The short paper involves writing about an artwork or example of architecture that you see in person. The work must fall into the time frame of Western art encompassed by the course (prehistoric Europe through 14th Century CE), and it must reflect aspects of an artistic period discussed in class.

Introduce the work by providing the artist’s name (if known), title, date, medium and the collection (museum) in which it’s located. Consider how the artwork is representative of artistic trends of its day. You can break down your discussion into sections dealing with subject matter, and the purpose the work served (for example, who commissioned it or what was its original setting?), and style analysis. Be sure to link the work to the artistic period, or to other similar objects, providing historic context for the piece.

• Before your museum visit, PLEASE search online to find the hours and cost of the museum. Don’t assume the museum is always open! Remember to take your student ID which may get you a discount.
• If you’re able to furnish illustrations, please do. Ask before you use your camera in a museum. Many museums allow photography as long as there is no flash, but it’s always good to ask. You may also find a reproduction at the museum, online or in print. Illustrations should be captioned or identified in some manner (such as Figure 1, Figure 2, etc.)
• The essay requires proof that you went to the museum. This can take the form of an attached receipt, a photo of you at the museum, or an attached museum brochure or map.
• Think in terms of 4 or 5 pages of double-spaced text, plus a “Works Cited” page.
• Introduce any work you include by providing the artist’s name (if known), title, date, medium and the collection (museum) in which it’s located. Proper titles of art are italicized or underlined.
• Research is required to get a full understanding of the piece, its artist, and its historic context. At least five scholarly sources should be listed, and three should be print sources (books, periodical articles or museum publications) rather than online sources. Please use in-text citations and list your sources in a conventional format. Sylvan Barnet’s Short Guide to Writing about Art includes the Chicago style of source citations, as well as great writing guidelines and sample essays. I also accept APA style or MLA style, both of which can be found online.