Subject Guides
Art & Architectural History
Guide to resources in art and architectural history.
Citation Help
- Citation Help & Academic HonestyHow to cite using MLA, APA, & Chicago, plus links to other citation styles. Information on how to avoid problems with plagiarism.
Introductory Sources for Art History
Listed below are fundamental texts for beginners in art historical study. The following books give examples and recommendations on how to write using the Chicago Manual of Style along with basic introductions to the theories and methodologies used in the discipline of Art History.
Short Guide to Writing about Art by Publication Date: 2005Teaches students to analyze pictures (drawings, paintings, photographs), sculptures and architecture, and prepares them with the tools they need to present their ideas in effective writing.
Methods and Theories of Art History by Call Number: N380 .D35 2012Publication Date: 2012This book provides an accessible introduction to the range of critical theories used in analyzing art. It covers a broad range of approaches, presenting individual arguments, controversies, and divergent perspectives. Clearly written, this book is ideal for the undergraduate student or anyone interested in the world of ideas.
Art History by Call Number: N7480 .H38 2006Publication Date: 2006Unique in its approach, by applying the different theories used in art history to one painting, Picasso's Les Demoiselles d'Avignon An ideal text for teaching, it provides a lively and stimulating introduction to methodological debates within the subject Offers a lucid account of approaches from Hegel to post-colonialism by explaining the philosophical and political assumptions behind each approach using clear examples Offers a sense of art history's own history as a discipline, from its emergence in the late-eighteenth century to contemporary practices
Formal Analysis
Sylvan Barnet describes the formal analysis as "the result of looking closely...an analysis of the form the artist produces; that is, an analysis of the work of art, which is made up of such things as line, shape, color, texture, mass, composition."
A Short Guide to Writing About Art, 10th ed. (New York: Pearson, 2011), 46.
Conducting a formal (visual) analysis is a useful exercise that can assist you in looking and understanding a work of art. By breaking down a work's formal elements, you might find insight into the artist's creative process. Often times a formal analysis will aid you in identifying a starting point for discussion by using descriptions of the work's line, shape, color, texture, or composition. Below are some helpful links that describe in further detail how to conduct a formal analysis.
- Short Guide to Writing about Art by Publication Date: 2005Teaches students to analyze pictures (drawings, paintings, photographs), sculptures and architecture, and prepares them with the tools they need to present their ideas in effective writing.
