Mid-term Paper Guidelines

(Dated: 1/ 2 Feb 2021)

Write an in-depth analysis on any one art-work of your choice, from any of the following
civilizations/ time periods:
-The stone-age period (Paleolithic to Neolithic),
-The Ancient Near-East (Sumer, Akkad, Assyria, Babylon, Neo Babylon, Neo Assyria),
-Ancient Egypt

(800-900 words)

Due date:
Section C: 22 February 2021
Section F: 23 February 2021

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Dear students, the following is a quick checklist of points to cover for the content that you may
use for your midterm essay.

THE BASICS

The piece's title (what does it tell us about the artwork itself? does it confuse the viewer or
unravel certain ideas? is it arbitrary or does it hint at something else? is it very specific or more
all-encompassing? discuss these points).

The artist (is the artist's biography/ daily life relevant? which events/ incidents/ what
information about the artist(s) is available that correlates with the piece you have chosen to
discuss? please do not discuss parts of the artist's life that do not relate to the piece you have
chosen). 

The date- (what was the socio- political situation at the time when this piece was made? were
there any pre-existing norms and ideas about 'what art should be'? what do you think was it made
for? how have archeologists/ historians perceived the work? (was there anything written about
the work that was recorded (in pictorial form/ written form and is available to us today)? 

The current location and provenance-( does the current location- a museum, a private
collection, a gallery, etc. hold an interesting story of how it ended up there? has it been
displaced? Stolen? Bought over multiple times? Recovered? Been the cause of legal controversy
of any sort concerning ownership? Discuss if relevant).
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 FURTHER ANALYSIS

To go deeper into the artwork- you can start by analysing its formal qualities:

- Depicted light source (or lack of light source)? is it natural or not? what time of day? what
effect it has on the colours? shadows? subject itself? was this light source deliberately chosen for
a particular reason? how does it align with the artist's idea? 

-The material/ medium and surface quality- analyse the physical surface of the artwork- what
effect does the application and use of material have on the piece? Was it experimental for the
time period it was made in? What does it tell us about the artist?

- The palette- discuss the colour palette in detail, using the correct names of colours that you
see- relate the palette used to the artist's ideas- relate the palette to the source of light and surface
quality. What effect do the colours used, have on the viewer?
(Side note: please note the spelling of ‘palette’, not pallet, pellet etc. - they refer to totally
different things altogether.)

-The size- is it easily portable? Ambitiously large? Uniquely small? What effect does the size
have on the viewer? And why do you think the artist created the piece in this particular size?

-The idea/ thought process/ inspiration/ journey of the artist before and after he/she made the
piece- discuss the possible impact it had on the audience at the time- on the artist herself/
himself/ themselves etc. Was it a commissioned piece? Did it influence other artists?

-Do you think this piece is relevant today? How so? Can you relate or compare it in any way to
your current surroundings/ the political/ social situation? What is it about the art work that
'speaks' to you? Why do you find this particular piece interesting? What can we learn from it?

Good luck.