The Criticism of

Art and Judgment

of Aesthetics
Mr. James S. Fuentes
Course Instructor
 Aesthetics and Art
Criticism
Aesthetics is a form of philosophy
that intends to study the value and nature
of art while art criticism is the systematic
approach of evaluating and assessing
artworks. It is generally composed of some
steps that will be implemented as a viewer
or critic of art.
 STEPS IN
EVALUATING
ART
STEP
0
1
Description
You need to make a
list of the that are visible
in the elements of the
work. This may include the
subject, the elements of
art that were applied in
the work
 QUESTIONS YOU NEED TO
• ANSWER
What do you see in the artwork?
• What are these images?
• When was the work created?
• Where was the work created?
• For whom is this work made? A specific person
or group of person/s/audience?
• Usually these are items that you can found from
the credit line. Learning about the artist history
may also be necessary.
STEP
0
Analysis2
You may need to
observe and identify the
different applications of
principles of design. You may
also need to understand why
these principles were
applied in the first place and
may require certain
comparisons with other work
of artists.
 QUESTIONS YOU NEED TO
• ANSWER
How is the work organized?
• What principles of design were applied in the
artwork?
• What are the artist’s individual style and
techniques?
• What are the distinct features of the artwork
that are characteristic of the artist?
• What is the rigor implementation that the artist
chooses to portray?
• How did the artist express certain emotions and
STEP
0
3
Interpretation
In this step, digging
into the content is the
hallmark of this process. You
may need to examine the
message, rhetoric, or
narrative of the artwork.
 QUESTIONS YOU NEED TO
• ANSWER
What is the message of the art?
• Why is this message relevant or important?
• What is the mood being conveyed in the art?
• How did the artist’s background influence the
creation of the art, i.e. subject, elements and
principles and content?
• What are the artist’s influences that paved the
way to the development of his art?
STEP
0
Judgment
As a4critic, you may
need to examine the artistic
merit of the work. Merit is
when the artist has
successfully accomplished
the foundational and
subjective components of
art.
 QUESTIONS YOU NEED TO
• ANSWER
What makes the artwork successful?
• How is the work significant to the message it
seeks to convey?
• Does it serve an aesthetic and utilitarian
purpose?
• Is the artwork effective in communicating its
meaning?
 Critical Analysis using Other
Theories
Imitationalism (Literal)
This theory is focused on critiquing the
artwork based on the extent of realistic
representation. As a critic, you must judge the
qualities and the details of the work that seeks to
mimic reality. So as a critic, you must be guided by
the question “How well did the artist represent the
real- form of the subject?” (Ragans, 2005)
 Formalism (Conventional)
This theory is focused on evaluating
the artwork’s rigor on design and the
application of principles. You may be guided
with the question, “how did the artist
organize the artwork into a cohesive
representation?” (Ragans, 2005)
 Emotionalism (Subjective)
This theory refers to the expressive qualities
of the artwork. You may have to determine what
feelings, moods and emotions were aroused or
stimulated by the art. There may be subconscious
materials that can be extracted out by the forms
and realistic representations that need to be
verbalized. You may be guided by the question
“What were the conscious and unconscious
intentions of the artist in the creation of his art?”
(Ragans, 2005)
 Utilitarianism (Utility and
Function)
Sometimes products of art may not
only be aesthetic. It may have utilitarian
purpose as well. This theory is not
essentially an aesthetic theory, but this
may assist in interpreting artworks with
functional aspects. So, when confronted
with functional arts, determining its success
is also the ability of the art to perform its
10. An artwork is not necessarily about what the artist wanted it
to be about.
11. A critic ought not to be the spokesperson for the artist
12. Interpretations ought to present the work in its best rather
than its weakest light.
13.) The objects of interpretation are artworks, not artists.
14. All art is in part about the world in which it emerged.
15. All art is in part about other art.
16. No single interpretation is exhaustive of the meaning of an
artwork.
17. The meaning of an artwork may be different from its
significance to the viewer. Interpretation is ultimately a
communal endeavor and the community is ultimately self-
corrective.
18.) Good interpretations invite us to see for ourselves and to
 Barrett’s Principle of
1. Interpretation
Artworks have “aboutness” and demand interpretation.
2. Interpretations are persuasive arguments.
3. Some interpretations are better than others
4. Good interpretations of art tell more about the artwork
than they tell about the critic.
5. Feelings are guides to interpretations.
6. There can be different, competing, and contradictory
interpretations of the same artwork.
7. Interpretations are often based on a world view.
8. Interpretations are not absolutely right, but more or less
reasonable, convincing, enlightening and informative
9. Interpretations can be judged by coherence,
correspondence, and inclusiveness.
 FAMOUS ART
CRITICS IN THE
WORLD
 Xie He (6th century)
Hundreds of years ago, art was an explicit
competition. In the 6th century, Chinese artist Xie
He developed his “Six Principles” in order to rank
painters according to merit. Even then, however,
the standards were subjective. For example, “spirit
resonance” refers to a certain ineffable vitality.
Other measures are more technical or formal:
“bone method,” or structural brush use;
composition; and, in the case of artists who made
copies of existing works, adherence to originals.
Xie He’s principles have proven so enduring that
 Giorgio Vasari (1511–1574)
Often considered the first art historian, also
established influential preferences and prejudices.
His canonical 1550 text, Lives of the Most Eminent
Painters, Sculptors, and Architects, created a
(highly biased and exaggerated) roster of the day’s
most important creative figures. They were all
Italian, and skewed Tuscan, in particular
(Michelangelo, Giotto, Sandro Botticelli ). Vasari
himself coined the term the “Renaissance,”
mythologizing the so-called rebirth of culture in
Europe from the 13th to 16th centuries.
 Jonathan Richardson the Elder (1667–
1745)
In 1715, British painter and collector Jonathan Richardson
the Elder penned what’s widely accepted as the the first work of art
theory written in English. Richardson begins his “Essay on the
Theory of Painting” by finding fault with what he claims is a widely
held belief: “Many, I believe, consider the art of painting but as a
pleasing superfluity; at best, that it holds but a low rank with
respect to its usefulness to mankind.” Painting, Richardson
counters, is important because it allows us to communicate ideas,
elevates us beyond brutishness, and allows for individual style or
expression. Richardson is also credited as the first writer to use the
term “art criticism.” In his 1719 “Essay on the Whole Art of
Criticism,” Richardson attempts to lay a groundwork for how to
judge an artist or a painting, as well as how to ascertain the
authenticity of an artwork.
 Guillaume Apollinaire (1880–1918)
Best known as a stylistically innovative poet,
Guillaume Apollinaire is also responsible for popularizing
modernist art. In particular, he supported
the Cubist endeavors of his friends Pablo Picasso, Juan Gris,
and Georges Braque well before the public accepted their
new, fractured painting style. In a 2003 essay, Pamela A.
Genova connects the painters’ patchwork technique with the
poet’s verse. Apollinaire identified, she writes, with “the
juxtaposition of reality and imagination, and the simultaneity
of spatial and temporal movement.” Apollinaire wrote
prefaces to salon catalogues, as well as a text, The Cubist
Painters, which lyrically affirmed the artists’ place in history.
 Walter Benjamin (1892–1940)
Walter Benjamin’s 1935 essay “The Work of Art in the
Age of Mechanical Reproduction” situates art within a larger
socioeconomic context. He notes that as long as humans
have been making art, they’ve also been copying it—
printing, retracing in a master’s style, or reusing the same
sculptural molds. Yet in the modern age, photography and
film could capture the world better than any traditional art
form. Then why are painting and sculpture still worthwhile?
Benjamin suggests that what truly makes an original artwork
special is intangible. “Even the most perfect reproduction of
a work of art,” he writes, “is lacking in one element: its
presence in time and space, its unique existence at the place
where it happens to be.” After Benjamin, it’s difficult not to
 Harold Rosenberg (1906–1978) and
Clement Greenberg (1909–1994)
A critic for the erudite quarterly Partisan
Review and then The New Yorker, Harold
Rosenberg may be most famous for developing the
term “action painting.” Along with Clement
Greenberg, he avidly promoted Abstract
Expressionism, which required fluid, personal
gestures (or actions) to apply paint to canvas. He
was a particular fan of Willem de Kooning, while
Greenberg preferred Jackson Pollock.
 Example of an Art Critique

An Afternoon at
La Grande Jette
by George
Seurat
 Description
Point out all the surface information such as the title
of the artwork, artist name, date created, size, medium,
location and genre. Include a description of the objects/scene
that you have identified. Do not guess if you cannot identify
the object/image.

Example:
This artwork is entitled ‘Worker’s past time’ and was
done by Alexander Cooper . The artwork was done in 1991,
measures 34x34 cm and is acrylic on canvas. The
representational painting can be found in the personal
collection of the Mutual Gallery. The artwork shows a group
of people engaged in various activities at a work site...
 Analysis
You will now focus on the elements of art and
principles of design present the work. You do not need to list
all the elements and principles you know, just the ones
present in the work of art. Give examples as to how the
elements are being used.

Example
There are various elements of art that are present in
this art work. A few significant ones are texture and colour.
Texture is used in the application of the acrylic paint to the
work men’s clothing and their surroundings. The artist uses
colour to indicate the time of day as well as the buildings in
the backgroun.
 Interpretation
With all the information you have gathered, now
discuss what the work is about
How can you prove your interpretation? Keep in mind
that your interpretation maybe different from another
person.

Example
This artwork is about work men taking a break from
their construction duties and engaging in a game of
dominoes. This is something we would see in everyday life,
which is Alexander Cooper’s main theme…
 Judgment
In all the previous steps you are asked to discuss the
work based on facts, in this section you will include your
opinion. This does not mean to simply state that you like or
dislike the art work, but to state WHY you believe it to be
successful or not. Be sure to utilize the elements of art as
vocabulary. Avoid using words such as ‘pretty’ or ‘ugly’

Example
I believe this work of art to be pleasing because of its
use of colour and texture to capture the realistic setting of a
work site. It makes the viewer feel as if this place might exist
in their own community, which is why this work would be a
successful piece. It is something most Caribbean nationals
Example of an Art Critique

The Weeping
Woman by Pablo
Picasso
 Description
The Weeping Woman is a painting finished by Pablo
Picasso in France, 1937. This type of artwork can be
considered to be expressionism. There isn’t an actual
background scene in the painting. The background is
completed with different lines and colors. The woman is the
focus point of this painting. She is wearing an accessory on
top of her head which demonstrates her elegance. My first
impression of the artwork is that the face of the woman is
not proportionate and is only painted with lines, no curves.
The main colors that are used in this painting are green,
yellow, blue, purple, red and black. The painting is set mainly
of lined and little curves. The mood and visual effect that this
painting portrays can be considered to be suffering, and
 Analysis
The colors that the author uses can be considered to
be quite different as each color conveys a separate
impression. The light purple that begins at the bottom top of
the woman’s eyes can convey sadness. The other half of the
face is mainly covered in green and yellow; these can be said
to interpret other solid emotions that the painter must have
towards this woman as she was a vital character in Picasso’s
life. The painting is created with mainly lines which can mean
that the woman had strong physical features or that her
different emotions were felt passionately as lines are usually
seen as strong technical elements. The only curves that are
being used are for her hair and eyes. The eyes look quite
down or depressive. This is because the woman is crying,
 Interpretation
I believe that Picasso wanted the audience to feel
pain and provide a statement that explains how all women
feel and the agony that they are consistently in. The
audience can see that the woman has peeled away her flesh
by corrosive tears to reveal her white bones. The
handkerchief she tries to stuff in her mouth seems as a shard
of glass. This vivid image can convey pain and hurting.
Picasso has expressed the behavior of this woman several
times and often describes the constant tears that fall off her
eyes. So the feeling conveyed by the artwork is definitely
suffering. Picasso wanted us to feel her and understand the
pain that she was going through. It was not easy to be a
woman during that time since females where often frowned
 Judgment
Finally, the artist’s value may be to evoke pain, as
mentioned previously. This is due to the colors that Picasso
used and the shapes that he draws; not only these technical
elements but also the images that the painter uses within
the actual face of the woman. The painting relates to the
entire female community. This community can understand
the painting and know what Picasso was trying to portray.
Every woman is able understand and comprehend the
message behind this painting as we all feel the same way at
one point in our lives. I believe that this is a strong value in
the painting. The weak value lies in the different colors that
the painter chooses. I found it confusing to interpret other
areas of the face as the colors that were used didn’t seem to
Thank you very
much!