LEONARDO DA VINCI’S MONA LISA 5 страница

A flourishing school of landscape painting produced such masters as Meindert Hobbema, Jan van Goyen, and Jacob van Ruisdael. Other artists – Jan Steen and Pieter de Hooch, for example – painted scenes from everyday life. But the greatest of the Dutch school were Rembrandt, Vermeer, and Hals.

Frans Hals in his painting The Gypsy Girl gives us a good idea of the vigor and love of life of the Dutch people. His painting is not “finished” like that of artists before him. The paint looks as if it had been put on very quickly. This technique carries a feeling of dash and gusto rather than of refinement and dignity. Compare The Gypsy Girl with Holbein's Anne of Cleves. For all its truth to nature and its beauty of detail, the Holbein portrait is precise, formal, and posed. The portraits of Hals, with a few brush strokes, seem to have caught a fleeting expression – amusement, scorn, mischief – and fixed it on canvas forever.

Rembrandt van Rijn was another great artist in the Dutch school. Like Hals, he concentrated on portraits and scenes of 17th-century Dutch life. The attractive subject of Young Girl at an Open Half-Door is humble, thoughtful, and serious. It is, however, the treatment of light which chiefly attracts us. The head and left hand of the girl are bathed in a soft, glowing, and almost magical light. Behind her a dull glow silhouettes the right side of her figure. This treatment of light and dark is called chiaroscuro. Fine changes of color tone create a deep space in which the figure is placed. No greater master of light than Rembrandt ever lived. He seems to light up not only the faces and figures of his subjects but their innermost thoughts as well.

Johannes Vermeer was born 26 years later than Rembrandt. He painted comparatively few pictures, working slowly and with the utmost care. His subjects are typically a single figure in a Dutch room, engaged in some simple task – preparing a meal, pouring milk or water from a jug, reading a letter, or simply taking a nap. Often there is a window at the left or an open door through which light illuminates the subject. For Vermeer also was a master of light.

In the picture Young Woman with a Water Jug we see an interior bathed in a soft glow which falls almost lovingly on all the objects in the picture. The composition is informal but carefully planned on a series of rectangles – the map on the wall, the corner of the wall, the casement window, and the table edge. These are balanced by the curves of the figure and the basin. Vermeer uses the elements of a simple domestic scene to create unified areas of light and shade.

Textures are rendered with the greatest realism. One can almost feel in his fingertips the heavy wool rug over the table, the crisp linen of the woman's headdress, the leather of the chair back, the metal of the pitcher.

Above all, his marvelous rendering of color values gives the picture a most realistic impression of depth and space. At the same time it unifies everything with a soft blue tone and makes it glow with warmth and light.

The interest of Dutch people in their surroundings led artists to paint landscapes such as Wheatfields by Jacob van Ruisdael. In comparison to Brueghel, Van Ruisdael is not so much interested in man's relation to nature as in nature itself – the sky, the land, and the trees that make up a landscape. Man is small as compared to the great forces of nature.

Although he lived almost a century later than Van Ruisdael, Jean-Baptiste-Siméon Chardin, the French painter, is similar in spirit to these Dutch artists. Most of the other important painters of his day were in the employ of the aristocracy and painted pictures of court life. Chardin painted the activities and interests of the common people. He invested those activities with an imagination that lifts them far above the commonplace. Chardin became interested in painting still lifes. He developed a technique of placing colors one against the other, rather than blending them, that anticipated the impressionists a century later.

TASKS:

I. Give Russian equivalents of the following:

to free oneself from smth; to believe in doing smth; to be proud of smth; to indulge in the luxury of smth; to be engaged in (some activity); to commission a picture; to be intended to do smth / for smth; a flourishing school of landscape; to give (a viewer) a good idea of smth; to catch a fleeting expression; to take a nap; to render smth with great realism; to lead smb to do smth; to be similar in spirit to smb; to be in the employ of smb; to invest smth with smth else; to become interested in smth; to develope a technique.

II. Give English equivalents of the following:

испанское владычество; основать независимое государство; добиться чего-л. ценой чего-л. ещё; заниматься будничными делами; любовь к жизни; быть залитым светом; сокровенные мысли; заказать картину; по сравнению с кем-л. (2 варианта); возносить что-л. (далеко) за пределы обыденного; накладывать цвета друг на друга; смешивать цвета; предвосхищать (какое-л направление).

III. Match the words on the right with their synonyms on the left:

1. truth to nature A. represent

2. color value B. be a forerunner of

3. render C. despite

4. dull D. decorate

5. treat E. outline

6. take a nap F. when compared to

7. adorn G. light and dark

8. in comparison to H. serve

9. be in the employ of I. dim

10. make up J. handle

11. silhouette K. realism

12. for all L. have a short sleep

13. anticipate M. constitute

IV. Write out from the text all the cases of “as”, analyse them and translate the following sentences into English making use of this word.

1. Голландия и Фландрия были тогда известны как Испанские Нидерланды. 2. Процветая, горожане находили удовольствие в том, что стали заказывать портреты себя и своих жён. 3. Процветающая школа пейзажной живописи дала нам таких мастеров как Мейндерт Хоббема, Ян Ван Гойен и Якоб Ван Русдейл. 4. Краска выглядит так, как будто её нанесли очень поспешно. 5. По сравнению с великими силами природы человек мал. 6. Жан Батист Симон Жарден явился предтечей импрессионистов. 7. Художник писал не только пейзажи, но также и портреты. 8. Так случилось, что в Европе в средние века произошло деление на католиков и протестантов. 9. Поскольку голландцы были протестантами, они не считали, что следует украшать церкви.

V. Write out from the text all the cases of “for”, analyse them and translate the following sentences into English making use of this word.

1. Почти в течении века голландцы боролись за то, чтобы основать независимое государство. 2. Несмотря на весь свой реализм и красоту отдельных деталей, портреты Холбейна отличаются излишней точностью и парадной неестественностью. 3. За исключением того, что заказывали ратуши и мэрии, картины предназначались для оформления частных домов. 4. Часто в картинах Вермье через окно или дверь проникает свет и освещает натурщика, ведь Вермье был мастером передачи света. 5. Некоторые художники – например, Ян Стин и Питер де Хуш – изображали сценки из будничной жизни.

VI. Fill in the gaps with the proper noun substitutes “that”, “those”, “one”, “ones”.

1. Frans Hals' painting is not “finished” like _____ of artists before him. 2. With the textures painted so true to life, ____ can almost feel in his fingertips the heavy wool rug over the table, the crisp linen of the woman's headdress, and other things. 3. The subjects of the Flemish artists were not like ______ of the Dutch. 4. Chardin was the ____ who anticipated the impressionists a century later. 5. For all their apparent simplicity the everyday life scenes were to hang in the homes of the great ______ of the world. 6. The portraits of Frans Hals make _____ catch such a fleeting expression as amusement, scorn, mischief and what not. 7. The subject matter of the Flemish painters was different from _____ of the Dutch. 8. ______ interested in the XVII-century Dutch painting will find no difficulty in giving you the names of its most prominent masters.

VII. Paraphrase the italicized words and phrases using those from the text. Make up a list of the synonyms, e.g. “to pride oneself on smth.” = “to be proud of smth.”

1. The Dutch prided themselves on the country they had won at the cost of so much hardship. 2. As they flourished, the rich townsfolk could not help but yield to the luxury of portraits of themselves and their wives. 3. The paintings showed the beautiful Dutch rural areas, enchanting village streets and houses, the interiors of homes and inns, and common folk busy with everyday duties and pleasures. 4. Frans Hals' painting is not “finished” like that of painters who preceded him. 5. The colours look as if they had been superimposed by dashes. 6. It looks like the portraits of Hals, with a few brush touches, have captured a momentary expression — delight, contempt, naughtiness. 7. Behind the girl a faded glimmer outlines the right side of her body. 8. It looks as if Rembrandt lighted up not only the faces and figures of his models but also their most intimate thoughts. 9. First of all, his wonderful representation of lights and shades gives the picture a most realistic impression of depth and space. 10. Unlike Brueghel, Van Ruisdael is not so much concerned about man's relation to nature as in nature itself – the sky, the land, and the trees that constitute a landscape.

VIII. Paraphrase the following sentences substituting Complex Subject constructions for those with the introductory “it”.

1. It is known that Holland and Flanders freed themselves from the control of Spain in the 17th century. 2. It seems that the Dutch struggled to establish an independent nation because of religious differences with the Flemish. 3. It is likely that every Dutch private home had a number of small-sized landscapes hanging on its walls. 4. It was expected that the rich burghers, as they prospered, would indulge in the luxury of portraits of themselves. 5. It is a sure thing that Rembrandt van Rijn is the most celebrated master of the Dutch school. 6. It may appear to the viewer as if the paints in Frans Hals’ The Gypsy Girl were put on very quickly. 7. It is believed that Rembrandt’s treatment of light is one of the things that helped the master to reveal the innermost thoughts of his sitters. 8. It so happened that Van Ruisdael was not interested in man's relation to nature. 9. It is unlikely that Chardin ever followed in the footsteps of other important painters of his day. 10. It is considered that Chardin anticipated the impressionists a century later.

IX. Say whether the following statements are true or not. Give your reasons.

1. The Dutch struggled to found a state of their own, as they were Protestant, while the Flemish remained Roman Catholic. 2. The Dutch artists continued to serve the church adorning altarpieces and chapels with their works. 3. The Dutch burghers commissioned portraits of themselves and their wives as well as pictures of the native countryside to decorate their homes. 4. The Dutch landscapes were commissioned to hang in guildhalls and town halls, and only a few of them found their way into the private homes. 5. Rembrandt, Vermeer, and Hals belonged to the Dutch school of landscape painting thriving at that time. 6. Frans Hals in his painting The Gypsy Girl represents the Dutch people’s vigorous character and love of life. 7. In his Anne of Cleves Holbein managed to catch a fleeting expression of amusement and mischief and fixed it on canvas forever. 8. The subject of Rembrandt van Rijn's Young Girl at an Open Half-Door is self-confident, careless, and joyful. 9. Rembrandt was a great master, though it is his treatment of light that has always dissatisfied his critics. 10. Johannes Vermeer was a very prolific painter.

X. Work in chain. Duscuss the following statements considering all the pros and cons. Feel free to agree or disagree with the arguments of your partner, but try to sound polite and noncategorical. Make use of the verbs “may” and “must” in their meaning of doubt / near certainty / and Complex Subject constructions.

1. The only reason why the Dutch struggled to establish an independent nation was that they, being Protestants, did not believe in decorating their churches with works of art. 2. The Dutch painters seem to have pandered to the none-too-exquisite tastes of rich burghers purely for financial reasons – to sell their paintings. 3. Frans Hals’ The Gypsy Girl should be ranked below Holbein's Anne of Cleves, as the former, executed in a rapid technique, lacks the truth to nature and beauty of detail of the latter. 4. It is Rembrandt’s treatment of dark and light that chiefly attracts the viewer, pushing the subjects themselves to the background. 5. Johannes Vermeer and Jacob van Ruisdael have a lot in common. 6. Jacob van Ruisdael is unlikely to rank among such great masters as Rembrandt and Hals, having confined himself to representing nature only.

XI. Speak on the following points:

1. The Dutch school of landscape. 2. The distinctive features of Rembrandt’s style. 3. Johannes Vermeer’s art.

UNIT VII

PRE-TASKS:

I. Practice the pronunciation of the following words and word-combinations and learn them.

(to do smth) through … [θru:] – делать что-л. посредством чего-л. ещё

syn. (to do smth) by means of … ['mi:nz] / (to do smth) with the help of …

use [ju:s] – (n) использование;

to make use of smth / syn. (v) to use smth ['ju:z] / – использовать что-л.

three-dimensional ['θri: dɪ'men∫ən(ə)l] – трёхмерный

to achieve an effect [ə'tʃi:v ən ɪ'fekt] – добиваться (какого-л.) эффекта

to introduce a method [ˌɪntrə'dju:s ə 'meθəd] – внедрять метод

head on ['hed 'ɒn] – фронтально, прямо, «в лоб»

to carry an idea further ['kærɪ ən aɪ'dɪə 'fз:ðə] – развивать идею,

пойти с (какой-л.) идеей ещё дальше

palette ['pælɪt] – палитра

to put the color strokes on ['pʊt ðə 'kʌlə 'strəʊks 'ɒn]

– наносить мазки (краски) на холст

to derive from smth [dɪ'raɪv] – (о слове) происходить от (чего-л)

range ['reɪndʒ] – диапазон

a controlled way of painting [kən'trəʊld 'weɪ əv 'peɪntɪŋ]

– техника живописи, требующая терпения (особого внимания)

to give the effect of (great stability) ['gɪv ðɪ ɪ'fekt əv ('greɪt stə'bɪlɪtɪ)]

– производить впечатление (целостности)

to be in (curious) contrast to smth [ɪn ('kju:rɪəs) 'kɒntrəst]

– (интересно, оригинально) контрастировать с чем-л.

II. Practice the pronunciation of the following (a) toponyms and (b) proper names:

(a) the Grande Jatte [ðə 'grɑ:ŋ 'ʒɑ:t] – Гранд Жатт («Большая Миска»)

(остров на реке Сена близ Парижа)

Le Havre [lə 'hɑ:vr] – г. Гавр (портовый город на севере Франции)

Paris ['pærɪs] – г. Париж

(b) Claude Monet ['klɔ:d məʊ'ne] – Клод Моне (1840 – 1926)

Edgar Degas [əd'gɑ: də'gɑ:] – Эдгар Дега (1834 – 1917)

Édouard Manet [eɪ'dwɑ:r(d) mæ'neɪ] – Эдуард Мане (1832 – 1883)

Georges Seurat ['ʒɔ:ʒ sə'rɑ:] – Жорж Сёра (1859 – 1891)

Pierre-Auguste Renoir ['pje◡rɔ:'gju:st rə'nwɑ:(r)] –

Пьер-Огюст Ренуар (1841 – 1919)

III. Scan the text and single out the main points of each paragraph.

IV. Try to guess the meaning of the italicized words. Match them with the corresponding cognate words in Russian where possible. When translating the words, mind the so-called pseudo-international words.

1. Artists showed form through differences in the amount of light and dark in a color. 2. Artists mix colors together on a palette. 3. Monet put the color strokes on separately. 4. Such paintings have a wonderful vitality. 5. The technique that attempts to convey the transient effects of direct and reflected sunlight is known as impressionism. 6. The artist reproduced fleeting atmospheric effects very accurately. 7. Degas found inspiration in Japanese art. 8. Renoir’s painting “Two Little Circus Girls” is worth seeing.

V. Look through the text and write out all the unfamiliar words and phrases. Look them up in your English-Russian Dictionary. Single out the terms on the fine arts and learn them.

VI. Read and translate the text.

THE FRENCH IMPRESSIONISTS

From the time that artists first used light in their paintings, they showed form through differences in values (the amount of light and dark in a color) and through modeling (the use of light and shade whereby a three-dimensional effect is achieved).

A French artist, Édouard Manet, introduced a revolutionary method. In The Dead Toreador light strikes the figure head on. There are no shadows. Form is obtained, not with differences of value, but with different patches of color.

This idea was carried even further by artists such as Claude Monet, who painted Sunflowers. Monet developed what is called “broken color” painting; that is, he painted objects by means of brush strokes of various colors placed next to each other. Instead of mixing colors together on a palette, as artists had done for centuries, Monet and his followers put the color strokes on separately and let the eye of the observer mix them. Such paintings have a wonderful vitality and sense of light. The technique that attempts to convey the transient effects of direct and reflected sunlight is known as impressionism.

The word derives from a painting exhibited by Monet in 1874, entitled Impression: Sunrise. The picture was greeted with public derision, the like of which had never been experienced in Paris. Every tradition of European painting seemed to have been thrown aside. Not only form but substance itself has vanished. To the Parisians the picture looked like a mere collection of coloured streaks and blobs on a light blue ground. Today observers have hardly any difficulty in recognising a sailboat and a rowboat in the foreground, masts and equipment, haze and smoke, all reflected in the rippled surface of the water. This revolutionary painting aimed to reproduce the image the eye sees in an instantaneous glimpse of the port of Le Havre at sunrise.

Long before the French artists of the XIX century, Constable and Turner had suggested the use of paint to convey light. But not until the impressionists had the artists reproduced fleeting atmospheric effects so accurately.

Georges Seurat, who is considered a postimpressionist, used the idea of broken color to develop a very characteristic style called pointillism. He painted entirely by means of dots of pure color. The most subtle ranges in form and color could be shown by changing the combination of colors of the dots. This was a very controlled way of painting, and the compositions of his pictures are entirely in keeping with the great care required by the method. The painting Sunday Afternoon on the Island of the Grande Jatte is a view of a gay holiday crowd on an island near Paris. The careful composition gives the effect of great stability, which is in curious contrast to the lively effect of the dots of paint. It has a feeling of rightness and even truthfulness that make it one of the greatest of modern pictures.

In the 1860s an exhibition in Paris of Japanese prints greatly interested the impressionists. They were seeking new subject matter and new color schemes, a fresh point of view, the unexpected and the original. All these they found in the work of the Orient. Edgar Degas was one of the impressionists who found inspiration in Japanese art.

He was particularly interested in showing rhythmic movement from unusual angles. In Prima Ballerina, the point of view is high, as though the artist were looking down from a box above the stage.

Pierre-Auguste Renoir was another of the important French artists who helped develop impressionism, though he later preferred a more formal style. His use of warm colors and rounded figures is evident in his Two Little Circus Girls.

TASKS:

I. Give Russian equivalents of the following:

the amount of light and dark in a color; light and shade; to introduce a revolutionary method; light strikes the figure head on; to obtain a form (with smth); a patch of color; to carry an idea even further; to develop a style of / in / painting; to place smth and smth else next to each other; smb's follower; the eye of the observer; direct and reflected sunlight; a painting entitled … ; rippled surface of the water; to be considered (a postimpressionist or smth else); a controlled way of painting; to be entirely in keeping with smth; the method requires great care; the most subtle range in form and color; the careful composition has a feeling of rightness and even truthfulness; to seek smth; subject matter; color scheme; the unexpected and the original; to show smth from (some) angle; as though smb were doing smth; a box above the stage; smb's characteristic features of style are evident in this particular picture.

II. Give English equivalents of the following:

валёр (соотношение тонов цвета); достигать трёхмерного эффекта посредством моделирования; то есть; рядом с (чем-л); вместо (чего-л); смешивать краски на палитре; пытаться сделать что-л; передать (на холсте) что-л; что-л известно как что-л ещё; слово происходит от … ; никогда до (кого-л) (кто-л ещё) не делал что-л; посредством чего-л (3 варианта); согласовываться (гармонировать) с чем-л; кто-л считается постимпрессионистом; широчайший диапазон форм и цвета (диапазон едва уловимых очертаний и оттенков); производить впечатление (чего-л); тема / тематика; цветовая гамма (решение); Восток; находить вдохновение в чём-л; интересоваться чем-л;

III. Match the words on the right with their antonyms on the left:

1. light (a) A. same

2. revolutionary B. lifelessness

3. various C. after

4. next to D. at variance with

5. vitality E. dark

6. transient F. dull

7. until G. permanent

8. care (n) H. the Occident

9. in keeping with I. apart from

10. lively J. conventional

11. the Orient K. negligence

IV. Find the odd ones out. Substitute the given words for their synonyms in the sentences of the text where possible.

1. advanced, cutting-edge, innovative, progressive, revolutionary, up-to-date, well-established; 2. by means of, by the by, by the use of, making use of, through, using, with, with the help of; 3. achieve, accomplish, attain, gain, get, obtain, realize, secure, spoil; 4. apart from, adjacent to, adjoining, beside, by, close by, near, next to; 5. blend, compound, mingle, mix, separate; 6. aversion, contempt, derision, disgust, enthusiasm, hostility, scorn; 7. looker-on, monitor, observer, spectator, viewer; 8. for ages, for centuries, for a long time, from time immemorial, lately, time out of mind; 9. cease to be, come, disappear, go, vanish; 10. aim, attempt, endeavor, strive, shun, try.

V. Put the verbs in brackets into suitable forms expressing unreal or problematic actions.

1. The French artists of the XIX century felt it was about time they (to introduce) a new technique into the fine arts. 2. It was important for Monet and his followers that the eye of the observer (to mix) the color strokes put on separately. 3. Monet’s Sunflowers looks as though it (to be) filled with direct and reflected sunlight. 4. The Impressionists’ idea was that objects (to be) painted by means of brush strokes of various colors placed next to each other. 5. To the Parisians,Monet’s Impression: Sunrise looked as if it (to be) painted by a madman or a dabber. 6. Our contemporaries may wish they (to have) a time machine to go back to the time when the impressionistic paintings (can be) bought for a song. 7. Long before the French artists of the XIX century, Constable and Turner (to suggest) that different patches of color (may be) used for showing form. 8. If I (to find) myself in Paris, I (to do) the Louvre. 9. If Edgar Degas (not to be) familiar with Oriental art, he (not to develop) his distictive style. 10. Renoir, though helping to develop impressionism, still preferred a more formal style lest he (to lose) his commisions.

VI. Find in the text all the verbals and identify their syntactical functions.

VII. Here are some actual translations by students. Choose the best translations and comment on the mistakes: