​ Rivera-Herrera 1

1234 Vanessa St., UCSB

v_rivera-herrera@ucsb.edu

November 5, 2019
Writing 2 Publishing House, Inc.
2000 Apple Rd., Santa Barbara

Dear Mrs. Feldman:

The title of my paper is ​Identifying Beauty in Classical Sculpture ​and I believe that it is
appropriate for your journal because it presents an excellent argument on the differences between
how two disciplines take on a similar topic. My topic focuses on the idealization of classical
sculpture. Using an Art History and Psychology article, I identified the conventions of the
disciplines to understand why these articles are successful and relevant to their audiences.

I selected this topic of beauty and aesthetic in classical sculpture because it is my favorite topic
in my discipline of Museum Studies. Having taken a course focusing on the Grand Tour, I felt
that I understood the Art History article in a more intimate manner. In addition, I have engaged
as a test subject in some psychological studies, so these previous experiences were more helpful
in familiarizing myself with a discipline that I am not too well-versed in. For this paper, I used
my university’s research library in order to discover these scholarly articles. This was my
first-time finding articles through this method and found it to be extremely beneficial to easily
find articles concerning my unconventional topic. As a future-curator with experience in reading
several peer-reviewed articles for classes, I believe I have an understanding of what conventions
it takes in creating a solid article.

I have conducted research on your journal and am impressed with the amount of accuracy and
timeliness in your articles. I admire the amount of effort that was placed into gathering a group
of experts in your field to create such an outstanding collection of work.

I will call you on Wednesday to further discuss the possibility of my article being featured in
your journal. I have attached my essay behind this letter. Thank you for considering me to be a
part of your publication and I hope to hear from you soon.

Yours sincerely,  
Vanessa Rivera-Herrera 
Vanessa Rivera-Herrera
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Vanessa Rivera

Rachel Feldman

Writing 2

October 30, 2019

Identifying Beauty in Classical Sculpture

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. We know immediately what is beautiful and what is

not, but how do we identify it? In Art History, historians can clearly understand the progression

of beauty with the proof of example images and offering different perspectives. Similarly,

Psychology can identify the anatomical reasons as to why we find beauty in objects with the use

of proofs and studies. In the Art History article, ​Nakedness and Tourism: Classical Sculpture and

the Imaginative Geography of the Grand Tour​, Chloe Chard, a specialist in the history of travel,

offers various historical viewpoints to make it clear to her readers why people travelled far to

seek beauty in classical nude sculpture. The topic of nude statuary is also discussed in the

psychological article, ​The Golden Beauty:​ ​Brain Response to Classical and Renaissance

Sculptures,​ where the Author, Cinzia Di Dio et al, argues over whether beauty is objective or

subjective to humans. The effectiveness of the jargon, visual and textual evidence, and accuracy

featured in these Art History and Psychology articles determine an audience' understanding of

the topic of beauty.

While explaining the fascination that draws people to nude sculpture, Chard discusses

how conservative travelers of the Grand Tour regarded the art. The Grand Tour, as Chard

explains in a footnote, was an expedition that European aristocratic young men would embark on
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to enhance their knowledge of European art and culture. Adding some background information

on a topic, whether in parentheses or in the footnotes, offers a foundation for the reader to

understand this topic. The article begins with a dialogue between two characters from a 19​th

century novel discussing the immodesty of Venus sculptures. One of the characters draws on the

improperness of nudity and exclaims “ ... if [he] wished [his servant] to learn modesty, [he]

should not dream of sending [the servant] to school to a naked Venus…”(Chard 14). This

addition of slightly humorous dialogue not only educates the audience on the argument of the

morality of nude sculptures, but also creates an attractive hook. The author includes several

opinionated quotes, such as this one and ones from Art Historians and Grand Tour travellers in

order to help propel her arguments. The sources of evidence included in Chard’s article support

the points on the validity of nudity. that she argues. Chard first offers her own perspective on an

issue relating to classical nudity, namely the argument between the foreign and familiar pleasures

in art, then inserts quotes from people during this era to emphasize her beliefs. The author cites

from Art History articles concerning antiquity and the Grand Tour, Journal entries regarding

people studying sculpture, and some philosophical texts from Plutarch. Evidence and analysis are

crucial in the Art History discipline, as it is an important way in proving a point from a historical

perspective.The structure of the article is separated by topics surrounding the Grand Tour and the

classical sculptures. To better understand reading the perspective of the people in the 19​th

century, the author includes images of the classical artwork so that the reader creates their own

ideas.These images appear when the author wants a visual example to support her point. The

sculptures may be well-known to people well-versed in Art History, but are included for clarity.
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The readers of this specific Art History article should have some understanding of the

topic. There is no clear definition involved, so it is assumed that the reader has adequate

knowledge of Art History. This work was peer-reviewed by professionals in this field of Art

History, so of course it would include jargon and examples to make the essay as accurate as

possible. The vocabulary and terms used in an article are also identifiers as to who the article is

written for. It can be difficult for someone to read an article out of their discipline. In the article

“Reading Games: Strategies for Reading Scholarly Sources,” the author, Karen Rosenberg,

describes a reader who is reading out of their discipline as “being on foreign territory” since

rhetoric articles are written by academics for academics (213). For example, in ​Nakedness and

Tourism, ​Chard describes the Grand Tour as a “a ​mise-en-scene​ of drama and excess…” (Chard

17). The reader would need to have a sophisticated vocabulary to understand that the author is

referring to the complex and frivolous atmosphere that took place during the Grand Tour.

Although both articles speak about classical sculptures, the Psychology research article

views the topic from a scientific point of view. The authors who have written ​The Golden Beauty

discuss whether or not the basis of one’s understanding of beauty is subjective or objective. The

article commences with questions to have the reader questioning the reader’s own take on the

argument. There is an abstract before the introduction so that the reader can understand the basis

of the study if they just desire a summary. The structure of the article is cohesive and neatly

organized to feature every detail of the studies made. The most important pieces of the article for

a reader outside of the discipline would be the abstract and the final considerations, which

explains, without any scientific diction, the process of the experiment with insight. However, the
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study itself is a detrimental piece of information to the entire article as it answers the question of

whether or not beauty is objective or subjective.The study is simply explained as a task

consisting of fourteen people answering questions while scientists scan their brain. These tasks

are easily understandable, but as the authors delve into the analysis of the data, the terminology

becomes more advanced. Some examples of this terminology are when the authors explain the

results of the studies/task they performed on subjects; “​activations were observed in the inferior

parietal lobule (IPL) bilaterally, in the SMA/pre-SMA complex, ventral premotor areas, and in

the posterior part of right inferior frontal gyrus (IFG)” (Di Dio). These terms are important to

know, but not necessary to understand the overarching meaning of the article. ​There should be

some understanding of the anatomy of the brain and its functions, but there is some visual and

textual evidence to help the audience understand.

Not many outside sources are featured in this scientific article, as the only evidence that is

needed is taken from the study. Since the psychology article offers an unanswered question at its

hypothesis, the results of the study are the most valuable at supporting the argument. However,

there are some references to Plato’s philosophies on beauty and Ernst Gombrich’s explanation of

aesthetics embedded into us biologically. These important figures add credibility to a human’s

interest in beauty. There are several images of fMRI scans, data charts, and an image that was

presented to the subjects of the study. These visual aids are useful in understanding specific

reactions in the brain in addition to attracting the attention of the audience.

Beauty in nude sculpture, as seen in both of these articles, depends not only on your

personal beliefs concerning modesty, but also in your surroundings. These points are effectively
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proved in both of the Art History and Psychology articles I dissected. The use of conventions

helped me understand how effective each piece was. Jargon effectively adds value to a specific

point that could not be said in any other way, but it could prove to be very confusing to an

unaware crowd. The contribution of background information helps relieve this confusion.

Textual and visual evidence are used in both Chard and Di Dio’s articles to simplify the

understanding of their topics. Their use of outside sources, such as philosophers and historians,

not only helped back up their points, but also added credibility to their articles. Though I

personally believed that these two articles successfully could appeal to a broad audience, the

ultimate decision on the clarity of these writings requires further research.