Wlfflinian Analysis EssayThe essay MUST reading the book Heinrich Wlfflin, in his Principles of Art History (you dont need to read the entire book, just the part it comparis the painting andthe parts that analysis how to descripition the painting) Read the instruction of the essay carefully, because my prof cares people to follows the instruction:) andMUST 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
Wlfflinian AnalysisAssignment checklist:
5-6 page essay (printed double-sided), double-spaced, 1 margins, spell-checked and checked for grammar
Your TAs name on your essay
Academic Integrity Statement (signed and each box checked off)
AGO ticket or tickets attached
Essay uploaded to turnitin.comThis 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 HeinrichWlfflin, 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 itsentirety 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 arein 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 Mastergalleries (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 Wlfflins ambitions for his formalist method are great he is interested in not only how but why style changes knowingall sorts of other criteria for analyzing a work of art may make Wlfflins focus on the strictly internal evidence of composition, color, quality of line etc., seemlimited. In writing your comparison, you must, therefore, take the limitations of the method into account but nonetheless work with Wlfflins criteria alone, provingit 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 topick a pair of works.I am asking you in this exercise to think entirely in Wlfflins vocabulary. Therefore a word of caution about what you should not do in your paper. You arenot 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 andtheir 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 canor need to be identified but you should understand basically what you are looking at while resisting an interpretation of the work, as tempting and ultimatelynecessary as that may be. Rather here, your analysis should take up all of Wlfflins comparative categories and apply them to the works. You are not writing a paperabout two artists: In fact you dont have to know anything about the artists to write this paper. You dont have to prove or even state that the work is good, bad orindifferent. We especially dont want to hear about masterpieces.Not all of Wlfflins principles will necessarily work well for any given comparison; if that is the (likely) case, it is recommended that you try to explainwhy a particular group of Wlfflins 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 anyof the 5 pairs of concepts. What you should prove in your essay is how well Wlfflins principles hold up or apply to the two works. When you are writing yourintroductory paragraph your focus should be on this question: how well do Wlfflins principles work for these two works. This is the kind of critical thinking we arelooking 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)
Wlfflin = Woelfflin (use the symbol for the umlaut or write out as oe (we will deduct a point for every incorrect spelling of the authors 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 (Wlfflinspreferred word for Renaissance) vs. Baroque (what does this say about Wlfflins art history?). Look at them all and decide which paintings you think you can work onwithin 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 toexplain why.The paper, 5-6 pages double-spaced with 1 margins and standard 12-point type: if you can say it in less, you wont be penalized, but papers should be no longer than 6pages. 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 notconsidered by Wlfflin, the paper should be written entirely in your own words. Keep quotes of Wlfflin to a minimum but dont be afraid to quote short phrases (thepairs 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 Wlfflin, 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 Wlfflins principles apply to your works. Thensit down and write, with your notes and the book in hand. We are looking for an engagement with Wlfflins idea around your two works. Youll find you will want to goback and look again and check once youve started writing. Because writing is often the time you do your hardest and most original thinking, and you might need tocheck 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 Wlfflins Principles; the rest involves looking andanalysis. 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 nothelp you. Papers that do not reflect knowledge of Wlfflins 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 arehappy 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, andwords 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 theThomson 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)