How to Write an Art Critique Essay: Guidelines and Examples

Art critique doesn’t require a lot of time like dissertation writing. To make critique writing even more accessible, you should acquire sufficient critique writing skills.

After studying and analyzing all possible sources, work out practical writing strategies to make your art critique essay creative and attention-grabbing.

You will need professional assistance and a concise algorithm because there's no time for looking through a pile of literature on critique writing. This article will serve as a guideline for your excellent art critique writing (and you can always blow your GPA through the roof, just check our main page).

Writing an Art Critique: Basics

What do you do when your professor asks you to write a new type of the paper? Yes, you start searching what kind of writing you have to complete.

So, let’s take a closer look at art critique definition.

An art critique paper involves a comprehensive analysis and assessment of the object of art.

Also, when conducting the analysis, you understand the aim of the artist.

Writing an art criticism essay may become a difficult task for some students. But don’t worry–its features are same to that of any other assignment, so using our guide, you can easily cope with writing this paper.

Writing an Art Critique: 4 steps to a perfect paper

As it was said before, there is nothing complicated in writing an art critique.

You may ask:

Are there any secrets or lifehacks?

Simple! To write a perfect assignment, follow these four steps of art criticism essay:

1. Description

First of all, you have to describe the object of art:

• The name of the work, date when it was created, artist, etc.
• What does the art object is made of?
• What colors, shapes, and textures did an artist use, etc.?

2. Analysis

The next step you have to take when writing an art critique assignment is to evaluate how the facts from description correlate to each other:

• Do the points complement each other?
• Do they create distress or harmony?
• What about principles and elements of art, like balance, proportion, similarity and contrast, emphasis?

3. Interpretation

Now it’s time to think about arguments. Here are some questions for you formal analysis:

• How does this art object make you feel?
• What do think of when you’re looking at the artwork?
• What did the artist want to tell you as a viewer?

4. Judgment

And now it’s time to express your opinion:

• How do you think: is the work successful or not?
• Does this art object seem original or not?
• What do you feel when looking at this piece of artwork?

Well, now you know what to write. And it’s time to take a closer look at structure elements of artistic analysis:

• The introduction. In this part, you should provide essential information about the artist, the artwork, and its features: title, materials, location.
• The thesis. Here you should come up with an argument about the art object.
• The body. This section implies a full description of the intent of the artist. Explain the piece of art from your first reaction and impression points of view.
• The conclusion. The last but not the least section of your art analysis paper should include your evaluation of the work.

Writing an Art Critique: The Introduction, Outline, and Thesis

When you start writing a critique, you should remember this paper is an assessment of the piece of artwork.  A useful analysis provides your view of the object’s strong and weak attributes.

You may be wondering…

Who on Earth needs that critiques? Well, critical analysis of artwork stimulates and encourages the discussion of art. When you write it, you express your opinion about art. And when you receive a critique–you learn from others.

Are you ready to start writing an art analysis? Then check these essential guidelines:

• First of all, describe the primary theme of the artwork. Doing this will help you to have an idea of what the art object is about.
• The next step you should take before proceeding to write a critique is to create an outline. Its purpose is to develop a structure of your paper. What do you want to write? What are the key points? What evidence supports your ideas? In the outline, you have to answer these questions and structure them. Include main points and sub-points. Don’t copy other person’s frame; work with your ideas until their proper structure establishes.
• Make a note of your first spontaneous reaction to the artwork. By the end of the process, you may understand your first impression better, or you may even change your mind. Provide a clear thesis statement, a controlling idea that would reflect your vision of an artistic piece. Don’t underestimate the thesis value. By developing one, it helps to go through writing the entire essay. It will help your readers to understand your art criticism paper.

Want more advice on how to write an art paper? Here are some tips to follow:

• Dig deeper and try to uncover the hidden message that an artist wanted to convey through times.
• Search for historical underpinnings that became a basis for the artwork under analysis. How does the painting tell the story of its time?
• Sometimes reading art critiques in magazines and scientific journals will help you understand an overall message of critique writing. Read a few of them, compare, make notes, and look for patterns to follow.

Writing an Art Critique: The Main Body

The next question that every student will ask is “How to write an art analysis paper body?”

Here’s the deal:

When you’re going to write a critique, you should study the artwork and assess its content, as well as purpose. Explain which features of the piece of art you spot as the most exciting and which are less successful.

You should refer to your first impressions and try to explain how the artwork formed that reaction. Provide at least three points that support your idea:

• Look for a relationship that creates a visual effect. It is called a principle. Reveal it while writing an art critique;
• Analyze the elements and techniques applied by the artist.

• Describe color contrasts, connections, and movement, shading, repetition as a way of getting attention, and incorporate this information while writing about artistic style.
• Follow the painting’s message and purpose.
• Evaluate the work from an aesthetic angle.

Do you need more tips on writing an essay body? Check them below:

• If you can’t understand the painting, don’t hurry to give a negative response to it. Think of other critics who have provided a positive evaluation of the examined artwork. It doesn’t mean you shouldn’t have your opinion. It intends you have to be sophisticated while sharing your personal views.
• Some artworks appeal to color sensibility, others are highly intellectual and require some basic knowledge and preparation.

Writing an Art Critique: The Conclusion

Now we’ve come to the culmination of your writing. You need to write some conclusions about the artwork based on all the information you have gathered.

Here are some guidelines and tips to follow for your painting critique essay conclusion:

• Go back to your first impression. Has anything changed? What did you learn?
• If nothing changed, explain your first reaction to the work.
• What have you learned from this work that you might apply to your artwork or your thinking?
• Read your critique aloud. Then, read any of the critique papers from a magazine. Compare them. What can be added to your assignment to make it sound better?
• Go back and look through the facts. Check your paper for grammar, spelling, and punctuation as well.

Art critique writing should embody all your creativity, experience, and knowledge. Using the above-presented tips is essential for delivering an adequate evaluation of an artistic piece.

What advice do you find the most useful? Tell us in comments below!