BASIC SLIDE IDENTIFICATION

Usually 3 minutes, 7 points each

Identify each monument as fully as possible, including when known:

• What? Subject/title, medium
• Where? For architecture
• Who? Artists or patron
• When? Basic period, Date, as close as possible

• Style? How does it look?
• Function? How was it used?
• Meaning? What is portrayed? What does it mean?
• Context? How does it express society's values?

STANDARD SLIDE IDENTIFICATION, MORE FULLY EXPLAINED
Identification
Artist	Artist's name, or shop that produced the work Sometimes there is an art-historical name, given by modern scholars to identify an otherwise anonymous artistic personality For example, The Master of the St.-Francis Cycle, or The Brygos Painter.
Title/Subject	Often the work is known by a title not formally given to it by the artist. Be careful about interpretation here, for example, the so-called Venus of Willendorf certainly isn't Venus. Common subjects are distinguished from each other by the owner, museum, etc. For example: The Rondanini Pietà; the Strozzi Altar
Date	As close as possible. (Get the right decade) Discuss problems of dating Terminus post quem = earliest possible date Terminus ante quem = latest possible date
Medium	Mosaic, Fresco, Ivory, Oil, Tempera, Bronze, etc.
Where?	For architecture, attached sculpture, and mural decoration You will NOT be tested on museums!
Significance of the Work
Style	How does it look? What tricks of color, composition, stylization, etc. does the artist use to achieve an effect? Consider that there might be a period style that characterizes an entire epoque (Egyptian, Gothic) and the individual style of an artist or school.
Patron	For whom was it made? What were the patrons needs?
Function	Where was the object? How was it used? Does use affect its appearance?
Iconography	What is portrayed? What meaning did it have for the artist? For the patron? What do variations on common themes tell us?
Sources	Where did the artist get ideas? Is the artist copying an earlier work? Is he influenced by another artist or another tradition? What is new or original about this particular work?
Context	What does this object say about the people who produced it? What are the values of that group of people or society? For example, funerary art reflects ideas about death; portraits show images of politics, power, relative status.

SLIDE COMPARISON

Two slides, usually seven minutes, 15-20 points.

Identify each monument briefly, as above, indicating which is left and which is right.
Then, compare and contrast, noting differences and similarities.

• How can these be explained?
• What is there a relationship between the two works?
• Sometimes one work or style serves as a source of inspiration for the other. Remember, that in this case, it is the earlier work that inspires the later one.
• Sometimes the two works represent different approaches to a similar subject, but one was not a direct source for the other.
• Frequently, the comparison will be accompanied by a question. Answer this question by using the slides as examples or jumping-off points for a more general discussion.
  For example: How do these two works embody the Gothic style?
  How do these works represent the different attitudes of each culture toward women?

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Posted September 14, 2000