Language Focus: Vocabulary

Activity 1. Match the words underlined in the texts to their synonyms or synonymous expressions:

negligible milieu vociferous predilection crass sporadic respite pristine gnarled perilous spray caustically vapid moribund brusque coalesce

insensitive, stupid, boorish liking, preference, bias, propensity amalgamate, blend, merge, unite intermittent, irregular, occasional dying, declining, on its last legs twisted, contorted, knotty unspoiled, immaculate, virginal strident, noisy, loud, confident scathingly, acidly, bitterly mist, sprinkle insignificant, minor, trivial abrupt, curt, rude, impolite dull, bland, boring hazardous, risky, dangerous background, setting, environment break, escape, reprieve, pause

Activity 2. Match the words underlined in the texts to their dictionary definitions:

buoyant emulation to flock recluse untamed to abate trestle (bridge) to molder spurious diaphanous to extol escarpment tug-of-war to delineate slander rarefied

to describe, draw or explain something in detail to praise somebody or something very much a wooden or metal structure with two pairs of sloping legs used to support a flat surface a steep slope that separates an area of high ground from an area of lower ground imitation of doing something as well as somebody else because you admire them understood or experienced by only a very small group of people who share a particular area of knowledge or activity to become less strong cheerful and feeling sure that things will be successful to decay slowly and steadily a false spoken statement intended to damage the good opinion people have of somebody so light and fine that you can almost see through it to go or gather together somewhere in large numbers false, although seeming to be genuine or based on false ideas not changed, controlled or influenced by anyone a situation in which two people or groups try very hard to get or keep the same thing a person who lives alone and likes to avoid other people

Activity 3. Rearrange the text given below. Make sure you read through the completed text to check that the order of the paragraphs makes sense. Add new words which may come in handy when speaking about painting as a supplement to your vocabulary list:

WINSLOW HOMER

1. In “Croquet Scene”, one of five paintings Homer completed on the subject, progress on “the grand round” seems fairly advanced. Women and men compete with one another in the popular sport of croquet, which had recently been introduced to the United States from England. The crouching male figure positions the ball belonging to the woman dressed in red. She is about to croquet (or “send up the country”) the ball probably belonging to the woman in the left foreground, who shields her eyes against the bright afternoon sun. Notable for its broad brushwork, bold patterning, strong contours, and brilliant light effects, the painting epitomizes the spirit of a breezy summer afternoon.

2. In 1883, Winslow Homer moved to Prout's Neck, Maine, and from this point, where sea meets land, proceeded to create a series of images of the sea unparalleled in American art. Long inspired by the subject, Homer had spent summers visiting New England fishing villages during the 1870s and, in 1881-82, made a trip to a fishing community in Tynemouth, England, that fundamentally changed his work and his life.

3. “When I have selected a thing carefully, I paint it exactly as it appears.” Thus Homer, who was more of a realist than his predecessors, once described his method of working. “Breezing Up” (1876), like a good piece of reporting, describes a common event simply and convincingly. Loaded with the day's catch, a catboat is returning from a fishing expedition. All the details are clearly and tightly drawn: the metal boat fittings sparkling in the sunshine, the firm rigging, the shiny gray fish, and the wrinkled clothes of the boys. Especially fine is the light effect on the choppy water and on the spray thrown into the air by the movement of the boat.

4. One of America's undisputed masters, Winslow Homer made his reputation as an illustrator during the Civil War. During the early 1860s, Homer turned his acute observational and technical skills toward oil painting, preferring to depict figures out-of-doors in bright, natural light. These early paintings (often executed in series) feature aspects of contemporary life.

5. His late paintings focused almost exclusively on mankind's age-old contest with nature. Here, Homer depicted the heroic efforts of fishermen at their daily work, hauling in an abundant catch of herring. In a small dory, two figures loom large against the mist on the horizon, through which the sails of the mother schooners are dimly visible. While one fisherman hauls in the netted and glistening herring, the other, a boy, unloads the catch. With the teamwork so necessary for survival, both strive to steady the precarious boat as it rides the incoming swells. Homer's broad and masterful isolation of these two central figures underscores the monumentality of their task: the elemental struggle against a sea that both nurtures and deprives.

6. In spite of his emphasis on reality, Homer has given us more than an accurate record in his painting. Gifted with the ability to evoke a mood, he makes us almost feel the warm sun and fresh breeze, almost smell the salt air. A few brilliant lights contrasting with dark, muted tones create the illusion of a late afternoon when the summer sun is setting but still bright. And then, by making the boat list and by showing it moving back on a diagonal, as if it were about to leave our field of vision, a sense of speed is conveyed. Homer succeeds in presenting to us, almost as vividly as if they were our own, the emotions of the fisherman and boys, who are relaxing in the sun and enjoying the swift movement across the water.

Activity 4. Read the texts below and complete them using the words from the boxes:

God based form virgin captured literary awesome council warrior artistic precipice highest

“Last of the Mohicans”

Thomas Cole believed in the …¹… theory of the Grand Manner, which held landscape painting to be a low …²… of art, and history painting to be the …³… . Landscape painting therefore had to be ennobled, if not by the spirit of …⁴…, then by legend, historical event, or …⁵… association. This can be seen in Last of the Mohicans, which is …⁶… on James Fenimore Cooper’s novel. Cole’s picture represents the Mohawks gathered in …⁷… before their ancient chief, Tamenund, as the …⁸… white woman, Cora, is told she must choose between the wigwam and the knife of the treacherous Mohawk …⁹… Le Subtil. The drama is set amid towering mountain peaks, plunging valleys, and …¹⁰… forests. These dwarf the tiny figures, creating in the viewer the …¹¹… feeling of insignificance in the presence of all-powerful nature. The soul is excited vicariously by the action occurring so close to the edge of a great …¹²…, thus providing an experience of the sublime.

sky aesthetic created forerunners appeal abstraction moonlit ridiculed narrative twilight derived composition right adult

“Nocturne in Gray and Gold”

“Art should be independent of all clap-trap – should stand alone and …¹… to the artistic sense of eye or ear,” said the iconoclastic painter James Abbott McNeill Whistler. Born in the United States, Whistler spent most of his …²… life in Paris and London. To emphasize that there are no …³… overtones in his paintings – that instead they are …⁴… arrangements of color and shape on flat surfaces – he gave them titles …⁵… from music, such as “arrangements,” “symphonies,” and “nocturnes.” One of his first such paintings, Nocturne in Gray and Gold, captures a hazy, …⁶… night on Southampton Water. Rather than focusing on the ships in the harbor, Whistler was interested in the mood …⁷… by the dense, warm …⁸… and the subtle harmony of shades of gray and gold. To achieve this, he relegated the boats to either side of the …⁹…, creating a kind of frame for the tranquil expanse of water and …¹⁰… at the painting’s center. Part of a homely piling at the lower …¹¹… anchors the scene. Much misunderstood, sometimes openly …¹²… when they were first exhibited, Whistler’s luminous nocturnal visions were …¹³… of the experiments in …¹⁴… that would follow in the next century.

Activity 5. Read the texts below and complete them using the words from the boxes on the right in the correct form:

FREDERIC EDWIN CHURCH (American, 1826-1900) Cotopaxi, 1857 A …1… American landscape painter in the second half of the nineteenth century, Frederic Edwin Church approached his subject matter as both artist and scientist. Inspired by the writings of the German …2… and explorer Alexander von Humboldt, Church visited the …3… terrain of South America twice, in 1853 and in 1857. In this …4… "New World" – particularly what was then the highest active volcano in the world, the mighty Ecuadorian Cotopaxi – he saw the perfect symbol of primeval nature and the spiritual …5… it could bring to civilization. This view of the perfectly shaped, smoldering cone of Cotopaxi ("shining mass" to the Incas) was completed just before Church's second trip to South America. A …6… compendium of minutely rendered wildlife, vegetation, and terrain, the canvas illustrates the fascinating contrasts indigenous to this locale: from the calm lake water to the …7… cascades; from the lush, green foliage to the frozen, barren peak. The elevated vantage point, in which the viewer seems suspended in midair, heightens these evocative juxtapositions. One of at least ten finished canvases executed over almost two decades that feature the Andean volcano, this painting represents an intermediate vision between Church's straightforward, more naturalistic early pieces and the dramatic, …8… earthscapes of the mature period of his career.

Lead Nature Mountain Tame New Dazzle Explode Transcend

Artist Unknown The Sargent Family Though we do not know who painted this portrait group, we have a detailed record of the …1…. Mr. Samuel Green Sargent, of Charlestown, Massachusetts, is being welcomed home by his family. Martha runs to greet him; Maria is playing with her ball and dog; and Eliza, Samuel, and Mrs. Sargent complete the group. Their world is …2… and their house well furnished: the Hepplewhite chairs might well be the envy of a modern …3… of antiques. It is the artist's obvious enjoyment of detail that makes his painting especially delightful. He has looked at everything very …4… and has tried to bring out clearly the details of costumes and …5… . But the picture looks awkward to us because of the painter's lack of training. He did not understand anatomy, …6…, or perspective, nor could he render the effect of atmosphere in space. But he turned his deficiency to advantage, making an attractive design of his …7… . The curved forms of the figures are contrasted with the rectangular divisions of the …8…; and the irregularity of the landscape seen through the window relieves the formal balance of the squared windowpanes, the curtains, and the bird cages. All this emphasis on pattern, together with the charming naïveté of such American primitive paintings, makes a strong appeal to modern taste.

Sit Cheer Collect Close Furnish Short Compose Set

Activity 6. Use these word combinations speaking about your favourite American painters and their famous works of art:

To record objective details; to record daily happenings; to launch someone on a successful career; to offer escape to faraway places; idealistic contemplation of the native world; indistinctness of form; veiled softness of color; to fall under the spell; to submit to something at the outset; tone harmony; to express a democratic rejection of artificial standards; to paint with concern for literal fact; to raise a barrier between artist and layman; with an engraver’s linear precision; to rise to the fore; an apparent sharpness of focus; interest in the painterly possibilities of natural light; psychological acuity in the portrayal of someone; a masterly evocation of personality; avoidance of narrative detail; fascination with abstract qualities; layers of atmospheric color; to emphasize line rather than form or mass; low-keyed tonality.