First, read Barnet, chapter 4, pp. 69-106.

Pictured below is a sculpture. It is a portrait of George Washington. First, make sure that you understand portraiture as a type of subject. Refer to Barnet, p. 80. Write one paragraph analyzing the volumes and silhouette of the sculpture (refer to pp. 98-100). Refer to pp. 47-49 to distinguish between analysis and description.

nalysis and description. Do not write about the subject of the sculpture (except to mention it) nor the iconography (this is a word you should become familiar with by looking it up in a dictionary, such as Dictionary.com (Links to an external site.)).

Discuss:

1. Balance: Is the composition symmetrical or asymmetrical? In other words, it is balanced equally around a hypothetical center (symmetrical); or is it balanced unevenly around a center line?
2. Silhouette: Is the figure open or closed? Are the figure’s limbs perpendicular or at an angle to the body (open); or are the figure’s limbs parallel to the body (closed)?
3. Volumes: Are the volumes organic or geometric?
4. Surface Treatment: Are there variations in represented textures of various objects and forms?