, a third trend began, which placed the focus primarily on the social context of the artwork. With Arnold Hauser, Francis Klingender, and Frederick Antal, the social history of art was born. Social art historians conceive the work of art as a structural system that conveys specific ideologies, whose aspects related to the time period of the artists must also be investigated. Analyses on commissioning, institutionalization, production mechanisms, and the role and function of the artist in society began to spread. It also opens art criticism to researches on taste, fruition, and the study of art in psychoanalytic, pedagogical, anthropological terms.

10 Art Analysis Tips

We defined the questions you need to ask yourself to write a meaningful artwork analysis. Then, we identified the main approaches used by art historians while criticizing art: formal analysis, iconographic interpretation, and study of the social context. However, art interpretation is always open to new stimuli and insights, and it is a work of continuous training.

Here are 10 aspects to keep in mind when observing a good artwork (or a bad one!):

• Any feeling towards a work of art is legitimate -whether it is a painting, picture, sculpture, or contemporary installation. What do you like or dislike about it? You could write about the shapes and colors, how the artist used them, their technique. You can analyze the museum setting or its original location; the ideas, or the cultural context to which the artist belongs. You can think about the feelings or memories it evokes. The important thing is that your judgment is justified with relevant arguments that strictly relate to the artwork and its elements.
• Analyzing does not mean describing. A precise description of the work and its distinctive features is essential, but we must go beyond that. Consider also what is outside the frame.
• Strive to use an inquiry-based approach. Ask yourself questions, start with objective observation and then go deeper. Wonder what features suggest. Notice a color…well, why that color, and why there?
• Observe a wide range of visual elements. Artworks are complex systems, so try to look at them in all their components. Not just color, shapes, or technique, but also rhythm, compositional devices, emphasis, style, texture…and much more!
• To get a visual analysis as accurate as possible, it might be very useful to have a comprehensive glossary . Here is MoMA’s one: https://www.moma.org/momaorg/shared/pdfs/docs/learn/courses/Vocabulary_for_Discussing_Art.pdf and Artlex: https://www.artlex.com/art-terms/
• Less is more . Do you want to write about an entire artistic movement or a particularly prolific artist? Focus on the most significant works, the ones you can really say something personal and effective about. Similarly, choose only relevant and productive information; it should aid better understanding of the objects, not take the reader away from it.
• Support what you write with images! Accompany your text with sketches or high-quality photographs. Choose black and white pictures if you want to highlight forms or lights, details or evidence inside the artwork to support your personal interpretations, objects placed in the art room if you analyze also curatorial choices.
• See as much live artwork as possible. Whenever you can, attend temporary exhibitions, museums, galleries… the richer your visual background will be, the more attentive and receptive your eye will be! Connections and comparisons are what make an art criticism truly rich and open-minding.
• Be inspired by the words of artists, art experts, and creatives . Listen as a beloved artwork relates to their art practice or personal artistic vision, to build your personal one. Here are other helpful links: https://www.moma.org/magazine/articles/154?=MOOC
• And finally, trust your intuition! As you noticed in this decalogue, numerous aspects require study and rational analysis but don’t forget to formalize your instinctive impressions as well. Art is made for that, too.

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Critique Paper

Ai generator.

A critique paper is an analytical essay focusing on evaluating and interpreting a piece of work, such as an article, book , film, or painting. The aim is to assess the work’s strengths and weaknesses, often comparing it to relevant standards or other works in the field. The writer should provide a balanced analysis, supporting their observations with evidence, to inform readers about the work’s value and significance.

Critique Paper Free PDF Bundle

What is a critique paper.

A critique paper is an analytical evaluation of a work, focusing on its strengths and weaknesses. It requires critical thinking to assess and discuss the work’s effectiveness and provide recommendations for improvement, often backed by evidence.

Types of Critique Paper

Critique papers can vary widely in focus and approach, depending on the subject and purpose. Here are some common types:

• Literature Critique : Evaluates books, articles, and other written materials, focusing on theme , style, and contribution to the field.
• Art Critique : Analyzes artworks in terms of technique, style, symbolism, and emotional impact.
• Film Critique : Examines films, discussing elements like narrative, directing, acting, and cinematography.
• Performance Critique : Reviews live performances such as plays, concerts, or dance shows, commenting on the performance, direction, and production values.
• Research Article Critique : Assesses scientific studies or academic research, focusing on methodology, data analysis, and the validity of conclusions.
• Business Critique : Looks at business practices, products , or company strategies to evaluate effectiveness and suggest improvements.

Purpose of Critique Paper

A critique paper serves several important academic and intellectual purposes, contributing to both the writer’s understanding and the broader scholarly community’s discussion on a subject. Here are the primary purposes of a critique paper:

• Analytical Thinking: Writing a critique paper encourages deep analytical thinking. It requires the writer to not only summarize the content of a work—be it a book, article, film, or art piece—but also to analyze its components critically. This process involves assessing the strengths and weaknesses of the work, understanding its structure, and evaluating its impact.
• Critical Engagement: A critique paper fosters engagement with ideas and arguments presented by others. Through critique, a writer interacts with the work’s themes, methodologies, and conclusions, providing a personal interpretation and positioning it within a larger scholarly context .
• Developing Arguments: One of the main goals of a critique paper is to develop and articulate a coherent and reasoned argument. The writer must present a clear thesis or main argument about the work being critiqued and support this thesis with evidence, logical reasoning, and systematic analysis.
• Enhancing Understanding: Writing a critique helps in deepening the writer’s understanding of the subject matter. By analyzing different aspects of a work and connecting them to broader themes and knowledge, the writer gains a more comprehensive insight into the topic.
• Scholarly Contribution: Critique papers contribute to academic discourse by adding to the diversity of interpretations and perspectives on a particular work or topic. This can influence how a work is understood in academic and professional fields, potentially leading to new insights and developments.
• Improving Writing and Research Skills: The process of writing a critique paper enhances a writer’s research and writing skills. It involves gathering information, synthesizing insights, formulating arguments, and composing a structured document—all essential skills in academic and professional settings.
• Preparation for Professional Activities: Especially in fields like literature, art , and film studies, critique papers prepare students and professionals to engage in critiques and discussions, which are common professional activities. This preparation can be crucial for career in academia, criticism, journalism, and beyond.

Critique Paper Format

A critique paper generally follows a structured format to ensure a thorough evaluation and clear presentation of thoughts. Here’s an outline of the typical format along with an example for a research article critique:

1. Introduction

• Background : Provide context for the work being critiqued.
• Thesis Statement : Present your main argument or overall impression of the work.
• Overview of the Work : Briefly describe the main points of the work.

In this critique, I evaluate the article “The Impact of Daily Exercise on Wellbeing” by Dr. Jane Smith, published in the 2020 edition of Health & Lifestyle. The article claims that daily exercise significantly improves mental health. This critique assesses the validity of Dr. Smith’s research methods and findings.

• Key Points : Summarize the main arguments, findings, or artistic elements of the work.

Dr. Smith’s article outlines a study conducted over 12 months involving 300 participants, exploring the effects of various exercise routines on mental health indicators such as stress, happiness, and overall life satisfaction.

3. Critique

• Methodology Evaluation : Analyze the methods used to determine their adequacy and fairness.
• Evidence Review : Discuss the evidence presented and whether it supports the claims.
• Bias and Limitations : Point out any biases or limitations within the work.

While Dr. Smith’s methodology of tracking participant wellbeing through self-reported surveys is insightful, the reliance on self-reporting can introduce bias and affect the reliability of the data. Furthermore, the study lacks a control group, which is crucial for comparing the effects observed.

4. Conclusion

• Summary of Critique : Recap your main points of critique.
• Final Assessment : Provide your final thoughts on the work’s overall validity and effectiveness.
• Recommendations : Suggest ways to improve or further areas for research.

In conclusion, although Dr. Smith’s findings provide valuable insights into the positive effects of daily exercise on mental health, the study’s methodologies could be strengthened by incorporating a control group and using more objective data collection methods. Future research should address these limitations to build on Dr. Smith’s work.

5. References

• Citation of the Work : Include all necessary citation information according to the academic style required.

Smith, J. (2020). The Impact of Daily Exercise on Wellbeing. Health & Lifestyle Journal, 15(4), 234-248.

Examples of Critique Paper

Here are the Examples of critique papers provide structured analyses and evaluations of various works, including books, films, and artworks. They illustrate how to critically assess themes, techniques, and overall impact.

Critique of a Novel

Critique of a film, critique of a scientific research article.

Critique Paper Examples for Students

Providing students with examples of critique papers can help them understand how to effectively analyze and evaluate different types of work, such as literature, films, research articles, and more. Here are three examples of critique paper topics, each tailored to a specific subject, that could be useful for students learning to write critiques:

• Critique of a Literary Work
• Critique of a Scientific Research Article: “Effects of Plastic Pollution on Marine Life”
• Critique of a Film: “Inception” Directed by Christopher Nolan

Critique Paper Examples for Short Story

Creating a critique for a short story involves analyzing elements such as plot, characters, setting, themes, and the author’s writing style. Here are three examples of critique papers for short stories that can help students learn to evaluate and interpret literature effectively:

• Critique of “The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson
• Critique of “Harrison Bergeron” by Kurt Vonnegut
• Critique of “The Yellow Wallpaper” by Charlotte Perkins Gilman

Feminist Critique Paper Examples

Feminist critique papers provide insightful analyses on literature, media, or cultural practices through the lens of feminist theory, highlighting issues of gender equality, representation, and the experiences of women. Here are three examples of feminist critique paper topics, each tailored to examine different subjects with a focus on feminist perspectives:

• Feminist Critique of “Pride and Prejudice” by Jane Austen
• Feminist Analysis of “Mad Men”: A Look at Gender Roles in 1960s America
• Gender and Power in “Game of Thrones”: A Feminist Perspective

Art Critique Paper Examples

Art critique paper examples offer structured evaluations of various artworks, including paintings, sculptures, and photographs. These examples analyze themes, techniques, and emotional impact, providing insights into the artist’s intentions and the work’s significance. They serve as guides for understanding and articulating critical perspectives on art.

• Critique of “Starry Night” by Vincent van Gogh
• Critique of “The Thinker” by Auguste Rodin
• Critique of “Migrant Mother” by Dorothea Lange

Critique Paper Examples for Books

Critique paper examples for books provide detailed analyses and evaluations of various literary works, including novels, non-fiction, and classics. They examine themes, character development, writing style, and overall impact, offering insights into the strengths and weaknesses of each book. These examples guide readers in developing their own critical perspectives.

• Critique of “To Kill a Mockingbird” by Harper Lee
• Critique of “Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind” by Yuval Noah Harari
• Critique of “Pride and Prejudice” by Jane Austen

Critique Paper Examples for Novel

Critique paper examples for novels offer in-depth analyses and evaluations of fictional works across genres. They explore themes, character development, plot structure, and writing style. These examples help readers understand the novel’s strengths and weaknesses, providing a framework for developing thoughtful, balanced critiques of literary fiction.

• Critique of “1984” by George Orwell
• Critique of “The Great Gatsby” by F. Scott Fitzgerald
• Critique of “Beloved” by Toni Morrison

Characteristics of Critique Paper

A critique paper is a detailed analysis and evaluation of a work, such as a book, article, film, or painting. It goes beyond merely summarizing the work by also providing a critical discussion regarding the quality and impact of the work. Here are some essential characteristics of a well-crafted critique paper:

• Analytical Focus: A critique paper primarily analyzes and evaluates the subject matter rather than just summarizing it. It discusses what the work does, how it does it, and how effectively the purpose of the work is achieved.
• Evidence-Based: Critiques are not just based on opinion; they are supported by evidence from the work itself. This might include quotations, examples, and detailed observations that back up the critique’s claims and conclusions.
• Balanced Argumentation: While it’s important to discuss what you perceive as the weaknesses of the work, a good critique also acknowledges its strengths. This balanced view helps to avoid bias and gives the paper credibility.
• Clear Structure: Like any formal piece of writing, a critique paper should be well-organized. It typically includes an introduction that states the work being critiqued and the main points of the critique, a body that discusses each point in detail, and a conclusion that summarizes the critique and may suggest broader implications or future directions.
• Critical Perspective: The critique should offer a distinct perspective that reflects critical thinking. It should engage with the work’s themes, techniques, and impact, providing a deeper understanding or new insights that go beyond the surface.
• Contextual Awareness: A critique considers the work in its broader context. This might include the historical, cultural, or academic context of the work, discussing how these elements influence the creation and reception of the work.
• Objective Tone: While personal responses can be included in a critique, the tone should remain objective and professional. The critique should focus on the work itself and its merits or faults, rather than on the author or creator as an individual.
• Thesis Statement: A strong critique paper features a clear thesis statement that guides the analysis. This statement typically outlines the main argument or viewpoint of the critique and sets the tone for the discussion.
• Engaging Writing: Effective critiques not only provide insights but are also engaging to read. They use persuasive language to make their points and maintain the reader’s interest throughout the paper.
• Reflective Insight: Beyond evaluating the work, a critique often reflects on its significance within a larger context or discipline. It may discuss how the work contributes to ongoing debates, trends, or theories within the field.

How to Write Critique Paper

Writing a critique paper involves a systematic analysis of a work (like an article, book, film, or painting), focusing on evaluating its various components and expressing your point of view. Here’s a structured guide on how to write a high-quality critique paper that’s SEO-friendly and well-suited for readability:

Understand the Assignment

Before you start writing, make sure you fully understand the requirements of your critique. Know whether you need to provide a general analysis or focus on a specific aspect of the work

Read or View the Work

Engage with the work thoroughly. If it’s a book or an article, read it multiple times. For films or exhibitions, consider multiple viewings. Take notes on key points, themes, and elements that stand out.

Develop a Thesis Statement

Your thesis is the central argument of your critique. It should state your main point clearly and concisely, expressing your overall opinion of the work. For instance, “John Doe’s ‘Modern Society’ effectively argues its point about social media addiction through compelling data and relatable personal stories, though it sometimes lacks sufficient counterarguments.”

Write an Introduction

Start with an engaging introduction that provides essential information about the work (title, author, type of work, and publication date) and ends with your thesis statement. This section sets the stage for your critique.

Summarize the Work

Briefly summarize the main points of the work to provide context for your analysis. Keep this part factual and neutral, covering key points that are relevant to your critique without going into excessive detail.

Critically Analyze the Work

In the body paragraphs, discuss your analysis of the work, supporting your thesis with evidence. Break down your critique into organized sections, such as: Content Evaluation: Analyze the accuracy, depth, and relevance of the information presented. Structure: Evaluate the organization and clarity of the work. Style: Consider the author’s writing style, use of language, and the appropriateness for the intended audience. Impact: Discuss the effectiveness and impact of the work on its audience.

Use Effective Transitions

Smooth transitions between paragraphs help guide the reader and improve the flow of your essay. Use transitional words and phrases to connect ideas.

Conclude Your Critique

Summarize your points briefly and restate your thesis in a new way in the conclusion. You might also discuss the broader implications of the work or suggest areas for further research or consideration.

Revise and Edit

Ensure your critique is clear and concise. Check for grammar and spelling errors, and make sure your arguments are logically structured. Compliance with SEO standards such as using familiar words, maintaining appropriate sentence length, and avoiding passive voice will enhance the readability and effectiveness of your critique.

Cite Your Sources

If you’ve used additional sources to support your critique or to understand the work, make sure to cite them appropriately to avoid plagiarism.

What is a critique paper?

A critique paper analyzes and evaluates the quality and significance of a work, such as an article, book, film, or painting.

How do I start a critique paper?

Begin with an engaging introduction that includes the work’s basic information and your thesis statement expressing your main evaluation.

What should be included in the body of a critique paper?

The body should include your detailed analysis, supported by evidence from the work, covering content, structure, style, and impact.

How do I conclude a critique paper?

Summarize the main points, restate your thesis in a new light, and possibly suggest areas for further research or implications.

How long should a critique paper be?

The length varies based on assignment requirements but typically ranges from 500 to 2000 words.

Do I need a thesis statement for a critique paper?

Yes, a clear thesis statement is crucial as it guides your analysis and states your overarching opinion of the work.

Can I include personal opinions in a critique paper?

Yes, personal opinions are valid as long as they are supported by evidence and reasoned analysis.

How do I cite sources in a critique paper?

Use the citation style specified by your instructor, typically APA, MLA, or Chicago, to cite all referenced materials.

What is the difference between a critique and a summary?

A critique offers a detailed evaluation and analysis, whereas a summary only provides a concise recap of the work’s main points.

How can I make my critique paper stand out?

Offer unique insights, engage deeply with the text, and provide a balanced evaluation that includes both strengths and weaknesses.

Text prompt

• Instructive
• Professional

10 Examples of Public speaking

20 Examples of Gas lighting

Art Critique Essay Examples

We found 11 free papers on art critique, essay examples, temple college visual arts center gallery.

Art Critique

I traveled to the Temple College Visual Arts Center Gallery on November 5th so that I could visit the exhibition by Jeffie Brewer, “Idiot Boy.” I’ve never been to an art exhibit before, honestly. I was excited to see this exhibit, as it was only the work of a single artist. To me, this makes…

San Antonio: Painting with a Twist

During my visit back to San Antonio, my hometown, I explored the McNay. Though I have lived in San Antonio for several years, it was my first time visiting the museum, and I am grateful that I did. On both sides of my family, we have mild artistic abilities (mainly artsy doodles and attending Painting…

The Effectiveness of Art Critique Programs for Addressing Disciplinary Problems

Ricky was a high school student facing expulsion after multiple disciplinary infractions when a group of his peer mediators decided he deserved a second chance. Ricky was enrolled in his high school’s restorative justice program. Second Chances, where he attended daily group sessions teaching respect, empathy. and community involvement. For the first time in Ricky’s…

A Detailed and Thoughtful Assessment Of A Work Of Art From Art Criticism

An art critique essay is a written evaluation of a work of art, which can be a painting, sculpture, installation, or any other form of artistic expression. The essay should provide a detailed analysis of the artwork, including its style, techniques, symbolism, and overall impact. To begin the essay, the critic should introduce the artwork…

Art Critique Reproduction in the Age of Industrial Revolution in Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction by Walter Benjamin

Walter Benjamin has written a groundbreaking essay “Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction” in 1936. He critiqued the way the images are reproduced and the motivation that drives the idea of reproduction in the Age of Industrial Revolution W. Benjamin was concerned of loosing “aura” of art, The writer obscene/ed that the methods of…

The Auction of a Matisse and the Art Critique Dealers Association of America

If your favorite masterpiece, a Matisse, is up for auction, You are bidding for it against a dazzling array of eccentric art dealers. Should you keep bidding as the price gets higher? Is it a bargain or a worthless forgery? You must decide quickly, but you will never know unless you outbid the competition. What…

A Spoon for the Art Critique

Imagine a note on the wall resembling a G clef/Treble clef on a sheet of music composition hanging on one wall that could be used to toss salad this describes my art project. Last semester, I took the 3D Design class, In the class, I made paper structures, Q-tip and wooden structures, plaster sculptures, and…

Critique of Audio-Lingual Method

The Audio-Lingual Method (ALM) is a foreign language instructional method, which emerged in responding to the need for quick conversational proficiency in foreign language during WWII in America. With Leonard Bloomfield and Charles Fries as its leading figures, ALM was the first method being derived from contemporary theories, specifically from structural linguistics and behavioral psychology….

Art Critique Example

This untitled pastel painting by Ellen Plankey depicts a young woman sitting on a blanket. She is wearing a dark blue skirt and a baby blue cloth wrapped around her head. Positioned to her right, she gazes into the distance. The striking contrast between light and shadow accentuates one of her breasts, while the other…

Art Critique/Analysis Assignment “Islamic art”

Islamic art is probably the most available material manifestation of the complicated and multifaceted culture, which appears mysterious to a foreigner. The object which impressed me the most is the bowl with geometric and vegetal embellishment, attributed to the 10th century. The bowl was produced in Northeastern Iran of transparent glaze with white slip covering. …

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Home — Essay Samples — Arts & Culture — Art and Religion — Critique Over An Art Gallery

Critique Over an Art Gallery

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• Writing well

How to write a critique

• Starting well
• How to write an annotated bibliography
• How to write a case study response
• How to write an empirical article
• How to write an essay
• How to write a literature review
• How to write a reflective task
• How to write a report
• Finishing well

Before you start writing, it is important to have a thorough understanding of the work that will be critiqued.

• Study the work under discussion.
• Make notes on key parts of the work.
• Develop an understanding of the main argument or purpose being expressed in the work.
• Consider how the work relates to a broader issue or context.

Example template

There are a variety of ways to structure a critique. You should always check your unit materials or Canvas site for guidance from your lecturer. The following template, which showcases the main features of a critique, is provided as one example.

Introduction

Typically, the introduction is short (less than 10% of the word length) and you should:

• name the work being reviewed as well as the date it was created and the name of the author/creator
• describe the main argument or purpose of the work
• explain the context in which the work was created - this could include the social or political context, the place of the work in a creative or academic tradition, or the relationship between the work and the creator’s life experience
• have a concluding sentence that signposts what your evaluation of the work will be - for instance, it may indicate whether it is a positive, negative, or mixed evaluation.

Briefly summarise the main points and objectively describe how the creator portrays these by using techniques, styles, media, characters or symbols. This summary should not be the focus of the critique and is usually shorter than the critical evaluation.

Critical evaluation

This section should give a systematic and detailed assessment of the different elements of the work, evaluating how well the creator was able to achieve the purpose through these. For example: you would assess the plot structure, characterisation and setting of a novel; an assessment of a painting would look at composition, brush strokes, colour and light; a critique of a research project would look at subject selection, design of the experiment, analysis of data and conclusions.

A critical evaluation does not simply highlight negative impressions. It should deconstruct the work and identify both strengths and weaknesses. It should examine the work and evaluate its success, in light of its purpose.

Examples of key critical questions that could help your assessment include:

• Who is the creator? Is the work presented objectively or subjectively?
• What are the aims of the work? Were the aims achieved?
• What techniques, styles, media were used in the work? Are they effective in portraying the purpose?
• What assumptions underlie the work? Do they affect its validity?
• What types of evidence or persuasion are used? Has evidence been interpreted fairly?
• How is the work structured? Does it favour a particular interpretation or point of view? Is it effective?
• Does the work enhance understanding of key ideas or theories? Does the work engage (or fail to engage) with key concepts or other works in its discipline?

This evaluation is written in formal academic style and logically presented. Group and order your ideas into paragraphs. Start with the broad impressions first and then move into the details of the technical elements. For shorter critiques, you may discuss the strengths of the works, and then the weaknesses. In longer critiques, you may wish to discuss the positive and negative of each key critical question in individual paragraphs.

To support the evaluation, provide evidence from the work itself, such as a quote or example, and you should also cite evidence from related sources. Explain how this evidence supports your evaluation of the work.

This is usually a very brief paragraph, which includes:

• a statement indicating the overall evaluation of the work
• a summary of the key reasons, identified during the critical evaluation, why this evaluation was formed
• in some circumstances, recommendations for improvement on the work may be appropriate.

Reference list

Include all resources cited in your critique. Check with your lecturer/tutor for which referencing style to use.

• Mentioned the name of the work, the date of its creation and the name of the creator?
• Accurately summarised the work being critiqued?
• Mainly focused on the critical evaluation of the work?
• Systematically outlined an evaluation of each element of the work to achieve the overall purpose?
• Used evidence, from the work itself as well as other sources, to back and illustrate my assessment of elements of the work?
• Formed an overall evaluation of the work, based on critical reading?
• Used a well structured introduction, body and conclusion?
• Used correct grammar, spelling and punctuation; clear presentation; and appropriate referencing style?

Further information

• University of New South Wales: Writing a Critical Review
• University of Toronto: The Book Review or Article Critique

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Art Critiques: A Guide (second edition, chapters 1-7)

The link here is to chapters from the second edition of the book. The third, final, edition is available on Amazon. The book contains a history of critiques; different forms of critiques worldwide; analyses of transcribed critiques; a chapter on the differences between critique, criticism Kritik, and criticality; theories about criticism that might be pertinent to critiques; conceptual models for critiques (that they are like seductions, like legal cases, etc.); lists of words and judgments heard in critiques; ideas for new kinds of critiques, etc. I think it's the only book of its kind.

Related Papers

James Elkins

This is a guide for art students. It's the second edition; a new edition appears every year. These chapters include a four page long list of ways to fail, and a description of a kind of critique in which the teacher remains silent. The book contains a history of critiques; different forms of critiques worldwide; analyses of transcribed critiques; a chapter on the differences between critique, criticism Kritik, and criticality; theories about criticism that might be pertinent to critiques; conceptual models for critiques (that they are like seductions, like legal cases, etc.); lists of words and judgments heard in critiques; ideas for new kinds of critiques, etc. I think it's the only book of its kind.

Sebastien Fitch

(2016). Studies in Art Education, 57(2), 185-187.

Kerr Houston

Mahsa Mashayekhi , Nader Ale Ebrahim نادر آل ابراهیم , Aida Torkamani , SABZALI MUSA KAHN

Research has been extremely involved in improving in the art criticism area. These improvements are reflected in scientific articles. This article purposed to investigate the 214 articles in art criticism to explore their main characteristics. These articles published in the Web of Science database of the Institute of Scientific Information (ISI) from the period of 1980 till 20 December 2013. Types of articles were article and review which is included in the study. The three top cited (more than 10 times citations) articles in art criticism were published in 1993 and 1999. The 214 articles mean citation rate was 0.87 (SD 2.38) times. Among the various fields, art (58.87%), arts humanities other topics (28.03%), both art and arts humanities other topics (5.14%), both art and education and educational research (2.33%), both art and history (1.40%), art, arts humanities other topics and literature (1.40%), both art and cultural studies (0.93%), both art and philosophy (0.93%), both art and literature (0.46%), and both arts humanities other topics and cultural studies (0.46%) were the most popular fields of research. The results showed that researches were done in the United States had highest citation which was written in English language.

"I was asked to write the entry on "Art Criticism" for the (then) Grove Dictionary of Art; the version I submitted contained the observation that, according to some notions of art criticism, all of art history is also a form of criticism. I noted that "by that definition, all thirty-seven volumes of this 'Grove Dictionary of Art,' which has involved over 7,600 scholars, is actually art criticism." The edited MS was returned with the sentence deleted; I complained to the editor of the dictionary, and I was told the sentence would be restored. It never was. (That's a little cautionary tale about the institutional differences between art history and art criticism.) Aside from that, this essay is an attempt to gather and arrange the major theories of art criticism."

Terry Barrett

This collection of lessons is meant to be a practical guide to help teachers engage children in art criticism. The lessons generally follow a similar format. Most suggest an age group but may be modified for use with younger or older students. Several authors suggest variations and extensions for lessons that include studio activities. A broad range of topics is embraced including popular art, the built and natural environment, multicultural concerns, and formalist and political contemporary museum art. Most of the lessons stress contemporary artifacts. Lessons include: (1) &quot;Creating a Climate for Talking about Art&quot; (Sandra Kay Mims); (2) &quot;A Potpourri of Questions for Criticizing Realistic Paintings&quot; (Karen A. Hamblen); (3) &quot;Constructing Meaning: A Gaming Strategy&quot; (Richard A. Ciganko); (4) &quot;Investigating Criteria for Judgments&quot; (Sally Hagaman; Polly Wolfe); (5) &quot;Collaborative Art Criticism: Not Mine, Not His, Not Hers-But Our Critique!&q...

Amanda Newman-Godfrey

JRSP-ELT (ISSN: 2456-8104)

JRSP-ELT - Journal for Research Scholars and Professionals of English Language Teaching

Criticism is a critical study of some subject or theme which seems as: an interpretation, assessment, analysis, judging merits, unfavorable opinions and systematic inquiry. It also gives the opportunity for context setting. Literary criticism may have a positive or a negative inclination as well as an investigation of someone's work of literature. Critical theory is the philosophical appraisal and analysis of society and culture and it keeps up that philosophy is the main snag to human freedom. There are various forms of criticism occurring in the day-today life.

Academia Letters

Rachel Cecília de Oliveira

Art Theory and Criticism Syllabus

Christine Shearer

This course will introduce students to both the practice and history of art theory and criticism. Students will study the theories and tactics that undergird art criticism as a unique discipline and explore its links to art history. Special attention will be paid to the various types of methodology that have been applied to the analysis of art, including connoisseurship, biography, iconology, psychoanalysis, semiotic, and feminist approaches.

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Art Essay Examples

Art Essay Examples to Get You Inspired - Top 10 Samples

Published on: May 4, 2023

Last updated on: Jan 30, 2024

Share this article

Are you struggling to come up with ideas for your art essay? Or are you looking for examples to help guide you in the right direction? 

Look no further, as we have got you covered!

In this blog, we provide a range of art writing examples that cover different art forms, time periods, and themes. Whether you're interested in the classics or contemporary art, we have something for everyone. These examples offer insight into how to structure your essay, analyze art pieces, and write compelling arguments.

So, let's explore our collection of art essay examples and take the first step toward becoming a better art writer!

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Good Art Essay Examples

In the following section, we will examine a selection of art essay examples that are inspiring for various academic levels.

College Art Essay Examples

Let’s take a look at college art essay examples below:  

The Intersection of Art and Politics: An Analysis of Picasso's Guernica

The Role of Nature in American Art: A Comparative Study

University Art Essay Examples

University-level art essay assignments often differ in length and complexity. Here are two examples:

Gender and Identity in Contemporary Art: A Comparative Study

Art and Activism: The Role of Street Art in Political Movements

A Level Art Essay Examples

Below are some art paper examples A level. Check out: 

The Use Of Color In Wassily Kandinsky's Composition Viii

The Influence of African Art on Pablo Picasso's Les Demoiselles D'avignon

A Level Fine Art Essay Examples

If you're a student of fine arts, these A-level fine arts examples can serve as inspiration for your own work.

The Use Of Texture In Vincent Van Gogh's Starry Night

Exploring Identity Through Portraiture: A Comparative Study

Art Essay Examples IELTS 

The Impact of Art on Mental Health

The Effects of Technology on Art And Creativity

Paper Due? Why Suffer? That's our Job!

AP Art Essay Examples

A Comparison of Neoclassical and Romantic Art

An Examination Of The Effects Of Globalization On Contemporary Art

Types of Art Essay with Examples

Art essays can be categorized into different types. Let's take a brief look at these types with examples:

Art Criticism Essay : A critical essay analyzing and evaluating an artwork, its elements, and its meaning.

The Persistence of Memory" by Salvador Dali: A Critical Analysis

Art History Essay: A comprehensive essay that examines the historical context, development, and significance of an artwork or art movement.

The Renaissance: A Rebirth of Artistic Expression

Exhibition Review: A review of an art exhibition that evaluates the quality and significance of the artwork on display.

A Review of the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Exhibition

Contemporary Art Essay: An essay that explores and analyzes contemporary art and its cultural and social context.

The Intersection of Technology and Art in Contemporary Society

Modern Art Essay: An essay that examines modern art and its significance in the development of modernism.

Cubism and its Influence on Modern Art [insert pdf]

Art Theory Essay: An essay that analyzes and critiques various theories and approaches to art.

Feminist Art Theory: A Critical Analysis of its Impact on Contemporary Art [insert pdf]

Additional Art Essay Example

Let’s take a brief look at some added art essay samples:

Artwork Essay Example

Artist Essay Example

Advanced Higher Art Essay Example

Common Art Essay Prompts

Here are some common art essay topics that you may encounter during your coursework:

• Describe a piece of artwork that has inspired you.
• A comparative analysis of Leonardo da Vinci's Mona Lisa and Michelangelo's David.
• Analyze the cultural significance of a particular art movement.
• Discuss the relationship between art and politics.
• Compare and contrast two works of art from different time periods or cultures.
• The representation of identity in art
• The Evolution of Artists' Paintings:
• From Traditional to Contemporary Art
• The representation of identity in Frida Kahlo's self-portraits.
• The significance of oil on canvas in the history of art.
• The significance of the Mona Lisa in the Italian Renaissance

Art Essay Topics IELTS

Here are some art essay topics for IELTS students. Take a look: 

• The value of art education.
• The role of museums in preserving art and culture.
• The impact of globalization on contemporary art.
• The influence of technology on art and artists.
• The significance of public art in urban environments.

Tips For Writing a Successful Art Essay

Here are some tips for writing a stand-out art essay:

• Develop a clear thesis statement that guides your essay: Your thesis statement should clearly and concisely state the main argument of your essay.
• Conduct thorough research and analysis of the artwork you are writing about : This includes examining the visual elements of the artwork, researching the artist, and considering the historical significance.
• Use formal and precise language to discuss the artwork: Avoid using colloquial language and instead focus on using formal language to describe the artwork.
• Include specific examples from the artwork to support your arguments: Use specific details from the artwork to back up your analysis.
• Avoid personal bias and subjective language: Your essay should be objective and avoid using personal opinions or subjective language.
• Consider the historical and cultural context of the artwork: Analyze the artwork in the context of the time period and cultural context in which they were created.
• Edit and proofread your essay carefully before submitting it: Ensure your essay is well-organized, coherent, and free of grammatical errors and typos.
• Use proper citation format when referencing sources: Follow the appropriate citation style guidelines and give credit to all sources used in your essay.
• Be concise and focused in your writing: Stick to your main thesis statement and avoid going off-topic or including irrelevant information.
• Read your essay aloud to ensure clarity and coherence: Reading your essay out loud can help you identify inconsistencies or any other mistakes.

The Bottom Line!

We hope that the art essay examples we've explored have provided you with inspiration for your own essay. Art offers endless possibilities for analysis, and your essay is a chance to showcase your unique opinions.

Use these examples as a guide to craft an essay that reflects your personality while demonstrating your knowledge of the subject.

Short on time? Let CollegeEssay.org help you! All you have to do is to ask our experts, " write college essay for me " and they'll help you secure top grades in college.

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How to craft an effective critique essay – a step-by-step guide to capturing readers’ attention, providing insightful analysis, and offering constructive feedback.

Evaluating someone else’s writing can be a challenging task, but with the right tools and approach, you can become a skillful critic in no time. Whether you’re analyzing a piece of literature, an article, or a research paper, a critique essay allows you to delve into the elements that make up a strong written work.

By honing your critical thinking skills, you’ll be able to identify the strengths and weaknesses of a piece and provide insightful feedback. Through this process, you’ll not only improve your own writing abilities but also enhance your understanding and appreciation of the written word.

In this comprehensive article, we will equip you with the essential techniques and strategies needed to write an effective critique essay. From analyzing the structure and organization of a piece to evaluating the author’s arguments and evidence, you’ll learn how to assess a work’s strengths and weaknesses with precision and clarity.

What is a Critique Essay and Why is it Important?

A critique essay is a type of academic writing that involves analyzing and evaluating a piece of work, such as a book, film, artwork, or research paper. Unlike a simple summary or review, a critique essay goes beyond providing a surface-level examination of the work and delves into an in-depth analysis of its strengths, weaknesses, and overall value.

But why is writing a critique essay important? Well, there are several reasons. Firstly, it allows you to develop critical thinking skills by carefully examining and assessing the merits of a work. This type of analysis helps you become more discerning and thoughtful in your judgments, which is a valuable skill in many aspects of life.

In addition, writing a critique essay encourages you to become an active participant in the intellectual discourse surrounding a particular topic or field. By engaging with a work and providing your own analysis, you are contributing to the ongoing conversation and expanding the collective understanding of the subject matter.

Furthermore, a critique essay can serve as a useful tool for the creator of the work being critiqued. Constructive criticism can provide valuable insights and suggestions for improvement, helping the creator gain a fresh perspective and refine their skills.

Ultimately, the importance of writing a critique essay lies in its ability to foster critical thinking, contribute to intellectual discourse, and provide constructive feedback. Whether you are a student honing your analytical skills or a professional offering insights in your field, learning how to effectively critique a work is a valuable and essential skill.

Choosing a Topic for Your Critique Essay

When it comes to writing a critique essay, the first and most important step is choosing a topic that is both interesting and suitable for critique. The topic you choose will determine the direction and focus of your essay, as well as the arguments and evidence you will present. It is crucial to select a topic that you are passionate about and have a strong opinion on, as this will make the writing process more enjoyable and engaging.

When considering potential topics for your critique essay, it can be helpful to brainstorm a list of subjects that you have recently encountered in your studies, personal life, or current events. This can include books, movies, artworks, scientific studies, political speeches, or social issues. Reflect on your experiences and think about which topics have sparked your interest or elicited an emotional response.

Once you have a list of potential topics, narrow it down to one that you feel confident in critiquing. Consider the availability of resources and research materials related to the topic, as well as the relevance and significance of the subject matter. It is important to choose a topic that is not too broad or too narrow, but one that allows for a thorough analysis and evaluation.

Furthermore, when selecting a topic for your critique essay, consider the potential audience and the purpose of your writing. Are you writing for a specific academic or professional audience, or for a general readership? Is your goal to persuade, inform, or entertain? Understanding your audience and purpose will help you choose a topic that is relevant, engaging, and appropriate for your intended readers.

In conclusion, the process of choosing a topic for your critique essay requires careful consideration and reflection. By selecting a topic that you are passionate about, narrowing down your options, and considering the audience and purpose of your writing, you can ensure that your critique essay is engaging, informative, and well-structured.

Effective Methods for Analyzing and Evaluating the Work

When it comes to critiquing a piece of work, it is important to employ effective methods for analyzing and evaluating the work. These methods allow you to objectively assess the strengths and weaknesses of the work while providing constructive feedback.

One method for analyzing the work is to carefully examine the overall structure and organization. This involves evaluating the flow of ideas and the logical progression of the work. Pay attention to how well the work introduces and supports its main argument or thesis statement. Look for any inconsistencies or gaps in the logic and assess the effectiveness of the transitions between ideas.

Additionally, it is important to assess the use of evidence and examples in the work. Look for both quantitative and qualitative evidence that supports the main argument. Evaluate the credibility and relevance of the sources cited and determine if they strengthen the overall argument. Consider the quality of the examples provided and how well they illustrate the key points of the work.

Another critical aspect to evaluate in the work is the clarity and effectiveness of the writing style. Assess the use of language, considering factors such as clarity, conciseness, and precision. Look for any instances of wordiness or ambiguity and consider how well the writer communicates their ideas. Pay attention to the use of tone and voice and evaluate if they are appropriate for the intended audience.

Furthermore, it is essential to consider the originality and creativity of the work. Analyze whether the ideas presented are innovative and unique, or if they rely heavily on existing research and ideas. Evaluate the extent to which the writer brings a fresh perspective or contributes new insights to the topic. Consider the level of critical thinking and depth of analysis demonstrated in the work.

Finally, it is crucial to provide constructive feedback when evaluating the work. Identify specific strengths and weaknesses and provide evidence to support your analysis. Offer suggestions for improvement and recommend areas where the writer can further develop their ideas or arguments. Remember to maintain a balance between positive and negative feedback to help the writer grow and improve their work.

• Analyze the overall structure and organization of the work
• Assess the use of evidence and examples
• Evaluate the clarity and effectiveness of the writing style
• Analyze the originality and creativity of the ideas presented
• Provide constructive feedback and suggestions for improvement

By utilizing these effective methods for analyzing and evaluating the work, you will be able to provide a comprehensive critique that offers valuable insights and helps the writer enhance their work.

Tips for Writing a Strong and Persuasive Critique Essay

When crafting a critique essay, it is essential to adopt a strong and persuasive writing style to effectively convey your thoughts and opinions. By employing certain techniques and considerations, you can enhance the impact of your critique and make it more persuasive. This section will provide valuable tips to help you write a compelling critique essay.

First and foremost, clarity and conciseness are key. Make sure your critique is written in a clear and straightforward manner, avoiding any unnecessary jargon or complex language. This will ensure that your ideas are easily understood by your readers, allowing them to fully grasp your perspective.

Additionally, providing evidence and examples is crucial to strengthen your critique. Back up your opinions with credible sources, such as research studies, statistical data, or expert opinions. This will make your arguments more persuasive and lend credibility to your critique.

It is also important to offer a balanced perspective in your critique. While expressing your own views, be sure to acknowledge and address counterarguments or differing opinions. This will demonstrate your ability to consider multiple perspectives and make your critique more comprehensive and well-rounded.

Using persuasive language and rhetorical devices can significantly enhance the impact of your critique. Employ techniques such as persuasive appeals (ethos, logos, pathos), rhetorical questions, metaphors, and analogies to captivate your readers and engage them on an emotional and intellectual level.

Structuring your critique in a logical and organized manner is another essential aspect. Break down your critique into distinct sections, such as introduction, body paragraphs discussing various aspects of the subject, and a conclusion summarizing your main points and reinforcing your overall perspective. This will make your critique more coherent and reader-friendly.

Consider your target audience when writing your critique. Tailor your language, tone, and style to resonate with your intended readers. Adapt your arguments and examples to align with their interests, values, and beliefs. This will make your critique more relatable and persuasive to your specific audience.

Lastly, support your arguments with credible sources. Incorporating research findings, expert opinions, or firsthand experiences will strengthen the validity of your critique and provide additional weight to your arguments. This will make your critique more persuasive and enhance its overall impact.

By following these tips, you can ensure that your critique essay is not only strong but also persuasive. By employing clear and concise language, providing evidence and examples, offering a balanced perspective, using persuasive language and rhetorical devices, structuring effectively, considering your target audience, and supporting your arguments with credible sources, you can craft a compelling critique essay that effectively conveys your thoughts and opinions.

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How to Write a Critique Paper: Format, Tips, & Critique Essay Examples

A critique paper is an academic writing genre that summarizes and gives a critical evaluation of a concept or work. Or, to put it simply, it is no more than a summary and a critical analysis of a specific issue. This type of writing aims to evaluate the impact of the given work or concept in its field.

Want to learn more? Continue reading this article written by Custom-writing experts! It contains:

• best tips on how to critique an article or a literary work,
• a critique paper example with introduction, body, and conclusion.

💁 What Is a Critique Paper?

• 👣 Critical Writing Steps

👀 Critical Essay Types

📝 critique paper format, 📑 critique paper outline, 🔗 references.

A critique is a particular academic writing genre that requires you to carefully study, summarize, and critically analyze a study or a concept. In other words, it is nothing more than a critical analysis. That is all you are doing when writing a critical essay: trying to understand the work and present an evaluation. Critical essays can be either positive or negative, as the work deserves.

👣 How to Write a Critique Essay: Main Steps

Starting critique essays is the most challenging part. You are supposed to substantiate your opinion with quotes and paraphrases, avoiding retelling the entire text. A critical analysis aims to find out whether an article or another piece of writing is compelling. First, you need to formulate the author’s thesis: what was the literary work supposed to convey? Then, explore the text on how this main idea was elaborated. Finally, draft your critique according to the structure given below.

Step 1: Critical Reading

1.1. Attentively read the literary work. While reading, make notes and underline the essentials.

• Try to come into the author’s world and think why they wrote such a piece.
• Point out which literary devices are successful. Some research in literary theory may be required.
• Find out what you dislike about the text, i.e., controversies, gaps, inconsistency, or incompleteness.

1.2. Find or formulate the author’s thesis. 

• What is the principal argument? In an article, it can be found in the first paragraph.
• In a literary work, formulate one of the principal themes, as the thesis is not explicit.
• If you write a critique of painting, find out what feelings, emotions, or ideas, the artist attempted to project.

1.3. Make a summary or synopsis of the analyzed text. 

• One paragraph will suffice. You can use it in your critique essay, if necessary.
• The point is to explore the gist.

Step 2: Analyzing the Text

After the reading phase, ask yourself the following questions :

• What was your emotional response to the text? Which techniques, images, or ideas made you feel so?
• Find out the author’s background. Which experiences made them raise such a thesis? What other significant works have they written that demonstrate the general direction of thought of this person?
• Are the concepts used correctly in the text? Are the references reliable, and do they sufficiently substantiate the author’s opinion?

Step 3: Drafting the Essay

Finally, it is time to draft your essay. First of all, you’ll need to write a brief overview of the text you’re analyzing. Then, formulate a thesis statement – one sentence that will contain your opinion of the work under scrutiny. After that, make a one-paragraph summary of the text.

You can use this simple template for the draft version of your analysis. Another thing that can help you at this step is a summary creator to make the creative process more efficient.

Critique Paper Template

• Start with an introductory phrase about the domain of the work in question.
• Tell which work you are going to analyze, its author, and year of publication.
• Specify the principal argument of the work under study.
• In the third sentence, clearly state your thesis.
• Here you can insert the summary you wrote before.
• This is the only place where you can use it. No summary can be written in the main body!
• Use one paragraph for every separate analyzed aspect of the text (style, organization, fairness/bias, etc.).
• Each paragraph should confirm your thesis (e.g., whether the text is effective or ineffective).
• Each paragraph shall start with a topic sentence, followed by evidence, and concluded with a statement referring to the thesis.
• Provide a final judgment on the effectiveness of the piece of writing.
• Summarize your main points and restate the thesis, indicating that everything you said above confirms it.

You can evaluate the chosen work or concept in several ways. Pick the one you feel more comfortable with from the following:

• Descriptive critical essays examine texts or other works. Their primary focus is usually on certain features of a work, and it is common to compare and contrast the subject of your analysis to a classic example of the genre to which it belongs.
• Evaluative critical essays provide an estimate of the value of the work. Was it as good as you expected based on the recommendations, or do you feel your time would have been better spent on something else?
• Interpretive essays provide your readers with answers that relate to the meaning of the work in question. To do this, you must select a method of determining the meaning, read/watch/observe your analysis subject using this method, and put forth an argument.

There are also different types of critiques. The University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, in the article “ Writing critiques ,” discusses them as well as the appropriate critique language.

Critique Paper Topics

• Critique of the article Is Google Making Us Stupid? by Nicholas Carr .
• Interpret the symbolism of Edgar Alan Poe’s The Black Cat .
• Examine the topicality of the article Impact of Racial/Ethnic Differences on Child Mental Health Care .
• Critical essay on Alice Walker’s short story Everyday Use .
• Discuss the value of the essay The Hanging by George Orwell.
• A critique on the article Stocks Versus Bonds: Explaining the Equity Risk Premium .
• Explore the themes Tennessee Williams reveals in The Glass Menagerie.
• Analyze the relevance of the article Leadership Characteristics and Digital Transformation .
• Critical evaluation of Jonathan Harvey’s play Beautiful Thing .
• Analyze and critique Derek Raymond’s story He Died with His Eyes Open .
• Discuss the techniques author uses to present the problem of choice in The Plague .
• Examine and evaluate the research article Using Evidence-Based Practice to Prevent Ventilator-Associated Pneumonia .
• Explore the scientific value of the article Our Future: A Lancet Commission on Adolescent Health and Wellbeing .
• Describe the ideas E. Hemingway put into his A Clean, Well-Lighted Place .
• Analyze the literary qualities of Always Running La Vida Loca: Gang Days in L. A .
• Critical writing on The Incarnation of Power by Wright Mills.
• Explain the strengths and shortcomings of Tim Kreider’s article The Busy Trap .
• Critical response to Woolf’s novel Mrs. Dalloway .
• Examine the main idea of Richard Godbeer’s book Escaping Salem .
• The strong and weak points of the article The Confusion of Tongues by William G. Bellshaw .
• Critical review of Gulliver’s Travels .
• Analyze the stylistic devices Anthony Lewis uses in Gideon’s Trumpet.
• Examine the techniques Elie Wiesel uses to show relationship transformation in the book Night .
• Critique of the play Fences by August Wilson.
• The role of exposition in Achebe’s novel Things Fall Apart.
• The main themes John Maxwell discusses in his book Disgrace .
• Critical evaluation of Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451 .
• The ideas and concept of the book The Vegetarian Imperative .
• Different points of view on one historical figure in the book Two Lives of Charlemagne .

Since the APA critique paper format is one of the most common, let’s discuss it in more detail. Check out the information below to learn more:

The APA Manual recommends using the following fonts:

• 11-point Calibri,
• 11-point Arial,
• 10-point Lucida Sans Unicode,
• 12-point Times New Roman,
• 11-point Georgia,
• 10-point Computer Modern.

Add 1-inch margins on all sides.

📌 Page numbers

Page numbers should appear at the top right-hand corner, starting with the title page.

📌 Line spacing

The entire document, including the title page and reference list, should be double-spaced.

📌 Title page

The title page should include the following information:

• page number 1 in the top right-hand corner of the page header,
• paper title,
• the student’s name,
• the name of the department and the college or university,
• course number and name,
• the instructor’s name,
• due date (the date format used in your country).

📌 Critique paper title

The title of your critique paper should be no more than 12 words. In addition, it should be centered and typed in bold using title case.

📌 In-text citations

For the in-text citation, provide the author’s last name and publication year in brackets. If you are using direct citation, add the page number after the year.

📌 References

The last page of your paper should include a list of all sources cited in your essay. Here’s a general format of book and journal article citations you should use:

Book: Last name, First initial. Middle initial. (Year). Book title: Subtitle . Publisher.

Journal article: Last name, First initial. Middle initial. (Year). Title of the article. Journal Title, volume (issue number), start page–end page.

The main parts of good critical response essays are:

• Introduction. The introduction is the most essential part of the critical response. It should be concise and include the author and title of the work being analyzed, its main idea, and a strong thesis statement.
• Summary. This should be brief and to the point. Only the author’s/creator’s main ideas and arguments should be included.
• Analysis/interpretation. Discuss what the author’s/creator’s primary goal was and determine whether this goal was reached successfully. Use the evidence you have gathered to argue whether or not the author/creator achieved was adequately convincing (remember there should be no personal bias in this discussion).
• Evaluation/response. At this point, your readers are ready to learn your objective response to the work. It should be professional yet entertaining to read. Do not hesitate to use strong language. You can say that the work you analyzed was weak and poorly-structured if that is the case, but keep in mind that you have to have evidence to back up your claim.
• Conclusion. The last paragraph of your work should restate the thesis statement, summarize the key points, and create a sense of closure for the readers.

Critique Paper Introduction

The introduction is setting the stage for your analysis. Here are some tips to follow when working on it:

• Provide the reader with a brief synopsis of the main points of the work you are critiquing .
• State your general opinion of the work , using it as your thesis statement. The ideal situation is that you identify and use a controversial thesis.
• Remember that you will uncover a lot of necessary information about the work you are critiquing. You mustn’t make use of all of it, providing the reader with information that is unnecessary in your critique. If you are writing about Shakespeare, you don’t have to waste your or your reader’s time going through all of his works.

Critique Paper Body

The body of the critique contains the supporting paragraphs. This is where you will provide the facts that prove your main idea and support your thesis. Follow the tips below when writing the body of your critique.

• Every paragraph must focus on a precise concept from the paper under your scrutiny , and your job is to include arguments to support or disprove that concept. Concrete evidence is required.
• A critical essay is written in the third-person and ensures the reader is presented with an objective analysis.
• Discuss whether the author was able to achieve their goals and adequately get their point across.
• It is important not to confuse facts and opinions . An opinion is a personal thought and requires confirmation, whereas a fact is supported by reliable data and requires no further proof. Do not back up one idea with another one.
• Remember that your purpose is to provide the reader with an understanding of a particular piece of literature or other work from your perspective. Be as specific as possible.

Critique Paper Conclusion

Finally, you will need to write a conclusion for your critique. The conclusion reasserts your overall general opinion of the ideas presented in the text and ensures there is no doubt in the reader’s mind about what you believe and why. Follow these tips when writing your conclusion:

• Summarize the analysis you provided in the body of the critique.
• Summarize the primary reasons why you made your analysis .
• Where appropriate, provide recommendations on how the work you critiqued can be improved.

For more details on how to write a critique, check out the great critique analysis template provided by Thompson Rivers University.

If you want more information on essay writing in general, look at the Secrets of Essay Writing .

Example of Critique Paper with Introduction, Body, and Conclusion

Check out this critical response example to “The Last Inch” by James Aldridge to show how everything works in practice:

Introduction 

In his story “The Last Inch,” James Aldridge addresses the issue of the relationship between parents and children. The author captured the young boy’s coming into maturity coinciding with a challenging trial. He also demonstrated how the twelve-year-old boy obtained his father’s character traits. Aldridge’s prose is both brutal and poetic, expressing his characters’ genuine emotions and the sad truths of their situations.

Body: Summary 

The story is about Ben Ensley, an unemployed professional pilot, who decides to capture underwater shots for money. He travels to Shark Bay with his son, Davy. Ben is severely injured after being attacked by a shark while photographing. His last hope of survival is to fly back to the little African hamlet from where they took off.

Body: Analysis 

The story effectively uses the themes of survival and fatherhood and has an intriguing and captivating plot. In addition, Ben’s metamorphosis from a failing pilot to a determined survivor is effectively presented. His bond with his son, Davy, adds depth and emotional importance to the story. At the same time, the background information about Ben’s past and his life before the shark attack could be more effectively integrated into the main story rather than being presented as separate blocks of text.

Body: Evaluation 

I find “The Last Inch” by James Aldridge a very engaging and emotional story since it highlights the idea of a father’s unconditional love and determination in the face of adversity. I was also impressed by the vivid descriptions and strong character development of the father and son.

Conclusion 

“The Last Inch” by James Aldridge is an engaging and emotional narrative that will appeal to readers of all ages. It is a story of strength, dedication, and the unbreakable link between father and son. Though some backstory could be integrated more smoothly, “The Last Inch” impresses with its emotional punch. It leaves the readers touched by the raw power of fatherly love and human will.

📚 Critique Essay Examples

With all of the information and tips provided above, your way will become clearer when you have a solid example of a critique essay.

Below is a critical response to The Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte Perkins Gilman.

When speaking of feminist literature that is prominent and manages to touch on incredibly controversial issues, The Yellow Wallpaper is the first book that comes to mind. Written from a first-person perspective, magnifying the effect of the narrative, the short story by Charlotte Perkins Gilman introduces the reader to the problem of the physical and mental health of the women of the 19th century. However, the message that is intended to concern feminist ideas is rather subtle. Written in the form of several diary entries, the novel offers a mysterious plot, and at the same time, shockingly realistic details.

What really stands out about the novel is the fact that the reader is never really sure how much of the story takes place in reality and how much of it happens in the psychotic mind of the protagonist. In addition, the novel contains a plethora of description that contributes to the strain and enhances the correlation between the atmosphere and the protagonist’s fears: “The color is repellent, almost revolting; a smoldering unclean yellow, strangely faded by the slow-turning sunlight” (Gilman).

Despite Gilman’s obvious intent to make the novel a feminist story with a dash of thriller thrown in, the result is instead a thriller with a dash of feminism, as Allen (2009) explains. However, there is no doubt that the novel is a renowned classic. Offering a perfect portrayal of the 19th-century stereotypes, it is a treasure that is certainly worth the read.

If you need another critique essay example, take a look at our sample on “ The Importance of Being Earnest ” by Oscar Wilde.

And here are some more critique paper examples for you check out:

• A Good Man Is Hard to Find: Critique Paper
• Critique on “The Yellow Wallpaper” by Charlotte Perkins Gilman
• “When the Five Rights Go Wrong” Article Critique
• Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey — Comparison & Critique   
• Benefits and Disadvantages of Prone Positioning in Severe Acute Respiratory Distress: Article Critique
• Reducing Stress in Student Nurses: Article Critique
• Management of Change and Professional Safety – Article Critique
• “Views of Young People Towards Physical Activity”: Article Critique

Seeing an example of a critique is so helpful. You can find many other examples of a critique paper at the University of Minnesota and John Hopkins University. Plus, you can check out this video for a great explanation of how to write a critique.

• Critical Analysis
• Writing an Article Critique
• The Critique Essay
• Critique Essay
• Writing a Critique
• Writing A Book Critique
• Media Critique
• Tips for an Effective Creative Writing Critique
• How to Write an Article Critique
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When you are assigned an autobiography to write, tens, and even hundreds of questions start buzzing in your head. How to write autobiography essay parts? What to include? How to make your autobiography writing flow? Don’t worry about all this and use the following three simple principles and 15 creative...

A life experience essay combines the elements of narration, description, and self-reflection. Such a paper has to focus on a single event that had a significant impact on a person’s worldview and values. Writing an essay about life experience prompts students to do the following: You may struggle with such...

Who has made a significant impact in your life and why? Essay on the topic might be challenging to write. One is usually asked to write such a text as a college admission essay. A topic for this paper can be of your choice or pre-established by the institution. Either...

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