For information about formal analysis, see The Art of Writing about Art and A Short Guide to Writing about Art (also ebook version available).
As you view a work of art, ask yourself these questions:
In secondary sources, authors analyze and interpret primary source materials.
Secondary sources can be scholarly or popular. Scholarly sources (sometimes called "academic" or "peer-reviewed" sources) are written by and for experts and typically include bibliographies and citations. Popular sources are written for a general, non-expert audience and can be authored by anyone.
Examples: articles from art journals, books published by museums or university presses, exhibition catalogs
In the Seattle Art Museum website for the collection, look for a bibliography associated with an image to find secondary sources for your museum paper. Search Primo for the item.
Example of a book cited in a bibliography about Sakyamuni Descending the Mountain:
Examples of an article citation about Sakyamuni Descending the Mountain:
Start with Primo to find books and articles about the artwork you have chosen. Search:
Search these databases to find articles.