4.13 Read the text and say what kind of art you are interested in.

THE ART

Art includes music, literature, films, photography, sculpture, and painting. In a broad sense, all art is the opposite of nature: this idea lies in the contrast between “artificial” – that is created by people – and “natural”.

VISUAL ARTS

In the visual arts of Western civilizations, painting and sculpture have been the dominant forms for many centuries. In other cultures ornaments, masks, tattoos and metalwork have been the main forms of visual art. In the recent past, technology has made new forms of art possible, for example, photography and cinema; and today electronic media have led to entirely new ways of creating and presenting visual images.

PAINTING

If you want to see the paintings by a famous artist, you need to go to an art gallery or a museum. There you can see individual paintings and sometimes an exhibition. There are many different types and styles of painting.

4.14 Now match the words from A with their definitions from B.

A	B
1. a portrait	a. a painting of part of the countryside
2. a self-portrait	b. a painting of inanimate objects, e.g. fruits
3. a landscape	c. a painting of a person
4. a still-life	d. a painting that is not realistic
5. an abstract painting	e. a painting of plants, buildings
6. a seascape	f. a painting of the artist by himself/herself
7. a cityscape	g. a painting of an ocean, sea, waves

4.15 Match the names of the following artists with the country they are from.

Raphael Santi Kandinsky Turner Rembrandt Gainsborough Van Gogh Picasso Renoir

A. Spain B. England C. Italy D. Russia E. Netherlands F. England G. France H. Netherlands

4.16 Guess if these statements are true or false. Then read the text and check your answers.

1. High Renaissance style was founded in the 17-th century.

2. Leonardo da Vinci was not only a great artist but also a great thinker.

3. Only eighteen paintings of Leonardo came down to us.

4. Three of Leonardo’s paintings are in the Hermitage Museum.

Leonardo da vinci (1452-1519)

High Renaissance style was founded by one of the most gifted indi­viduals ever born. Leonardo da Vinci fulfilled the Renaissance ideal of the Universal Man. He was not only a great painter and sculptor, but also the outstanding architect, an inventor, an engineer, a musician, and leading physicist, botanist, anatomist, geologist and geographer of his time.

Leonardo’s fame as an artist is based on eighteen paintings that came down to us, some of them incomplete, some damaged as a result of his experimental techniques. Leonardo’s art surpassed the achievements of his time.

Leonardo’s power as an artist and thinker is evident in the Last Supper and the Mona Lisa, his two most famous works.

There are two Leonardo’s paintings in the Hermitage Museum. They are the Madonna with a Flower and the Madonna Litta.

Note: the Last Supper – «Тайная вечеря»

1. Who founded High Renaissance style in painting?

2. Why have so few of Leonardo’s paintings come down to us?

3. What are Leonardo’s most famous works?

4.17 Read the text and say if the architecture in the place where you live is important for you.