Studying a work that is part of the permanent Kress Collection of the El Paso Museum of Art Custom Paper

For this assignment you will be studying a work that is part of the permanent Kress Collection of the El Paso Museum of Art. You will be visiting the museum outside of class. There is no charge to view this area of the museum. Further information is available on the museum’s website (www.elpasoartmuseum.org). Metered parking is available behind the museum and in the surrounding area. Be sure to bring plenty of quarters for parking. However, if you go to the museum on Sunday, you won’t need to feed the meters.

You will write an analysis of at least FOUR typed, double-spaced pages (use the 12 pt. Times New Roman font and 1” inch margins) that do not include extra spaces between paragraphs. UNAUTHORIZED FONTS, EXTRA SPACES BETWEEN PARAGRAPHS AND EXTRA WIDE MARGINS ARE NOT ACCEPTABLE.
PAPERS LESS THAN 4 FULL PAGES IN LENGTH WILL NOT RECEIVE CREDIT.

Please also include a title page with your name and the class number, a sketch of the work, as well as proof of your visit from the front desk. No extensions will be granted for this paper. Late papers will not be accepted.

The purpose of this assignment is to write a careful description and comparative analysis (visual and historical) of one work based on your direct experience of the piece selected. The only sources you should use are your textbook, class notes, and the white card displayed next to the painting. This is not a research paper. You are expected to express your own views derived from what you see and what you have learned in the course. You will analyze and write about the painting titled Christ with Symbols of the Passion by Lavinia Fontana, located in the Kress Collection orange room. That particular space contains Renaissance, Mannerist and Baroque paintings from various regions. Organize your paper as follows:

1. Identify the work by the artist, title, date, and medium, and briefly describe it.
2. Analyze the work with regard to its subject and content (the statement you think the artist wanted to make), and the style and techniques used by the artist to make this statement (e.g. composition, use of color, light/shade, scale, sense of space, handling of paint, etc.). Does your work represent a certain style that we have discussed in class? Which aspects suggest that style?
3. Compare the work selected to at least one work we have discussed in class that is similar to your work in terms of both style and content. The point of this section is to locate your work within its art historical context.