Practice question · Sort into groups
Sort each remark by the stage of criticism it belongs to.
Groups: Description · Formal analysis · Interpretation · Judgement
- Chairs and window
- Dark mass triangle
- Lost shoulder edge
- Tension succeeds
- Figure on left
- Form adds authority
Hints
- Two of the six could be verified by anyone standing in front of the picture.
- Only one of the six contains a verdict.
Show the answer
Description: Figure on left, Chairs and window
Formal analysis: Dark mass triangle, Lost shoulder edge
Interpretation: Form adds authority
Judgement: Tension succeeds
Why
The boundary that matters is between the second and third columns. Formal analysis still points at things anyone can find; interpretation adds a claim about what they do. Sliding across that boundary without noticing is how a crit becomes an argument about taste that nobody can win.
Practise Analysing a Finished Work
The app has 5 more questions on this lesson, and keeps your place in the course. Painting I is free to start.
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