Visual arts are the works of art we see with our eyes. It is a broad definition that includes a large number of disciplines and elements. From Wassily Kandinsky to Jackson Pollock, from sculptures and paintings to filmmaking and interior design – the term covers it all.
If you are writing an essay about visual arts, the chances are that you will find yourself a bit lost for words. After all, the subject matter may seem contradictory to the task at hand. However, there is no need to panic.
In this article, our experts have outlined the best way to write your very own visual arts essay step-by-step. You will see that your academic paper can be a work of art in itself. We have also included 19 outstanding visual arts essay topics from which you can choose.
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Even a brief essay about visual arts can be overwhelming. It’s usually the case when you don’t know where to begin and how to organize your thoughts. That’s why creating an outline is so crucial. In this section, we have listed what can help you in writing your visual arts essay.
Try following these steps:
Choose your topic. Of course, it’s the most critical step for your paper. The idea you pick should be narrow enough for a detailed analysis. Yet, it should not prevent you from doing extensive research. Try browsing through visual arts essay collections. For example, check Bending Conceptsby Walter Benn Michaels et al. There, you can get ideas on what to write about.
Finding relevant art. Unsurprisingly, essays on visual arts require you to interact with the artwork. To offer proper art critique, you might want to conduct a visual analysis of your subject. Besides, it is a great idea to look into art history surrounding your topic. Figure out the context of the work and incorporate it into your paper.
Brainstorming. Jotting down all your feelings and ideas can be an excellent exercise. Everything that you think on the topic may come in handy. So, write down your thoughts about the style and technique of the artist, what message the work is trying to send, etc. When you’re done, make sure to look at your assessment criteria. Compare them to what you have thought of so far.
Grouping information. Here is where you might want to begin thinking of a thesis statement. Begin by grouping all the information you’ve gathered so far by themes. These will later become the foundation for the outline. Sort through all your findings and decide what ideas fit well with your topic. With this in mind, write down an excellent thesis by formulating your message in one sentence. Or our thesis generator can do that for you!
Writing the outline. Now that everything is organized, create a structure of your paper using your ideas and thesis. Begin by making an introduction to visual arts. Explain what you will be talking about in your essay. Your research and formal analysis go into the main body. Finally, your final reflection about visual arts should be left for the conclusion. This is where you get to sum up your interpretation of the work and what you see in it.
Browse through samples. Before you begin your essay writing, you might want to spend some time looking at examples. This can give you further ideas for your outline. Besides, good samples can inspire writing your very own visual arts essay. After all, art appreciation isn’t easy!
Whether you are writing a brief response piece or an entire extended essay, following these steps will improve the quality of your work. With enough practice, you will be composing visual arts essays with your eyes closed.
Visual Art Essay Topic
Still uncertain whether to write about Pablo Picasso or The Color Theory? Take a quick look at this list! Or allow our title generator to create an idea for you.
Here are 19 visual arts essay topics we have compiled just for you:
From painting to filmmaking: a brief history.
Leonardo da Vinci and the Golden Ratio.
Baya Mahieddine – the girl that inspired Picasso.
What do we mean by ‘contemporary art’?
Victorian beauty standards and their depiction in art.
How World War I gave birth to Dadaism.
The symbolism in Frida Kahlo’s paintings.
Cave paintings as very first artworks.
What is the difference between art and design?
Bollywood: how cinema evolved in India.
How the Edo period in Japan defined its arts and culture.
Salvador Dali’s influence on the surrealist movement.
Perpetuation of stereotypes in modern art.
Women in art: why are female artists often overlooked or forgotten.
Is graffiti a legitimate form of art?
The history and evolution of graphic novels.
Greek and Roman sculptures: similarities and differences.
Iconoclasm during the French revolution and its impact on art.
The evolution of Islamic Arts.
Thank you for reading! We hope that you will find inspiration among these visual arts topic ideas. Check out our visual arts essay examples that you will find below.
These artists support the best national ideas and traditions in order to make every society successful. Artists can "encourage their followers to support the best activities and decisions in the society".
Modern, modernism, and modernization are the notions which may be easily defined in human mind, it means that one can understand what modern, modernism, and modernization mean, however, when it comes to formulation of the [...]
A look at the military sculptures in many city parks shows that, they were meant to inspire patriotism while at the same time instigate and boost the pride of a country where the sculptures stand.
Pages: 2
Words: 653
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This paper will highlight the purpose of revolutionary art in the society and at the same time discuss how revolutionary art has affected art and artists in America.
Therefore, it can be asserted that one of the roles of art is to preserve the cultural trait and heritage of a community or society. This is both to the user of the artistic material [...]
Brief History of Indian Art The history of Indian art is said to be as old as the Indus Valley civilization itself where each period in history has provided the nation with unique modes of [...]
In a temporary post as a missionary in the village of Petit Wastes in Belgium, he recorded peasant miners' lives in his drawings. He was later exposed to Impressionist artists' works and became friends with [...]
The second chapter of Scott McCloud's book "Understanding Comics" is devoted to the vocabulary of comics and all that the reader perceives when looking at the inscriptions in illustrated publications and what he concludes.
We want to consider the first part of the story where the main character is just a boy who wants to reach the main purpose of his life, to become a Hokage, the leader of [...]
According to the psychological perspective when reviewing the art of graffiti, it has helped relieve stress, and tension and brings joy to the people in the community.
If the objects presented in the Jameel Gallery reflect the standard features of the Islamic art, the objects typical for the Mughal art can be discussed as influenced by the combination of the Islamic and [...]
Nude art forms date back to the ancient Greeks who had the utmost respect for the sanctity that is the human body even though the same cannot be said in the present day where artists [...]
The "Great Pyramid of Giza" and Ruler Qin Shi Huang's "Terracotta Army" were constructed as graves for great kings to retain their influence after death.
After the water in the aquarium runs out, the fish will die due to a lack of water. Consequently, human innovations and innovations cause the disappearance of water, which is a misfortune.
Pages: 1
Words: 339
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These treasures reflect the traditions of the art of the Achaemenid period, the peculiarities of the local Greek and Bactrian art, and the elements of the Scythian style.
Indeed, seeing that turtle and tortoise shells have been used as the raw material for various types of medicine for quite a while in China and Vietnam, as well as the fact that the Chinese [...]
The purpose of the essay will be to discuss the concept of kitsch by looking at Binkley's and Calinescu's contrasting theories on the aspect of kitsch.
Hence, the analysis of this piece is feasible from the perspective of demonstrating the importance of the sociological underpinning of cultural products and the way visual techniques are used for transmitting the message.
The Japanese animation industry has significantly evolved to overcome most of the other animation industries in the world. The establishment of newspaper humorous strips and motion pictures in the west spurred the development of the [...]
In the prehistoric and ancient works of art, the representation of women and men reveals a massive imbalance in gender equity that favors men over women.
Damien has managed to be successful in a dynamic and competitive global art scene because he understands the value of beauty and morality through his works.
The second image is a piece of Renaissance art entitled The Last Supper and created by Leonardo da Vinci in the 1490s. The postmodern piece questions the norms and conventions of the patriarchal society depicted [...]
With the help of various techniques and styles, the unknown author allows the viewer to look at separate parts of the painting and reflect on the unchangeable brutality of human nature.
It is interesting to see how artists can convey the message and bring awareness to the environmental impact of the modern human lifestyle, which generates large amounts of waste and pollution.
However, those people who can be even not interested in art easily imagine illuminated manuscripts because the elements of this art tradition are still used in decorating the books for children and some of the [...]
In a similar fashion to the Western world, self-taught groups like the Star and the Scar Painting emerged and became critical of the earlier Chinese art.
Therefore, for individuals to be able to create some pieces of art, they have to have such ideas in their mind in form of mental images; hence, visible works of art are just a depiction [...]
It seems to have been framed on the warriors' figure in part of a greater scene, and this stresses the significance of the figure. The legs and feet of the warrior look bigger compared to [...]
Portrait of the emperor was a tool of propaganda and presentation of a ruler in a way that he wanted to be perceived by the public. His head is quite big and resembles the images [...]
According to reports, the artist was inspired to create the painting when he saw the farmhouse from the window of a car in his home state of Iowa."He decided to paint the house built in [...]
Despite the strict logical organization of the stages from the basic understanding of purpose to sharpening the specific skills related to the form of art, the author claims that many artists tend to learn these [...]
This section of the paper discusses the impacts of digital technology on the world of arts. Digital technology has extended the array and amount of artwork that one artist can do in a given period.
It illustrates the modern trend on selfies, the self-made photos of the person holding the camera, among young ladies, and the importance of social media like Instagram in the lives of the people who live [...]
In the context of the discussions of this paper, the later definition of material culture is adopted. In the light of the arguments raised above about the origin of the pottery making art, it is [...]
If a practical application is concerned, an image is a way of communication, and a designer often plays the role of the mediator between the public and the seller of a product the image is [...]
Pages: 5
Words: 1504
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Moreover, to explain the vaguely difference between them, one may give the example of the art work that may be assigned to the both categories: either to the crafts or to the fine art.
The range of variations of work activities is lower than average when the output can be measured by such parameters as a total number of issues or the number of issues in a day.
As a result, visual and performing arts are crucial for the participators and the society as a whole. The study of visual and performing arts is very crucial for the success in the industry.
The article highlights the relation of the shaman transformation pose to leadership in the middle formative period. The presence of the art in ruler's grave highly suggests that, the art which pointed some transformation was [...]
However with the advent of the neoclassical art period in the mid 18th century, balance and symmetry was emphasized as a reaction to rococo art designs.
The aesthetic value of Season's Greetings is that the artist experimented with the building's corner to create a perspective game, as seen in Figure 1.
I greatly enjoy the idea that Andy Warhol was able to create new idols and objects of worship out of common everyday things; notably, out of Campbell's soup cans.
In Peace Bringing Back Abundance, the level of precision while showing the figures is less intense than in the other painting, which creates a sense of lightness and sanctity.
Through the use of one of the most archetypical images of a woman in Western culture that of the Virgin Mary the painting discusses the questions of universal femininity.
As a result, the image incorporates the complexity of life and the ways in which it manifests itself and the calm, soothing lines and colors, thus, creating conflict, attracting the attention of the audience and [...]
In fact, the key aim of art criticism is to realize the nature of the work and try to understand the author's motives which originated the concept of the creation.
Though the two works differ in the color gamut used and in the forms and directions of the lines resorted to, in both cases the viewer is encouraged to answer various questions that one can [...]
I have read that an understanding of the underlying story and a keen interest in storytelling is essential to build a good animation. This I have found that a number of institutes in the country [...]
Pages: 2
Words: 680
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Murals, as one of the major forms of revolutionary art, were popularized by the government of the country that promoted exterior frescoes in Mexico City and other cities of the country.
In the age of modern arts, when both the creators and the audience is less concerned with the physical form and more with the underlying messages and feelings that art invokes, the multi-faceted topic of [...]
Gladwell appears to be one of the modern artists whose skills have broken from the past in terms of specialization and application of both materials and skills, especially due to the digitalization of his methods [...]
The problem of defining of the term Modernism created much difficulty for artists, philosophers and writers of the 20th century. In the course of time, the aspect of realism came into consideration to change a [...]
The drawings are purely handmade and they show that the artist spent a lot of time to come up with these drawings. There is a clear evidence of thinking in the mind of the art [...]
Therefore other than the definition of art being related to the great skills of the artisan, the aesthetic value of the resulting product gives art another definition.
It must be noted though that the influence of manga on Japanese society extends beyond the obvious sub-cultures that have developed as a direct result of its influence, rather, manga has been observed as enacting [...]
Set up by the Indian government in the forties of the previous century, this museum is located in the capital city of New Delhi and is the biggest in the country.
Douglas writes about one of the pillars of the visual culture of the Internet memes: "Internet memes are based on the ideals of non-market network solidarity and free the work from the need to be [...]
The aim of this presentation is to outline the new dimensions of human creativity as well as analyze how perception can contribute to enhancing creativity.
Though both artists are exceptionally talented and their works are among the most praised, Dante would probably prefer Dore's illustration of the literary masterpiece. The works have certain sharpness, the play of light, and emotion, [...]
The subject matter of Michelangelo's Pieta portrait is the body of Jesus Christ and the Virgin Mary. This artwork is a picture of one of the seven sorrows of the Virgin Mary, as experienced [...]
We are going to analyze two masterpieces of art in our term paper: sculpture "Struggle of the Two Natures in Man" by George Grey Barnard and painting "The Death of Socrates" by Jacques-Louis David.
Pages: 6
Words: 1666
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In painting, artists need to know how different paints convey messages and how to blend different paints to convey the desired artistic message. The Number of oil pigments used by artists depends on the desired [...]
This paper will try to present the aesthetic as well as commercial interpretation of artist Yue Min Jun as an artist, in the eyes of a westerner but with the consideration of personal history and [...]
Ice Sculpting is truly an art of its own, and even though this style of art is not permanent, unless a person were to place the item into the freezer, this would still be categorized [...]
They have indeed been a great influence in my interest to art and design and have greatly contributed to the economic growth, political and social enhancement of their nations.
The aluminum foil is attached to half of the page and represents that the artificial limb is attached to half of the usual limb, such as a lower leg prosthesis.
Arabic calligraphy is a form of art involving the use of the Arabic language and alphabet. In the old town of Jeddah, for instance, artists have blended Arabic calligraphy with graffiti to create calligraffiti.
The show of a sand artist includes a video that allows the audience to see the process of the creation of the piece; it also is accompanied by special music, and, of course, the art [...]
This argument can be applied to Elia Kazan did not want sacrifice his work for the sake of his reputation and even friendship with many other people. His or her understanding of art has to [...]
Van Loo's paintings clearly acord to the carefree style of the Rococo and play an essential role in the art revolution, due to his wise choice of colors and motives.
The questions prompted by the observations of the "Secret Heart" are some of the many that follow from Damien Hirst's indictment of religion as viable means of ascribing meaning to human experience.
Creating more opportunities for deaf people allowed them to become more confident and proficient in self-expression, enabling the progress of deaf art and culture.
Due to the lack of detail and the unobstructed silhouette lighting, the viewer can witness the anguish of the photography's subject. Finally, "The Entombment of Christ" is a famous example of chiaroscuro lighting in art.
The date of its production has been determined around the end of the fifteenth and beginning of the sixteenth century, and the name of its maker has not survived in history.
Pages: 6
Words: 1702
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Since the main element in land art is the artist's intervention in the natural environment, the projects reflect the diversity and uniqueness of nature, climate variability, environmental issues, and the essence of the impermanence of [...]
It should be noted that the period of the early Renaissance was rooted in a tide of change in the stagnant Middle Ages, which was accompanied by an explosion of thought, knowledge, and creativity.
An example of expressive individualism is the artistic creation of the Dan people. Unlike the static form of traditional Western sculpture, African art depicts dynamics and readiness for movement.
Similarly, St Jerome and the Angel of Judgment utilizes a thematic subject of martyrdom and death commissioned at the church of Santissima Trinita Delle Monache, Spain, in 1626, depicting saint Jerome kneeling and looking up [...]
Most importantly, art and not art both have the ability to play-out some form of emotion. The moment an individual changes the perspective on the way a subject is viewed, analyzed and meaning attached to [...]
The patterns of the item, which were initially established in southern Italy after the area was converted back to Christianity, demonstrate the widespread adoration of the Islamic style among the aristocracy of Normandy.
It is essential to understand that when writing work like this, it is necessary to consider not only what is depicted but the emotions it evokes, as this, too, is an essential part of any [...]
In Inferno, Dante depicted his encounters with sinners in the form of a shocking reminder of the evil that penetrates the world and defiles even a pilgrim passing through landscapes of suffering on the way [...]
The existing definition of art fails to grasp the full gamut of influences that shape the development of an art piece and define changes within the very environment, causing art movements to emerge.
Nearby was the Lutheran mission of Hermannsburg, where the tribespeople of Namatjira often visited to earn extra money and, at the same time, listen to the priests' sermons.
For example, Americans of Mexican descent created Chicano art as a colorful and striking method of conveying their perspective of life and social position to the world.
The artistic language I am using to respond to this material is dance, and I will examine the various ways in which papers move when subjected to a force.
Hence, graffiti itself, as a separate genre, is a form of art due to its emotional and psychological influence. Due to its emotional and psychological impact, graffiti itself is a type of art as a [...]
A cloud is depicted on the left side of her face, and beneath it is written, "This sank in like the sun had gone behind the clouds"."Like I had been covered by a heavy blanket [...]
The lines used by the creator of the painting are curved, which makes the painting's mood softer. The color and texture are the fascinating aspects of the picture's design.
Thus, the zigzag lines at the base of the pectoral represent primordial waters, which refers to the importance of the royal figure and the concept of eternity.
The title of the artwork is "Adoration of the Magi"; Gentile da Fabriano created it in the 1423 year. The Adoration of the Magi, also known as the Adoration of the Kings, is a [...]
The pandemic of COVID-19 did not only pose a threat to the physical health of the population but also put many people in a position in which they had to deal with the loss of [...]
The mission of the project is to create a piece of art that can enable people to collectively acknowledge and mourn the losses they experienced during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Pages: 1
Words: 315
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