Art Essay Examples and Topics

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2,021 samples

If you are studying art, chances are that you will have to write a lot of essays during your time in school or college. To receive an excellent grade on them, it is essential that you learn how to write an art essay. Here are the top tips for writing essays on art:

Choose a subject that is interesting to you. For example, if you are interested in graphic art, focus on it in your essay. If you are not sure of what to write about, try searching art essay topics online and choose the one you like most.

Look for sample papers on the topic. If you want to write about a particular movie, look for a film analysis example featuring it. Using this tip, you will be able to get some ideas and add more depth to your writing.

Find relevant scholarly sources. You can search Google Scholar or your school’s library for high-quality articles and books on the subject. Instead of merely citing the information from sources, try to offer some critique. Are the views shared by the author supported by other scholars? Do you agree with their evaluation and why?

Include a personal response. Many forms of art are subject to personal interpretation, and some tutors want their students’ essays to be expressive. This means that you should share your views on the topic and explain why you think the way you do. Doing so will help you to show your understanding of the topic and earn you some extra marks.

Hopefully, these tips will help you to earn an A on your art and design essays! You can explore our site for free essay samples and topics.

2020 Best Essay Examples on Art

The History of Elizabethan Drama Era

The early Elizabethan dramas were not performed in permanent theaters. In most cases, traveling troupes performed these plays in the courtyards.
  • 4
  • Subjects: Theater
  • Pages: 6
  • Words: 1009

Mona Lisa’s Elements and Principles of Art

The image involves a half-body portrait of a woman, and the enigmatic smile of the lady reflects the artist's idea of the connection between nature and humanity.
  • 1
  • Subjects: Paintings
  • Pages: 2
  • Words: 590

Greek and Roman Theatre Differences

The design was further involved in the seat arrangement that ensured that the actors were clearly heard by the people on the uppermost semicircular bench of the theater.
  • 1.8
  • Subjects: Theater
  • Pages: 4
  • Words: 1124

Why Was the Globe Theatre Important to Shakespeare?

The role of the Globe Theatre in Shakespeare's life is significant because the possibility to participate in the theatre's The Lord Chamberlain's Men Group and to write plays for the theatre's performances contributed to the [...]
  • 3.8
  • Subjects: Theater
  • Pages: 4
  • Words: 1089

Arguments for Graffiti as Art

Given the comprehensive nature of art and the time and care necessary to produce a piece of graffiti, it should be considered a form of art.
  • Subjects: Visual Arts
  • Pages: 3
  • Words: 850

Michelangelo’s Madonna of the Stairs

The sculpture is important from a historical perspective because it helps the beholder to grasp the enormity of Michelangelo's genius as well as his unique approach to the canons of Christian iconography.
  • 4
  • Subjects: Sculpture
  • Pages: 6
  • Words: 1728

The Theories of Theatre’s Origins

The play's inspiration was the Greek mythology a part of the Greek religion. The governing body of the city convened and decided whether to allow the staging of a Corpus Christi play.
  • Subjects: Theater
  • Pages: 3
  • Words: 1131

The Black Madonna of Breznichar

The prominence of the Black Madonna is majorly due to the miraculous character it poses to the pilgrims. Since the black Madonna is a representation of the Virgin Mary, there are people of Catholic denomination [...]
  • Subjects: Paintings
  • Pages: 4
  • Words: 863

Mona Lisa and the Last Supper Paintings

The naming of Mona Lisa and the Last Supper paintings is based on the themes represented in the paintings and situations at the time.
  • 4.2
  • Subjects: Paintings
  • Pages: 6
  • Words: 1674

Formal Analysis: Empress Theodora and Her Attendants

The focal point of the composition is the figure of the empress, highlighted through color and light. The mosaic 'Empress Theodora and Her Attendants' provides a glaring example of how formal elements of design work [...]
  • 4.5
  • Subjects: Art Movement
  • Pages: 2
  • Words: 611

The Renaissance Time During Romeo and Juliet

Men and women performed different roles in the household; the man was responsible for farming while the woman took care of the poultry and dairy. In the upper-class, marriages were arranged and the parents chose [...]
  • Subjects: Art Movement
  • Pages: 2
  • Words: 600

Comparison and Contrast of Art History

Daniel Strobel, Jr.and Her Son, George is one from the pair of neoclassical portraits of the Strobel family Daniel Strobel, the American Diplomat in France, and his wife, Anna Church, the daughter of the first [...]
  • Subjects: Paintings
  • Pages: 5
  • Words: 1401

Monet’s and van Gogh’s Paintings Comparison

Impressionists showed the development of the urban environment at the end of the 19th century. Monet was the representative of impressionism, whereas van Gogh represented post-impressionism.
  • Subjects: Paintings
  • Pages: 3
  • Words: 896

Photos in “12 Million Black Voices” by Richard Wright

It is clear that the author believes that African Americans are victims of the development of the US society. However, 'the Lords of the Land' had the necessary mechanisms to suppress the revolts and make [...]
  • Subjects: Photography
  • Pages: 5
  • Words: 1394

Cezanne’s Sense of Color

The purpose of this paper is to analyze some of Cezanne's paintings with an aim of describing his sense of color in painting.
  • 4
  • Subjects: Artists
  • Pages: 7
  • Words: 2053

Carlos Schwabe’s “The Death of the Gravedigger”

He also drew the image of "Death" in his masterpiece painting The Death of the Grave-Digger from her. The figures of the woman angel and the old man standing inside the grave are in the [...]
  • Subjects: Paintings
  • Pages: 4
  • Words: 1214

Biographical Profile of Jamaal Barber

Notably, he won the JOSA Award of Excellence in Drawing in 2002 and got first place in the graphic design competition of the Rebel Magazine.
  • Subjects: Artists
  • Pages: 6
  • Words: 1702

“Understanding Art” by Lois Fichner-Rathus

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 [...]
  • Subjects: Visual Arts
  • Pages: 2
  • Words: 602

The Shaka Triad Sculpture

The sculpture of the Shaka triad has a mandorla, which has an inscription providing a piece of essential information about the date, the author, donors, and the circumstances in which the statue was created.
  • Subjects: Sculpture
  • Pages: 2
  • Words: 530

“The Son of Man” Painting by Rene Magritte

This picture made me interested in what was depicted in it from the first sight because its composition was attractive due to the wide range of shades and the scenery that can never be witnessed [...]
  • Subjects: Paintings
  • Pages: 2
  • Words: 568

Melodrama in Realism and Naturalism

French artists coined the term melodrama to refer to plays with exaggerated plots and actors with the purpose of touching the emotions of the audience.
  • Subjects: Theater
  • Pages: 2
  • Words: 637

Art Appreciation

The works of Art in the Ancient culture were of various forms which included architecture, sculpture, and graphic arts. Architecture and sculpture are the oldest forms of art that existed and still exist in the [...]
  • 4.3
  • Subjects: History of Art
  • Pages: 2
  • Words: 676

The Basic Principles of Western Theater

Third, the importance of the audience in the concept of a theater play is discussed. However, they lack the unique characteristic of a theater, which is the unparalleled connection between the audience and the performers.
  • Subjects: Theater
  • Pages: 2
  • Words: 596

The Rent Broadway Musical’s Analysis

This is a musical, and the type of performance is an ensemble since the majority of songs are performed by a group of actors, although there are several solo performances as well.
  • Subjects: Theater
  • Pages: 2
  • Words: 562

Image Analysis of “American Progress” by John Gast

The telegraph cable that the woman is stretching across the continent, the book in her hand, the trains and the ships, and the bridge on the right everything is empathizing the progress of the European [...]
  • Subjects: Paintings
  • Pages: 2
  • Words: 553

“Stacks of Wheat (End of Summer)” by Claude Monet

The impressionist series depicting the same stack of hay is notable for the ability of Monet to repeat the same them but to capture different atmospheres, times of day, and times of the year.
  • Subjects: Paintings
  • Pages: 2
  • Words: 517

Impressionism and Post-Impressionism

There was also a distinction in age of the painters whereby, impressionism painters were generally older as compared to post impressionism painters.
  • Subjects: Paintings
  • Pages: 3
  • Words: 831

Leonardo Da Vinci and Galileo Galilei: Art and Science

From the art, Leonardo described the wakes' tricky nature and the vertical up-welling of water in the paths. The case of Galileo is similar to that of Leonardo in terms of influence as art-informed science.
  • 4
  • Subjects: History of Art
  • Pages: 1
  • Words: 282

Emblazoned on History: The Fleur de Lis

The Fleur de Lis is most recognized as the symbol for French Royalty or as a part of a coat of arms, used in many European countries, including England and Scotland.
  • Subjects: Visual Arts
  • Pages: 8
  • Words: 2269

“Starry Night” by Vincent van Gogh

The cultural influence on the theme and manner of the work The Starry Night presented by the author can be evaluated through the complicated world look of its nature. The exaggeration of the drawing lines [...]
  • Subjects: Paintings
  • Pages: 5
  • Words: 1555

Magical Realism as a Literary Genre

The concept of loreal Maravillas was introduced in 1949 to the Americans where the foundations of magical realism were traced from the art world.
  • Subjects: Visual Arts
  • Pages: 4
  • Words: 1098

Drama: Staging “Trifles” by Susan Glaspell

In its turn, this explains why in Glaspell's play, the characters strive to act in the manner fully consistent with what used to be assumed accounts for the social roles of the representatives of each [...]
  • 5
  • Subjects: Theater
  • Pages: 6
  • Words: 1700

Trodden Weed

The lighting of the painting, which appears to have been well thought-out, indicates that the walk was happening in the afternoon.
  • Subjects: Paintings
  • Pages: 3
  • Words: 834

Pottery and its Role in the Lives of People

Pottery could have even developed from the process of wrapping foods in a skin of clay and placing them in the embers of a fire or on heated rocks to cook.
  • Subjects: Pottery
  • Pages: 10
  • Words: 2711

The Play “Fifth of July” by Lanford Wilson

The rebirth can be connected to the launch of new events in the lives of the characters. Shirley, being the youngest in the Talley's in the play, is seen the progression factor of the Talley's [...]
  • Subjects: Theater
  • Pages: 3
  • Words: 925

Michelangelo’s Life and Work

Due to his immense skills and wide collection of artistic works, early museums documented his works and as it turns out, he was the most famous artist of the 16th century.
  • Subjects: Artists
  • Pages: 2
  • Words: 610

Modern, Modernism, and Modernization

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 [...]
  • Subjects: Visual Arts
  • Pages: 2
  • Words: 565

Jackson Pollock`s Action Painting “Number 1, 1949“

His tutor Benton taught him how to analyze paintings as well as the fundamentals of drawing and composition and the teacher's influence was clearly visible in Pollock's early paintings of the realistic portrayal of life [...]
  • Subjects: Artists
  • Pages: 6
  • Words: 1668

“Seated Couple”: A Dogon Art Piece Analysis

The dark brown-black shades used in the figure represent the typical color choices of the selected period. The "Seated Couple" figure by a Dogon artist represents the selected period through its color, medium, and emotion.
  • Subjects: Sculpture
  • Pages: 2
  • Words: 553

Is Photography an Art and Why?

In brief, photography is an art since it uses a variety of human actions to create aural, visual, or performative artifacts that show the author's creativity or technical proficiency and are intended to be admired [...]
  • Subjects: Photography
  • Pages: 2
  • Words: 561

“Hope II” by Gustav Klimt: Formal Analysis

The painting is called Hope II, which indicates that the artist wanted to emphasize not the doom and sadness of the death of a child but the hope of the women depicted in the painting.
  • Subjects: Paintings
  • Pages: 1
  • Words: 462

Two of Shakespeare’s Sonnets (18 and 55) Analysis

In Shakespeare's sonnets, human perfectibility and love of praise occupy a prominent place, making the great poet's ideals the exemplifications of the themes of Renaissance humanism.
  • Subjects: History of Art
  • Pages: 2
  • Words: 631

The Realism in Art Movement

The paintings of authors representing the movement of realism are extremely vivid and are likely to create an impression of presence in the painting while observing it.
  • Subjects: Art Movement
  • Pages: 3
  • Words: 844

Cultural Forces That Influenced Damien Hirst

The trend, which dominates the globe, is its demonstration of orderliness and maintenance, which display their external mark and at the same time symbolize the inflexible geometry of the cities of the world.
  • Subjects: Artists
  • Pages: 4
  • Words: 1282

The Starry Night by Van Gogh

Different colors represent different emotions and feelings in a work of art such as a painting; perhaps one of the most important facts in the use of color is the ability to actively involve the [...]
  • Subjects: Paintings
  • Pages: 4
  • Words: 1166

Movie and Drama. A Few Good Men

Although the play version is more engaging than the movie, it lacks the glamour and flamboyance brought by the lighting and effects.
  • Subjects: Theater
  • Pages: 2
  • Words: 563

“The Two Fridas” painting analysis

The mirror-reflexion of the two Fridas constitutes the foreground of the painting. The two figures on the picture are being either linked in the inner world, which is being illustrated by the unity of the [...]
  • Subjects: Paintings
  • Pages: 4
  • Words: 1099

Post Modern Art

Numerous happenings in the fields of art, philosophy, science, music, and critical theory explain the meaning of post-modernism. Post-modernism is the same as modern art due to the production of new pieces.
  • 5
  • Subjects: Art Movement
  • Pages: 4
  • Words: 1145

Discussion: Old Comedy and New Comedy

One of the most famous representatives of New Comedy was the playwright Menander, whose plays, such as "The Twin Brothers" and "The Girl from Samos," are known for their focus on everyday life and their [...]
  • Subjects: History of Art
  • Pages: 2
  • Words: 609

Is Graffiti Vandalism or Art?

The first questionable characteristic is the history of graffiti, and associated with the street gang culture of New York in the 70s.
  • Subjects: Visual Arts
  • Pages: 2
  • Words: 576

The Artwork “The Virgin Mary” by Chris Ofili

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.
  • Subjects: Visual Arts
  • Pages: 2
  • Words: 448

A Journey From Neoclassicism to Modernism

Particularly, with the focus on the lack of excessively and the promotion of utility as the foundational quality of art objects, urban design of the time promoted laconism in the choice of form and restraint [...]
  • Subjects: Art Movement
  • Pages: 8
  • Words: 1720

Invention of Photography and Its Social Impact

Although photography was invented in its full form only in 1835, an understanding of the social impact that was a result of the invention of photography is rightly portrayed by Azoulay in his article "The [...]
  • Subjects: Photography
  • Pages: 7
  • Words: 1916

Tracey Moffatt: Australian Artist

Her photography masterpieces are permanently included in the collections of the Tate Gallery in London and the Museum of Modern Art in New York.
  • Subjects: Artists
  • Pages: 9
  • Words: 2386

The Silk Road’s Impact on Chinese Art

Nevertheless, the most important impact of the Silk Road system experienced in China is the art culture. Arguably, the Chinese art and architecture borrow a lot from the other cultures involved in the Silk Road [...]
  • Subjects: Visual Arts
  • Pages: 4
  • Words: 1069

”Girl With a Pearl Earring” by Johannes Vermeer

Following is a depiction of the painting: This painting was chosen because the innocence on the face of the girl can be related to one's self and moreover, the choice of colours that Vermeer has [...]
  • 5
  • Subjects: Paintings
  • Pages: 2
  • Words: 630

Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead

There is a definite connection between the characters and the audience, as people are able to relate to the pain and confusion of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern.
  • Subjects: Theater
  • Pages: 2
  • Words: 630

The Save Water, Save Life Picture Analysis

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.
  • Subjects: Visual Arts
  • Pages: 1
  • Words: 339

Takashi Murakami’s Biography and Artistic Work

In a show of the same title, Murakami first introduced the concept of "Superflat" in the year 2000. Murakami's most significant declaration of his early scorn for the art establishment is "A Philosophy of Super [...]
  • Subjects: Artists
  • Pages: 7
  • Words: 1744

A Change in Art Style After World War II

After the end of World War II, the people of Europe were traumatized by the atrocities that were committed and the devastation that many cities were subjected to.
  • Subjects: History of Art
  • Pages: 2
  • Words: 587
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