Impressionism

along the banks of the Seine. Bright colours had been expensive, but as a result of the commercial production of synthetic pigments they became affordable and enabled the artists to capture the intensity of colour created by strong sunshine.

Painting outdoors presented certain problems. Conditions changed so quickly that it was hard to capture an image before it effectively disappeared. The only satisfactory solution to this was to work fast. There was no time to depict clear, well-defined contours. Instead, the Impressionists used short, fragmentary brush strokes to convey form, and graded tones to suggest perspective. Everything was condensed to its simplest visual form. In addition, they focused on the process of change itself. Rather than labouring over the physical appearance of a tree or a building, they preferred to celebrate the ways that light and colour in nature were constantly changing, depicting ripples and reflections in water, or a shaft of sunlight filtering through trees.

When the Impressionists exhibited their paintings, they were received with a storm of protest. Art lovers were accustomed to seeing pictures in which even the tiniest detail was clearly defined. The work of these newcomers seemed like rough sketches. Critics condemned them as feeble "impressions"—an insult that actually gave the group its name. This hostile attitude was short-lived. Within a few years, the public had adjusted to the radically different appearance of these paintings, recognizing them as the masterpieces of a new style.

TASKS

1. Read the text and translate it into Ukrainian.

2. Answer the following questions:

1. What were the Impressionists able to create?

2. Where did artists produce their paintings prior to the nineteenth century?

3. What painters began to represent precise effects of light and weather?

4. What was one of the cornerstones of Impressionists style?

5. What did the Impressionists avoid in their art?

6. How did the advent of technological advances influence on the Impressionists?

7. What problems did painting outdoors present?

8. What changes in nature did the Impressionists prefer to depict?

9. Why were the Impressionists received with a storm of protest when they exhibited their paintings?

10. How did critics condemn the Impressionists?

3. Give Ukrainian equivalents of the following words and phrases:

depiction of nature

to sketch individual details

gradually

to pinpoint

to paint on the spot

above all

to avoid moral messages in canvases

to coincide

to simplify painting outdoors

readymade colours

affordable

satisfactory solution

well-defined contours

to convey form

to grade tones

to depict ripples

hostile attitude

to adjust to

4. Give English equivalents of the following words and phrases:

підготовчий процес

сформувати добре збалансовану композицію

поступово

точні ефекти

домінуючий

відтворити в майстерні

наставник

пряме наближення до природи

уникати історичних сцен

спрощувати

задовільне рішення

мазок пензлем

промінь сонячного світла

засуджувати

нікчемні враження