Description
This paper is a critical response to the excerpt from William Wallace, “Michelangelo’s Rome Pietà: Altarpiece or Grave Memorial?” in Verrocchio and Late Quattrocento Italian Sculpture, ed. S. Bule et. al., Florence,1992, pp. 243-255. This reading is chosen to offer you a “practice run” for the final paper. The article is closely focused on one work of art. If in your first paper you practiced close visual analysis of one work of art, here you will work closely with a scholar’s interpretation of a single work by Michelangelo, in which some of the principal arguments are based on visual analysis.
For this 3-page paper, please articulate a precise description of the main arguments Wallace advances and the principal evidence he adduces to support his assertions. It is intended to develop your skills as a critical reader and to show your ability to formulate and articulate your observations in written form. In this paper, you are not supposed to make your own argument. Rather, you should summarize the content of the reading by addressing these questions:What is the topic of the article?What is the central argument of the author?Which kind of evidence (pictorial, textual) does the author draw upon to support his argument?Finally, what do you think about the claims of the author? Is it a convincing interpretation? Why? Why Not?
Remember that every time you quote, paraphrase or summarize others’ work, facts, ideas, etc. you must
cite your source. For this assignment, use parenthetical citations at the end of each sentence where you
use Wallace’s text. For example: (Wallace 27). Footnotes and endnotes are also acceptable if used with a
correct and consistent format. Since you will only use one reading for this assignment, you are not
required to have a list of works cited at the end of the paper.
The paper should be three pages long, double-spaced, with 1-inch margins and Times New Roman font,
size 12. You will be asked to submit your file on Canvas as a .pdf on November 2 by 11:59 pm.
0.5 points will be deducted every 24 hours for late submissions, and no paper will be accepted after the
Sunday following the due date (unless otherwise arranged with Professor Lingo or the TA in case of
documented sickness or family emergency).