How Many Images?

[ruru107]

How many images should be included in art history papers? It's never been directly addressed in my education.

 

I'm writing a paper that's about 30 pages, and I'm not sure how many images to include...I could include TONS, and maybe that's okay, but maybe I need to know when/how to limit them. What do you think is an appropriate amount for a paper this size? (I'm not publishing it, so that's not an issue here.) What is your criteria for including/not including an image?

 

(I'm pretty far along in my graduate career, so I'm a little embarrassed that this is something I'm just now considering  but hopefully it can help somebody else out, too.) 

[chamomile]

This is sort of an odd question. It completely depends on your methodology and subjects. A visual culture approach might survey dozens of images, while a psychoanalytic reading might zone in on just a handful. 

My personal rule is to include an image if I spend time discussing it, especially if it's not frequently published or well known. An offhanded comparison to Dejeuner sur l'herbe doesn't merit reproduction in the list of figures. Include anything that you spend more than a sentence or two analyzing. 

[ruru107]

Include anything that you spend more than a sentence or two analyzing. 

That's a good rule of thumb! Thank you! Part of the problem is that I'm writing about several installation works, and there isn't just one picture of each like with a painting, but lots of different details and from different viewpoints, and I feel like my images could get out of hand really quickly.