Write on Art
Essay Category
Essays are a non-fiction academic style of writing where you convey a particular idea or argument, supported by evidence.
Research your chosen artwork and share with your reader how this research has enhanced or maybe even changed your thoughts about it.
You could investigate:
- the historic and social context at the time the artwork was made
- the wider work and life of the artwork’s creator
- interpretations other people have already written about this artwork
You could share why you think a particular artwork is of great importance, or even why you think it is overrated. Whatever your argument, make sure you use your research to back it up!
Here are some questions to get you started:
- What have other people written about your chosen artwork, and do you agree with it?
- Has anything you have discovered about the artist who made the artwork or when it was made changed your understanding of it?
- What do you think the artist’s motivations were to make this artwork?
Assessment Criteria
- Research: You will be assessed on the depth to which you have researched your chosen artwork. Have you considered a variety of perspectives and resources? Have you challenged yourself to look beyond the most frequent search engine results?
- Analysis: You will be assessed on how you have interpreted and brought together the research you have done. Have you not only shared your research but also your perspective on it? Have you compared or connected pieces of research to form a bigger argument?
- Engagement: You will be assessed on how enjoyable your writing is to read. Did you manage to keep your readers’ attention? Did your research and argument give them a lot to think about?
Examples
An example of a real-world essay is this piece, Through the Looking Glass with Jean Cooke, written by former Write on Art judge, Ruth Millington, on Art UK’s website. Notice how Ruth Millington combines her own visual analysis, research about the artist’s life, and comparison with the artist’s other work, to tell us why she finds this self-portrait to be so fascinating.
Write on Art used to only invite young writers to submit essays. If you click on the Previous Winners tab you can see lots of examples of essays by young writers about artworks from Art UK’s website. Amelie Roscoe’s essay about Pauline Bunny by Sarah Lucas, and Azzurra Mitchell’s essay about Kathe Kollwitz’s Woman with Dead Child, are great examples of writers who have researched artworks from multiple perspectives and used this research to argue why they consider their chosen artworks to be so powerful.