Understanding Art Criticism

Solving art mysteries is one of the jobs that art critics set out to accomplish. Art criticism is studying, understanding, and judging works of art. What if you don't know what an artwork is communicating? How can you figure it out? Following the steps of art criticism can help you discover lots of clues to really understand and appreciate a work of art. It's fun, too! Let's try it. After you complete this Art Quest take the online quiz to test your knowledge.

The Steps of Art Criticism
In each step of art criticism, you are answering a different question. The four steps of art criticism are:

1. Description: What do I see?
2. Analysis: How is the work organized?
3. Interpretation: What is the artist trying to communicate?
4. Judgment: Is this a successful work of art?

Description
Look at the work of art here:

• Still Life with Three Puppies

What do you see?

Examples:

• There are three puppies drinking out of a bowl or a pan.
• Three blue goblets are beside three round fruits.
• More fruit is arranged on a cloth next to a bowl containing a pear.

Analysis
Look again at the painting by Paul Gauguin.

• Still Life with Three Puppies

How is the work arranged? Can you break it down to its composition, or the way the art principles are used to organize the art elements of color, line, shape, form, space, and texture?

Examples:

• The artist has created a sense of harmony by using lots of curving shapes and lines to draw the puppies, fruit, and dishes.
• The objects in the painting seem to stand out against the background because the values are so much darker.

Interpretation
In Still Life with Three Puppies, what do you think Gauguin is trying to communicate? Give your opinion based on the clues you have collected. What ideas, moods, emotions, and stories do you think the artwork communicates?

Examples:

• This painting seems cheery to me because the puppies are cute and someone has let them eat on the table.
• I think the artist likes fruit and animals because he has painted them in such a nice way.

Judgment
Still Life with Three Puppies

Do you think this work is successful? Why or why not? What reasons can you give for your idea of why this is a good or bad artwork?

• This work is successful because the use of color helps me see the lighthearted nature of the work.

Now that you have practiced being an art critic, TEST YOURSELF!

Look at the painting by Marc Chagall called Paris Through the Window and complete the online quiz.