Discussion Worksheet
This discussion will have three parts. 
Use the space below to take notes in steps 1 and 2. In the space for Step 3, write down your group’s interpretation of the work of art, using the evidence noted from Steps 1 and 2.
Step 1—Description: Describe in simple language what you see in this work of art. Describe just what your eye sees, not what your brain thinks or feels about it. 

Step 2—Formal Analysis: Evaluate how the artist used each element of art to affect the way you respond to this work of art.
Composition:

Shape/Form:

Line:

Color:

Space:

Texture:

Step 3—Interpretation: Explain the meaning of this work of art using ideas you gained from steps 1 and 2, and using the information you learned in researching this work of art for homework.  
In a couple of paragraphs compare the way this work of art would have been interpreted or understood when it was made and first displayed with the way it is understood today. Address the following: 
1.	Where was this work originally displayed (In what type of space)? Today it hangs in a museum. How does that affect the impact of this work of art? How does that affect the way people respond to it?
2.	Who would have seen this work of art when it was first displayed? What did the artist do to address the original audience for this work? How has the audience changed?
3.	Did the work have a purpose (propaganda, religious contemplation, decoration)? Does it still have the same purpose?
4.	If the work depicts a story, what was the significance of that story when it was made? Is the story still significant? In what way?