Free Visual Arts Essay Examples & Topics

Free Visual Arts Essay Examples & Topics

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329 samples

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.

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:

  1. 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 Concepts by Walter Benn Michaels et al. There, you can get ideas on what to write about.
  2. 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.
  3. 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.
  4. 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!
  5. 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.
  6. 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:

  1. From painting to filmmaking: a brief history.
  2. Leonardo da Vinci and the Golden Ratio.
  3. Baya Mahieddine – the girl that inspired Picasso.
  4. What do we mean by ‘contemporary art’?
  5. Victorian beauty standards and their depiction in art.
  6. How World War I gave birth to Dadaism.
  7. The symbolism in Frida Kahlo’s paintings.
  8. Cave paintings as very first artworks.
  9. What is the difference between art and design?
  10. Bollywood: how cinema evolved in India.
  11. How the Edo period in Japan defined its arts and culture.
  12. Salvador Dali’s influence on the surrealist movement.
  13. Perpetuation of stereotypes in modern art.
  14. Women in art: why are female artists often overlooked or forgotten.
  15. Is graffiti a legitimate form of art?
  16. The history and evolution of graphic novels.
  17. Greek and Roman sculptures: similarities and differences.
  18. Iconoclasm during the French revolution and its impact on art.
  19. 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.

329 Best Essay Examples on Visual Arts

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.
  • Pages: 3
  • Words: 850

Nudity vs. Pornography When Used in Artwork

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 [...]
  • Pages: 4
  • Words: 752

Chapter 2 in “Understanding Comics” by Scott McCloud

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.
  • Pages: 1
  • Words: 316

Main Points in the Article and Video by Hito Steyerl

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 [...]
  • Pages: 5
  • Words: 1395

Chapters 7-9 in “Understanding Comics” by McCloud

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 [...]
  • Pages: 3
  • Words: 877

Art and Design Analysis

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 [...]
  • Pages: 2
  • Words: 606

Theories of Art

In this paper, we will look at the mimetic theory of art and the pragmatic theory of the art. As the Mimetic theory of art asserts, art is a representation or just an imitation of [...]
  • Pages: 3
  • Words: 1077

Aspects of Graffiti as Art Therapy

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.
  • Pages: 2
  • Words: 524

“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 [...]
  • Pages: 2
  • Words: 602

Crafts and Fine Arts.

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.
  • Pages: 2
  • Words: 598

Comparison of Indian and Chinese Art

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 [...]
  • Pages: 6
  • Words: 1675

Visual Analysis: Untitled Film Still #21

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.
  • Pages: 5
  • Words: 1414

The Early Forms of African Art

Purpose of the Research Because the African art is mostly premised on representing visual culture of the continent, the main purpose of the research consists in defining the early forms of African art, main materials [...]
  • Pages: 6
  • Words: 1633

Michelangelo’s Artwork

Michelangelo was taught sculpture by Bertoldo di Giovanni. Michelangelo was a renaissance artist and his works were greatly influenced by humanism.
  • Pages: 24
  • Words: 700

“Barbie Dolls” Image by Chris Jordan

However, the image passes the test, and, consequently delivers its intended message, which is to portray the "nudity" of the modern people in various activities that they undertake each passing day.
  • Pages: 2
  • Words: 561

Parsons Challenge Visual Art

The initial stage of the creative process is the identification of the problem or the definition of the goal of creation.
  • Pages: 2
  • Words: 648

Art in Details: Elements of Art

Form is the existence of elements, principals, and the physical elements of art and design, that an artist uses in his/her production.
  • Pages: 2
  • Words: 600

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.
  • Pages: 2
  • Words: 576

Art and Society: Goals and Duties of Artists

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 [...]
  • Pages: 5
  • Words: 1752

“All Seeing Eye” by Hailei Wang: Artwork Analysis

The computer quickly puts in place features of the image through the use of the artists' ideas, such as colors, shadows, shapes, and opacity. The computer technique of algorithms used by the artist is to [...]
  • Pages: 4
  • Words: 1207

The Artwork “Pieta” by Michelangelo

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 [...]
  • Pages: 3
  • Words: 409

Art and Printmaking. Contemporary Art

These types of printmaking have differences relative to the nature of the surface, which creates or forms the print that is to be transferred onto a fabric or paper.
  • Pages: 3
  • Words: 968

Western Influences on the Japanese Animation Industry

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 [...]
  • Pages: 9
  • Words: 2467

Visual and Performance Arts in Creative Process

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 [...]
  • Pages: 3
  • Words: 1031

Illustrators Artists and Designers

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.
  • Pages: 2
  • Words: 579

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 [...]
  • Pages: 4
  • Words: 1069

Modern Art: A Cultural-Aesthetic Movement

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 [...]
  • Pages: 5
  • Words: 1375

Michelangelo Buonarroti’s Art

It is also important to notice the kind of confidence in the face of David in this sculpture. In this painting, it is apparent that the angels gave a helping hand in the creation of [...]
  • Pages: 5
  • Words: 1418

The “Spiral Jetty” Work by Robert Smithson

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 [...]
  • Pages: 4
  • Words: 1212

Baroque Painting: History, Commissioning, and Functions

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 [...]
  • Pages: 2
  • Words: 641

Biblical Art: From the Middle Ages to the Renaissance

In the Middle Ages and the Renaissance, the Catholic Church's heads commissioned artists to produce visual art to decorate the chapels and cathedrals. Of the suitors, Joseph is the only one barefooted and with a [...]
  • Pages: 7
  • Words: 2015

Impressionist Paintings Art Tour

Featuring landscapes the work is representative of impressionism, although with an American take on it, focusing on the backgrounds, and the use of intermediary colors and shades in showing the effect of light on the [...]
  • Pages: 4
  • Words: 1106

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.
  • Pages: 8
  • Words: 2269

Visual Art and Photography

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 [...]
  • Pages: 2
  • Words: 767

Sand Animation Works by Kseniya Simonova

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 [...]
  • Pages: 6
  • Words: 1671

Ancient Greek Art and Sculpture

It is possible to trace this change through examining two sculptures pertaining to different periods of Ancient Greek art. Of course, to understand art, it is necessary to understand the epoch.
  • Pages: 2
  • Words: 554

Cabramatta’s Culture and Art

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 [...]
  • Pages: 5
  • Words: 1404

Sculpture and painting

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.
  • 4
  • Pages: 2
  • Words: 653

Definition of 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 [...]
  • Pages: 3
  • Words: 870

Caribbean Art History

Caribbean art history is an integral part of Caribbean history that offers important insight into the unique cultural aspect of the Caribbean people and their way of life.
  • Pages: 2
  • Words: 557

Formal Analysis of Two Photos

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 [...]
  • Pages: 3
  • Words: 889

Manga: New Social Ideas, Behaviors, and Sub-Cultures

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 [...]
  • Pages: 5
  • Words: 1607

“Adoration of the Magi” Analysis

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 [...]
  • Pages: 2
  • Words: 671

Cultural Artifacts and Their Theme

It was written in El Salvador in 1978 in the middle of a civil war between the US-backed military and government on the one side and the Foarabundo Mart National Liberation Front on the other [...]
  • Pages: 1
  • Words: 397

“Holocaust Horror…” by Moore

A considerable number of young people do not have the correct knowledge, and the most disturbing fact is that the Holocaust started to be interpreted in different ways.
  • Pages: 4
  • Words: 1114

Discussion of Postmodernism in Modern World

Postmodernism and social constructionism inform my work by influencing the selection of interviewing techniques and the readiness to accept the multiplicity of perspectives on the same issue in clinical contexts.
  • Pages: 3
  • Words: 890

Phenomenon of Embroidery Stitches

Following the experience of the ancestors, the human being tries to improve it by adding the modern accent to the well-known idea.
  • Pages: 3
  • Words: 849

Vincent van Gogh’s “Starry Night”

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 [...]
  • Pages: 5
  • Words: 1544

The Piece of Art “Confrontation” by Spencer Fiddler

While line etching as a form of art has been around for quite sometime the distinctive style utilized by Spencer in this instance is unique in that the personally identifiable details of the subjects involved [...]
  • Pages: 2
  • Words: 645

Napoleonic Portraiture in David’s and Canova’s Art

David's "Napoleon Crossing the Alps" is a masterpiece because it gives the true picture of Napoleon Bonaparte. Although this was not the case with Napoleon, the painting achieved its purpose because the emperor was always [...]
  • Pages: 2
  • Words: 574

Art and Nursing in Different Periods

Artist: Pietro Longhi Style: Rococo Genre: genre painting Gallery: Ca' Rezzonico, Museo del Settecento, Venice Artist: Mary Cassatt Start Date: 1896 Completion Date: 1897 Style: Impressionism
  • Pages: 4
  • Words: 1128

Arts in Society: Artistic Manifesto

Many artists are unable to bring back the beauty and strength of art. Many works of art have presented the best aspects and strengths.
  • Pages: 3
  • Words: 869

Illuminated Manuscripts – History of Graphic Art

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 [...]
  • Pages: 4
  • Words: 1222

Metropolitan Museum’s Historical Objects

The paintings and design of the plate show pictures of boats, buildings, and animals, an aspect that creates an impression in the mind of a person, who comes across the object that the people of [...]
  • Pages: 4
  • Words: 1173

How Digital Technology Influences Art

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.
  • 5
  • Pages: 7
  • Words: 2025

Contemporary Art in China

However, the fruits of the struggles are worth the effort, if the current fame and reputation of China as a beacon of contemporary art is anything to go by.
  • Pages: 10
  • Words: 2803

Manga: “Naruto” by Masashi Kishimoto

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 [...]
  • 5
  • Pages: 3
  • Words: 807

The distinction between great and mediocre 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 [...]
  • Pages: 4
  • Words: 1082

Roman and Greek Art

In addition, the artistic use of light materials in the construction of the Colosseum plays the traditional role of inspiring the modern day theatres and stadia construction.
  • Pages: 2
  • Words: 651

Four Scenes from the Life of Buddha

The show has presented four major events from the life of the Buddha: the Birth and the Dearth of the Buddha, the First Sermon at the Deer Park, and the Image and the First Teaching [...]
  • Pages: 3
  • Words: 817

Modernism in Art and Painting

Paintings done in the past about the state of people and past society presently help to give direction to in the world of art.
  • Pages: 3
  • Words: 859

“Notes on Camp” by Susan Sontag

Also, Sontag had proven herself analytical enough to realize that the very concept of Camp is nothing but the modern equivalent of the concept of dandyism, originated in late 19th century: "Camp is the answer [...]
  • Pages: 6
  • Words: 1669

Twins Characterization in Manga and Anime

Psychological issues that represent twins struggles with the real self against the expected self, the split and fragmented self and the internal conflict between the ego and the super ego.
  • Pages: 8
  • Words: 2453

Contemporary Graffiti as Political Art

Banksy's graffiti art work is still considered as one of the best way of protesting against the government in order to remove the CCTV cameras from the cities or to use those cameras in proper [...]
  • Pages: 3
  • Words: 826

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 [...]
  • Pages: 2
  • Words: 565

Graffiti as a Complex Social Interaction Problem

However, graffiti is vandalism and requires the authorization of the property owner. Moreover, graffiti reduces the value of properties and costs the citizens a lot of money in cleaning it up.
  • Pages: 2
  • Words: 529

Views on Chromophobia by David Batchelor

The point Batchelor was putting across is that in order to communicate using colors, it is imperative that the artists in question go the extra mile to excavate the meaning and all aspects of color, [...]
  • Pages: 2
  • Words: 677

Art and Aesthetics: Art in Public Space

Public art is important to public art specialists, bodies that commission art performances, curators as well as the entire art world with much emphasis being given to collaborations, the specificity of the site of performance [...]
  • 5
  • Pages: 8
  • Words: 2199
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