English Audio Request

How to analyse a picture

Step 1 : Introduce the picture, context, author
Genre
The document is ... a painting / a cartoon / a comic strip / a mural / a drawing / the cover of a newspaper / a screen print / a watercolour / an oil on canvas
Title
This painting is entitled … / Its title is …
Origin
It was drawn / painted / taken by …
The painter / cartoonist / artist is …
It is owned by...
It is exhibited/on display in … museum / It is held/kept at ...
It was first published in a magazine / a newspaper
Characteristics:
It is 57 inch width by 40 inch height (145 x 102cm)
It was painted with watercolour / paint spray / brushes
It was drawn with charcoal / colour pencils
Topic / theme
It is about … / It deals with …
It features … / It shows …

Step 2 : Describe the picture
General Impression(s)
We can see / notice …
Who? The main characters /ˈkærɪktə/ are depicted…
Where?
The scene takes place in a city / suburb/ in the countryside /ˈkʌntrɪsaɪd/
The scene is set in a wealthy / poor neighbourhood.
When? Use simple preterit + date or duration + ago
There are many dark / light colours.  /ˈkʌləʳz/
The painting is very realistic. /rɪəˈlɪstɪk/
What : use the present continuous (BE + V-ing) to describe a picture!
The man in the foreground /ˈfɔːgraʊnd/ is + V-ing …
There is an old woman who is walking a dog in the background.
Parts :
This image / picture / painting is divided into two / three parts.
The element /ˈelɪmənt/ takes up two-thirds of the space

Focus
The focus /ˈfəʊkəs/ of the picture is …
The viewer’s  /ˈvjuːəʳ/ attention /əˈtɛnʃən/ is drawn to …Step 3 : Analyse and interpret
Feelings
We can easily imagine /ɪˈmædʒɪn/ that … because …
As we can see …, we can deduce that …
We can notice that … so we can suppose /səˈpəʊz/
What has just happened, supposition:
Use the present perfect with just
Use a modal with past participle.

What is going to happen afterwards:
Use BE GOING TO + BV.
Use BE LIKELY TO + BV

What are the artist’s intentions?
The photographer / cartoonist / artist criticizes /ˈkrɪtɪˌsaɪz/
The artist wants to make us aware of [+ noun]…
The aim of the cartoonist is probably to highlight /ˈhaɪˌlaɪt/
The cartoonist’s goal is probably to highlight …
I think the painter wanted to show that …
Perhaps the artist wanted to convey /kənˈveɪ/ an impression of
This picture portrays /pɔːˈtreɪ/ … in a negative light because …
The artist certainly wants to raise the controversial issue of …

Step 4 : Give your opinion
I think this picture is quite (+ ADJ.) because
I think this cartoon brilliantly illustrates … /ˈɪləstreɪt/
I think the photographer is very talented because
What strikes / shocks / surprises me in this picture is
As far as I am concerned, … / Personally,... / To me,...

Some useful adjectives:
shocking – funny / humorous – ironic – witty – original – stereotyped – conformist – straightforward – moving – dull / flat / boring – poignant – scary / frightening - provocative – challenging  /ˈtʃælɪndʒɪŋ/– convincing /unconvincing – exaggerated