Go to the Wadsworth Atheneum Museum and locate various Romantic paintings (see list, last page of this packet), then zero in on one of the paintings assigned.  Study it thoroughly, taking notes on your observations; a quick glance is not enough.  Also take a few notes on a second Romantic painting, for purposes of comparison (see #4 below).

Essays about a painting should include:
1) the full name of the artist, title (in italics), and date (if known) of the painting you have chosen
2) a detailed description of the painting, following procedures practiced in class:
First describe the subject matter of the painting (that is, what it shows, based only on what you can see and identify without reference to outside sources).
Then describe its iconography (the story it tells, which does require outside sources), if it has one.

Next, consider how the artist has used formal (visual) qualities to present the subject, bearing in mind that other choices were possible:
--line (vertical, horizontal, diagonal? curved, straight?)
--color (many or few? bright or subdued? etc.)
--space (empty or full? deep or shallow?)
--composition (the arrangement of elements within the rectangle of the frame:  centered? off to the sides? forming some kind of pattern?)
--also, since you are lucky enough to be able to look closely at an actual painting, pay particular attention to the way the paint itself has been applied:  is it rough or smooth?  a combination of the two?  can you see any brushstrokes?  are the colors smoothly blended, or applied in contrasting patches?

In writing this section, try to be as specific as possible:  imagine that your reader has never seen this picture, and try to make him or her see it through your description.

3)  a discussion of the content, or meaning, of the painting.  The important thing in this section of your paper is to support every part of your interpretation with something you have seen in the painting; do not just assert your opinions, but try to prove them.

4) (may be combined with 3) a discussion of the painting within the broader context of the Romantic movement.  In what ways does the painting relate to any Romantic concerns or techniques discussed in this course?   Review your class notes, the AUCA text, and the Vaughan book for help here.

*--In the course of this section try to draw some comparisons and/or contrasts between the painting you are discussing and at least one other Romantic painting from either the Atheneum or from the Vaughan text.  You could develop this comparison in terms of subject matter, formal qualities, and/or context. Sample museum paintings for comparison:  David's Lictors . . .  with Oath of the Horatii; Vernet or Constable with each other, or with any of the Cole paintings

*--Also develop at least one interdisciplinary comparison, with a musical or literary work/figure.