Comparing Context, Meaning, and Influence

Formal comparison establishes how works look and are made; the deeper level of comparison asks why, what they mean, and how they relate. This lesson addresses comparing the context, meaning, and connections of artworks — the interpretive heart of comparative study.

Comparing context and function

Once you have compared the visible qualities, compare the contexts that produced the works. How did the culture, historical moment, and social conditions of each work shape it? Compare function: was each work made for worship, commemoration, protest, decoration, sale, or personal expression, and how did that purpose influence its form? Comparing function is especially revealing because two works that look similar may have served completely different purposes, and two that look different may have se