This document provides instructions for a two-part research project on the history of art. Students will be assigned an artwork to research and analyze in a 4-page essay. They will also reinterpret their assigned artwork in a new medium of their choosing, such as photography, sculpture, or poetry. The instructions provide guidelines for researching the original artwork, developing a creative reinterpretation, and combining the analysis and reinterpretation into a final paper.

1. THE HISTORY OF ART: PART II
Professor Will Adams • wadams5@valenciacollege.edu
Online • Downtown Campus
Research Project Instructions
! For your research assignment, you will have a two-part project. For the first part, you will be tasked with
researching a piece of art and authoring a 4-page analysis essay about it. For the second part, you will be
creating a piece of art that reinterprets your assigned topic artwork in your own creative way.
! The following will guide you through the basic process you will use to create your reinterpretation:
1. You will be assigned a work of art or architecture by me (see list below).
2. Once you’ve received your topic, perform research on it.
i. For a 4-page research project, you should use no fewer than 6 credible sources.
ii. With the exception of the databases available through the College, another University or
College, or the public library, none of your sources may come from the Internet (i.e. Results
from a Google search).
4. After you’ve completed your research and have a good understanding of the piece of art, use what
you’ve learned to create your own interpretation of it.
i. You may, and in fact are encouraged to, change the medium from the original work of art
to your own.
i. For instance, if you choose a painting, you may reinterpret that as a painting, a
song, a film, etc.
ii. Be sure the medium you choose caters to your own abilities and interests, not the original
artist’s.
iii. Possible media to consider for your interpretation include photography, fashion design,
painting, dance, sculpture, modeling, film, or poetry.
i. Be creative and “think outside the box”!
ii. You will need to photograph your work for submission if is not written or a digital
file.
5. Finally, write a research paper that first discusses the original artwork, as you understand it from
your research.
i. This section should make up the bulk of your paper’s length – at least 3 pages.
ii. In addition, you should not use first- or second-person point-of-view when writing this
section of your paper – instead use the “academic third-person”. Instead of “I think that this
represents”, try using “One could interpret this to mean”.
iii. After analyzing the original artwork, then discuss your own interpretation within the final
page(s) of your essay. Be sure to explain your own perspective and artistic choices. This is
the only section of your paper in which you are allowed to use first-person point-of-view
(i.e. “After completing my research on Exekias, I concluded that…”).
iv. Collectively, the written body of your essay should total 4 full body pages.
v. Your text should be double-spaced, set in Times New Roman size 12 font, and have
standard 1” margins.
vi. Use proper MLA style citation for in-text citations, the Works Cited page, and the cover
page (refer to attached MLA style guide for help).

2. 6. One draft may be turned in for instructor feedback by April 11th
– this must be done via email at
wadams5@valenciacollege.edu.
7. Both the artistic and the written components of your project are due in on Sunday, April 25th
.
Topic Assignments by Student
Student Name Topic Assignment
Karla Bengston Artist unknown, Toreador (Bull Leaping) Fresco, c.
1,550 BCE, Minoan wall painting
Richard Caraballo Duccio di Buoninsegna, Betrayal of Jesus (detail
from the Maestám altarpiece), 1308-1311 CE, Late
Gothic painting
Christopher Gousse Agesander, Polydorus, & Athenodorus of
Rhodes, Laocoön and his Sons, c. 150 BCE,
Hellenistic Greek sculpture
Ayoub Hammou Ali Giotto di Bondone, Lamentation (detail from the
Arena Chapel frescoes), 1305-1306 CE, Gothic
fresco painting
Raymo Ne Hinnant Epigonos of Pergamon, The Dying Trumpeter
(AKA The Dying Gaul), c. 230 BCE, Hellenistic
Greek sculpture
Jacob Jordan Nicholas of Verdun, Sacrifice of Isaac (detail of the
Klosterneuburg Altar), 1181 CE, Gothic enamel &
metalwork
Sarah Joseph Iktinos & Kallikrates, Parthenon, 447 BCE,
Classical Greek temple
Kitana Khanthavong Rainier of Huy, Baptism of Christ, 1118 CE,
Romanesque baptismal font
Jaelyn Knopp Artist unknown, The Erechtheion, c. 420 BCE,
Classical Greek temple
Dawkins Lormejuste Gislebertus, Last Judgment, located at Saint-
Lazare, Autun, France, c. 1135-1120 CE,
Romanesque relief sculpture
Megan Maurer Artist unknown, Mausoleum of Galla Placidia, c.
425 CE, Byzantine architecture/mosaic
Jonathan Mora Artist unknown, Dipylon Krater, c. 750-735 BCE,
Archaic Greek pottery
Samantha Mullens Artist unknown, The Four Tetrarchs, c. 305 CE,
Late Roman sculpture
Brandi Nicklaus Kallikrates, Temple of Athena Nike, c. 427 BCE,
Classical Greek temple
Amy Oh Artist unknown, The Aphrodite of Melos (AKA
Venus de Milo), c. 160 CE, Hellenistic Greek
sculpture
Giancarlo Porco Artist unknown, The Boxer of Quirinal (AKA Terme
Boxer), c. 330 BCE, Hellenistic Greek sculpture

3. Gabrielle Powell Exekias, Achilles and Ajax Playing Dice, c. 540
BCE, Archaic Greek vase painting
Charles Price Artist unknown, Statue of King Mycerinus (AKA
Menkaure) and His Wife, c. 2,515 BCE, Egyptian
sculpture
Hailey Rigas Lysippos, Apoxyomenos, c. 330 BCE, Greek
sculpture
Jasmine Rosa Artist unknown, Palette of King Narmer, c. 3,150
BCE, Egyptian sculpture
Samuel Valdes Artist unknown, Capitoline She-Wolf, c. 500 BCE,
Etruscan/Early Roman bronze sculpture
Nicole Vega Imhotep, Step Pyramid of King Djoser, c. 2,681
BCE, Egyptian architecture
Celine Wedderburn Artist unknown, Augustus of Primaporta, c. 75 CE,
Roman marble sculpture
Kayla West Pierre de Montreuil, Sainte-Chapelle, c. 1239 CE,
French Gothic Rayonnant architecture
Artist unknown, Court of Justinian Mosaic at San
Vitale, c. 547 CE, Byzantine mosaic
Anthemius of Tralles & Isidorus of Miletus, Hagia
Sophia, 532-527 CE, Byzantine architecture
Artist unknown, Maison Carrée, c. 16 BCE, Roman
architecture
Myron, Diskobolos (AKA Discus Thrower), c. 450
BCE, Classical Greek sculpture
Vespasian, Colosseum (AKA Coliseum), 80 CE,
Roman architecture
Pythokritos of Rhodes, Nike of Samothrace (AKA
Winged Victory), c. 190 BCE, Hellenistic Greek
sculpture