Art History knowledge, savvy research ability
The Assignment:
The Scenario:
Because of your Art History knowledge, savvy research ability, and descriptive writing skills, you’ve been selected to participate in an Art History recovery & restoration project. Imagine you will be working on an art restoration team and you have to decide which 2 pieces of art you want to restore. Alternatively, imagine you are on a recovery team and you have to decide which two pieces you will try to recover.
Your Assignment:
The Restoration & Recovery Director has asked you to submit a minimum 4 to 5 page report in which you justify, based on stylistic, cultural & historical significance, the recovery of 2 pieces of art. The collections you’ve been asked to rebuild range from the Pre-Historic through the Early Italian Renaissance, and one piece must be from the Greco-Roman, Medieval, Northern or Early Italian Renaissance periods. The pieces you choose will be from different time periods, will have different artistic styles and different cultural contexts, yet they’ll illustrate a particular theme, idea, concept, story or point of view that you’ll need to explain.
The Tone of the Report:
Imagine your report will be used to create a new webpage for smarthistory.org, or another scholarly yet accessible site. The language used in your report should reflect your voice & writing style so it can be accessible to the public, yet your facts, ideas and information must be supported by reputable, scholarly sources and cited according to MLA guidelines.
Report Details:
Your report should contain the following components:
Introduction with a clear, controlling idea that presents a point of view (thesis) that will be developed & explained throughout the essay
Image identification for each piece (name of image, artist, date & period)
Analysis of stylistic significance (descriptive and analytical)
Analysis of cultural significance (how social, political and religious beliefs influence design, its function, or purpose, or symbolic message)
A conclusion that restates & summarizes a final point of view, or opinion