For this first paper, you are to choose two works of art from within a single cultural period from those that we have studied this semester that focus on the same subject (for example, two paintings of the Annunciation). The works of art may not be works we discussed in class! This paper will focus on what we call “visual analysis“: you are to examine the artistic construction of the work of art in as many facets as possible—if it is a painting, for example, how the paint is applied, what the color scheme is like, whether the figures are rendered in a style that articulates their body according to the visual patterns we see in the real world, etc.—and explain how these patterns give form to some idea about the subject matter. Remember the discussion of the Annunciation we had in class: Netherlandish artists tended to focus on allegory, expressing their ideas about the mystical meaning of the impregnation of the Virgin Mary through symbols, whereas Italian artists preferred to present a more dramatic vision of it, in which allegory and mysticism were minimized, in favor of the emotional expressiveness of Mary. As we discussed, this kind of thing was articulated through the actual ways the artists painted! So: do this, but for another topic.
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