Writing in Art and Art History

Please keep in mind that these are only general guidelines; always defer to your professor’s specifications for a given assignment. If you have any questions about the content represented here, please contact the Writing Centers so that we can address them for you.

In general, “good” art papers involve utilizing the same strategies as most academic units. Art papers should be well-organized, with a thesis, topic sentences, transitions, etc. They should be free of grammatical and sentence-level errors, and they should follow the standards of citation, usually MLA or Chicago style, as determined by the class instructor. The following Learning Goals for 200-level final papers provide a bit more detail on what your Art History instructors are looking for in your writing. According to the Art Department’s 2003-2004 Annual Assessment Report, these papers should:

Focus on a particular work of art/monument/site, or a set of related works which are associated with the art historical issues pertinent to the course
Reflect the ability to describe and then “read” imagery through visual (formal) analysis while using the specialized vocabulary employed in the classroom lectures, discussions, and readings
Clearly distinguish between form and content
Demonstrate a connection between the work(s) of art and the historical/cultural context
Articulate arguments and interpretations through proper usage of grammar, spelling, thesis statements, citation of sources & references, and bibliography

You may also want to check out UNC’s general overview of “good” college writing.

Preferred Bibliographic Style

Though MLA and Chicago styles predominate, Art History does not have an established documentation style. Look for the most current ideal documentation style in the annual journal, Art Bulletin. This journal provides the safest choice if you seek a model style, but always ask your instructor which style s/he prefers.

Common Writing Assignments

Sylvan Barnet’s A Short Guide to Writing about Art describes five specific assignments in Art History courses:

Formal Analysis papers should explain the formal parts of a work of art. From this explanation, students should show a new way of analyzing the work of art.
Iconography, which means “image writing,” identifies images through an exploration of the symbols in a piece of art.
Iconology, which means “image study,” uses text and research to describe a work.
Biographical Essays incorporate the life of the author or artist into the interpretation of his/her work
Methodological Essays analyze art using specific critical interpretations, such as the Feminist, Marxist, Social Historic, or Psychoanalytic approaches. These essays examine how a specific methodology influences the outcome of the artist. These essays are most common in 300 level courses.

Helpful Resources

Barnet, Sylvan. A Short Guide to Writing about Art. New York: Harper Collins College, 1993.
Taylor, Joshua. Learning to Look: A Handbook for the Visual Arts. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1981.
Dartmouth College’s Writing in Art History Web page: This Web page provides many resources, including the challenges and purposes of writing in Art history, some of the various kinds of Art History papers, Prewriting strategies, writing advice, a sample paper, and research links.
UNC’s Writing in Art History Web page: This excellent resource summarizes many of the requirements of writing in art History. It “includes several common types of art history assignments, and talks about the various strategies and resources that will help you write art history papers.”