As a result of this learning episode, students will be able to follow a structured method of critiquing an art work to discover its substance and meaning. The structure for "reading a painting" involves four distinct steps.

• The students will DESCRIBE the artwork in terms of its literal content and artistic elements.
• The students will ANALYZE the artwork in terms of how the artist used the principles of design to manipulate the content to provoke meaning.
• The students will INTERPRET the work on the basis of what they have already discovered about the work in the first two steps. They will consider not only the literal descriptions but also the emotional content and the use of symbols and allegories to arrive at the message or meaning in the work.
• The students will make a JUDGMENT about the work's worth based on the information they have gathered about the work. Judgments must be supported by what was learned through the "reading" process as they apply to established criteria.

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