An art critique paper involves a comprehensive analysis and assessment of the object of art. Though this looks a bit complicated, the task doesn’t require a lot of time if you have sufficient critique writing skills. It’s an interesting assignment for students of art colleges as well as high schoolers. All you need is to study some effective art critique techniques. It will help make your essay creative and attention-grabbing.
This article by
Custom-writing
experts will serve as a guideline for your excellent art critique paper! It contains all the basic information as well as examples and tips on how to critique different art forms.
Contents
🎨 Art Critique: Basic Information
Critical analysis of artwork stimulates and encourages the discussion of art. When you write it, you express your opinion. And when you receive a critique, you learn from others. Every person evaluates art differently. Some pay extra attention to the color scheme and composition. Others appreciate realistic qualities in artworks. And some people look for expressiveness and emotion.

You may think that because of these differences, we can’t objectively critique art. Luckily, there is an accepted way to conduct a formal analysis of an artwork. It’s called Feldman’s method, and it consists of four elements:
description, analysis, interpretation
, and
judgment
. More information on these elements can be found in section 3.
👣 How to Write an Art Critique Step by Step
STEP #1. Create an
outline
before you start writing.
It will help you develop the structure of your essay. In the draft, answer these questions:
STEP #2. Decide on what info about the artwork you will need.
Then use
credible sources
to collect all the necessary data.
STEP #3. Provide a clear
thesis statement
.
A thesis here would be the main idea that would reflect your vision of an artistic piece. Don’t underestimate the importance of a thesis! It will guide you through writing the entire essay. It will also help your readers understand your art criticism better.
STEP #4. Note your first spontaneous reaction to the artwork.
By the end of the process, you may better understand your first impression or even change your mind!
STEP #5. Write the main body using Feldman’s method.
Study the artwork and assess its content, as well as its purpose. Explain which features of the piece of art you spot as the most exciting and less successful. Find more information on the elements of the method below.
STEP #6. Write your conclusions about the artwork.
They should base on all the information you have gathered.
🔬 Feldman’s Method: 4 Art Critique Elements
To write a perfect art critique paper, use the four elements mentioned before: description, analysis, interpretation, and judgment. Understanding these elements will allow you to evaluate any artwork thoroughly and objectively.
When you start
writing a critique
, remember that a useful analysis provides your view of the object’s strong and weak attributes.
Description
First of all, describe the artwork. At this stage, you don’t have to analyze anything. You just answer the question: what do you see?
Here are some essential questions that you might want to answer in your artwork description:
Example:
E.g., this is an oil painting of a woman in profile. She’s wearing a black dress in contrast with a brown background.
Analysis
The next step you take when writing an art critique assignment is analysis. To analyze an artwork means to evaluate how its elements correlate with each other. At this stage, you figure out what helps the artwork to convey an idea or a mood.
When writing this section, answer the following questions:
Example:
E.g., the tonal range of the painting creates a dark and brooding atmosphere. The sharp shadows create dramatic contrasts.
Interpretation
In this next section, we are looking for the meaning behind the artwork. It may seem like a tough task, especially if the artwork is cryptic or too unusual. But don’t worry: at this stage, the interpretation is entirely up to you!
Remember: you shouldn’t make your interpretation too arbitrary! Provide evidence and point out what exactly influenced your understanding of the artwork.
Here are the questions that you can answer while interpreting an artwork:
Example:
E.g., in this painting, the artist wanted to show us the king’s personality and achievements.
Judgment
And now it’s time to
express your opinion
! You’re deciding if the work succeeded in creating a mood or telling a story.
It’s essential to be objective when judging an art object. Remember: even if there’s something you don’t like, the work still can be successful! And don’t forget to provide evidence that supports your judgment.
Here are some points that can help you write the fourth part of your review:
Example:
E.g., the artwork successfully conveys the atmosphere of a battle through its composition and color scheme. Learning about its backstory helped me to appreciate the painting even more.
📜 Art Critique Examples
As you can imagine, all kinds of masterpieces are subject to art criticism. For example, you can choose to write about paintings, drawings, sculptures, or even buildings. And, naturally, all these forms of art have their specific features!
These tips will provide you with an art critique template for anything, be it an oil painting or a cathedral.
Painting Critique Examples
Paint is a medium that emphasizes light, colors, and space. You can discuss these and many other points in your critique.
Sculpture Critique Examples
Similarly, many specific factors influence the overall impression of a sculpture. Below are some things to pay attention to.
Architecture Critique Examples
You can write art critiques on architecture, too! Just bear in mind the points below.
Photography Critique Examples
Analyzing a photograph is a lot like critiquing a painting. Still, there are some unique features to consider.
✏️ Art Critique FAQ
❓ What is a critique in art?
Any piece of art only becomes famous with the help of opinions. They are expressed by respected specialists. These
opinions
can be called critiques. One can make a critique in the form of a paper, article, or essay.
❓ How to critique an artwork?
To comment on artwork like a pro, consider these
steps
:
-
Identify a genre/style/epoch.
-
Note typical features of the genre/style/epoch in the artwork.
-
Note what is peculiar, not typical for this style, etc.
-
Refer to the broader context, other works of the author.
❓ How to write an art critique paper?
Think about this type of essay as a
reaction
to what the author “tells” you through the artwork. Try to focus on a more or less objective review; do not fall into pure criticism or admiration.
❓ What are the four steps of art criticism?
The four
major steps
used in art criticism are:
-
Description,
-
Analysis,
-
Interpretation,
-
Judgment.
If you identify various aspects you want to focus on, you may describe each of them in that order.