An overview of art analysis explaining the areas of subject, form, and content. All images from The Metropolitan Museum of Art (www.metmuseum.org).

1. SUBJECT
FORM
CONTENT
Analyze Them!
UNIT 5 - SUBJECT FORM CONTENT

2. THE OLD
OFFICE ERA
WORKING
FROM HOME
TODAY
SUBJECT, FORM, CONTENT: THEY RELATE
Subject:
What does the artwork depict?
Form:
How does the artist use
media, style, design
elements and principles?
Content:
What does the
artwork mean?
Analysis
of an
Artwork

3. SUBJECT
noun - The visual or narrative focus of a work of art.
UNIT 5 - SUBJECT FORM CONTENT

4. Portrait
Self-Portrait
Landscape
Genre
Religious
Non-objective
Subject
Most common subjects in art:

5. Erasmus of Rotterdam
by Hans Holbein the Younger
A representation of a particular individual
SUBJECTS
PORTRAITURE

6. Rubens, His Wife Helena Fourment, and Their
Son Frans by Peter Paul Rubens
A portrait of oneself made by oneself
SUBJECTS
SELF-PORTRAITURE

7. Vines and Olive Trees, Taragona by Joan Miro
The natural landforms of a region; also, an image that has natural
scenery as its primary focus.
SUBJECTS
LANDSCAPE

8. Blindman’s Bluff by Komar and Melamid
A depiction of everyday life. (for this lesson)
BUT
(This term can also mean "a category of artistic
practice having a particular subject, form, or
technique.)
SUBJECTS
GENRE

9. Madonna and Child by Simone Martini
SUBJECTS
RELIGIOUS
Art that depicts religious themes.

10. Autumn Rhythm Number 30 by Jackson Pollock
SUBJECTS
NON-OBJECTIVE
Art that does not make reference to anything
in the natural world.

11. FORM
The total visual effect of an artwork, due to style,
technique, media, and design.
UNIT 5 - SUBJECT FORM CONTENT

12. This type of form is usually referred to when someone is
talking about an artwork in more broad terms or
analyzing it subject, content, and form.
UNIT 5 - SUBJECT FORM CONTENT
FORM VS FORM?
Two meanings for form?!
The term “form” is also one of the elements of design we
talked about in Unit 3. There is a difference between
how the word “form” is used in that context versus how
it is used in this lesson.

13. The term “form” used in Unit 5: Vermeer’s The Maid, is
an oil painting on canvas. The artist uses realistic style,
dark values, and asymmetrical balance.
UNIT 5 - SUBJECT FORM CONTENT
FORM VS FORM
EXPLAINED!
Two meanings for form?!
The term “form” used as an element of design (Unit 3):
The woman in Vermeer’s The Maid shows the use of
light and dark values to create the illusion of form.
A Maid Asleep by Johannes Vermeer

14. CONTENT
The meaning of an artwork
UNIT 5 - SUBJECT FORM CONTENT

15. Listen to this audio guide about the content of
Jean Chardin's painting, Soap Bubbles.
UNIT 5 - SUBJECT FORM CONTENT
Click here