How to Analyze a Visual Source
Many students are taught how to examine written sources and look for meanings beyond just the the words written on the page. But how do we do the same for visual sources? Circa’s historians give an introduction to analyzing visual sources—read below to find out how you can add visual sources to your history projects.
Visual sources can tell us about the past, just like textual sources can. However, students and professional historians alike often just use images as ways to illustrate their bigger points, as opposed to breaking down the meanings within visual materials and using these insights as part of their arguments. It’s fine to use images as illustrations, but they can also do a lot more work that just stand in for other ideas. To introduce visual sources to your own history papers, here is a list of steps to follow:
Step 1: What are you looking at?
The best place to start with analyzing an image is to simply examine what it is that you are seeing. This step might seem pretty obvious. But in fact, it is actually difficult. Try drawing something very familiar, say a bicycle, and see how many of the details that you remember. Where does the chain go? How do the brakes connect? What does the frame look like? It’s hard to visualize even these very familiar objects because we all miss many details.
So when you start looking at a visual source, first take a close look and explain to yourself what you are looking at. This description does not have to be well written or very academic. It is to help you lay out what you are looking at. With the cartoon above, you might describe it as the following:
In the center of the image, there is a bridge made of four stones, labeled Belgium, France, England, and Italy. This bridge is suspended over a very tall ravine, but the bridge is not entirely sturdy: there is a temporary vise in the place of the keystone, the all-important final block that would support the bridge and prevent it from collapse. To the left, there is a sign proclaiming that this is the League of Nations Bridge, created by the President of the United States. On the sign, we see a picture of what the competed bridge should look like, with all of the pieces correctly in place. On the right, we see a figure (Uncle Sam) casually reclining on the missing keystone, labeled USA. The bridge spans over a ravine of great height, and there seems to be a vast ocean in the distance.
Taking a few minutes to assess what you are looking at will then set you up to conduct analysis on the image.
Step 2: What is the Context of the Image?
The next step is to assess where the image comes from, who made it, and when it was made. This step is exactly the same as with textual sources, but the ways in which you can obtain this information might be a bit different. You might not be able to assess everything from the image itself, but this kind of analysis should help you set up your research plan to discover more about the image.
For the image above, an analysis might include that this is a political cartoon, so it likely first appeared in a periodical like a magazine or a newspaper. The cartoon is in English, which means that it most likely was published in an English-language publication. The author’s name is visible in the signature in the bottom left corner: L. Ravenhill. The cartoon is likely from around 1919, since it seems to be from a time either while the US was debating whether to join the League of Nations or from after the US Senate voted to reject joining the League.
This assessment sets up further research: who was L. Ravenhill? What did this cartoonist usually draw about? Do we know anything about the cartoonist’s bigger political commitments? Knowing more about Ravenhill can tell us where this image was first printed. We might also want to research more about the foundation of the League of Nations and why the US did not join it.
Step 3: What Meaning was the Artist Trying to Convey?
Now that we know what we are looking at and some of the context for the image, now it is possible to start analyzing its message.
In the image above, we might begin by assessing what the attitude of the artist is towards the United States’ decision not to join the League. We might see frustration in that the League of Nations is being presented as a US idea—but is being carried out without US participation. We might also see frustration in the casual way that Uncle Sam (a personification of the United States) is so casually reclining on the one piece that would make the bridge function properly. Instead of being worried or trying to get the stone into place, Uncle Sam seems quite content to leave things unfinished, despite the fact that it seems like it would be relatively easy to add the stone into place. Taking a step back then, we can see that the artist disagrees with the US decision to remain outside of the League of Nations—we can also see a bit of bewilderment at why the US hasn’t joined the League yet. Indeed, on some level it seems like the artists wonders if this is an intentional act.
The image also has something to say about the consequences of these actions. This small bridge traverses a very high ravine, which seems to be at the edge of a wide ocean. Not building this bridge seems to carry vast consequences: if it weren’t for this bridge, how could the two sides be joined? There seems to be nothing else connecting them apart from the small sliver of human intervention. Stepping back, the artist seems to be suggesting that the US not joining the League of Nations will have wider consequences, preventing countries from achieving meaningful agreement.
Step 4: Use the Image in Your Argument
So how could we use this image in an argument? It seems like it would be useful in a paper about reactions to the League of Nations. Whereas the League was seen both at the time and in popular memory as something that was ineffective, we can see a popular argument at the time of the League’s founding for the importance of this new organization, as a way to keep connections open between different countries. We can also see a popular argument about the crucial role that the United States seemed to play in making the League of Nations a powerful organization. The fact that the US never joined the League—and then the fact that the League subsequently failed—speaks directly to these fears that the League required the US to join in order to become a powerful international organization.
Final Thoughts
Using these steps can help you get a better sense of what you are looking at, its message, and how you could use it in a history argument. Adding in more types of sources will make your argument more compelling, so it is beneficial whenever you can add in sources beyond just historical texts. If you want to practice more visual analysis, consider applying to Circa! Circa students can enroll in an entire course that teaches the skills of visual analysis and offers opportunities to practice making sophisticated analyses of visual materials.
Learn More about Analyzing Visual Sources
Circa students can take entire courses on how to analyze visual materials and extract meaning from them.