- •Topical vocabulary
- •1. General terminology
- •2. Genres in painting
- •2.1. Landscape painting
- •3.3. Composition
- •3.4. Colour
- •3.5. Light and shade
- •3.6. Line(work)
- •3.8. Style and technique
- •5. Going round a museum or art gallery
- •6. Names of museums and galleries
- •Vocabulary exercises
- •X. Choose the right word:
- •Illustration and training
- •II. Make up statements choosing suitable words.
- •III. Make up statements.
- •IV. Make sentences using these patterns.
- •V. React to the following sentences as in the model below.
- •VI. Say you did not know about the facts your partner tells you.
- •VII. Tell what genres of painting would choose the following as their objects.
- •VIII. Object to the following statements.
- •IX. Memorize these short dialogues.
- •Glimpses of british art
- •I. An outline of english painting
- •Exercises
- •1. Read the text given above.
- •3. Find the English equivalents for:
- •4. Explain and expand on the following:
- •Portrait painting
- •I. Read the texts for obtaining information. Sir joshua reynolds
- •Thomas gainsborough
- •Exercises
- •1. Study the italicised phrases, translate the sentences with them, give a back translation without consulting the texts.
- •2. Explain or expand on the following:
- •II. Without translating the extracts give the English equivalents for the italicized words, groups of words or phrases and render the paragraphs.
- •III. Study and describe Thomas Gainsborough's famous picture Portrait of the Duchess of Beaufort. Make use of the text given below and the following vocabulary:
- •VI. Two portraits of sarah siddons
- •1. Study the text “Mrs. Siddons as the Tragic Muse” in “In the World of Painting” ( p.P. 22-24). Summarize it. Use the following vocabulary:
- •2. Read the text of Ex. V in “Practical Course of English” (3d year) edited by Prof. Arakin, 1974, p. 145. Render it in English.
- •3. Pass your judgement on the opinion of an enthusiastic admirer who saw the “Mrs. Siddons” by Gainsborough in the Manchester exhibition of 1857.
- •4. Work in pairs. Compare the two portraits. Landscape painting
- •I. Give a brief talk about the outstanding English landscape painters Constable and Turner.
- •II. Read the following text and speak on the similarities and differences between Constable’s and Turner’s painting.
- •Exercises
- •1. Learn the italicized phrases and use them while speaking about the painters.
- •2. The following sentences may be used while speaking about the painters. Your task is to decide who they refer to:
- •III. Translate the following into English:
- •V. Act as interpreter in the following dialogue:
- •The tretyakov gallery
- •I. Describe the reproduction of Surikov's "Boyarina Morozova" using this text as a guide.
- •Exercises
- •1. Find in the text English equivalents for the following phrases and write them out:
- •2. Use the active vocabulary in sentences of your own.
- •3. Describe the “Boyarina Morozova” according to the following plan:
- •II. Act as interpreter in the following dialogue:
- •From "Christmas Holiday" by w. S. Maugham
- •1. Still Life with Soup Tureen by Paul Cezanne (1883 – 1885)
- •2. "Picnic" by Claude Monet (1866)
- •3. Portrait of Cardinal Bontivoglio by Antonis Van Dyck (after 1621)
- •Exercises
- •Free speech activity
- •Instructions
- •Reference literature
2. "Picnic" by Claude Monet (1866)
This picture is a study of light on an enormous scale. Monet noticed the pools of colour with which the light, filtering through the leaves, splashed the clothing and the faces; but he also noticed an effect contrary to the teachings in the schools, namely that light does not dim but intensifies colour, rescues it from the shadow. Colour, therefore, when submitted to the play of light and shade, tends to break up.
(Ibid. Extract.)
3. Portrait of Cardinal Bontivoglio by Antonis Van Dyck (after 1621)
The portrait, dated shortly after 1621, is ranked as one of Van Dyck's finest. The influence of Rubens and the Venetian masters is evident in the treatment of light and brushstroke. Van Dyck's emphasis on the cardinal's aristocratic features and hands and the richness of his ecclesiastical robes leave no doubt as to the social position of the sitter.
(From "Pitti Palace" by Claudio Pescio. Guide.)
Note. This formal description does not give the full justice to Van Dyck's masterpiece. As all great portraits, it is not a mere representation of face, hands and figure, but a study of human nature done by a genius. The cardinal's features may be aristocratic but they are also the features of a clever and cunning intriguant. The alert eyes and the wary turn of the head give a lie to the seeming serenity of the face. The same contrast can be noted in the treatment of the hands: the left hand is serenely relaxed but the fingers of the right are curled almost in a claw-like manner as if in readiness to snatch and to grasp.
Exercises
1. What makes the essential difference between the kinds of picture description in Maugham’s novel and the rest of the texts? Provide language facts.
2. What is the difference between the still lifes by Chardin and Cezanne so far as can be judged: 1) from the descriptions; 2) from your own acquaintance with these painters’ works?
3. How do you understand the words “a study of light” in the description of Monet’s “Picnic”? How did the Impressionists treat the problem of light?
4. How do you understand the words “a study of human nature” in the description of Van Dyck’s portrait? Give examples of famous portraits which can be said to be “a study of human nature”.
5. In the texts above find sentences which, in your opinion, stress the essential aspects of each picture (2-4 sentences for each text).
6. Comment on: “... out of pain and distress and unkindness, out of all the evil of the world, you can create beauty”.
The first impression may be that this statement is a startling and extravagant exaggeration. Yet, it is a true observation: artists (and not only painters, but also composers and writers) do create beauty “out of pain and distress and unkindness”. Give a talk on this point. Prove it and illustrate it. Here are some suggested examples: “The Last Day of Pompeii” by Karl Bryullov; “Gernica” by Pablo Picasso; “Ivan the Terrible Kills His Son” by Ilya Repin; “The Morning of the Strelets’ Execution”, “Menshikov in Berezovo”, “Boyarina Morozova” by Vasily Surikov; “Inconsolable Sorrow” by Ivan Kramskoy. Think of other examples.