Hiya, my name is Ross and I need to know how to write an art history thesis for my class. There is this term paper due by the end of December; I already have most of the research done and I know the topic I want to discuss (I had to choose an antique from the Menil exhibit, I chose a funerary mummy portrait from between 200-250 AD). Now i just need to figure out how to write a thesis.
I know that my thesis needs to be grounded in my research, so far the basic principle is," how did the conquest of Egypt by Rome effect the funerary traditions of the Egyptians." I was hoping to find funerary portraits dating beyond 300 AD(fall of Western Rome) but I'll settle for pieces before then and show how Egypt was then to how it was in 250 AD.
Before you ask me to ask my teacher, I tried that and he said that there were students in the past who asked the same and ended up almost copying the paper word for word. I can respect his skepticism, but it does make things a little more difficult, since the thesis is what separates a B from a C.
Anyway, no hurry or anything; just gives me more time to work on my paper and thank you for if not posting, then at least reading.
Have you tried /r/ArtHistory? The types of analysis done by historians and art historians are typically different. Historians are trained primarily to work with textual documents; art historians are trained to critically examine visual and sculptural evidence. Which isn't to say that historians are limited to textual evidence - I know some who work with visual media very well. But it's not really the norm. For all the similarities between the two, history and art history are typically thought of as fairly distinct fields. (But I hope I'm wrong and that someone can help you!)
Are you using "thesis" to mean "long paper that is a partial requirement for an advanced degree," or "short statement at the beginning of my paper (of any length) that conveys my argument clearly and succinctly"? From context, I'm assuming the latter - a thesis statement.
If this is true, then what you're looking for is essentially a one-sentence summary answer to the question you're already asking. That is, you say that you're interested in how "the conquest of Egypt by Rome affected (sorry) the funerary traditions of the Egyptians."
Well, your thesis statement, which you would insert near or at the end of your paper's introduction, would be the answer to that question:
"In this paper, [I hope to prove/I will argue/I will show] that in the X years/decades after the Roman conquest of Egypt, funerary traditions were altered in X Y Z manner, in response to A B C factors."
The tricky part of this is honestly that 1) You're probably not going to find all that many post-300 AD mummy portraits. and 2) there are a lot of different ways you could do a thesis paper on this topic because there are a lot of different things you can talk about with mummy portraits and especially the Fayum portraits(which I think is what you're focusing on; correct me if I'm wrong). To some extent what you have to say about this piece is going to depend on what you find interesting; it will also depend on the kind of research you've done. I personally would likely have taken a project like this and focused more on the modern reception of the Fayum portraits as "fine art", but it doesn't sound like that's what you're interested in. What is the case you are trying to make about this specific object?
If by thesis, you just mean you need an argument, then that may be a question for your school's writing center.
Have you laid out the paper? That may help. If you have a detailed outline, your teacher may more be willing to talk to you.