Preliminary
Lesson plan
Week 1
Week 2
Week 3
Week 4
Nicholas II
Nicholas &
Alexandra
Life of the
peasants
Life of the
workers
Outbreak
of revolution
1905
revolution
Week 5
Web Wiz
Analysing Pictures
The analysis of visual sources requires a look at the overall pictures to see what idea is being presented. Then a close examination of the details in the picture is needed to see how the artist/photographer is putting forward these ideas. Remember in art work or cartoons nothing is there by accident. The artist has a reason for everything in the picture.
As usual you begin your analysis by asking the key questions in Analysing Sources. When you know who produced the source and why, it is possible to draw conclusions about the subject of the picture and the artist.
Guidelines for analysing pictures
In addition to the key questions, here are some guidelines to analysing pictures:
- Who drew the picture? Where and when?
- What is the subject of the picture?
- What is the main idea? Look at the title.
- What is in the foreground? What is in the background?
- Are there any people in the picture? What are they doing?
- Are there any buildings in the picture? What sort are they? Do they have any symbolic meaning? How do they help the meaning of the picture?
- Are there any objects in the picture? What are they? What do they represent? How do they add to the idea of the picture?
- Are there any words in the picture? How are they linked to the central idea?
- What is the main point being made by the artist? Is the work mocking, criticising, sympathetic to, praising the subject?
- On whose 'side' is the artist? What position has the artist taken? Is there obvious bias towards one side of an issue or another?