Posted: September 16th, 2017

Wölfflinian Analysis Essay

Wölfflinian Analysis Essay

The essay MUST reading the book Heinrich Wölfflin, in his Principles of Art History (you dont need to read the entire book, just the part it comparis the painting and

the parts that analysis how to descripition the painting) Read the instruction of the essay carefully, because my prof cares people to follows the instruction:) and

MUST MUST uses the term (formal term in the book) to descript the work of arts. only needs footnotes, all you need is the textbook, no another sources are require.

(all you need is the book, and the two images in the last page of the order instruction)

Baroque Art History
Wölfflinian Analysis

Assignment checklist:
•    5-6 page essay (printed double-sided), double-spaced, 1” margins, spell-checked and checked for grammar
•    Your TA’s name on your essay
•    Academic Integrity Statement (signed and each box checked off)
•    AGO ticket or tickets attached
•    Essay uploaded to turnitin.com

This assignment asks you to conduct an analysis of two works of art at the Art Gallery of Ontario according to the “formal” criteria established by Heinrich

Wölfflin, in his Principles of Art History, a text that set out the comparative method still used in art history today. First of all you must read the book in its

entirety and understand it! We will be talking about it more before the essay is due. Your essay consists entirely of an analysis of a pair of works all of which are

in the AGO that have been selected for your assignment. They are all currently on display at the AGO in the Thomson Collection galleries and in the European Old Master

galleries (including the display of the Murray Frum Collection sculptures in the European Galleries) on the main floor. The list of works is below.

You may have noticed that although Wölfflin’s ambitions for his “formalist” method are great –he is interested in not only how but why style changes– knowing

all sorts of other criteria for analyzing a work of art may make Wölfflin’s focus on the strictly internal evidence of composition, color, quality of line etc., seem

limited. In writing your comparison, you must, therefore, take the limitations of the method into account but nonetheless work with Wölfflin’s criteria alone, proving

it and testing it as well! Your guidelines for the paper are really in his text which it is best if you have read thoroughly and digested before going to the museum to

pick a pair of works.

I am asking you in this exercise to think entirely in Wölfflin’s vocabulary. Therefore a word of caution about what you should not do in your paper. You are

not to engage in an analysis of the subject of the work. However, a basic understanding of the subject will allow you to make sense of the actions of the figures and

their identities: so, do not call a figure “the lady in blue” if she is in fact the Virgin; not the “nude male on the Cross” but Christ Crucified.  Not all figures can

or need to be identified but you should understand basically what you are looking at while resisting an interpretation of the work, as tempting and ultimately

necessary as that may be. Rather here, your analysis should take up all of Wölfflin’s comparative categories and apply them to the works.  You are not writing a paper

about two artists: In fact you don’t have to know anything about the artists to write this paper. You don’t have to prove or even state that the work is good, bad or

indifferent. We especially don’t want to hear about “masterpieces.”

Not all of Wölfflin’s principles will necessarily work well for any given comparison; if that is the (likely) case, it is recommended that you try to explain

why a particular group of Wölfflin’s terms does not work for your pair. And you will likely spend more time with some of the pairs than others, but do not ignore any

of the 5 pairs of concepts.  What you should prove in your essay is how well Wölfflin’s principles hold up or apply to the two works. When you are writing your

introductory paragraph your focus should be on this question: how well do Wölfflin’s principles work for these two works. This is the kind of critical thinking we are

looking for and you will not find it assessed anywhere except in your paper. So no research. Understood?

Please beware of the following commonly misused basic terms:

work of art (not “piece” or “artwork”)
drapery (not clothing or cloth unless you mean a piece of cloth)
pose (better than position)
Wölfflin = Woelfflin (use the symbol for the umlaut “ö” or write out as “oe” (we will deduct a point for every incorrect spelling of the author’s name. We mean it!)

The titles of works of art should always be underlined or italicized, just like the titles of books and journals.

The following pairs of works in the AGO collections will work more or less. You will notice that they do not all fall into the broad categories of classic (Wölfflin’s

preferred word for Renaissance)  vs. Baroque (what does this say about Wölfflin’s art history?). Look at them all and decide which paintings you think you can work on

within his system. Some comparisons are quite strong on certain points and weak on others. Some might touch on them all well: if you think a pair does not work, try to

explain why.

The paper, 5-6 pages double-spaced with 1″ margins and standard 12-point type: if you can say it in less, you won’t be penalized, but papers should be no longer than 6

pages.  Your essay involves no research  and therefore only footnotes are required (no bibliography). Since the idea here is to apply a method to two works not

considered by Wölfflin, the paper should be written entirely in your own words. Keep quotes of Wölfflin to a minimum but don’t be afraid to quote short phrases (the

pairs themselves –linear vs. painterly, etc.-  should not be put in quotation marks) but if you quote him, please footnote it. Proper footnote citation form is:

Heinrich Wölfflin, Principles of Art History: The Problem of the Development of Style in Later Art (Mineola, NY: Dover, 1950), p.#.

How to Proceed: Read first and Budget time for two visits to the museum. Before you go to the museum you must have read the book or else you will be wasting your time.

Once there, chose two works you feel comfortable with and start to conduct your analysis, noting the particular ways Wölfflin’s principles apply to your works. Then

sit down and write, with your notes and the book in hand. We are looking for an engagement with Wölfflin’s idea around your two works. You’ll find you will want to go

back and look again and check once you’ve started writing. Because writing is often the time you do your hardest and most original thinking, and you might need to

check new ideas against the works.

This is not a research paper: The only book you should read and you shold read it carefully and first, is Wölfflin’s Principles; the rest involves looking and

analysis. You should not try to “look up” or research your painting or sculpture as what you find on the web or in books will be very distracting and simply will not

help you. Papers that do not reflect knowledge of Wölfflin’s book will receive a failing grade.

Need Help? ***Please note that it is not appropriate to ask the museum staff for assistance on this paper.  Professor Levy and Elena Napolitano and Tara Nadeau are

happy to assist you. Note that we will not read drafts but we will discuss your essay with you so come prepared with specific questions.

DVS Grammar and Spelling Standard for Written Assignments
We expect students enrolled in university courses to have mastered basic writing skills. All papers must exhibit proper spelling (including proper names, places, and

words in foreign languages) and grammar. Refined grammatical points over which there is disagreement even amongst experts are not at issue.

Choose one pair of (only two) works to analyze in your essay from the following suggested pairings. The works are in the Old Master Paintings Galleries and in the

Thomson Collection Galleries and are only occasionally displayed near each other, so you will have to find them (we will point out the works at the tutorial).

PAINTINGS

?    Bartolomeo di Giovanni, Lamentation with Saints  VS.
Rubens, Massacre of the Innocents (in the last room in the Thomson Galleries)

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