“I wandered lonely as a cloud” by William Wordsworth Custom Paper

“I wandered lonely as a cloud” by William Wordsworth

In writing a formal analysis or visual analysis paper, the most important thing to remember is that
even though you might be thinking “description,” this paper does require a thesis. Even in a purely
visual paper, a thesis gives your paper a point to prove, and thus provides an analytical approach to
the object.
When you first approach the object, take plenty of time to note down all the visual details of its
form that you can. As you look carefully, you will begin to sense an overall organization to the work
of art. When you have crystallized that sense into a single sentence, you have produced your
thesis. In a formal analysis paper, that thesis will be proven by the visual details of the object which
support the thesis. Example: Cezanne�s use of modulated tones and brushstrokes served to
harmonize his painting of Mont St. Victoire.
As you are looking, consider:
Medium (what the object is made of): Be attentive to particular kinds of brushstroke, or ways in
which the artist handled the substance that forms the object.
Technique (how the object was made): Notice whether the object was drawn, painted, engraved,
carved, cast, etc., and how the artist carried out those processes.
Size: Is it large or small?
Composition (the arrangement of elements in the work): Is there a focal point? Is the composition
crowded, open, varied, repetitive? How does your viewpoint affect the work?
Space: Which methods are used to create space or is there a denial of space? How does the object
relate to the space around it??
When writing, try to express what you see with as much precision as possible. Remember the
following formal terminology:
Color: Elements of color
� Hue (specific colors)
� Value (light and dark elements)
� Intensity OR Saturation (how rich and bright the colors are)
Line: Uses of line
� Description
� Expression
� Decoration
Space: Methods for creating space in a 2-D object
� Figure vs. Ground
� Modeling (sculptural qualities)
� Overlap
� Scale
� Foreshortening
� Atmospheric Perspective (reduction of detail, reduction of value contrast as objects recede in
space)
� Linear Perspective
Plastic Arts: Elements to consider in sculpture
� Mass
� Volume
� Texture