How to Write a Critique on Paintings

A written critique of a painting can uncover the artist's meaning.

If you have ever seen a painting and immediately responded with "I like that" or "I don't understand it," you've begun the process of critiquing a painting. Writing a critique is beneficial because it can expose why you do or don't like a piece. Members of an art class or art club might write critiques of each other's work in order to improve their paintings. Museum curators and art collectors sometimes rely on critiques, too, in selecting and valuing art for their collections.

Instructions

1. Describe the painting without judging it. Write down what medium the artist used, such as oil, acrylic, watercolor or pastel, and the type of support, such as wood, paper or canvas. Note the size of the painting and the type of brushes, palette knives or other tools the artist may have used to create the painting. Identify the general shapes and lines in the scene, including their size, direction and relationships to each other. Describe the colors and textures you see in the painting.

2. Examine how the artist made the painting. Mention symbolic elements in the art. Determine whether the most predominant feature of the composition is the use of line, color, shape or some other element. Identify whether the design of the piece is a repeating pattern, chaotic, unbalanced or fits within another compositional scheme. Write about the artist's choice of colors and the role of light in the painting. Discuss the use of textures and perspective in the piece. State your opinion as to how each of these factors contributes to the artwork.

3. Evaluate your feelings about the painting. Explain why you think the artist made the painting. State what you think is the main idea of the art. List specific things about the painting to support your opinion. Because a painting is subjective, don't be concerned about having the right interpretation, but mention other ideas and emotions that the painting conveys. If you know when and where the painting was made or specific facts about the artist's life, indicate how those facts may have influenced your understanding of the piece.

4. Decide whether you think the art is good and why you reached that conclusion. If you are comparing the painting to other works of art or have an overriding theory about art, describe those factors and how you applied them in analyzing the art. Identify the elements in the painting that caused you to reach your decision and why you believe those elements are important. If you don't thing the painting was successful, indicate why and how it could be improved.

References

• University of Wisconsin Green Bay: Art Criticism and Formal Analysis Outline
• University of North Carolina: Art History
• Janice Mason Art Museum: Four Steps in Art Criticism