Posted: August 19th, 2015

VISUAL ANALYSIS.

What is Visual Analysis?
Like any literary work, every monument, every image and every artwork has a story to tell; the problem, however, is that people cannot often find the right words when it comes to a visual artefact. So how does one extract meaning from a visual artefact? Most art historians today hold that a visual artefact has multiple meanings: the meaning(s) it had
for the artist/creator, the meaning(s) it had for its first audience, the meaning(s) it had for later audiences, and the meaning(s) it has for us today. Whether you are a veteran art historian or a novice art enthusiast, everyone has the ability to read a visual artefact – this is known as visual analysis. The key to any visual analysis begins with asking the right
questions, and that means focusing on the 5 Ws:
Who?
(Who crafted/painted/sculpted or constructed the monument?
Were there multiple artists? For whom was it made? Whom
does the image/object represent?)
What?
(What does the monument represent? What is happening in the
scene depicted? If you are unsure of the exact subject matter,
can you discern a general theme? This is where DESCRIPTION
is very important – describe what you see, in detail!)
Where?
(Where is the monument found? Is this the same place as where
it was originally displayed? Where is it currently displayed?
How does its modern context affect its ancient context?)
When?
(When was it created? When was it found? by what means? Can you uncover anything
about its history from antiquity to the present day?)
Why?
(Why was it created? What was its function and meaning?)
Your Task:
Your task is to write your assignment by employing visual analysis.

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