Critically Analysing the Work of Other Artists and Designers

Looking hard, not just copying

AO1 asks you to develop your ideas by investigating sources, and the mark is not for finding a source but for what you do with it. Critical analysis means looking hard at the work of an artist, craftsperson or designer and asking questions: what did they use, how did they do it, what does it make you feel, and why. Copying a picture neatly into your book earns little; analysing it, questioning it, and taking a clear idea from it into your own work is what top marks reward. This module teaches how to analyse any source, without needing to name a single famous artist.

Words for analysing art

Learn these before you study any source. They name the tools you use to move from copying to real analysis.

Match the formal element to its meaning

Describing against analysing

The single biggest jump in AO1 marks comes from moving past description into analysis. Here is the difference.

What earns the marks?

You have found a source and copied it carefully into your sketchbook. What must you add to move from a low mark to a high one?

• Analysis and a personal response
• A larger copy of the same source
• Several more copies of other sources
• A title in decorative lettering

Ask a question of every source

When you study any source, do not just describe it; interrogate it. Ask what the maker used and how, why they arranged it that way, what mood or meaning it carries, and what one idea you will take into your own work. Write those answers next to the image. Description tells the moderator you looked; analysis tells them you understood. Always end by saying how the source will change what you do next.

Pick the analytical questions

Select every question that shows critical analysis of a source.

• How was this made?
• Why did the maker arrange it this way?
• What idea can I take into my own work?
• How neatly can I copy it?
• How quickly can I fill the page?

Order analysing a source

Put the steps of critically analysing a source in a sensible order.

• Look closely at the whole source
• Pick out the formal elements the maker used
• Work out how it was made and arranged
• Ask why those choices were made and what they mean
• Give your personal response to it
• Say what idea you will take into your own work

Complete the analysis facts

The building blocks of art, such as line and colour, are the _____ elements. The way the parts are arranged is the _____. Looking hard at a source and questioning it, not just copying it, is _____. What you think and feel about a source is your _____ response.

One photograph, many questions

Imagine you have found a photograph of a rusted metal gate to work from. A weak page would copy it neatly and stop there. A strong page asks questions of it. What are the formal elements: the rough texture of the rust, the strong vertical lines of the bars, the muted browns and oranges. How was it captured: close up, so the texture fills the frame. Why does it work: the decay feels both sad and beautiful. And the key move: which one quality will you take into your own work, perhaps the rich rusted texture, and how. The same photograph copied is worth little; questioned like this, it becomes real investigation.

Spot the analysis

Tap the TWO sentences that ANALYSE a source, rather than just describe it.

• The rough texture was made by dragging thick paint with a knife
• The dark background makes the pale figure feel isolated
• There is a house on the left of the picture
• The picture uses the colour blue

Improve the sketchbook page

A student shows you a sketchbook page. Choose the advice that moves it towards higher marks.

• The page has a neat copy of a source and nothing else. What should they add?
• They have listed the colours but not said why they matter. What comes next?
• They have analysed a source well. What finishes the investigation?

Build an analysis point

Choose the word for each gap to complete one strong analysis point.

Quick-fire analysis check

Answer each question. You have three lives, and losing them all restarts the run.

Explain how to analyse a source

A classmate copies sources neatly but keeps getting low AO1 marks. Explain how to analyse a source critically so their work moves into the higher marks.

• Explain the difference between describing and analysing
• Explain how to use the formal elements in analysis
• Explain what questions to ask of a source
• Explain what a personal response adds
• Explain how the analysis should feed their own work