Formal Analysis is a way to specifically describe a piece of art work. It is a representation of how a piece of art is viewed. The viewer evaluates the piece of art through a series of questions such as how the piece came to be, who or what it portrays, when the piece was created, and etc. There are multiple characteristics used when the viewer uses formal analysis to describe and explain a piece of art. Characteristics such as contrast, size/scale, line, color, position, composition, material, illusionism, mimesis, modelling, chiaro/scuro, and depth. The main reason formal analysis is used when evaluating and describing a piece of art is to show the central focus, what is most important about a piece of work, and for the artist to express the painting, drawing or etc. by showing the viewer instead of telling the viewer what goes on in the piece of work. When we say formal analysis it basically means evaluating what the artist left us to view and how this work came to be, historically and physically throughout time. With formal analysis we can conclude what the artist has done based on their piece of work and how that brush stroke or whatever it may be represents what we see and not what we know.
Tag: Blog 4 : Formal Analysis
What is Formal Analysis?
What is formal analysis?
Formal Analysis can be defined simple as exploring the visual effects the work has on the viewer and what the artist wanted to accomplish visually. This method focuses primarily on questioning the visual and physical aspect of the artwork. Focusing on lines,shapes,color schemes,texture, form,etc. It’s questioning the work and looking for the answer in the work itself. Formal analysis is the explanation in which, why certain visual effects are arranged and placed in the composition.
Formal Analysis
Formal Analysis is how people contextualize the ideas, themes, and purpose of The given art. In formal analysis we study and compare color, line work, space and mass, and scale to break down the piece to get a basic idea of what the art wants to portray. Color attributes to how different hues, shades and the saturation of a piece. This works with the composition with space, mass and lines; different spots are highlighted to focus an object or and action creating a contrast. Lines give a better silhouette playing with the light and dark. Scale maintains the proportion and visually presents the most dominance.
Contextual analysis is to define the meaning of the art by inspecting the surrounding history of it, the reason it was made. Since formal analysis and contextual analysis are inseparable we must study both to interpret the full meaning to the art. People usually try to contextualize it themselves and due to different bias can come to different conclusions.
Blog 4 : Formal Analysis
Formal analysis is basically explaining a form of art from your personal interpretation, or the creators point of view, it can be analyzing a piece of art for a different meaning than it was intending to be. It can either be different features of the art or the significance of the art piece in correlation to the time period it was made. From the size, shapes, colors and lines, you can analyze an art by looking at what makes it special and what meanings does it have.
Blog Post 4: Formal Analysis
One way to comprehend and critique artwork is to use formal analysis. Formal analysis can be described as a way to understand, on a deeper level, the artwork by viewing the artwork as being composed of different elements instead of being viewed as a whole. From this one goes on to analyze the different elements that make up the artwork: color, line, space and mass, and scale. When we look at the color we should focus on different aspects, such as the different hues that might be present and if there appears to be a pattern in the choice of color. This would also mean determining if the level of saturation. As mentioned in the reading, the idea of analyzing the lines goes beyond pictures and paintings; it can be applied 3D objects as well. Analyzing lines could mean determining if the lines are light or harsh in terms of 2D pieces, or understanding the different line contours for 3D objects. When comprehending the space element, it is important to recognize if it is portraying 3D space, even conceptually. Mass is then used to imagine the artwork as having physical measurements such as weight and volume. Lastly, scale refers to the actual size of the artwork and the size in the artwork. To further analyze and determine scale, one must determine its consistency and what the actual size of the artwork could mean.
Blog post 4: Formal Analysis
Formal analysis is how we can examine and understand art to the smallest details by seeing how the artist used their techniques to create their works. Using formal analysis involves things such as the composition, lines, color, and texture. Using these characteristics many artist use them to help us paint our own picture of what the artist is conveying. Composition refers to what we are first drawn to in the painting? Composition usually coexists with size, color and position; the bigger and brighter object placed right in the middle of the canvas usually will draw more attention to it than an oddly, darker placed object in the background. Line textures and darkness can also help deepen the formality of a painting by outlining different objects and creating a sense of depth. Color refers to the type of color palette the artist uses throughout his work. Is it a warm palette filled with reds, oranges and browns or is it colder with white and blues. Formal analysis helps us break down works and brings us to our own understandings of things from the theater to sculptures and to advertisements we see everyday.
What IS Formal Analysis?
The exploration and study of art history would be rendered useless if one did not properly use formal analysis. What formal analysis is and what it’s asking us to do is to simply take note of what the artist has done visually in his or her work. What the artist has done visually is a broad phrasing, so it is important to hone in on visuals such as color, line, space, mass/scale, material, contrast, position, composition, and illusionism. While it seems like a lot to take in, each component is vital to pay attention to in order to fully grasp what it is the artist is trying to convey through their artwork. An artists use of a certain range of color, their emphasis of line and linear contours and the space they create within their work all speak volumes of what it is they’re trying to convey. These components can be categorized as the formal properties of formal analysis, but there is also subject matter and historical context to take into consideration when formally analyzing a piece of art.
In addressing the subject matter and historical context whilst using formal analysis, we are able to understand what/who the artist and their society had valued at the time and what they deemed worthy of preserving. The subject matter is more obvious than historical context, because it is supplied to you via the art you’re analyzing. Like in Titian’s Venus of Urbino, the subject matter is clearly Venus herself as she is not only front and center but takes up the majority of the canvas as well. While the subject matter here is clear as day, most would not know that Titian painted this work as a gift for a young, newly wedded couple to give a push to consummate their marriage. However, while subject matter is easier to depict in formal analysis, historical context works to further give the artwork meaning. In short, formal analysis is integral to art history because it is essentially asking us to understand the crux of the artwork we’re examining. And what is art without us attempting to understand it and assign it meaning? What is art, without formal analysis?
Blog Post #4: Formal Analysis
When a regular person wanders through a museum, they glance at art, get drawn to paintings with memorizing colors & after thinks it was a nice experience & call it a day but when someone who knows a bit about art & how it’s critiqued, they use Formal Analysis to look & understand art. This procedure helps someone describe a painting in detail through different steps & ideas. First off you look at the content of the picture (which most people do). Then you would look at it’s formal properties, including how it’s lines are drawn, what colors are in the painting, the composition of the art, how items are placed in the picture, in what way are the people modeling, how big it is through it’s scale and mass, how it is designed, as an oil painting, sculpture, cinema, or others. Also, you would look at it’s historical context because where it was made can explain many things like a theme that would be unknown if it’s time of creation is unknown as well the technique used in a painting or sculpture could be unknown if there were two places which used similar art techniques but with two different outcomes, there could be a mix up. Without the knowledge of where a piece comes from, we won’t be able to figure out the full idea of the picture.
Formal Analysis
Formal Analysis is a method in which one looks at both the visual and physical aspects in different works of art. When dealing with formal analysis you are looking at the work to see what the artist is trying to say visually. When looking at the work of art, you are exploring the visual effect of work of art. Some components when dealing with formal analysis are: color, line, space and mass, and scale. With color, the viewer has to first distinguish the different ranges of color such as primary (red, blue, yellow) or secondary colors (green, purple, orange). The viewer also has to determine whether the artist has used warm colors or cool colors in the art. One has to look at the saturation of the art, whether the art is of high saturation (easy to recognize) or low saturation (hard to recognize). A term used by art experts is called value which is whether the relative of light is more white or black. With line, a viewer first has to see if the art is two dimensional or three dimensional. With two dimensional works of art, artists use linearity which is how the art piece really shows line and linear contours. Artists also use painterliness which is how the artist uses light and dark in the art piece. A viewer also needs to see whether or not the line(s) the artist uses in the work of art is strong and continuous or broken up into small hatches pieces. With space and mass, space mainly refers to the three dimensional works of art. Mass is the weight or the volume of the art piece. With scale, the viewer has to relate the size of specific figures. In two-dimensional works of art, scales are used to help stress the importance of a person or an object. All these components combined together used by the artist is called composition.
Formal Ananlysis
When I’m in a museum and I look at a painting I usually think very little and either say pretty, ugly, scary, etc. But there is so much more to the painting and formal analysis is a way of looking at the painting and all of its details and fully understanding it. Formal Analysis is the idea of analyzing a single work of art, especially a painting, in terms of specific visual components. The components of a formal analysis are composition, color, line, shape, contrast, texture, and technique. All of these elements help us understand what the artist is trying to convey in his or her work. Formal Analysis is using your senses, like sight and touch, its all about what you see in the details of the painting. Although, knowing the time period the art is from and historic background also helps understand what the artist is trying to express. The goal of a formal analysis is to use all of the formal elements of a painting or sculpture to fully grasp the meaning of the work.
