How To Talk About Art History
It's easier than it seems.
Looking at The Circle Game by Elmer Borlongan at the Pinto Art Museum in Antipolo, Philippines. Photo © Ellen Oredsson
Before I continue, let me just say that there’s no right or wrong way of looking at art. This article is not intended to dictate your experience of looking at art or moving through museums/galleries. The great thing about art is that any experience that we have with it is legitimate and worthwhile.
However, I’ve heard from many people that they “don’t know what they’re doing” when they look at art. It’s often assumed that you need some sort of education to be able to properly analyse an artwork. This can sometimes make museum or gallery visits feel like meaningless or alienating experiences.
The following guidelines are therefore meant to provide a systematic approach to looking an artwork. They can be followed as much or as little as you yourself would like. Personally, I only follow these guidelines when I have the energy, and/or when I’m really interested in an artwork. (Because going to a museum and analyzing every single artwork on display would be completely exhausting.)
Looking at Jag ska sluta älska dig (I will stop loving you) (2010) by Malin Holmberg at Wanås Sculpture Park, Sweden. Photo © Ellen Oredsson
Guiding Questions
When looking at any artwork that you want to spend some time with, it can be useful to try and answer one or all of the following questions:- What does the artwork mean?
- What did the artwork mean to the artist?
- What does the artwork mean to other people?
- What does the artwork mean to me?
So how do you go about answering these questions when you encounter an artwork? Let’s go step by step.
Looking at paintings in the Art Gallery of NSW, Sydney. Photo © Lotta Olsson
First Impressions
- Look at the artwork. This “looking” can take many forms: we can see it it face to face in a museum or gallery, or we can be looking at it on our computers or mobile phones. If you’re visually impaired, you can be experiencing it through the use of verbal/written description, or through touch. Note your first impressions and the feelings that come over you when you first look at the artwork.
- What is the subject matter of the artwork? This means literally asking: what am I looking at here? Can you easily identify the subject matter or are you unsure?
- Try to identify the following physical attributes of the artwork, and what effect they have on you as a viewer:
- What are the artwork’s colours, as you perceive them? If it’s a video/performance piece, what is its colour palette?
- Size?
- Material?
- Texture?
- How is the subject matter depicted?
- How is the artwork displayed? Whether it’s in a museum, gallery, website, home, park, etc.
- Try to make an initial analysis. This doesn’t have to be complicated – it’s about looking at the different parts of the artwork and seeing what those parts mean together. Again, it can be useful to answer the above questions: What do you think the artwork means? What do you think it meant to the artist? What do you think it means to other people? What do you think it means to you?
Looking at a 2015 painting by Jarasporn Chumsri at the Bangkok University Gallery, Thailand. Photo © Ellen Oredsson
Applying Context
After noting the visual attributes of the artwork and the effects that they have, apply information about the artwork’s historical and social context.- Apply your own knowledge. You don’t have to be an expert to do this. Ask yourself, for example, if you’ve seen an artwork with a similar style before. If so, how does this one compare? Do you recognize the artist, and, if so, what do you know about the artist? Do you know anything about the time period or geographical location of the artwork? Perhaps you even know things about the artwork itself, perhaps you’ve heard about it before?
- Look at the information provided by the museum/gallery/other place where it’s being displayed. This is usually in the form of artwork labels or exhibition catalogues. Is there no information? Don’t be afraid to ask! Let them know that you’d appreciate more information about a certain object, and see if they have any information on hand.
- Do further research. You can use books, websites, articles and other people’s knowledge/opinions. This is the part of the process that really never ends. Art historians will always keep on researching and changing their opinions, revising their analyses and finding new meanings for artworks as new information comes to light.
- After applying context, try doing an analysis again. Answer the same questions as before, but this time, see how your answers have changed. Does awareness of things like historical context, the artist’s intent, or other people’s interpretations change how you feel about it?
Let’s try it together!
Let’s go through an example of this process right now.
Bringing Home the Body of Karl XII (1878), Gustaf Cederström. Oil painting.
Example: First Impressions
- Look at the artwork. Note your first impressions and the feelings that come over you when you look at it.
- What is the subject matter of the artwork? Can you easily identify the subject matter or are you unsure?
- Try to identify the following physical attributes of the artwork, and what effect they have on you as a viewer:
The colour palette is cold. Greys and blues dominate the painting. This reflects and emphasizes both the cold weather and feelings of sadness and mourning.
b) Size?
The painting is very large, which makes it feel important. I already know that the bigger a painting is, the more public it’s supposed to be, so this is a painting meant for a large, public audience.
c) Material?
It’s an oil painting, a typical material for large Western paintings from the 19th century.
d)Texture?
The brush strokes are not visible and do not draw attention to themselves. The artist wants us to focus on the scene at hand rather than on any stylistic flourishes or the painting’s material.
e) How is the subject matter depicted?
The subject matter is depicted in a realistic but theatrical manner. The scene is laid out in a way that is very staged, and the gestures of various people in the artwork tell us a story – from the bowed head of the man to the left, to the noble stature and forward movement of the man in the front of the crowd, to the perfectly resting face and body of the man on the stretcher.
f) How is the museum, gallery, website or other institution displaying the artwork?
The painting is displayed in a room filled with other paintings from the same time period; however, its size and prominence on a wall makes sure that it dominates the room. It gives a good idea of how the painting might originally have been displayed.
- Try to make an initial analysis. What do you think the artwork means? What do you think it meant to the artist? What do you think it means to other people? What do you think it means to you?
I think that, to general audiences, it has been a celebrated painting due to its presumably patriotic subject matter, size, and technique. To me, however, it isn’t as important as it’s supposed to be, as I have no emotional connection to the event in question and don’t particularly like the patriotic idealization of kings and wars.
Looking at Bringing Home the Body of Karl XII (1878) by Gustaf Cederström at Göteborgs Konstmuseum, Sweden. Photo © Ellen Oredsson
Example: Applying Context
- Apply your own knowledge.
Since I know it’s a history painting, I know that it’s depicting an important event in history. I can also tell that it’s made in the 19th century – a period that I know is marked by an increased sense of nationalism in art. This leads me to believe that it’s supposed to inspire a sense of nationalism in me, as a Swedish viewer, by communicating the importance of this particular event from Swedish history.
- Look at the information provided by the museum/gallery. This is usually in the form of artwork labels or exhibition catalogues.
- Do further research.
Another interesting tidbit is that the painting was bought by Konstantin Konstantinovitj in St. Petersburg, Russia when it was first completed. This caused an uproar in Sweden. This confirms my suspicions that it was an important and celebrated painting when it was first made. A collection was started to get Cederström, the artist, to create a copy. The one in front of me in Göteborgs Konstmuseum, however, is the original, having ended up there after the Russian revolution in 1917.
- After applying whatever contextual knowledge you already have or find out, try doing an analysis again.
For me, the painting doesn’t mean the same thing that the artist intended. The painting is worthwhile to me, however, in teaching me more about Sweden’s history. Not just Sweden’s history of kings and wars, but Sweden’s history of art and nationalism – topics that remain relevant today.
Give it a try!
I’d love to hear about your own experiences with looking at art, and how your experiences compare to mine. Below are three examples that you can practice on right now. Give them a try, and feel free to share your results in the comments!
American Gothic, Washington, D.C.
(1942), Gordon Parks. Gelatin silver print. Library of Congress Prints
and Photographs Division, Farm Security Administration – Office of War
Information Photograph Collection.
american gothic, washington, d.c. (1942), Gordon parks
Gordon Parks was an African-American photographer and filmmaker, famous both for his films and for his photojournalism. His work often dealt with issues of race and civil rights. This is a portrait of Ella Watson, a government cleaning woman.For context, read this article about the staging of the photograph and its social context.
Yŏn’ga Buddha (c. 539), unknown artist. 16.3 cm high. Cast in Nangnang (present-day Pyongyang). National Museum of Korea.
Yŏn’ga Buddha (c. 539), Unknown artist. Cast in Nangnang (present-day Pyongyang)
This is one of the oldest surviving Korean Buddhas ever discovered. This is the only one of a thousand commissioned sculptures to have survived. It therefore gives scholars an idea of what 6th century Korean Buddhist imagery looked like.For context, read the museum information about the statue and this article about Korean Buddhist sculpture.
With all my love for the tulips, I pray forever
(2012), Yayoi Kusama. Installation at the National Museum of Art,
Osaka, Japan. Consists of oversized white plastic tulips in a white room
filled with red polkadots. Photo © Samuel Mark Thompson.
WITH ALL MY LOVE FOR THE TULIPS, I PRAY FOREVER (2012), YAYOI KUSAMA
Yayoi Kusama is a Japanese artist who has been active since the 1970s. Today, she is considered one of the most important artists within (or having acted as a precursor to) movements such as pop art, feminist art and installation art.For context, read this article about Kusama’s work, and this one about someone’s impression of the artwork.
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Jenna
I also find it’s helpful to consider whether or not the artist is trying to represent a moment, feeling…or merely challenging the definition of “art” within the context of the time it was created. I find it really helps people think about Warhol, Duchamp, or Jeff Koons. I drag a lot of self-described “non art fans” to art museums and they think they are expected to get some kind of metaphysical self-actualization from looking at a print of a soup can. Imagine their relief when they realize that the question they are asking themselves the entire time (“Is this really art?”) is part of the intent of the piece.