Formal analysis

talk about the history behind the piece, techniques & medium used, compostion (i.e. shape design, value structure, color relationships/temperature, placement of light and shadow etc...) compare it to other pieces of his work & that of other impressionists, analyze the critical response.
or just do what every liberal arts student does and make up random bullshit.

>>2412752
thanks, this helps. I'll try to do some of both.

>>2412752
Wow, no that's exactly what you do not write about in a formal analysis. You're focusing on the work and the work alone, OP. Pretend like it was created in a vacuum. Write about how the artist uses the elements of art, how they complement each other or which ones he uses dominantly. Start generally then work your way down to specifics. I usually start with composition, then eye direction, color, and finally brushwork for a Monet.