Английский язык. Хрестоматия по чтению специальных текстов «Famous World Museums» для студентов 1-2 курсов специальности 070503 «Музейное дело» дневно

expanse. The ruin appears all the more stranded and eerie due to the vast sea of featureless plains incorporated in the scene, bringing to mind Keats' lines, «a dismal cirque of Druid stones, upon a forlorn moor».

1.Paul Cezanne – (1839-1906), Поль Сезанн, известный французский живописец пейзажей, натюрмортов и патриотов.

2.John Constable (1776-1837), Джон Констейбль, английский художник, создавший много композиционныхакварелей, рисунковинабросковокружающейдействительности.

TUSSAUD, MARIE

Tussaud, Marienee Grosholtz

born Dec. 1, 1761, Strasbourg, France died April 16, 1850, London, England

French-born founder of Madame Tussaud's museum of wax figures, in central London.

Her early life was spent first in Bern and then in Paris, where she learned the art of wax modeling from her uncle, Philippe Curtius, whose two wax museums she inherited upon his death in 1794. From 1780 until the outbreak of the French Revolution in 1789, she served as art tutor at Versailles to Louis XVI's sister, Madame Elisabeth, and she was later imprisoned as a royalist. During the Reign of Terror1 she had the gruesome responsibility of making death masks from heads– frequently those of her friends– freshly severed by the guillotine.

Her marriage in 1795 to Francois Tussaud, an engineer from Macon, was not a success; and in 1802 she took her two sons and her collection of wax models to England. She toured the British Isles for 33years before finally establishing a permanent home in Baker Street, London, where she worked until eight years before her death.

Madame Tussaud's museum is topical as well as historical and includes both the famous and the infamous. Notorious characters and the relics of famous crimes are segregated in the «Chamber of Horrors,» a name coined jokingly by a contributor to Punch in 1845. Many of the original models were made by Marie Tussaud of her great contemporaries.

1. Reign of Terror – эпоха террора.

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MADAME TUSSAUD'S EXHIBITION

Origins and History

The story of Madame Tussaud is as fascinating as that of the exhibition itself. Two things about her life are especially noteworthy. First, she spent her early years amid the turmoil of the French Revolution and came to meet many of the characters involved; second, and perhaps more unusually, she succeeded in business at a time when women were rarely involved in the world of commerce.

Madame Tussaud was born in Strasbourg in 1761 and christened Marie Grosholtz. Her father, a soldier, was killed in battle during the Seven Years War (waged by Prussia and Britain against Austria, France and Russia) only two months before Marie's birth. For the first five years of her life Marie lived in Berne with her widowed mother, who worked as housekeeper for Dr Philippe Curtius, a physician with considerable skills in modeling anatomical subjects in wax. Soon, Marie and her mother moved with Doctor Curtius to Paris where they had entered a creative and politically fascinating world.

The story of Madame Tussaud is as fascinating as that of the exhibition itself. Two things about her life are especially noteworthy. First, she spent her early years amid the turmoil of the French Revolution and came to meet many of the characters involved; second, and perhaps more unusually, she succeeded in business at a time when women were rarely involved in the world of commerce.

Curtius' exhibition was so successful that it became patronised by the French royal family. It was not long before Marie's talent became apparent and she was invited to the royal court to assist in the artistic education of King Louis XVI's sister, Madame Elizabeth.

Life at Versailles was in vivid contrast to Marie's previous existence. It lasted only nine years, ending abruptly just before the discontent in France spilled over into violent and bloody revolution.

The capital became a centre of chaotic activity: no one was safe, and at one time both Marie and her mother were imprisoned, sharing a cell with Josephine de Beauharnais, who later became the Empress Josephine, wife of Napoleon Bonaparte. They came terrifyingly close to death, even having their hair cropped in preparation for a meeting with 'Madame la Guillotine'.

Before long, Marie was asked to prepare the death masks of many of her former employers after they had been executed by the guillotine.

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In 1794, Curtius died and Marie inherited the business which had grown under her influence. In the following year she married a French engineer, Francois Tussaud, and by 1800 had given birth to three children: a daughter, who died, and two sons.

France was still suffering enormous deprivation and Marie's exhibition was struggling to survive. In 1802 Marie Tussaud made a monumental decision. She would leave her husband and baby son, Francis, in Paris, while she and her elder son, Joseph, would tour the exhibition round the British Isles.

Marie was to see neither France nor her husband again. She spent the next 33 years travelling the length and breadth of the British Isles, exhibiting her growing collection of figures to crowds of curious and intrigued spectators. 'Nini' accompanied her, taking a keen interest in the craft of making wax figures. During this time Francis had been looked after by Madame Tussaud's mother in France. When, in 1826, Madame Grosholtz died, Francis joined his mother and brother on the road in Britain.

Madame Tussaud's has survived its fair share of disaster over the years. In 1822 a ship carrying the exhibition to Ireland was wrecked; fortunately, however, most of the figures were saved.

The Spirit of London

The Spirit of London is a new milestone for Madame Tussaud's. Covering a period of more than 400 years, the experience spans London's history from Elizabethan times to the present day, capturing the essence of London's pomp and circumstance. Sights, sounds and even smells combine to tell the colourful story of Britain's capital city to visitors travelling in cars specially designed to resemble London taxi-cabs.

The accuracy that has made the exhibition world famous is fused with technical wizardry of the most innovative kind. Over 70 new figures are involved, many of which are animated, along with a host of special effects. The words of Noel Coward's 1941 song, London Pride, are as pertinent today as they ever were. In the song, Noel Coward suggested that London Pride or spirit was intangible, though too strong to ignore. Now, the essence of what has made London special through the ages has been captured and made real in Madame Tussaud's The Spirit of London.

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The Spirit of London begins with a visit to an Elizabethan theatre. Inspired by Shakespeare's Globe, a group of splendidly colourful jesters and minstrels gather under the beautiful, ornately painted ceiling adorned with stars and moons. We are in the presence of Elizabeth I (1533–1603), who took England forward into a golden age of discovery and invention.

The Great Fire not only spelt an end to the virulence of the Plague and the destruction of much of old London but out of the flames a new city was born. As The Spirit of London taxis progress, visitors can see exactly what opportunities greeted men of vision like Sir Christopher Wren (1632-1723)1. Apart from his well known skill as an architect, Wren was a renowned mathematician and scientist, and we therefore see him overseeing the capital's rebuilding from an architrave, conducting work with a pair of dividers. Wren is remembered best for St. Paul's Cathedral2, his masterpiece.

We see Wren 'conducting' its building and ensuring that even the most particular detail is taken care of Apart from St. Paul's, he was responsible for the Royal Observatory at Greenwich and the Chelsea Hospital for retired soldiers, as well as additions to Hampton Court and Westminster Abbey3.

Leaving Sir Christopher Wren, visitors are transported across 200 years into the midst of celebrations surrounding the unveiling of Nelson's Column – complete with a magnificent firework display.

Admiral Lord Nelson (1758-1805)4 died of wounds sustained during his historic battle with Napoleon's fleet in 1805, and the monument, completed in 1860, honours his victory and stands in the square named after the battle, Trafalgar. In the 19th century, Britain needed to finance and support the rapid expansion that took place during Victoria's reign. It was the Industrial Revolution which turned Britain from an agrarian to an industrial economy and so into the powerhouse of the Empire.

This period of change in Britain's history was responsible for the invention of steam engines, railways, iron-hulled ships, tarred roads and many agricultural advances, as well as a host of other developments which we now take for granted. But it also meant misery and exploitation for many people. Labour was cheap and always in demand.

Fortunately, philanthropists and writers like Charles Dickens (18121870)5 spoke out against this exploitation. In books such as Oliver Twist, A Christmas Carol and Nicholas Nickleby, he publicized the plight of the

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oppressed and did much to encourage the social changes that improved the lives of the poor, and especially those of children. Everyone is familiar with the sight of scruffy street urchins and Dickensian orphans - the machinery that characterises the Industrial Revolution is seen littered with such unfortunates: even the formidable Fagin (from Oliver Twist) is seen attempting to pick the pockets of Charles Dickens!

Leaving the Industrial Revolution, the cabs continue their computercontrolled journey out of a period when Britain ruled much of the world to a time when its very survival was threatened.

In 1940, Britain was at war. As the prelude to an intended invasion, Hitler ordered the bombing of London and the south-east of England in preparation for an amphibious assault. The RAF6 mounted a gallant and lastditch defense, known as the Battle of Britain, enabling Britain to continue the fight. If Hitler could not invade, he decided to destroy the nation from the air, and the nightly Blitz (from the German blitzkrieg, or lightning war) by aircraft of the Luftwaffe began.

Amid the howl of sirens and beneath the searchlights' beams, the cabs visit a London in ruins, after an air-raid.

Winston Churchill (1874-1965)7, Britain's great wartime Prime Minister, is seen among the debris of war as ARP (Air Raid Precaution) Wardens and Civil Defense workers toil among the rubble.

The Blitz is replaced by chaos of another kind 'Swinging London' during the 1960s! The '60s heralded the hippy revolution, one of peace, love and individualism. As a result of its pre-eminence in the pop music world (with groups like The Beatles,' The Rolling Stones) Britain, and especially London, became the focus of attention during the upheaval of young people's attitudes in the '60s.

1.Sir Christopher Wren (1632-1723) – Кристофер Рен, величайший английский архитектор.

2.St. Paul's Cathedral – Собор Святого Павла, шедевр английской архитектуры. 3.Westminster Abbey – Вестминстерское Аббатство, известное готическое здание. 4.Admiral Lord Nelson (1758-1805) – Адмирал Лорд Нельсон выиграл морское сражение при битве Трафальгар.

5.Charles Dickens (1812-1870) – Чарльз Диккенс, известный английский писатель. 6.RAF – Royal Air Force – королевские авиационные силы.

7.Winston Churchill (1874-1965) – Уинстон Черчилль, премьер-министр Великобритании.

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SCIENCE MUSEUM

Museum that is the headquarters of Britain's National Museum of Science and Industry and is one of the greatest museums of science and technology in the world. It is located in South Kensington, London, near the Natural History Museum and the Victoria and Albert Museum.

The Science Museum had its origins in the Great Exhibition of 1851, some exhibits of which led to the creation of a Museum of Manufactures and, in due course, to the South Kensington Museum. This museum, which opened in 1857, covered both science and art, and it was not until 1909 that the science section became formally separated. (The arts section went on to form the core of the Victoria and Albert Museum.) The Science Museum's present quarters, designed by Sir Richard Allison, were opened to the public in stages over the period 1919-28; from then until 1961 there were a number of extensions.

In 1997 preparatory work began on the museum's new Welcome Wing. The National Railway Museum, York (opened 1975), the National Museum of Photography, Film and Television, Bradford (opened 1983), and exhibits of British naval aviation at the Fleet Air Arm Museum, Yeovilton, Somerset, are also branches of the National Museum of Science and Industry.

The Science Museum's displays are concerned with the presentation of science and its application to industry and everyday life, both historically and from a contemporary viewpoint. Thus, it is possible to see key engines in the development of motive power or exhibits on the great medical advances made over time (the latter drawn from the museum's extensive Welcome collection). In the entrance hall a Foucault pendulum demonstrates the rotation of the Earth on its axis, and another gallery explains the many applications of nuclear physics. Petroleum refining, time measurement, the development of computing, space exploration, the extraction and distribution of natural gas, the manufacture of iron and steel, and the development of aircraft are some of the subjects interpreted through the museum's exhibits. There is also an area known as the Launch Pad, where visitors can introduce themselves to basic scientific concepts through experiments and demonstrations.

IMPERIAL WAR MUSEUM

In the United Kingdom, national museum serving as a memorial and record of the wartime efforts and sacrifices of the people of Great Britain and

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the Commonwealth. Upon its opening in 1920, its focus was on World War I, but its remit has since been extended to include World War II and subsequent military engagements. The museum moved into its present building on Lambeth Road in the London borough of Southwark in 1936. This late Georgian building, with a dome that Sydney Smirke added in 1846, was formerly the central block of Bedlam, the Bethlem Royal Hospital for the mentally ill.

The Imperial War Museum covers both service and civilian aspects of war. The extensive collections include a range of vehicles from both sides of the world wars. Representing World War I are a British Mark V tank and a Sop with Camel fighter. An American Sherman tank is preserved from World War II, as are a British Spitfire Mark I, a German Heinkel He 162 jet fighter, and a German V-1 flying bomb and V-2 rocket. More aircraft are exhibited at Duxford airfield, a branch museum near Cambridge, where the American Air Museum in Britain, designed by Sir Norman Foster and opened in 1997, is situated. Other branch museums include a World War IIera cruiser in moored in the River Thames near the Tower of London, and the Cabinet War Rooms used by Winston Churchill, located on King Charles Street, London.

The museum holds an extensive photographic archive and has an outstanding art collection, containing works by Paul Nash, Laura Knight, John Piper, Sir Stanley Spencer, Norman Wilkinson, and many others.

The visitor to the museum is presented with a number of realistic audiovisual, interactive, and other simulated experiences. These include a walk through a frontline trench at the Somme in 1916, the devastation of a London street bombed in 1940, a flight simulator, and a video representation of a nuclear explosion. The museum also holds special exhibitions.

NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM, LONDON

Outstanding collection of specimens and its extensive libraries is located near the Victoria and Albert Museum and the Science Museum in South Kensington, London.

The museum was formerly an integral part of the British Museum, which originated in 1753 when the government acquired the collections of Sir Hans Sloane. Under the superintendence of Richard Owen, the natural history collections were moved to the current premises, which opened to the public in

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1881. Designed especially for the purpose by Alfred Waterhouse, the building is an outstanding example of Victorian Romanesque architecture. It has been extended a number of times, mainly to provide storage and facilities for the museum's services. By act of Parliament in 1963, the Natural History Museum gained its own board of trustees and became fully independent of the British Museum. In 1986 the trustees took over responsibility for the adjacent Geological Museum, to which there is now direct access from the Natural History Museum. There is also a branch museum at Tring, Hertfordshire, 30 miles (50 km) northwest of London. Known as the Walter Rothschild Zoological Museum, it was bequeathed to the nation by the 2nd Baron Rothschild in the early 20th century.

The museum's collections comprise almost 70 million specimens from all parts of the world. Among these are a large number of type specimens, plants and animals from which species were first described and named. There are also highly significant historical collections, such as those of James Cook resulting from his expeditions to the Pacific and of Charles Darwin from his voyage on HMS Beagle. The collections are organized in departments of botany, entomology, mineralogy, paleontology, and zoology; a subdepartment of ornithology is based at Tring. Despite the academic nature of its work, the museum presents a number of popular displays.

FASHION MUSEUM

Fashion is very rich and various today. But it is not just about big name designers. It is also about style, about putting the look together. Fashion is a tool to express a person's identity and to demand attention.

The Fashion Museum collection was started by Doris Langley Moore. This famous collector and costume designer gave her collection to the city of Bath in 1963, thus founding the Museum of Costume, which just recently was renamed the Fashion Museum. The collections are located in Assembly Rooms, in upper town Bath. The Fashion Museum is about hidden parts of fashion history, from the 18th to the 20th century. There are collections on all types of fashions, including very extensive collections of shoes, hats, bags, gloves, and pockets. The museum also conducts research in the sphere of art and design. Here shows are regularly organized, in which both young and inexperienced, as well as the world's leading fashion designers participate. These shows are devoted to

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garments in woman's and men's wardrobe, including shirts, ties, hats, sportswear, hosiery, accessories, knitwear, coats and what not. The museum's collections also tell about designers who made significant contributions to British fashion.

Fashion is fleeting by nature: it is here today and gone tomorrow. It is possible to capture it through photography and illustrations. In the museum's collection there are archive films and photographs of women and men wearing different garments since the 17th century.

One of the popular exhibitions is on floral dresses brought together from all over the United Kingdom, from major museum collections, as well as from private collections. Another popular collection is devoted to a corset, which used to be an essential piece of clothing for women in the 18-19th centuries.

In the museum one can learn about different types of material including wool, silk, plush, velvet and others. The garments which are exhibited can be embroidered, in bright colored wools or even printed in flowers. The materials can be striped, pin-striped, tartan, plain, or polka-dotted. There are a lot of variations!

Part V

Museums of the United States of America

METROPOLITAN MUSEUM OF ART,

ART MUSEUM IN NEW YORK CITY

Metropolitan Museum of Art, art museum in New York City, one of the largest and most comprehensive art museums in the world. Founded in 1870 by a group of civic leaders, philanthropists, and artists, the museum has occupied its current location in New York's Central Park since 1880. Its collections number nearly three million objects in every known artistic medium, representing cultures from every part of the world, from ancient times to the present. . Popularly known as the Met, the museum is a private institution. Its collection is housed in a building owned and maintained by New York City. Visited by more than five million people each year, the museum is one of the most popular tourist attractions in the city. It is also a major educational institution, offering a wide array of programs for children and adults. In addition, scholars of archaeology and art history conduct advanced research projects at the museum.

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HISTORY

In 1866 a group of Americans in Paris, France, gathered at a restaurant to celebrate the Fourth of July (American Independence Day). After dinner, John Jay, a prominent lawyer and grandson of eminent American jurist John Jay, gave a speech proposing that he and his compatriots create a «national institution and gallery of art.» During the next four years, they convinced American civic leaders, art collectors, and philanthropists to support the project, and in 1870 the Metropolitan Museum of Art was incorporated. During the 1870s the museum was housed in two different locations in New York City, first in a building at 681 Fifth Avenue and later at 128 West 14th Street.

In 1880 the museum moved to its present location in Central Park on Fifth Avenue between 80th and 84th Streets. The first structure was designed by American architects Calvert Vaux and Jacob Wrey Mould. Many additions have since been built around this building. American architect Richard Morris Hunt designed the central pavilion and the neoclassical facade on Fifth Avenue, which opened to the public in 1902. The architectural firm of McKim, Mead and White designed the north and south wings, which were completed in 1911 and 1913, respectively. Six additional wings, designed by the architectural firm of Kevin Roche, John Dinkeloo and Associates, have been built since 1975 to house the museum's growing collections, to expand gallery space, and to accommodate art conservation and educational facilities.

OPERATIONS

The Metropolitan Museum of Art is divided into several curatorial departments, each responsible for acquiring, preserving, studying, and exhibiting works of art in its field. The museum obtains objects for its collections through bequests, gifts, and purchases with funds specified for acquisition. Curators evaluate works proposed for acquisition in terms of their perceived quality, importance, and rarity, as well as their overall contribution to the collection as a whole. Works of art are preserved, cleaned, and restored (when necessary) by conservation departments specializing in one of four types of media: paintings, three-dimensional objects (such as sculptures), works on paper (such as prints), and textiles. Objects on exhibition are carefully displayed to avoid overexposure to light, dust, and other

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