Pickled sheep and bullet holes

VOCABULARY EXERCISES

Ex. 1. Match the words and their definitions :

a) landscape 1) is a picture on a wall or ceiling where a plaster is still wet or damp.

b) seascape2) is a painting of such unanimated subjects as fruit, flowers and other decorative things.

c) portrait3) is a painting which represents scenes from every day life in a more or less realistic way.

d) still life4) is a picture representing a tract of country with the various objects it contains.

e) fresco5) is painting or other artistic representation of the sea.

f) genre painting 6) is a person who is having his portrait painted.

g) sitter, subject, model 7) is a painting, picture or representation of the person, especially of a face generally drawn from life.

Ex. 2. Put the words in order to make recommending expressions.

1. you’re / OK / it’s / sort / if / into / thing / that / of

2. a / must / it’s

3. recommend / really / I / it

4. you / give / if / were / miss / a / I’d / it / I

5. visit / well / it’s / a / worth

6. entrance / not / it’s / the / fee / worth

7. It’s / my / tea / cup / of / really / not

Ex. 3. Use the words from the box to complete the sentences below.

portrait landscape still life abstract detailed traditional original colourful

1. I think his work is very individual, very ………………………… . I’ve never seen anything else like it.

2. I’ve just been to a(n) ………………….. exhibition – it’s something I’ve tried to do myself, but my apples always look like peaches!

3. We’ve got a(n) …………………. of my great grand-father at home. He was a general in the army.

4. Renaissance paintings were always very …………………… . You could see all the stiches on the clothes.

5. His most famous ………………… was a picture of the scenery around his home in Provence.

6. I don’t actually like modern art. I much prefer more ……………….. things.

7. I don’t like paintings that are all greys and browns. I like really …………………. things. You know, lots of bright greens and reds and yellows.

8. I don’t understandd her work at all. It’s just too ………………..for me.

Ex. 4. MUSEUM. Interpret the following phrases.

1. What about going to the Museum of Oriental Culture (of Fine Arts, the State Hermitage, the Tretyakov Gallery, the Tolstoy House)?

2. The museum deals with the history of Russia.

3. The treasures here are valued at millions and millions of roubles.

4. We were at the exhibition of antiques.

5. When you look at the antiques gathered there you forget that you live in the twentн-first century.

6. Much restoration work is being carried out.

7. Эти замечательные произведения искусства дают яркое представление о высоком уровне мастерства древних.

8. Древнее ружье имело заржавленный кремневый замок.

9. Дуло было изъедено вековой ржавчиной.

10. Пистолет был отделан серебром.

11. В музее было множество экспонатов, представляющих исторический интерес.

12. There were robes covered with gold embroidery and starred with gems.

13. The antique desk was black with age.

14. These coins come down to us from the time of Peter I.

15. These breast plates once belonged to the N. tribe.

16. Если бы мы пошли в Эрмитаж в Санкт-Петербурге, мы могли бы увидеть замечательные коллекции экспонатов, как, например: предметы, сделанные из стекла, кости, камня и железа;

17. предметы, найденные в местах расположения древних городов;

18. предметы, найденные в гробницах различных племен;

19. предметы, найденные при раскопках в различных местах;

20. старинные монеты;

21. обломки сосудов греческой работы ... века;

22. сельскохозяйственные орудия народов, существовавших в древние времена;

23. предметы из серебра и меди, разукрашенные эмалью;

24. рукописи, написанные сотни лет назад;

25. медные и серебряные монеты времен денежной реформы Петра I;

26. костюмы давно минувших времен

Ex. 5. Look up and memorize the pronunciation of the names of the following famous artists

Blake, William

Constable, John

Gainsborough, Thomas

Gauguin, Paul

Goya, Francisco Jose de

Hogarth, William

Holbein, Hans

Hopper, John

Leonardo da Vinci

Manet, Edouard

Michelangelo Buonarotti

Monet, Claude

Raeburn, Henry

Raphael

Rembrandt

Renoir, August

Reynolds, Joshua

Riley, Bridget

Romney, George

Rubens

Turner, Joseph

Van Dyck

Van Gogh

READING

Learn to describe the pictures.

"OPHELIA" BY J. E. MILLAIS

"Ophelia" was painted in 1852. Millais found the stream that provided the setting for his painting near Ewell. Millais' painting is full of Shakespearean allusion: the rose in the dead Ophelia's hand is a reference to brother Laertes's description of her as "the Rose of May" and the robin in the undergrowth is a reminder of Ophelia's song. "For bonny sweet robin is all my joy." A true Pre-Raphaelite, Millais spent a great deal of time on the exact reproduction of the stream and the overhanging streams. Despite his care after it was exhibited the painting's colour deteriorated and Millais .was obliged to retouch it. The model was Elizabeth Siddal. Millais made her pose fully dressed in a bathtub, as a result of which she, not surprisingly, caught cold.

"THE MORNING WALK" BY TH. GAINSBOROUGH

Gainsborough is famous for his brilliant sense of composition, harmony and form.: In the foreground of the picture you see a pretty slim young woman of about 25 and an elegant young man. The woman has a very fashionable long dress on, her face is attractive. She has dreamy blue eyes and thick curly golden hair. As for the man, he is tall and handsome, the features of his face are pleasant and expressive. His eyes are dark, his look is proud, his mouth is rather large, his nose is straight, and he has; classical strong figure. I am sure that the young people are happy because they are young, they are in love, because the day is fine, and life is beautiful. It is an idyllic scene in a romantic landscape. Thanks to the soft colour treatment the picture has a lyrical and poetic atmosphere.

TEXT 2.

Read and translate into Russian

David Hockney

One of the members of the 60s pop art movement has gone on to become Britain's favourite modern painter. At the time, David Hockney (born 1937) fitted perfectly into that new, fashionable London scene.

He was young, well-dressed and gay, but came from a working-class background in Bradford in the north of England; so for rich Londoners he was a breath of fresh air. But, having followed a fashionable style at the beginning of his career, he has developed a very personal way of painting which puts him outside any modern art movement.

While younger artists have been playing around with all sorts of theories, political statements and attempts to shock the public, Hockney has just continued to produce lovely paintings with fabulous design sense and colours.

Like all great artists, Hockney had been through a number of periods in which he changed his style and experimented. For example, in the

1980s he did clever montages using photographs. He would take a lot of pictures of details of a person, an object or a scene. Then he reassembled all the photos in a free and inventive way, so that you can see the scene broken up - almost as in cubism.

But generally his work has been painting, often mixing graphic design with realism, and always with a supremely modern sense of colour. This is what has made him so popular with the public. His work can be seen everywhere: on posters, postcards, calendars and T-shirts as well as in art books, museums and galleries.

The latest in British art

For some years now, young British artists seem to have given up the traditional forms of drawing, painting and sculpture. If you go to an art college exhibition, you will probably see photos, videos, constructions with lights and sounds, live people performing, found objects and philosophical statements. Media attention is always on the new, the daring and the shocking, and art prizes often reward originality rather than old-fashioned taste and skill.

One of the current celebrities is Mona Hatoum, who made a video with tiny medical cameras inside her own body. Tracy Emin became quite famous for making a small gallery entirely devoted to things about herself: pictures of her, bits of her hair and objects of importance to her.

But unquestionably the biggest name is Damien Hirst, who won the important Turner Prize in 1995. He is a joker who actually makes fun of those who pay high prices for his work. His best-known piece was a 4.5-metre shark in a tank of formaldehyde.

Pickled sheep and bullet holes

Dead sheep, sharks and cows immersed in formaldehyde? A bullet would on a human head?

Such “art” drives animal rights activists nuts and is a guaranteed turn-off for a lot of other people, but it has succeeded in drawing attention to young British sculptors and painters. Attention is exactly what Damien Hirst, 29, ringleader of this new group of British artists, wants. He has developed his own method of selling his art, in the tradition of Andy Warhol. In 1988, he and some fellow student artists put together their own show, bypassing the established galleries.

One especially provocative piece by Hirst was a 14 foot shark preserved in a tank of bluish formaldehyde entitled “The Physical Impossibility of Death in the Mind of Someone Living”. Hirst followed up with more pieces featuring dead animals – including a cow and a calf, sawn in half. Its title: “Mother and Child Divided”.

Now Hirst and friends are coming to the U. S. The Walker Art Center in Minneapolis will stage a major exhibit in October – “Brilliant”: New Art from London”

If you want to go and see Hirst’s pickled sheep, it’s currently on exhibit at the Chicago Museum of Contemporary Art. The piece was recently vandalized by enraged animal rights activists, but it has since been restored.

RENDERING

‘Usually when I go to a museum it’s never to see the pictures in general, but some particular canvases. It’s different, however, when it is your life’s chance and there are so many things to see and only two or three days to jam them into. So, when I was I Moscow for the first time , I wandered through all the halls of the Gallery. Unguided, all by myself. Not that I don’t need guidance. My education in art is none too profound and I am very glad you could spare some time and come here with me. Incidentally, why is the Gallery called the Tretyakov Gallery? Is that the name of the patron who founded it?’

'Да, Павел Третьяков – основатель галереи. В 1892 году он передал ее в дар городу Москве вместе с художественным собранием своего брата. А с 1918 года, после того как она была национализирована, она стала называться Государственной Третьяковской галереей. Для своей коллекции он приобретал, главным образом, работы художников-реалистов демократического направления. К моменту революции в галерее было 4 тысячи произведений живописи, рисунка, скульптуры, а сейчас это число увеличилось в десять раз. Может быть, у вас есть какие-то пожелания в отношении осмотра? Вы хотели бы посмотреть какие-то определенные картины или разделы выставки, или определенных художников?’

‘If you don’t mind, I’d like to see several historical paintings first. One is ‘Ivan the Terrible Kills his Son’ by Repin, the others are by Surikov. I know the name of one – ‘The Execution of the Streltsi’, but I don’t know the name of the other – that’s a picture portraying a woman dissenter. And, of course, I am interested in the art of the latest period.’

‘Ну что же, давайте начнем с исторических полотен, а потом пройдем в залы советской живописи. Вы, по-видимому, имеете в виду картину Сурикова «Боярыня Морозова». Она названа так по имени персонажа картины.’

‘Incidentally, the two painters I mentioned belonged to the Itinerants, didn’t they? I happen to know the name, though I am not sure of the idea behind it. That was the name of a Society of Travelling Art Exhibitions, wasn’t it?’

‘Да, Общество передвижников было основано с целью просвещать народные массы и популяризировать искусство. Было это более ста лет тому назад, и в разные периоды в него входили такие художники, как Репин, Суриков, Серов, Левитан, Ярошенко, Нестеров, Архипов и другие. Словом, очень многие из тех, кто составляет гордость нашей живописи.’

'It would appear that among the genre of easel painting the so-called 'genre bas' prevailed in their paintings. They all seem to have devoted themselves to depicting national subjects and they did that with great dramatic force and real empathy. All their pictures are invested with dramatic narration.’

‘Собственно говоря, их искусство было шагом вперед во всех жанрах станковой живописи. Но, действительно, бытовой жанр занимал значительное место. Передвижники были прогрессивно настроенными людьми. И они стремились привлечь внимание к страданиям народа России. Многие их картины были настоящим вызовом правительству.

Ну вот мы и пришли. Это одна из исторических картин, которые вы хотели видеть. Только называется она несколько иначе: «Иван Грозный и его сын Иван, 16 ноября 1581 года».’

‘The picture has such tremendous dramatic force and characterization as to be almost disturbing. I wasn’t much surprised when I heard it had been stabbed by a maniac some time or other. It’s very skillfully restored, however. The scar isn’t seen at all.

‘А вот «Утро стрелецкой казни». По-моему, это гениальная картина, так же как и картина «Боярыня Морозова». Вы знаете сюжет картины?’

‘I know the historical background of this picture. I majored in Russian history. The events date back to 1698 when Princess Sofya was shorn a nun. This knowledge adds to the attraction of the picture to me as a historian. But, of course, it is a fine picture on its own merits. Even for a layman its composition is very skillfully balanced and it has powerful vitality. Look at this red-beared strelets – that glaring challenge in his eyes.’

‘Да, между ним и Петром идет настоящая дуэль взглядов. Суриков впервые в истории русской живописи изобразил народ не как страдающую покорную массу, но как людей, способных на возмущение, протест, наделенных большим духовным богатством. И в этой картине, и в «Боярыне Морозовой» он изобразил события как народную драму. Он говорил, что не понимает действия отдельных исторических лиц без народа, без толпы.’

'The scene seems so crowded, but looking closer, the artist achieved this effect without actually overcrowding the picture with figures. And you are right, of course, that the treatment of the strelrsi suggests anything but submission.’

(in front of the picture ‘Boyarina Morozova’)

‘У художников часто бывает, что какой-то зрительный образ подсказывает им сюжет картины. Например, Крамской написал свою картину «Христос в пустыне» после того, как увидел сидящего в задумчивости на камне нищего старика. А эта картина была подсказана образом сидящей на снегу вороны.’

‘The colouring of the picture is amazing. The artist uses the entire gamut of the pallet from the white to the black. His blues, yellows and blacks are of very high saturation, and yet that does not turn the picture into a merely decorative canvas.’

‘Да, Суриков прекрасно справился с колористической и с композиционной задачей. А ведь изображение толпы на снегу ставило перед художником нелегкие задачи в этих отношениях. Кстати, в русской живописи изображение громадной массы людей на открытом воздухе было новым.’

‘What is most amazing is that the image of the boyarina, forceful as it is, dominates the canvas without obliterating the crowd. The painter created a gallery of types of characters, one more striking than the other. A most gripping picture, really.’

‘Да, совершенно верно. В композиционном отношении образ Морозовой как бы объединяет собой народную толпу, нисколько ее не затмевая. И сам благодаря ей приобретает новую значимость. Великолепный тип лица у нее, не правда ли?’

‘Oh yes, you don't forget such a face in a hurry. And how well did the artist capture the expression of this proud face and the drama of the moment!’