How to Write an Art Review Impressively

Art Review Definition

An art review is an evaluation of art that can include a rating to indicate the work’s relative merit. Works of art, which are exhibited for public viewing and evaluation, bring great pleasure to visitors of museums and exhibitions. Most of us need to receive joy, seeing what a creative person is capable of doing. Sometimes it can be difficult or, on the contrary, it is very easy to accept the point of vision of the surrounding world by this or that artist. And they themselves are interested in getting appreciation for their creativity and the impetus for the further development of their talent. This is greatly helped by an art review, which can be done by both professionals and ordinary connoisseurs of the art.

The Purpose of an Art Review

The artist’s exhibition is not only the viewing of works of art, but also the sale of paintings and the collection of reviews of visitors and connoisseurs of painting. The reviews help to open a new facet of the artist’s talent, to evaluate its expositions and to look in a new light on what has already been done and what is to be done in order to gain more admirers and reach world-level fame and popularity.

How to Prepare for Writing an Art Review

Before you start writing a review, you should remember that a detailed retelling of what is going on in the painting reduces the value of the review: first, it is not interesting to read the work itself; secondly, one of the criteria for a weak review is rightly considered substitution of analysis and interpretation of the text by retelling it. Every painting begins with a title that you interpret as you look at it. Next, after you are finished preparing for the writing, it is time to understand how to write an art review. We recommend pay for essay, you will like the final result.

Questions to Ask Before Writing an Art Review

1. What format should be followed while writing an art review?
2. What is depicted in the painting?
3. What did the author want to say by this painting?
4. Which moments left an indelible impression on you?
5. What is the artist famous for?
6. What are other memorable works of the artist?
7. What associations occurred during the viewing?
8. Can you use epithets and other expressive means?
9. How can your own view of what you see be translated into a review?
10. Would you add, or, on the contrary, expel something from the painting?

Art Review Writing Steps

1. A review of a work of art must consist of several points. In the first paragraph, give the general characteristics of the picture, its actual description, and specify in detail what you see in it. Make a special emphasis on the moments that are especially attracting attention and leave an indelible impression. For example: “The picture depicts a turquoise sea, the beautiful silvery sand attracts attention, the endless blue sky catches your eye, and there is a sense of silence, which is disturbed only by the sound of the surf and the distant outbursts of the oars.”
2. Further, it will be helpful to sort out all the associations and thoughts that came to your mind from what you saw. For example: “The landscape of the painting is associated with the vacation, which the viewer wants so much to spend on the shores of the azure sea, far from the hustle and bustle of daily worries, plunging into peace and quiet.”
3. In the next paragraph, describe all the feelings from what you saw. You can express admiration from the viewed work in rapturous form. For example: “delightful,” “amazing,” “cool,” “super,” and “I want to see such the picture daily, waking up in the morning.” Give an assessment that is closest to you in the conversation genre.
4. Develop your own idea. Describe in detail what happened to you after what you saw. Describe what needs to be added, what detail the artist has missed, what impression the picture would have made if additional landscapes were added, and if the color of the paint was changed or the canvas was decorated in a different style.
5. In the conclusion of the description, give a general description of the artist’s works and your description of the picture viewed. Give a direction for further creativity, indicate what style, what genre you would like to see in the future, and what products you plan to purchase for your own interior, collection, or as a gift. Summarize everything you described. For example: “Modern painting is increasingly pleased with burning and saturated works. Modern creativity overcame postmodernism and expressiveness, returning connoisseurs to the real world of reality, and young artists opened the entire brink of creative potential that had previously been inaccessible and shone with new colors.”

Art Review Sample Analysis

Thanks to the art review example presented below, your own review can become more impressive. You can see how the writer talks about the matter of color, design, and technique of painting. An art review sample contains a general assessment concerning all the artist’s works and, directly, the one about which he writes. It is appropriate to read through art samples if you don’t know where to start. You can find reviews on the picture that you need to write on and also art review examples presented on our site will be helpful.

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Tips for Writing an Art Review

• Remember and tell what you know about the life and work of the artist. Briefly describe the historical era and the peculiarities of his or her native country. Indicate the main milestones of the life of the painter, his creative achievements, and a special contribution to the development of art. List the most famous works of the master.
• Designate the genre of the painting, and note the technique of performance and other artistic features of the picture. Specify how typical it is for a particular artist. Perhaps you want to talk about the only self-portrait in the creative biography of the illustrator of fairy tales.
• Tell about the plot of the picture. Summarize its main theme, what it is devoted to. Note whether the picture is related to certain historical events, whether it is a continuation of any significant topic in the artist’s work, and whether it evokes associations with literary sources. Determine exactly what the painter wanted to express.
• Analyze the features of the composition of the picture. Pay special attention to what is depicted in the foreground and what is attributed to the background by the author. Describe in detail the various details: the number of characters in the picture, their poses and emotions, the presence of main and secondary actors, and their interaction among themselves. Tell how detailed the general background of the picture is, and whether additional details have been introduced to support the main idea.
• Draw a connection between the plot and the color scheme of the picture, and think on what effect the artist wanted to achieve using these very tones. Do not ignore the way the artist placed light accents on the canvas.
• Describe the novelties applied by the artist in this picture. Here you can talk about plot constructions that have no analogues among contemporaries, and about the nuances of the artist’s artistic manner.
• Express your own impression of the picture. Explain how exactly it impressed you, to what thoughts it pushed, and what memories and associations it caused. If your opinion does not coincide with the reaction of critics, explain why you took this picture in such a way, and not otherwise.

How to Write an Art Exhibition Review

To express your impressions of the exhibition, you can use the resources of two genres. In the review, you can focus on evaluating the works of art that you saw. The report gives an opportunity to create the impression of a “live” picture in the text.

1. A review is designed to evaluate works of art. In the introduction, tell the reader about where the exhibition is held and what it is devoted to. Briefly introduce the concept of the event in the form in which it was formulated by the curators themselves – they usually provide such information at the time of the opening or afterward as an announcement on the site of the museum or gallery.
2. Correlate the official concept with what you saw at the exhibition with your own eyes. You can move from general to particular and first describe the impression that you received from all the works in general. And only after this, speculate on the impressions that have developed. Or, use the method of induction. Stop in detail on all significant works. If this is important in this case, tell us about the creator of each object, its creative evolution, and favorite techniques. Give an assessment of each work, arguing it.
3. Draw a conclusion: whether the organizers succeeded in translating the declared idea, and whether the average visitor could catch and feel it. In the finale of the text, briefly formulate your impressions of the exhibition. If you want to make the text more dynamic, “live,” use the form and techniques of reportage.

After reading through our post, you have learned how to write an art review. It doesn’t matter whether you need to write a review on a picture, painter, or exhibition, as we tried to cover all of these issues. Besides this guide, feel free to look through our samples. If you need to deal with other academic papers, use our pay for essay writing service for finding the right guide for you. Also, check out our article review example.