HOW TO TAKE NOTES IN AN ART HISTORY CLASS
In this class, the bulk of the information will be given during lectures. It is important that you attend class and take careful notes as well as reading the text. Art history has its own terminology and this class will introduce you to the phrases and expressions you will need when discussing art, especially if you plan to take another art history class. Be sure to include these phrases in your notes as you hear them in class or read them in your book. The glossary in the back of your text can help. In addition to learning the language of art history, this class will help you develop a visual memory. When you see a new image in class or in your book it is important that you look at it.
While you will not be required to repeat all this on a quiz or exam, you will find it helpful to have this information when you are studying. If you did not get all the information in class, use your textbook as a reference.
1) Title. Titles are not necessarily given by the artist.
2) Date. This may be a range, especially with older works, or a single date.
3) Artist, if known, or cultural affiliation. If a piece has no identification to an individual, name the group as it has been identified.
4) Materials.
5) Location. This is especially relevant when looking at architecture, murals, large outdoor sculpture, and other immobile objects, but it can also be important with mobile art.
6) Stylistic period as it has been established by scholars. (i.e., Old Kingdom, Hellenistic, High Renaissance, or Cubist). Often, an artwork does not fit neatly into one stylistic period. Some artists worked in different styles at different points in their careers. Use the date of the piece and the attribution discussed in the lectures and in your book.
7) Patron, if known.
8) Size. The reproductions you see in class and in your book do not represent the actual size; keep this in mind when looking at a wall sized fresco or a hand sized illuminated manuscript.
Compare/Contrast Essays:
In addition to the basic facts about different pieces, you will need to learn how to discuss an artwork, both on its own and in comparison. There are three main areas you must cover:
1) Formal: A formal analysis is a verbal description of a visual object. This information can help you determine the identity of the artist, the time period, or the place where a piece was made. This includes the color, the use of line and shape, its size, the use (or lack of) a perspective, the use (or lack of) a canon, the materials used in the piece, the technique the artist choose, and other visual information. At first, you may find it difficult to distinguish between what is important to note and what is not. Use the descriptions given and read in your text and note what is relevant. Usually, the notable formal elements relate to the other two areas.
2) Sociological and Historical significance. All works of art reveal something about the historical moment and situation in which it was made. Sometimes the artist intended the piece to refer to a specific event, such as the Narmer Palette from the Egyptian Old Kingdom period, c. 3200 B.C. which commemorates the unification of Upper and Lower Egypt, or the Vietnam Veterans Memorial by Maya Ying Lin in Washington, D.C. from 1982. Some works suggest the important issues to a specific time, like Francesco Traini’s Triumph of Death, which comments on the Black Death.
3) Symbolic or Iconographic: Many visual elements within an art work, including colors, materials, objects, and patterns, have symbolic meanings, especially in religious and political pieces. Some common examples from Christian art works include: the lily refers to the Virgin Mary and her purity; light shining through a window relates the Immaculate Conception (light passes through but does not break the glass); and the removal of shoes indicates a sacred ground. Iconography creates a complex visual language that can be decoded and read to further understand the artist’s and patron’s intentions