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How to analyse a picture

Analysing a picture is an attempt at revealing the meaning or message communicated by the work. We study devices used by the artist, and consider what is accomplished by using these devices.
Photo: We see a dark-haired man in a suit standing with his back to the camera looking at the painting of the back of a dark-haired man in a suit looking at the back of a dark-haired man in a suit. (A reflection, or a painting within the painting?)
A man looks at the painting Not to be Reproduced by René Magritte. Image: Daniel Reinhardt / CC BY-NC 4.0

Analysing a picture

We can divide the process into three steps:

  • description
  • analysis
  • interpretation

Description

Start by presenting the picture. The presentation should include the title, name of the artist, any additional text the artist has chosen to include, information about when the work was made, and where it was first displayed or published.

Study the picture. Start by describing what you see. Look at shapes and colours. In this first phase it is important to leave out the interpretation. It can be good practice to describe a picture that comes from a different culture than your own, so that you meet it fresh without preconceptions.

Example
Print: We see five people wearing traditional clothing holding up a dragon and a flower on sticks.
Image on a Chinese matchbox. Image: Corbis, NTB / CC BY-NC-ND 4.0

Describe this image:

  • Are the people in the image children or adults?
  • What are they holding?
  • What does this image depict (represent)?
  • What other design elements are part of the image?

The analysis

A picture can be interpreted in many different ways. The way we interpret a picture is influenced by the culture we are a part of, and our personal experiences.

A picture's message arises from the interaction between the work and the viewer. Images used in newspapers, or images used in advertising, have been placed into a context which limits interpretation. Here the sender wants an image to be interpreted in a certain way.

A picture is made up of individual elements that have been put into a specific context. The picture has been composed in a specific way. Visual devices such as colour, contrast, and symbols also influence how we perceive the work. The next step in the analysis is to describe the composition of the work, what visual devices we notice, and how this influences our experience of the work.

Questions that may help you analyse a picture:
  • What is the focus of the work? What has been included, what has been left out?
  • Point of view. From what point of view do we see what is depicted. What is the effect of having this point of view?
  • Foreground, middle ground, background. Where are the different elements placed? What is the effect?
  • Balance and lines in the image. Which elements draw the eye? What is the effect?
  • Light and shadow. What is lit, what is in shadow? Where does the light come from? What is the effect?
  • Colours and contrasts. What do they express, and what is the effect?
  • Icons and symbols. What significance do they have? Why are they used?
  • Does the picture refer to other well-known images? If so, which? What is the effect?
  • Is there a caption? If yes, what interpretation of the picture is indicated in the caption?

The interpretation

Any picture is a representation, an interpretation of reality. When we analyse the picture we 'decode' the message in the image. The picture usually has a purpose. The creator may want to inform us about something, influence, or give us a certain experience. When we interpret the image, we try to explain as clearly as possible what purpose we believe the picture has.

A picture contains a lot of information about the time and the society in which it was created. At the same time, the content of a picture can be understood differently when it is placed into a new context. This should be commented on in an interpretation.

Questions that may help you interpret the picture:
  • Who is the creator, and in what context was the picture made and published?
  • Why was the picture created?
  • What is the picture's message?
  • What does the picture tell us about the time and the society in which it was created?
  • What influence or effect does the picture have today?

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CC BY-SA 4.0Written by: Ragna Marie Tørdal.
Last revised date 12/21/2021