ART HIST 3D03: Test and Essay Information

The following is a recap of the comments raised in class about the format for the test and essay.

Test:

The test (October 5, in class) will be 30 minutes in length with 2 questions at 15 minutes each. Each question will be accompanied by a projected image of a work from the lectures and readings. Only images featured in both will be presented. A study list including only those images for which you are responsible will be posted here on this blog one week in advance of the scheduled test date. You WILL be required to identify each of the two presented works by artist's name, title and dat(es) as given in the readings. I will be providing sample questions in class prior to the test so that you will better understand what to expect. The total value of the test will be 50 points (25 points per question).

Essay:

The essay (due in class November 2) will consist of a short monographic research paper (6-8 pages in length). For this paper you will need to discuss one particular work. You may chose to discuss a work (painting, sculpture, building, print, drawing) from an accessible collection (such as the McMaster Museum of Art) or one from a published source. Either way your selected work MUST be of the Italian or northern European Renaissance. Your essay discussion should offer the reader some insight into the significance of the work through a particular interpretation of the visual evidence provided by the work and the facts relating to the historic context in which it was produced and appreciated. To make the essay more manageable and interesting it is advised that you adopt a particular methodology for interpretation. For instance, if you were working on Gianlorenzo Bernini's Ecstasy of St. Teresa (this work is now off limits because it is being used as an example here) you might adopt, as your methodology, a political approach to interpreting the work as a form of religious propaganda. In an effort to make a strong case for your interpretation you would want to utilize the visual evidence of the bel composto to balance with the facts relating to the religious intersts of the Counter-Reformation in Rome

The body of the text (your written discussion) must be 6-8 pages in length (double-spaced, 12-point type). In ADDITION to this you must include a cover page with title, course name and number, instructor's name and due date. To this you must  ALSO ADD footnotes or endnotes and a bibliography. Reference images (figures) may be included at the end of the paper. If you choose to use footnotes please bear in mind that the actual discussion  MUST STILL EQUAL 5-6 full written pages.

Citation methods must follow the Chicago Style guidelines. A hardcopy of the essay assignment instructions will be distributed in class this week.