Formal analysis is a type of visual description used when observing art. It isn’t used for understanding the themes and context of an art work but to simply describe exactly what is seen.  When art work is being formally analyzed the components that are being looked at are   lines, shapes, space, and  color. All of these elements come together to show a story or someones account of a particular event or idea. When we look at lines during formal analysis we check to see if the lines are horizontal or vertical or diagonal and how they are all incorporated together to suggest where we should look next on the piece.  When looking at different forms and shapes in a piece we check to see how large or small  they are especially in comparison to each other. Next up we see the spaces in the artwork which gives us ideas about the depth of things. Of course color is very important for it sets the mood of a piece. Paintings can be very dark with few colors being used and they can also be bright and vibrant with many colors  being used

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