- •In the background
- •Word Formation
- •I. Translate the sentences. Keep in mind that the underlined words belong to different parts of speech.
- •II. Complete the chart
- •Word Meaning
- •I. Match the following words with their definitions:
- •II. What do they call:
- •The Craft of the Painters
- •Word Use
- •I. Choose the right word:
- •II.Choose the proper words to complete the sentences:
- •III. Choose the right word:
- •IV. Give English equivalents of the following words:
- •V. Match the two parts of the sentences
- •VII. Match Russian idioms with their English equivalents.
- •VIII. Choose the correct meaning of the underlined words and expressions.
- •Skill Developing
- •I. Work as an interpreter to complete the dialogues.
- •II. Comment on the following quotations
- •Text “English Painting”.
- •Class Discussion
- •Skill Developing
- •Describing the Paintings.
- •I. Read the texts
- •The Description of the “Family Portrait” by Van Dyck
- •II. Skim the description of a well-known painting. Go on describing it in your own words giving your judgment and appreciation.
- •III. Choose one of your favourite paintings and describe it according to the following outline:
- •IV. Study the way to discuss and evaluate paintings.
- •V. Read the dialogues and make up your own one’s using the expressions given above.
- •My Favourite Artist
- •I. Read the biography of the painter.
- •II.Look at the paintings by Leonid Shchemilyov. Share your impressions with your groupmates. What do you think of their: a) theme b) message c) style
- •III. Describe one of the paintings by Leonid Shchemilyov that produced the strong impression on you, explain your choice.
- •IV. Read the biographies of famous Belarusian painters. Speak about your favourite artist.
- •Art Galleries
- •I.Read the text and answer the questions. London Art Galleries
- •II. Read the text and speak about the National Art Museum.
- •III. There are hundreds of art galleries all over the world. Read the story about one of them. Fill in the words in appropriate form from the box.
- •VI. Communication Work:
- •I. Give Russian equivalents for the following English proverbs and sayings.
- •II. Explain the meaning of each proverb.
- •III. Make up a dialogue to illustrate one of the proverbs Group Discussion
- •Reading Comprehension Test Marc Chagall
- •III.Complete the sentences according to the contents of the text;
- •IV.Mark the following statements as “True” or “False”
- •V. Answer the questions:
- •VI. Why do you think Chagall’s paintings belong to the whole world?
Art Galleries
I.Read the text and answer the questions. London Art Galleries
London is visited by millions of tourists every year. They come there to see the sights of London and to visit London’s museums. There is a quite a number of museums and art galleries in London which are world-famous.
The national Gallery is situated in Trafalgar Square and one of the best-known art galleries in the world. It was founded in 1824 and houses one of the most important collections of Italian paintings outside Italy. It is also famous for its Dutch collection, particularly for paintings by Rembrandt.
The National Portrait Gallery is situated near the National Gallery. It is Britain’s leading art gallery of portraits of famous people in British history. The National Portrait Gallery is noted for representing various kinds of portraits – from traditional oil paintings to photographs. Founded in 1856, in 1984 it contained over 8 000 original portraits and more than 500 000 photographs. The famous Tate Gallery was opened in 1987 with the financial support of Sir Henry Tate. He also gave a collection of 65 paintings. The Gallery contains a unique collection of British paintings from the 16th century to the present day. Turner and Blake are particularly well represented in the collections. The Gallery also has many drawings and modern sculpture. Victoria and Albert Museum is a collection of fine and applied arts. It contains a great collection of miniature too. It was opened in 1857 and was named after Queen Victoria and her husband, Prince Albert.
In other word, any visitor can find a museum to his taste in London.
Which is the oldest art gallery in London?
Where can you see the paintings by Rembrandt?
Which gallery is famous for its collection of portraits?
Why was the Tate Gallery named so?
Which gallery contains the collection of modern sculpture?
Which gallery is noted for its collection of miniatures?
II. Read the text and speak about the National Art Museum.
The National Art Museum of the Republic of Belarus is the largest collection of the Belarusian and foreign works of art in the country. More than twenty seven thousand works, which form twenty various collections, are presented here.
The official history of the museum began on January 24, 1939. The pre-war period of its work under the direction of Nikolay Mikholap, a well-known Belarusian ceramics artist, was the time of the intensive shaping of the art collection. The picture collection of the Gallery was based on the greatest paintings taken from the museums of Minsk, Vitebsk, Mogilev and Gomel. A lot of works of the well-known Russian artists were included in the collection of the new gallery as well. In 1939 the collection of the Gallery was renewed by Slutsk belts, French tapestry of the 18th century, portrait paintings of the 16-19th centuries.
However, such a rich collection of the art gallery in Minsk had a short life. Already at the beginning of the Great Patriotic War the whole collection was looted by the Nazis. Nevertheless, even such an event shows that this valuable collection was of great interest to the Nazis.
After the war only a small number of works reappeared in the Gallery, some of them were found in Russia and East Prussia. The process of collecting works of art began anew. The second stage in the history of the museum is connected with 33 years of self-sacrificing activity of Elena Aladova, the director of the Gallery. The museums of Russia contributed a lot to the development of the Gallery: they sent several pictures of West-European masters, a great number of ceremonial portraits, landscapes, and miraculous icons.
More space was needed for the Gallery collections, so E. Aladova managed to obtain permission to build the special building for the Gallery. The designing of the new building was entrusted to the young architect, Mikhail Baklanov. The construction of the two-storied building of the Art Gallery with ten ample halls and a spacious gallery was finished in 1957. On November, 5 the Gallery was renamed into the State Art Museum of the BSSR. The “soul” of the museum was certainly E. Aladova. She dedicated all her life to reconstructing the museum collections and even managed to gain several works of art from the Russian high-class private art collections. The 1970s – early 1980s can be truly called the peak of the museum’s exhibition activity. Minsk citizens got acquainted with world masterpieces at the exhibitions of West-European art, organized by the museums of Poland and France, Drezden Gallery, the museums of the USA, the National Gallery of Prague.
During the following twenty years the museum turned into a large museum complex, several branches of it were opened in Mozyr, Raubichi, Mogilev, Golshany and Mir. Since 1993 the museum has been referred to as the National Art Museum of the Republic of Belarus.
The museum is a large scientific, cultural and educational centre of the republic. It has its own archives and library funds that contain the latest literature. In 1999 the museum moved to a five-storied building in Lenin str., where it is currently situated.