This assignment is meant to introduce you to a major form of art historical writing, the scholarly essay. Such writing includes many of the elements you’ve already practiced, including:
locating and assembling information about art objects
research into the object’s provenance
careful and detailed description of the work of art
In addition, however, it requires:
research on the artist and their aesthetic philosophies
research into the circumstances surrounding the creation of the work and the historical and social milieu in which it was made, obtained, and viewed
research on and comparison with other artistic examples by the same artist, of the same time, or from the same period
assertions about the work’s importance, its meanings and impacts
The Scholarly Essay component of the Art Exhibition Project requires you to undertake this type of research on the art object you’ve chosen and write a 1,500-word paper (about 6 double spaced pages) that incorporates a revised version of the description you submitted earlier and about which you received feedback.
Your instructors will provide necessary training throughout the semester to enable you to complete this assignment successfully. In addition to sessions devoted to close looking, they will teach you about how to conduct art historical research (February 14) and how to use citations properly (February 28).
In your discussion section meeting on April 3rd, your instructor will provide more specific training on how to compose this essay using your description as a basis to formulate a research question, your research to inform an original argument, and your observations to provide visual evidence that supports your claims. But you can get a head start by looking at some examples here. The essay is due on April 29th and will be evaluated according to the following criteria:
the effectiveness of the description
the clarity of writing and logical development of the argument
the extent to which the thesis is clear and articulate
the extent to which the thesis is convincing and well argued
the effective use of visual evidence
the effective use of textual evidence
the extent to which the paper cites sources properly
