John constable (1776 – 1837)

The mainstream of English painting in the first half of the nineteenth century was landscape. Constable and Turner, the greatest of the landscapists, approached nature with excitement. At that time nature was beginning to be swallowed up by the expanding cities of the Industrial Revolution.

John Constable, the son of a miller on the River Stour in Suffolk, honoured all that was natural and traditional, including the age-old occupation of farmer, miller, and carpenter, close to the land whose fruits and forces they turned to human use. He loved the poetic landscapes of Gainsborough, he studied the constructed compositions of the Baroque, and he admired Ruisdale’s skies. Rebelling against the brown tonality then fashionable in landscape painting – actually the result of discoloured varnish darkening the Old Masters – he supplemented his observations of nature with a study of the vivacity of Rubens’ colour and brushwork.

As early as 1802, Constable started to record the fleeting aspects of the sky in the rapid oil sketches made outdoors. “It will be difficult to name a class of landscape in which sky is not the keynote, the standard of scale, and the chief organ of sentiment”, he wrote. Constable systematically studied cloud formation in 1821-22. These studies show his surrender to the forces of nature, a passionate self-identification with sunlight, wind, and moisture.

Constable never left England and made dutiful sketching tours through regions of acknowledged scenic beauty. His superb “The Hay Wain”, of 1821, sums up his ideals and his achievements. Composed as if accidentally – though on the basis of many preliminary outdoor studies – the picture, painted in the studio, shows Constable’s beloved Stour with its trees, a mill, and distant fields. In his orchestra of natural colour the solo instrument and conductor at once is the sky. The clouds sweep by; full of light and colour, and their shadows and the sunlight spot the field with green and gold. As the stream ripples, it mirrors now the trees, now the sky. The trees are made up of many shades of green and patches of light reflect from their foliage. These white highlights were called “Constable’s snow”. “The Hay Wain” was triumphantly exhibited at the Salon of 1824, where Constable’s broken colour and free brushwork set in motion a new current in French landscape art, which later culminated in the Impressionist movement.

In 1829 Constable became member of the Royal Academy.

In later life, after the death of his wife, Constable entered a period of depression in which his passionate communion with nature reached a pitch of semi-mystical intensity. One of his late pictures is “Stroke-by-Nayland”, of 1836-37, a large canvas in which the distant church tower, the wagon, the plough, the horses, and the boy looking over the gate are instruments on which light plays. The symphonic breadth of the picture, and its crushing chords of colour painted in a rapid technique, bring to the finished painting the immediacy of a colour sketch. Such pictures are equaled in earlier art only by certain landscape backgrounds in Titian or by the mythical reveries of the late Rembrandt.

TASKS:

I. Give Russian equivalents of the following:

to approach nature with excitement; to supplement smth. with smth. else; the poetic landscape; the brown tonality; oil sketches made outdoors; as early as (some year); a surrender to the forces of nature; self-identification with sunlight and wind; to make sketching tours; regions of scenic beauty; preliminary outdoor studies; patches of light; free brushwork; to set in motion; a finished painting; a colour sketch; smb’s passionate communion with nature; to reach some pitch.

II. Give English equivalents of the following:

дополнить что-л. к чему-л. / присовокупить что-л. к чему-л.; законченная картина; взбунтоваться против чего-л.; цветной набросок; покрывать что-л. зелёными пятнами; гибкий стальной шпатель (мастихин); достичь (какого-л.) уровня; пятна света; эскизы маслом; написанные на пленэре; отождествление себя с солнечным светом и ветром; живописные места; поэтический пейзаж; коричневый тон; ездить по стране и писать этюды; выцветший лак.

III. Match the words on the right with their synonyms on the left:

1. triumphant A. enthusiasm

2. excitement B. preparatory

3. preliminary C. straightforwardness

4. vivacity D. trend

5. hue E. the principal motif

6. occupation F. in the plain air

7. immediacy G. victorious

8. current H. tone

9. keynote I. pursuit

10. outdoors J. liveliness

IV. Translate into English making use of the following words and word combinations:

to be swallowed up by smb.; outdoors / indoors; smb’s surrender to the forces of nature; highlights; to supplement smth. with smth. else; to set in motion a new current; to earn some money on the side; as well.

1. Cтуденту пришлось в дополнение к стипендии (grant) и денежной помощи от родителей (allowance from his parents) подрабатывать на стороне. 2. Maленькие фирмы постепенно разорялись (to go bankrupt) и поглощались большими. 3. Увлекаясь живописью, он сначала делает наброски на пленэре, а потом пишет маслом дома. 4. Сальвадор Дали дал начало новому течению не только в живописи, но и в других видах искусства ХХ века. 5. Отличительной чертой техники Констебля являются характерные световые пятна – так называемый «снег Констебля». 6. В картинах Констебля чувствуется полное подчинение художника чарующим (enticing) силам природы.

V. Paraphrase the italicized words and phrases using those from the text.

1. For some reason John never listened to any other kind of music but the leading trend. 2. It goes without saying one must respect one's parents. 3. The play was beginning to grow more and more boring – there were no animation and enthusiasm in the actors. 4. Our practical activities were backed up with a course of theoretical studies. 5. In order to win the contest, we had a lot of preparatory work to do. 6. For his students Mr. Smith was a mentor and a friend all rolled into one. 7. It seems so hard for Jane to make up her mind: first she feels like having a cup of tea, then coffee. 8. The British Parliament consists of two chambers – the House of Lords and the House of Commons. 9. The leaves of the tree by our window prevented us from seeing the street outside. 10. With the release of their very first album in 1974, “The New York Dolls” started a new trend in the world pop music which later ended in the Punk movement. 11. When they first met, John thought no other girl could be compared to Jill, but later on he changed his mind. 12. When crossing the street, I nearly escaped being run over, – a car rushed by within a hairbreadth of me!

VI. Find in the text opposites (antonyms) to the following words.

1. a marginal (fringe) trend, 2. to despise, 3. excluding, 4. far from smth, 5. to conform to smth, 6. out-of fashion, 7. indoors, 8. impassionate, 9. subsequent, 10. to go out of smth, 11. earlier, 12. nearby, 13. sophistication.

VII. Say whether the following statements are true or not and explain why.

1. The mainstream of English painting in the first half of the nineteenth century was portraiture. 2. Constable and Turner approached nature as a mere decorative background for their sitters. 3. John Constable honoured all that was part of the nature. 4. John Constable admired the brown tonality then fashionable in landscape painting. 5. John Constable combined his observations of nature with a study of the vivacity of Rubens’ colour and brushwork. 6. In 1802, Constable started to depict the fleeting aspects of the sky in the rapid oil sketches made outdoors. 7. Once in a while Constable studied cloud formation in 1821-22. 8. The white clouds in Constable’s pictures were called “Constable’s snow”. 9. “The Hay Wain” was exhibited at the Salon of 1824 but was no success. 10. Constable’s peculiar style set in motion a new trend in French landscape art, which later culminated in the Suprematist movement.

VIII. Fill in the blanks with the corresponding Comparative and Superlative Degree forms of the given adjectives and adverbs.

1. The Positive Degree Form	2. The Comparative Degree Form	3. The Superlative Degree Form
great	greater	the greatest
natural	more natural	the most natural
close
human
poetic
early
rapid
difficult
superb
new
late

IX. Fill in the blanks with articles where necessary. Account for your choice.

1. ____ mainstream of English painting in ____ first half of the nineteenth century was ______ landscape. 2. Constable and Turner, ____ greatest of ____ landscapists, approached nature with _____ excitement. 3. John Constable, ____ son of ____ miller on ____ River Stour in ____ Suffolk, honoured all that was ____ natural and traditional. 4. He supplemented his observations of _____ nature with ____ study of ____ vivacity of ____ Rubens’ colour and brushwork. 5. Constable never left ____ England and made dutiful sketching tours through ____ regions of acknowledged scenic beauty. 6. ____ picture, painted in ___ studio, shows Constable’s beloved ____ Stour with its trees, ____mill, and ____ distant fields. 7. Constable’s broken colour and _____ free brushwork set in ____ motion ____ new current in French landscape art, which later culminated in ___ Impressionist movement.

X. Make up questions about the italicized words.

Example: The mainstream of English painting in the first half of the nineteenth century was landscape.

What was the mainstream of English painting in the first half of the nineteenth century?

1. Constable and Turner, the greatest of the landscapists, approached nature with excitement. 2. John Constable honoured all that was natural and traditional. 3. John Constable admired Ruisdale’s skies. 4. John Constable rebelled against the brown tonality then fashionable in landscape painting. 5. As early as 1802, Constable started to record the fleeting aspects of the sky in the rapid oil sketches made outdoors. 6. Constable never left England. 7. These white highlights in Constable's paintings were called “Constable’s snow”. 8. “The Hay Wain” was triumphantly exhibited at the Salon of 1824. 9. Constable’s broken colour and free brushwork set in motion a new current in French landscape art, which later culminated in the Impressionist movement. 10. The symphonic breadth of the picture, and its crushing chords of colour painted in a rapid technique, bring to Constable’s “Stroke-by-Nayland” the immediacy of the colour sketch.

XI. Work in pairs. One of you argues in favour of the following statements, the other against them. Make use of the vocabulary phrases (p. 88).

1. It seems rather strange that landscape was the mainstream of English painting in the first half of the nineteenth century when the Industrial Revolution was well under way. 2. John Constable honoured all that was natural and traditional simply because he was son of a miller. 3. Never before Constable had any artist used sky as the keynote of his paintings. 4. But for Constable’s technique of broken colour and free brushwork there would have never been such thing as the Impressionist movement. 5. One of Constable’s late pictures, “Stroke-by-Nayland”, looking like a rather careless colour sketch may be accounted for by the period of depression Constable entered after his wife’s death.

XII. Speak on the following points:

1. The artistic influences Constable was under. 2. Constable's style and colour.

UNIT VI

PRE-TASKS:

I. Practice the pronunciation of the following words and word-combinations and learn them.

as it was [əz ɪt 'wɒz] – так случилось, что …

to adorn [ə'dɔ:n] – украшать

altarpiece ['ɔ:ltəpi:s] – запрестольный образ (в церкви)

to indulge in smth [ɪn'dʌldʒ] – позволять себе удовольствие чего-л.

to be engaged in (some activity) [ɪn'geɪdʒd] – быть занятым чем-л.

except for … [ɪk'sept] за исключением чего-л / кого-л

to commission a picture [kə'mɪ∫n ə 'pɪkt∫ə] – заказывать картину

scenes from everyday life ['si:nz frəm 'evrɪdeɪ 'laɪf] сценки из повседневной жизни

gusto ['gʌstəʊ] – творческий порыв, вдохновение

for all … [fə◡rɔ:l …] – несмотря на (всё) …

to be bathed in light ['beɪðd ɪn 'laɪt] – быть залитым светом

to silhouette smth [ˌsɪlu:'et] – показывать силуэт, намечать контуры чего-л.

rectangle ['rekˌtæŋgl] – прямоугольник

a curve of the figure ['kз:v əv ðə 'fɪgə] – изгиб фигуры

to invest smth with smth else [ɪn'vest] наделять что-л. чем-л.

to anticipate smth [æn'tɪsɪpeɪt] – предвосхищать что-л.

II. Practice the pronunciation of the following (a) toponyms and (b) proper names:

(a) Flanders ['flɑ:ndəz] – Фландрия

Flemish ['flemɪ∫] – фламандский

Holland ['hɒlənd] – Голландия

(Dutch ['dʌt∫] – голландский; Danish ['deɪnɪ∫] – датский)

Netherlands ['neðələndz] – Нидерланды

Spain [speɪn] – Испания

(Spanish ['spænɪʃ] – испанский)

(b) Ann of Cleves ['æn əv 'kli:vz] – Анна Клевская (1515 – 1557)

(четвёртая супруга короля Англии Генриха VIII (1540))

Brueghel ['bru:g(ə)l] – Брейгель, Питер, Старший (1525/1530 – 1569)

(фламандский художник)

Frans Hals ['frɑ:ns 'hæls] – Халс, Франс (1581/1585 – 1666)

(голландский художник-портретист)

Holbein ['hɒlbeɪn] – Хольбейн, Ханс, Младший (1497/1498 – 1543)

(немецкий художник-портретист)

Jacob van Ruisdael ['dʒeɪkəb ˌvæn 'raɪzdɑ:l] – Якоб Ван Райсдаль

(1628/1629 – 1682) (голландский художник-пейзажист)

Jan Steen ['dʒæn 'sti:n] – Ян Стен (1626 – 1679)

(голландский художник)

Jan van Goyen ['dʒæn ˌvæn 'gɔɪən] – Ян Ван Гойен (1596 – 1656)

(голландский художник-пейзажист)

Jean-Baptiste-Siméon Chardin ['ʒɑ:ŋ bə'tɪst sə'mɒŋ ∫ɑ:r'dɑ:ŋ] –

Жан Батист Симеон Шарден (1699 – 1779) (французский художник)

Johannes / Jan / Vermeer ['dʒəʊhən vз:'meə / -mɪə] –

Ян Вермер (1632 – 1675) (голландский художник)

Meindert Hobbema ['meɪndət 'hɒbɪmə] – Мейндерт Хоббема

(1638 – 1709) (голландский художник-пейзажист)

Pieter de Hooch ['pɪətə də 'hu:∫] – Петер де Хуш (1629 – 1684)

(голландский жанровый художник)

Rembrandt van Rijn ['rembrənt ˌvæn 'raɪn] – Рембрандт Ван Рейн

(1606 – 1669) (голландский художник)

III. Scan the text and single out the main points of each paragraph.

IV. Try to guess the meaning of the italicized words. Match them with the corresponding cognate words in Russian where possible. When translating the words, mind the so-called pseudo-international words.

1. Holland and Flanders freed themselves from the control of Spain, and the Dutch established an independent nation. 2. The Protestants did not believe in decorating their churches with works of art. 3. The pictures were small in scale. 4. Frans Hals in his painting “The Gypsy Girl” gives us a good idea of the vigor and love of life of the Dutch people. 5. The portraits of Hals, with a few brush strokes, seem to have caught a fleeting expression—amusement, scorn, mischief—and fixed it on canvas forever. 6. Often there is an open door through which light illuminates the subject. 7. A series of rectangles —the map on the wall, the corner of the wall, the casement window, and the table edge —are balanced by the curves of the figure and the basin. 8. Vermeer uses the elements of a simple domestic scene to create unified areas of light and shade. 9. Jean-Baptiste-Siméon Chardin, the French painter, is similar in spirit to these Dutch artists. 10. Chardin painted the activities and interests of the common people.

V. Look through the text and write out all the unfamiliar words and phrases. Look them up in your English-Russian Dictionary. Single out the terms on the fine arts and learn them.

VI. Read and translate the text.