How to do a Formal Analysis

Formal analysis of all kinds of artwork (paintings, sculptures, multimedia pieces etc.).

For this blog post we will be referencing the image above, so that I may show how to make a formal analysis while using the example Woman with a Hat by Henri Matisse.

Why should students/scholars conduct a formal analysis?

A formal analysis of any media entails an objective visual description of a work of art which, unlike a functional analysis, is not meant to evoke the artist or reader's mind. Formal analyses are an important technique for organising visual information, and are often used before conducting a functional analysis.

Describe what you see...

The following are a few aspects of a work you can look at when conducting a visual analysis:

- Scale - Pictorial space - Movement

- Composition - Light - Balance

-Texture - Pattern - Contrast

- Shapes - Tone - Emphasis

- Lines - Value - Variety

- Material - Form - Unity

- Color - Harmony - Shadow

- Space - Rhythm - Proportion

For example for Woman with a Hat I might say:

- Color: Matisse uses a combination of vibrant tones and pastel hues. Through his chosen color palette he creates a depth of value.

- Form: The figure appears to be 2 dimensional, but remains distinct from the background due to Matisse's inclusion of a dark outline around the subject almost creating a vignette around it.

- Emphasis: Emphasis is placed on the woman's figure through the use of eccentric and spurious patchwork skin-tone.

Once you have thoroughly analysed a work for its formal qualities you can start to think about functional elements.