The Red Maple by AY JacksonOn Monday, Feb. 2nd, students were given a reprint of a painting for which they are expected to write an interpretation. They have been advised to use the guiding questions on p.4 of their textbook to create a 250-300wd analysis of the painting. Ideally, I am not looking for them to answer each question independantly, but rather to use each question as a way to understand the painting.REVISED DUE DATE: Monday, February 9th, 2015HINT: Your analysis should focus on what the painting means, but a secondary purpose should be about why/how this painting represents some sense of Canadian identity.Below is a link to a website which gives a guidelines and a sample for writing an analysis/interpretation of a painting. Just below this link, however, I have included the relevant sections which will explain how to set up your analysis. Please pay attention to this.
http://www.gallaudet.edu/tip/english_center/writing/essays/writing_criti... Begin The EssayIntroduction:Just like all other essays, your first paragraph serves as your introduction. This section should identify the title of the painting, the artist, what year the painting was created, and where the painting is located. You should also introduce your thesis in this paragraph. Your thesis could be about one specific aspect of the painting, or it could be a broad statement about the painting as a whole.Analysis:Your next several paragraphs should analyze the painting. For example, if your thesis is that the painting is a "startling piece of work," then the body of your paper should describe why you find it to be startling. Within your analysis you should include specific descriptions of the piece itself. However, do not focus only on describing the painting; presumably your audience is familiar with the work. You should describe aspects of the painting only as they relate to your thesis. For example, if your thesis is that the painting is "startling," perhaps it is the subject's body language that makes it startling. You may want to include a description of that figure's body language and explain the impact the body language has on the audience.In an informal essay about art it is acceptable to include your own feelings and behavior as you looked at the painting. You can include information like how long you studied the painting, whether you compared it to other paintings in the gallery, whether or not you made a sketch of the work, how the painting made you feel, etc. If the painting makes you feel sad, then explain what evokes that feeling. Is it the colors the artist used? Is it the figure's pose, or the facial expression, etc.?Drawing Conclusions:It is then important for you to make some conclusions about why you think the artist made the decisions that he/she did. If the painting looks startling or sad, why do you think the artist chose to paint it that way? Is part of the painting dark or dull simply to draw the audience's attention to another part of the canvas? You may also want to research what was happening during that time of the artist's life. Often there will be a correlation between the mood of the painting and the events in the artist's life during that time. Conclusion:The end of your essay should reiterate the important points that you made, yet leave the reader with something more to think about.
