Reading Comprehension Test Marc Chagall

Marc Chagall, the oldest of nine children, was born on July 7, 1887 in Vitebsk. Thanks to his mother, Marc was enabled to go to an official state school after he had finished the Jewish elementary one. Jews were not admitted to state schools, but Marc’s mother bribed the teacher. So, instead of remaining within the limits of his Jewish background, Marc took violin and singing lessons, began to draw, and spoke Russian rather than Yiddish. He was able to enter the world where cosmopolitan and cultural interests were valued.

In the winter of 1906 – 1907 Chagall moved to St. Petersburg for a thorough artistic training in the cultural heart of Russia. The young man won a scholarship to the celebrated art school. Through his training there, Chagall acquired a sense of his role as an artist. At 22, he was no longer a naive lad. In the capital, away from his origin, he turned to the subjects and motifs that were typical of his future work: village scenes, peasant life. At that time he became acquainted with Bella Rosenfeld, the daughter of a Jewish jeweler, who also came from Vitebsk and who studied in Moscow. Later, in 1915 they got married. Many of his paintings of the period were dedicated to her.

Russian artists were to be better received in Paris than in their own country. That’s why the only place for Chagall to go was Paris. He moved into one of the studious there in the winter of 1911-1912. “Once in Paris I was finally able to express the joy of my childhood memories of Vitebsk”, Chagall wrote later. His work was called “surreal”. This concept, surrealism, gave a name to an era. The inventor of the term, the poet Appolinaire, tirelessly tried to organize exhibition space for him. In the spring of 1914 the painter got his chance; his major solo exhibition was arranged in Berlin.

But the new event came soon. It was the Russian revolution. The early days were marked by untroubled optimism. Lunacharsky was appointed head of the Ministry of Culture. Marc Chagall had known Lunacharsky in Paris, so their acquaintanceship resulted in an official position for the artist: he was made Fine Arts Commissar in Vitebsk. Art was highly valued in the opening days of the Revolution, and it was hoped that art and politics would inspire each other. Chagall, full of enthusiasm, dedicated himself to his new position. He organized exhibitions, opened museums, and restarted classes at the Vitebsk Academy of Art. Yet in May 1920 he moved with his family to Moscow.

His mood began to change gradually. “I think the Revolution could be a great thing if it preserved respect for what is other and different”, wrote Chagall in his autobiography. With neither money nor prospects, he had no reason to stay in the Soviet Union. For the next twenty-five years the painter lived in France and America. Curiously enough, in Paris the family lived in the apartment were Lenin had stayed before them. The early 1930s saw the triumph of the ideology of National Socialism in Germany.

He had to leave the Continent and arrived in New York in June 1941. After the liberation of Europe, the artist returned to the Old World. He stayed in France till his death in 1985.

After the war Chagall undertook many monumental commissions including the windows in the United Nations building in New York, and ceiling paintings in the Paris Opera House, murals for the Metropolitan Opera in New York, and many others. These masterpieces made him a world known contemporary artist whose work was appreciated and judged very highly.

No other 20^th century artist had such a gift for harmonizing the contradictions of life. He bridged gaps that had been widening for centuries between different religious communities and different ideologies. It was his dream to create one world of brotherly peace.

* bribe – v. to influence the judgment by offering gifts or money

** murals – n. a painting that is painted on the wall

I.Choose the meaning in which the word is used in the text:

1. admit:

a) to agree to the truth;

b) to let in;

c) to leave a chance for being possible.

2. background:

a) the scenery or the space behind the main objects or people;

b) the conditions that exist;

c) a person’s family, social class, experience and education.

3. cosmopolitan:

a) consisting of people from many different parts of the world;

b) not narrow-minded, showing wide experience of different people and places;

c) existing in most parts of the world.

4. position:

a) employment;

b) a place where someone or something is or stands;

c) a particular place or rank in competition.

5. commission:

a) a group of people appointed at a high level to find out facts and write a report;

b) money related to the value of goods sold, paid to the person who sold them;

c) a special job, duty given to a person or group of people.

II.Choose the best corresponding variant of translation:

1. …Chagall acquired a sense of his role as an artist.

a) … Шагал почувствовал свою роль художника.

b) … Шагал осознал свою роль как художника.

2. … restarted classes at the Vitebsk Academy of Art.

a) реставрировал классы в Витебской Художественной академии.

b) возобновил занятия в Витебской Художественной академии.

3. The early days were marked by untroubled optimism.

a) Первые дни были отмечены спокойным оптимизмом.

b) В ранние дни был отмечен тихий оптимизм.

4. No other 20^th century artist had such a gift…

a) Ни в одном, кроме 20-го, веке у художника не было такого дара…

b) Ни у одного художника 20-го века не было такого дара…