Formal analysis is the way how viewers interpret the art, and not how the artist wants us to see it through their point of view. During the 17th century, a French academician named Roger de Piles wrote a book called The Principles of Painting and was basically a how art is broken down into different compositions such as drawing, color, and expression.

A famous art critic named Roger Fry also broke down the compositions in a more detailed way. He broke down colors with lines, dark and light, shadows, and volumes, which gives art more depth. Fry believed the greater the work, the less it can be explained by writing.