Visual analysis is the process of critiquing art, architecture or visual design by breaking each work down to its elements. These can include technical elements such as line, compositional elements such as variety, narrative elements such as allegories and historical context such as the characteristics of an artistic movement or the life of an artist. The following are common elements of a visual analysis.
Abstractions
Allegories
Art Movement / Design School
Background
Balance
Biographical Context (i.e. life of the artist)
Brush Strokes / Painterly Qualities
Cohesion
Color
Composition / Layout
Conceptual Expressions
Craftsmanship
Emotional Expressions
Emphasis / Dominance
Focal Point
Forms
Gradation
Harmony
Historical Context
Imaginative Expressions
Lighting
Line
Materials
Meaning
Middle Ground
Mood
Movement
Mysterious Elements / Unknowns
Narrative
Negative Space
Patterns
Perspective
Proportion
Rhythm
Shapes
Size
Space
Style
Subjects / Subject Matter
Symbolism
Symmetry
Texture
Time & Place
Tone
Unity
Vanishing Point
Variety
Visual Contrast
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Visual Analysis
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