Many art students are tasked with composing dissertation writing focusing on art history. When composing a paper on art history, it is recommended that you focus on the period before modern art, which is taken to have begun from around 1850 to the current time. As such, your writing will be focusing on a wide range of eras within art, going back to the time of antiquity. Our handful of great ideas to use for your paper will greatly help in suppressing this lengthy period so that you can easily write about a host of different topics.

Museums

Before you begin writing, it is generally a really good idea to visit your local art museum. This will give you a real perspective on the type of art produced before the modern era. It is also will give you a real life view of the art in front you so you can better analyze it.

It is best to check online to see which art museums in your local area will be representing classical art; you do not want to go to a modern art exhibition, as interesting as it may be, it will not help you with your thesis!

Topics

The following are some great topics to compose an art history thesis on:

• Alchemy in art throughout history
• Lute iconography throughout art in history
• Sibyls in art throughout history
• Japanese art and its influence on Western art
• African art history
• Indian art and its impact on religion in India
• Islamic art and its impact on architecture
• The symmetry and pattern in Oriental art
• Art from the Mediterranean basin
• Early Renaissance paintings

There are many elements to analyze of art, which we are sure you have been taught during class, but it is good to have a jog of the memory in regards to this. Once you have chosen the art to analyze, the bulk of your analysis will be on the formal elements of the art. This includes things such as: link, form, color, texture, space, unity balance and focal areas. Analyzing these areas of the art will gain you a high mark in your dissertation.

As you can see, it can be a little tough to choose an adequate topic to write about in your dissertation. However, if you conduct diligent research and know the main elements to analyze, as detailed in this guide, then you will be easily able to attain high marks.