Collins Memorial Library: ARTH 368: Japanese Art: Museum Assignment

Analyzing a Work of Art

As you view a work of art, ask yourself these questions:

What is my personal response to the work? What do I feel?
What is the title? Does it help explain the work?
When, where, and why was the work made? By whom?
What is the medium of the work?
What is the size of the work?
What is the subject matter? Is there symbolic meaning?
How does the work reflect its time? Historical? Cultural? Political? Social?
How do the visual elements (line, color, space, texture) contribute to the work? What about the design (proportion, balance, unity/variety, rhythm)?
What is the focal point of the work that draws in the viewer's eye?
If the work represents a person, what is the facial expression? Gestures? Posture? Position of the body or hands?

For more information on formal analysis, see the Writing and Citing page.

Background Information

Art Online (Oxford) This link opens in a new window
Covers all aspects of Western and non-Western visual art. Includes the full text of 'The Dictionary of Art,' and gives users access to subject entries, biographies, bibliographic citations, image links and images contained within Grove Art Online, as well as entries and images from the 'Oxford Companion to Western Art,' the 'Concise Dictionary of Art Terms,' and 'Oxford’s Encyclopedia of Aesthetics.' Thematic timelines and learning resources are also included.

Access limited to 3 simultaneous users.

Dictionary of Chinese and Japanese Art by Hugo Munsterberg
Call Number: N7337 .M85
ISBN: 9780878172481
Publication Date: 1981
Illustrated Dictionary of Symbols in Eastern and Western Art by James A. Hall
Call Number: N7740 .H35 1994
ISBN: 9780064309820
Publication Date: 1996
A companion volume to James Hall’s perennial seller Dictionary of Subjects and Symbols in Art, which deals with the subject of Christian and Western art, the present volume includes the art of Egypt, the ancient Near East, Christian and classical Europe, India and the Far East. Hall explores the language of symbols in art, showing how paintings, drawings, and sculpture express many shades of meaning from simple, everyday hopes and fears to the profoundest philosophical and religious aspirations. The book explains and interprets symbols from many cultures, and over 600 illustrations clarify and complement the text.
Pointers and Clues to the Subjects of Chinese and Japanese Art as Shown in Drawings, Prints, Carvings and the Decorations of Porcelain and Lacquer, with Brief Notices of the Related Subjects by William H. Edmunds
Call Number: N7337 .E3 2002
ISBN: 9781588860019
Publication Date: 2001
200 years of Japanese porcelain by Richard S. Cleveland
Call Number: NK4567 .T9
Publication Date: 1970
Colorful realm : Japanese bird-and-flower paintings by Lippit, Yukio
Call Number: ND1059.I79 A64 2012
ISBN: 0894683756
Publication Date: 2012
Dictionary of Japanese Artists by Laurence P. Roberts
Call Number: N7358 .R6
ISBN: 9780834801134
Publication Date: 1977
Kodansha Encyclopedia of Japan by Gen Itsaka (Editor)
Call Number: DS805 .K633
Publication Date: 1983

Tips on Using SAAM's Catalog

On the Seattle Art Museum Collections site, search within the Asian Art collection, and use the filters to narrow your results under Artist/Maker/Culture and/or Classification/Category.

Once you've selected an artwork, look for a bibliography associated with an image to find secondary sources for your museum paper.

Then, search Primo for the source.

Example of a book cited in a bibliography about Sakyamuni Descending the Mountain:

Examples of an article citation about Sakyamuni Descending the Mountain:

Finding More Sources

Use Primo to find books and articles about the artwork you have chosen. Search:

Artist's name, ex. Tsuji Kako
Period, ex. Edo
Subject of the artwork, ex. bambo
Technique, ex. ink painting
Genre, ex. landscape painting
Art form, ex. screen painting, sculpture, ceramics