3-4 Page paper on Hatshepsut
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how_to_write_a_thesis.pptxWriting a Thesis Statement
What is a Thesis statement?
1 or 2 sentences incorporated into the end of your introductory paragraph
The thesis will alert the reader to your argument or conclusions about your chosen work of art
It will organize your paper from beginning to end (The key points in your thesis will form the bones/structure of your paper)
How to write the Thesis
This paper is intended to get you to LOOK CLOSELY at your work of art. Therefore…
After looking closely at your chosen work of art and perhaps jotting down what you see, figure out the main visual elements you want to focus on in your paper.
After looking at the work of art and thinking about the subject and the way the work of art looks, you may have some idea about how this work of art fits into its historical context (the period it was made). So…
Pick out these main visual elements and the way(s) they fit into the artwork’s historical context. That will formulate your thesis statement.
Polykleitos, Spear Bearer, c. 450–440 BCE
High Classical Period, Greece
Warrior or athlete
Perfect musculature; Idealized, athletic, nude
Demonstrates perfect proportions of body (Polykleitos’s “canon”)
Contrapposto stance = perfectly balanced, demonstrates understanding of human figure anatomy and the way it moves.
High Classical Period = when Greeks were striving for idealism and perfection
Polykleitos, Spear Bearer, c. 450–440 BCE
High Classical Period, Greece
Thesis:
Polykleitos’s sculpture of a athlete or warrior is typical of sculpture from Greece’s High Classical period as artists strove to depict the human body in an idealized or perfected form. This heroic figure has perfect proportions and musculature, and stands in a balanced contrapposto stance.
Telling a story
Figures are grouped into three arrangements (uses continuous narrative)
The figures are all the same size (no hieratic scale), which is realistic
Uses linear perspective as can be seen in the architecture
Atmospheric perspective seen in the distant mountains
Chiaroscuro to make the figures and their garments look round and more lifelike
Masaccio, The Tribute Money, c. 1427, Italian Renaissance
Masaccio, The Tribute Money, c. 1427, Italian Renaissance
Masaccio’s Tribute Money is an excellent example of fifteenth-century Renaissance fresco painting because it uses typical Renaissance techniques such as linear and atmospheric perspective, chiaroscuro, and continuous narrative to tell a story.
Master of Flemalle, Mérode Altarpiece (Triptych of the Annunciation)
c. 1425–1430s, Northern Renaissance (Flemish School)
Altarpiece; religious subject (Annunciation)
Oil painting
Use of symbols to tell story and indicate characters
Inclusion of patrons
Perspective is not quite right
But there is consistent source of light
Master of Flemalle, Mérode Altarpiece (Triptych of the Annunciation)
c. 1425–1430s, Northern Renaissance (Flemish School)
Thesis?
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Caravaggio, The Calling of St. Matthew, 1599–1600, Italian Baroque
* Tenebrism
How is this typical of Baroque art?
Think about lighting and drama!
Also, think about the subject matter and how this relates to the Catholic church during the Baroque period.
Caravaggio, The Calling of St. Matthew, 1599–1600, Italian Baroque
Subject = religious
It is a scene of conversion (typical of the Counter Reformation)
Dramatic lighting / Tenebrism (Caravaggio became known for this, and was very influential)
Use of contemporary Italian dress in the figures at the table = viewers in the 1600s could have identified with them
Caravaggio, The Calling of St. Matthew, 1599–1600, Italian Baroque
Thesis?
