- •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
Instructions
1. Work in group of 5–6 students (the whole group is participating in the discussion).
2. Elect a discussion leader who will act as the host (hostess) of the discussion:
a) leader opens the meeting and introduces the members to each other;
b) he invites each member to speak;
c) he politely interrupts any member who speaks too long;
d) he sums up the opinions of the speakers.
Note. In the course of the discussion observe the general rules:
Don't wander from the subject!
Don't monopolize the time and the discussion!
Don't be sharp towards those who do not agree with you!
Use the following formulas to make your entry into the discussion:
May I put a word in?
If you ask me...
It just occurred to me...
On the surface of it, it really is..., but...
Generally speaking...
Strictly speaking...
That depends on...
I want to press the point that...
On the one hand...
On the other hand...
Under the circumstances.
Conclude your reasoning in the discussion using such statements as:
All these show conclusively that...
To sum it all up...
All things considered...
The major point at issue was...
We can arrive at the conclusion that...
Topic 1. Different Genres of Painting.
Speak about different genres of painting (two or more students may choose the same genre provided they don't repeat each other in the discussion). Each student is to speak about the genre he has chosen pointing out its merits and advantages in comparison with other genres. It is essential that the participants should argue with each other, stressing the various merits of the genre they are defending and criticizing possible disadvantages of other genres.
Use the following:
My preference lies with the genre of portrait because...
I personally like genre paintings. They are...
My favourite painters are Shishkin and Levitan. So, naturally, I prefer landscape to other genres. You see...
I can't say I care much for still lifes. They seem to me meaningless, a merely decorative genre...
I can't agree that landscape has any social significance, because...
Will you explain what you meant by saying that the genre of portrait is thought-provoking? After all, a portrait is just a likeness of some person or other...
Topic 2. Old Art or Modern Art?
Consider the following arguments in favour of both old and modern painters and use them as theses in your discussion.
For Old Art 1. Painting of old masters is one of the greatest treasures mankind has collected in the history of its civilisation. 2. Old painting reflects the collective experience of human spiritual life of many centuries. 3. The human experience embodied in the great paintings of the past is also our experience; hence the responsiveness of modern people to old pictures. 4. The advanced technical experiments of modern painters would have been impossible without the supreme technical achievements of old masters. |
For Modern Art 1. For most modern people old paintings are unintelligible. Even the subjects – mythological, biblical – are often obscure. 2. New times call for new songs. Modern man is naturally interested in the art reflecting his own time and his own experience. 3. Worship of old masters is a drag on the development of new progressive art. We should look forward instead of turning back all the time. 4. The techniques of old masters are hopelessly out of date; nor do they appeal to modern viewers who look for new, daring technical experiments in painting. |
In your discussion, you may also make use of this interesting quotation from Romain Rolland.
"There are some excellent people who are nevertheless incapable of appreciating a new work of art before its age reaches at least twenty years. For their weak heads the odour of a new life is too strong, and it must be given time to evaporate. A work of art has an appeal for such people only when it is covered with the dust of time."
When getting ready for the discussion, choose the side you are going to support. By no means should you restrict yourself to the arguments given above: they are just hints which may help you in formulating your own ideas. Provide your arguments with illustrations.
* * *