How to describe the picture: recommendations

The task of writing an essay on a picture often puts a schoolboy of any age at a dead end. It would seem that everything is simple: you just have to look at the picture and describe your impressions. However, the child often does not understand how to describe the picture in a way that does not look like a primitive enumeration of what he sees, nor fantasies about the plot of the work. Meanwhile, in this task, in any case, in doing it at the level that is standardly expected in school, there really is nothing difficult. In order for the author to successfully cope with such a composition, it is enough just to direct the course of his reasoning and tell him what to look for.

Definition of the genre

Before describing the picture, the student should correlate it with those that he has already seen, and at least approximately determine its genre. Perhaps this definition does not appear in the work itself, but this is necessary in order to focus the student's attention on important and meaningful details.

It is often difficult to define the genre precisely, but the child is fully able to understand that in front of him: landscape (including images of animals), still life, portrait (including group or animal), everyday scene or a picture of the historical plot. In general, pictures of other genres are rarely used in methodological practice.

A brief description of the picture also implies the ability to understand the elements of which genres are combined in a particular work. Let's say it can be a portrait on a background of a landscape or a household scene with a still-life.

Common in the description of pictures of any genre

Before describing the picture of any genre, it is appropriate to draw up a plan for the future text. Common elements of the composition for a story about the work of painting or graphics of any genre can be the following:

1. The designation of the genre and, perhaps, an explanation of why the author refers to it a work.
2. Perhaps, brief information about the author and the work, the history of its creation (year, materials, storage, the era of creation, maybe a specific story accompanying the work on the canvas). In some cases it is appropriate to say what public resonance caused the work.
3. A brief description of what is depicted in the picture (what is brought to the fore, what is on the back).
4. What is the color scale of the work, what sensations does it evoke, how does it relate to the plot.

Landscape, still life, images of animals

The definition of the genre of the landscape rarely causes difficulties, difficulties appear precisely when trying to tell about what they saw. A brief description of the picture in this case may include answers to the following questions:

1. What attracts attention most of all (what is the center of the picture), why, through which it is achieved; Whether there is this center.
2. Dynamically or static image (which is depicted: state or motion), why.

At the same need to pay attention to the description of still life, but it is also important to make some accents on the interior details, if they are depicted in the picture.

Portrait

Often the most difficult problems for schoolchildren is the description of the portrait. Pictures of this genre are often offered to schoolchildren for a story about them.

The difficulties that arise are usually quite typical. Often the child feels well and the mood, and facial expression, but does not know how to describe the picture. In order to focus on important details and direct the course of your thoughts, it is important to pay attention to such features of the portrait as:

1. Background (where the character is located, what details of the interior or landscape did the artist deem necessary, why).
2. Staging is a portrait or an image of the natural moment of life of the person depicted.
3. Is there an indication in the title that this is the image of a particular person? If so, how did the artist see the prototype of the painting? If not, how does the name relate to the image? Who did the author want to show?
4. Direction of view. Where does the character look? Why? This is especially important for group portraits.
5. Pose of the person. What is its typicality? Why is it so? What can be said about how the artist saw his model, according to the character's pose?

Household scene or historical plot

The description of the everyday scene most often combines the story of both the characters and the landscape (interior). However, the emphasis should be on explaining the integrity of the work. The essay should be devoted to answering questions about how each detail of the work "works" to create a general impression of the picture.

The historical plot, among other things, requires historical comments and explanations. Strong will always look the text with explanations of what are called those or other details of the costume, interior, landscape.

In addition to composing a certain picture, teachers often give the task to write a text about any work of a particular author. Before describing the artist's picture, you should familiarize yourself with his work in general and choose the most attractive for description. In this case, the essay will also include the motivation for choosing a particular work and its comparison with other most famous works of the author.