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Introduction to Formal Analysis Reference Sheet
“...[A] formal analysis – the result of looking closely – is an analysis of the form that the
artist produces; that is, an analysis of the work of art, which is made up of such things as line,
shape, color, texture, mass, composition. These things give the stone or canvas its form, its
expression, its content, its meaning. – Sylvan Barnet, A Short Guide to Writing About Art
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Formal analysis, also known as visual analysis, is one of the most essential tools for an art
historian. It involves looking at a work of art and identifying the visual qualities which compose
it. It involves little to no prior knowledge of an artist or their work, and requires no research by
the art historian. It can be applied to any of the visual arts, which include painting, sculpture,
architecture, drawing, photography, ceramics, and crafts such as weaving or knitting.
(Left) Rudolf Dührkoop, Portrait of Heinrich Wölfflin, 1920’s. Image in Public Domain.
(Right) Roger Fry, Self Portrait, 1928. Image in Public Domain.
This technique can be traced back to two important figures in art history: Heinrich Wölfflin and
Roger Fry. Heinrich Wölfflin (1864-1945) was a Swiss art historian who is remembered for the
role he played in the development of formal analysis. Wölfflin developed a way of closely
analyzing the formal qualities of a particular artist’s work, such as the way they drew an earlobe
or hand, to identify their personal style. Roger Fry (1866-1934) was an English painter and art
critic, who also emphasized the importance of the visual qualities of an artwork. Fry is famous
for developing Formalism, a movement which focused only on the formal, or visual, aspects of a
work of art. He became very influential in how we write about formal analysis.
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Barnet, Sylvan. A Short Guide to Writing About Art. 11th ed. New York, NY: Pearson, 2014.
