Connoisseur (in/of), expert (in)

TOPICAL VOCABULARY

GENERAL TERMINOLOGY

Amateur

    an amateur painter; amateurish

Art

    antique art; applied art (pottery, glass, jewellery, weaving and textile design, embroidery); Fine Arts; folk art; graphic (black-and-white) art (drawing, engraving, etching, lithography, hence: engraver, etcher, lithographer); (the) Academy of Arts; a work of art; art-collector; art critic; art history; art historian; art-lover; art student; art teacher

Artist

    a fashionable / self-taught / mature artist

    a graphic artist

    e.g. Rembrandt was great not only as a painter but as a graphic artist.

Note. The name of an artist can be used like a common noun to denote a work by him. e.g. It looks like a Gauguin. How did you like the Goya? The Hermitage has the largest collection of Rembrandts in the world.

Artistic

    artistic skill; artistic taste

Benefactor, patron

block (in/out) набрасывать вчерне

    to block in a picture (drawing)

Connoisseur (in/of), expert (in)

crayon 1) цветной карандаш; цветной мелок; пастель; 2) рисунок цветным карандашом, пастелью

daub n плохая картина, мазня; v малевать

dauber плохой художник

depict v

    e. g. The drawing depicts a sleeping child.

Easel

Exhibition

    art exhibition; special exhibition; permanent exhibition; one-man exhibition; centenary/bicentenary exhibition; exhibition hall; exhibition of (e. g. English water-colours); (name of artist) exhibition:

    e. g. There’s going to be a Turner exhibition next month. When does the Turner exhibition open?

    to organize, arrange, hold, mount an exhibition

Master

    old masters 1) старые мастера, 2) картины старых мастеров

Masterpiece

Miniature

    in miniature; a portrait in miniature

moderns современные художники

nude (n, a)

    a study from the nude, to draw from the nude, to see a model in the nude; a nude model (figure), a nude male (female) model, the study of the nude form, to render the nude form, a semi-nude figure

    e. g. Famous nudes by famous painters.

    The picture is not only one of Rubens’s most beautiful studies of the nude...

oil(s) (обычно pl) 1. масляная краска

    to paint in oils; a sunset view in oil; oil painting; an oil sketch

    2. картина, написанная маслом

    e. g. He gathered up the various oils he had done.

paint (n, v)

    to paint from life /nature / memory / imagination; to paint mythological / historical subjects

    a box of paints (paint-box); a paint brush

Painter

    animal painter; painter of battle-pieces; easel painter; icon painter; genre painter; landscape painter; portrait painter (portraitist); painter of sea-scapes / marine painter; still-life painter

painting 1. живопись

    battle painting; easel painting; genre painting; historical painting; landscape painting; monumental painting; mural painting; portrait painting; seascape painting; still-life painting

    2. картина (cf. picture, canvas)

    an oil / water-colour painting; a painting of the nude

palette 1. палитра (небольшая тонкая доска, на которой художник смешивает краски)

     2. палитра (колорит художника)

    e. g. (a) His palette was covered with shrunken hard blobs of paint.

    (b) Now all you need to do is lighten your palette and learn how to paint living, luminous air.

Pastel

    a pastel picture; a pastel painter (pastel[l]ist)

portray v

    e. g. The famous writer is portrayed sitting at his desk.

pose (n, v)

    to pose naked; to pose sitting or standing; to pose for a painter

    e.g. 1) “Then you’ll begin posing for me next week?” - “Is this all I got to do, just sit?” - “That’s all. Sometimes you’ll have to stand or pose naked.”

    2) Animals are given with their particular gait or pose or expressions.

      3) “I’m ready,” said the model. “Will you pose me?”

render v is used in the sense of “reproduce by artistic means”, generally with an adverbial modifier.

              e. g. The painter has rendered the child’s expression of wonder very well.

     catch and capture occur in a similar sense, usually without anadverbial modifier.

              e. g. I have caught the effect I wanted - the half-parted lips, and the bright look in the eyes. The painter has succeeded in capturing the inner life of his sitter.

Reproduction

    a coloured reproduction; a reproduction in black-and-white

rough in v  набpасывать (a rough sketch)

screever художник, рисующий свои картины мелком прямо на тpотуаpе (sl.)

sense is used in the expression a sense of with two meaning:

    1. a feeling for, e. g. The artist has a good/fine/wonderful sense of colour/line/form/composition.

    2. an impression of, e. g. The artist has created a sense of space/movement.

Sit

    to sit for one's portrait, to sit for (to) an artist

sitting cеанс

Sitter (subject, model)

sketch (n, v)

    an oil sketch; a pencil sketch; a preliminary sketch; to make sketches of landscapes; a sketch block (book); to sketch from memory

Sketchy

    e. g. The oils were a little raw and sketchy.

Studio

study этюд, эскиз, набросок

    a study of a head; a study in oil; preparatory studies; an inspired and passionate study

treat v

    e. g. His subjects are simply and broadly treated.

Treatment

    e. g. The treatment of trees and foliage in this sketch shows the tremendous freedom Rubens permitted himself in making these preparatory studies.

Trend

    e. g. The Unexpected (by Repin) established a new trend in Russian genre painting.

view 1. вид, картина (особенно пейзаж); 2. вид, точка зрения

    a large view of Dedham Vale; a view on the river

 

GENRES IN PAINTING

Landscape painting

    e. g. Landscape painting became very popular in the 17th century. Gods and goddesses rarely appear in a Dutch landscape painting.

Landscape

    e. g. The Hermitage has a fine collection of Dutch landscapes.

Landscape painter

    e. g. Constable is perhaps the greatest English landscape painter.

scenery ( cf. countryside)

    e. g. From about 1807 Turner began to exhibit more landscapes of English scenery.

Seascape (painting)

    e. g. This is one of Turner’s early seascapes.

Marine painter

    e. g. Turner is considered by many people to be the greatest marine painter.

2.3. portrait painting (U)

Still-life (painting)

    e. g. The still-life was very popular with the Cubists. There were three still-lifes by Picasso.

Still-life painter

Flower piece

Genre painting

Genre painter

Conversation piece

scene: street scene, city scene, country scene, hunting scene, historical scene, battle scene

    e. g. He painted scenes from everyday/village/ court life.

                                      life in Tahiti.

Mural, fresco

DISCUSSING PICTURES

3.1. SUBJECT, THEME

Subject (what is depicted): historical subjects, Biblical subjects, mythological subjects, classical subjects

    e. g. Degas looked round for new subjects and found them in the opera-house.

 Theme is more general, abstract, than subject. A theme is a general idea which dominates a work.

    e. g. The theme of the painting is the futility of war.

3.2. FORM, SHAPE

form (U)

    e. g. His still-lifes show a strong sense of form, but the colouring lacks subtlety. The Impressionists tended to attribute greater importance to colour than to form.

The play of colours

a riot of colour(s) изобилие, богатство красок

Colourist

    e. g. Turner is a superb colourist.

intensity яркость, глубина (красок)

Shade as a countable noun refers to degree or intensity of colour (oòòåíîê)

Tint may be a synonym of shade. However, it is used especially with reference to pale and delicate shades.

    e. g. Renoir excelled at flesh tints.

Tinge isa slight shade of colour, especially one modifying the basic colour.

    e. g. The sky is grey with a tinge of pink.

tinge (v)

    e. g. The sky is tinged with pink.

Tone may also be used in the sense of shade. However, it also has a slightly different sense: the prevailing effect of the combination of light and shade and of the general scheme of colouring.

    e. g. This unaffected work is rich and poetic in tone.

Hue is used occasionally to mean a colour or shade of colour, mainly in poetic language, although sometimes simply for stylistic variety in formal situations.

3.5. LIGHT AND SHADE

chiaroscuro n итал. распределение светотени (cf. light and shade)

    e. g. Rembrandt derived his principles of painting from Italian chiaroscuro in which concrete forms appear bathed in magic glow, and ethereal rays penetrate through space, making forms stand out in the dark.

A diffused light

highlights самая светлая часть картины

value сочетание света и тени в картине

    e. g. Velasquez loved grey and silvery tints and understood relative values perfectly. He had caught the values of various kinds of lights.

out of value слишком светлое или слишком темное

3.6. LINE(WORK)

    e. g. He has a good sense of line. The linework is brilliant.

3.7. BRUSHWORK (живописная манера, манера письма)

Brush

the brush искусство художника

    products (productions) of his brush

    e. g. The subjects for his brush are all around him. Life around me cries for the brush.

brushstroke мазок

stroke штрих, мазок, черта

    finishing strokes; to portray with a few strokes

3.8. STYLE AND TECHNIQUE

plein-air technique пленеpная живопись; in the open (air)

    e. g. He paints all his pictures in the open. (b) There is an open-air feeling in his work.

Effect

    atmospheric effects; wonderful cloud effects; colour effects; effects of distance; light and shade effects; subtly painted moonlight effects; a night effect; perspective effects; sunshine effects

finish n законченность, отделка; v завеpшать, отделывать

    exquisite finish; a work remarkable for a minute and detailed finish; finishing touches; finished technique

handle v

    to handle the brush well

handling умение художника владеть кистью

    deftness of handling

    e. g. This particular portrait, for example, shows much greater freedom of handling.

Skill

    with infinite (remarkable) skill

 

to portray people / emotions with moving sincerity / with restraint

to depict a person / a scene of common life / the mood of...

to render / interpret the personality of...

to reveal the person's nature

to capture the sitter's vitality / transient expression

to indicate the sitter's profession

to develop one's own style of painting

to conform to the taste of the period

to break with the tradition

to be in advance of one's time

to expose the dark sides of life

to become famous overnight

to die forgotten and penniless

 

4. IMPRESSION. JUDGEMENT: the picture may be life-like, moving, lyrical, romantic, original, poetic in tone and atmosphere, an exquisite piece of painting, an unsurpassed masterpiece, distinguished by a marvellous sense of colour and composition.

    The picture may be dull, crude, chaotic, a colourless daub of paint, obscure and unintelligible, gaudy, depressing, disappointing, cheap and vulgar.

 

NAMES OF ARTISTS

Leonardo da Vinci

Raphael Santi

Michelangelo

Titian

Rembrandt van Rijn

Rubens

Velasquez

Chardin

Van Dyck

Hogarth

Joshua Reynolds

Thomas Gainsborough

John Constable

Joseph Mallord William Turner

Francisco Goya

Delacroix

Edouard Manet

Claude Monet

Camille Pissarro

Auguste Renoir

Paul Cezanne

Vincent van Gogh

Paul Gauguin

Henri Matisse

Pablo Picasso

 

VOCABULARY EXERCISES

I. Group the topical vocabulary into the following areas: names of people concerned with painting, various actions within this area, forms and kinds of Fine Arts productions, the inventory to be found in a painter’s studio, ways of exhibiting art works, world famous places.

II. Give English equivalents for the following words and phrases and use them in sentences of your own:

произведение искусства, изобразительное искусство, прикладное искусство, народное искусство, художественная школа, художественный вкус, малохудожественный, знаток, современные художники, старые мастера, направление в искусстве, делать набросок, набросок, мазня, последний штрих.

III. Translate the following words into English and use them in a situation:

цветной мелок, мольберт, этюдник, масляные краски, акварельные краски, уголь, пастель, кисть, палитра, студия.

IV. A. Use “piece” as a component to translate the following into English:

шедевр; батальная сцена; жанровая сценка; натюрморт, изображающий цветы.

B. Use the word “sense” to translate the following word combinations into English:

чувство цвета, композиции; тонкое чувство художественной формы; чувство формы в живописи; ощущение пространства, движения, расстояния.

C. Use the word “colour” to translate the following into English:

чувство цвета; основные цвета; дополнительный цвет; теплые (холодные) тона; богатство красок; игра красок; чистая краска; яркие пятна; колорит художника; сдержанный колорит; палитра, где доминирует голубой; темные (светлые) тона

V. Supply attributes for the following nouns:

art, artist, skill, taste, master, model, figure, subject, brush, painter, painting, picture, reproduction, sketch, study, trend, view, portrait, form, colour, colouring, tint, light, stroke, technique, effect, finish.

VI. Supply direct objects for the following verbs:

to depict, to paint, to portray, to render, to catch, to capture, to treat, to emphasize, to convey, to place, to accentuate, to handle, to reveal, to indicate, to develop, to expose.

VII. Supply prepositional objects for the following verbs:

to paint in, to draw in, to draw from, to paint from, to pose for, to merge into, to blend with, to conform to, to break with.

VIII. Supply nouns to go with the following adjectives:

antique, infinite, moving, dull, graphic, fashionable, artistic, nude, historical, mural, equestrian, ceremonial, depressing, colourless, gaudy, cheap, remarkable, lyrical, original, artistic, exquisite, delicate, marvellous, vulgar, atmospheric, mature, marine, intimate, vertical, single, primary, brilliant, subtle, fierce.

IX. Insert suitable words from the active vocabulary:

1. Titian had a marvellous..........

2. A remarkable......... is conveyed in his landscapes.

3. He held the... in his left hand.

4. Ivanov made a great number of... of heads for his picture “Christ Appears before the People.”

5. Some very fine... by Renaissance Florentine painters were brought to the exhibition.

6. He... the scene before him truthfully.

7. The art class had several... posing for them once a week.

8. He did the portrait in one....

9. In Serov’s famous portrait of Yermolova the actress is... against a background of a grey wall.

10. The colours in this picture... into one another.

11. He stood watching the......... upon the water.

12. He encouraged you to try your hand at brighter colour harmonies and to allow yourself greater freedom as a....

13. The silhouette is drawn in agitated, uneven lines, the... is unbalanced, a violent contrast of......... is used.

14. The... was far removed from the final work.

15. Turner used... for immediate studies from nature, and... for those pictures which he intended to exhibit.

16. The... of the Impressionists differed from that of their predecessors in that they did not blend the colours together imperceptibly, but left the... clearly visible all over their canvases.

X. Choose the right word:

draw - paint

1. She placed the paper and pencil before me and told me I could... anything I liked. 2. The picture was... so that the eyes seem to follow you no matter where you are.

colours - paints

1. This possible picture she painted in glowing..., until the child’s pathetic dark eyes glistened with pleasure. 2. If you want cornflower blue you’d better mix these two.... 3. The warm... are red, yellow and orange.

picture - portray - represent

1. Roerich’s paintings for Kazan railway station in Moscow... combats between Russians and Tartars. 2. I could hardly... Charlie in this role. 3. The great tragic actress is... in her day dress. 4. The artist was concerned more with re-creating the radiance of Venice than with... the solid structure of its monuments.

 

ILLUSTRATION AND TRAINING

III. Make up statements.

1

This exhibition comprises hundreds of   pictures.

    display                                                paintings of all genres.

    show                                                   objects of applied art.

                                                                     engravings and prints.

                                                                     cartoons and etchings.

                                                                     pieces of sculpture

                                                                     articles of pottery and jewellery.

                                                                     sketches and studies.

2

Now he     goes in for       portrait painting.

                  indulges in      engraving.

                                         sculpture.

                                              water-colour painting.

                                              graphic art.

3

The annual  amateur painting attracted nation-wide attention.

exhibition of applied art          caught the public’s imagination.

                    pottery and         gained a quick popularity.

                    ceramics            was given a wide publicity.

                    sculpture             was favourably reviewed by the

                    new models of    local press.

                    furniture           was a tremendous success.

GLIMPSES OF BRITISH ART

Exercises

Read the text given above.

2. Read the text about the golden age of British art in "Glimpses of British Art": "The eighteenth century was the great age of..." (p. p. 38 - 39).

3. Find the English equivalents for:

основатель английской школы портрета; человек, с любопытством изучающий человеческую натуру; последователь; ряд гениальных последователей; ряд знаменитых (прославленных) художников; любовь к портрету; бытовая картина; уличная сценка; лирический пейзаж; посредственный; памфлет; карикатура; довести до неслыханного совершенства; гордость (слава) английского искусства; подняться до величайших высот; концепция искусства, близкая к пониманию романа; приобрести национальный характер; отрицать иностранное влияние.

II. WILLIAM HOGARTH

1. Read the text "William Hogarth" in "Glimpses of British Art" on p.p. 39-41 for obtaining information.

2. Study the following phrases from the text, translate the sentences with the m, give a back translation without consulting the text:

to be one of the greatest of English artists

a man of remarkably individual character and thought

to give a comprehensive view of social life within the framework of moralistic and dramatic narrative

to observe smth. (both high life and low) with a keen and critical eye

an exceptional capacity for dramatic composition

to contain an element of satire or caricature

to be apprenticed to a silver-plate engraver

a conversation piece

to treat a picture as a stage

an inventor of a genre

(not) to be content with one line of development

to attempt a rivalry with...

to display a great variety in smth. (e.g. in portraiture)

to be seen to advantage in...

a limited range of colour

harmony of form and content

freshness (of colour)

vitality

3. Study the proper names:

"The Harlot's Progress" - "Каpьеpа продажной женщины" (серия)

"The Rake's Progress" - "Каpьеpа мота" (серия)

"The Marriage-a-la-Mode" - "Модный бpак" (сеpия)

"The Shrimp Girl" - "Девушка с кpеветками"

4. Learn by heart the extract beginning with "The quality of Hogarth as an artist..." up to the end of the text.

5. Answer the following questions:

1) What arguments are there in the text to prove that William Hogarth was one of the greatest English artists and a man of remarkably individual character and thought?

2) In what genres did Hogarth work? Speak about each.

3) In what genre did he rise to supreme heights?

PORTRAIT PAINTING

SIR JOSHUA REYNOLDS

(1723-1792)

Reynolds was one of the outstanding British portraitists and an important influence on his contemporaries. He believed that by analysis of Old Masters he could build a composite style of great art. He made careful studies of Rembrandt, Titian and various French painters in the furtherance of this aim, but these eclectic procedures do not represent his best work. He did have a personal creative power and variety of pictorial invention when he chose to let himself go and to forget that he was a great man. We find many pictures with a life and a grandeur beyond the many borrowed elements. His portraits - the best ones - are effective because their expression is related to the type of the sitter. His colours are difficult to judge today because they were not scientifically applied, so that many paintings have cracked and faded, but the form design and pictorial rhythm are often quite impressive. Many of his portraits are originally composed in decorative pattern and organized in light and space arrangements.

In Reynolds' day society portraiture had become a monotonous repetition of the same theme, with only the most limited of variations permissible. According to the formula, the sitter was to be posed centrally, with the background (curtain, pillar, chair, perhaps a hint of landscape) disposed like a back-drop behind; normally the head was done by the master, the body by a pupil who might serve several painters. Pose and expression, even the features themselves, tended to be regulated to a standard of polite and inexpressive elegance; the portraits told little about their subjects other than that they were that sort of people who had their portraits painted - they certainly gave nothing away beyond the summary description of the features. They were effigies; life had departed.

It was Reynolds who insisted in his practice that a portrait could and should be also a full, complex work of art on many levels. Each fresh sitter was not just a physical fact to be recorded, but rather a story to be told (or sometimes, one suspects, a myth to be created). His people are no longer static, but caught between this movement and the next, between one moment and the next.

Reynolds painted portraits, group pictures and historical themes. His sitters included the socially prominent people of the time and when the Royal Academy was founded in 1768, he naturally became its first president.

Among his best works are those in which he departs from the traditional forms of ceremonial portraiture and abandons himself to inspiration, as in "The Portrait of Nelly O'Brien", which is aglow with light, warmth and feeling.

THOMAS GAINSBOROUGH

(1727 - 1788)

If Reynolds was the solid prose of that age of prose, its incipient poetry was with the man whose name is often coupled and compared with his: Thomas Gainsborough. He, too, succeeded, and succeeded brilliantly, as a portrait painter. Society went to him for portraits, and his insight into the phases of womanhood made him essentially the woman's painter. Yet it was landscape that had his heart. Even in the portraits he is an out-of-door painter.

In contrast to Reynolds', the essence of his genius was intuitive, the touch of the brush getting ever lighter, the atmosphere ever more aerial. The particular discovery of Gainsborough was the creation of a form of art in which the sitters and the background merge into a single entity. The landscape is not kept in the background, but in most cases man and nature are fused in a single whole through the atmospheric harmony of mood. It is no accident that in the works of Gainsborough's late maturity the figures blend with the background to such an extent that they become almost transparent.

Gainsborough's painting is not overburdened by too scrupulous an observance of rules and precepts. The immediacy and spontaneity which are present in nature are present also in his work, to the extent of giving the impression that the artist's supreme ability consists in making even the most artificial elements appear entirely natural and spontaneous.

In the evolution of the art of painting Gainsborough's actual method of putting on paint is an important step. This method consisted in putting tiny touches of pure colour on to the canvas so that the colour-mixing takes place not on the palette but as a phenomenon of optics between the canvas and the eye of the beholder. The result is vibrant, pure colour, which seems made of light itself rather than of pigment. Nearly a century later this method of painting became a formula in the hands of the great impressionists.

Contrasts of light and shade in a context of flowing, curved and broken lines, produce an impression of animation and mobility which is the characteristic of Gainsborough's art. This mobility is directly connected with his technique of seizing an effect in a rapid stroke, so that a beauty of form emerges from his bold execution and masterly technique. A mobile and weightless quality is found also in the background details and draperies, where vibrant patches of light have a fluid translucent consistency which recalls the manner of Rubens and anticipates Goya. The formal elements of the painting - colours and lines - thus become expressive in their own right. In his work there is at its best that sense of immediacy of contact with beauty. In the portrait it is in the catching of a flash of a personality, in the landscapes it is the moment of light and shadow as some sungleam and cloud shadow renders a landscape suddenly momentarily unfamiliar and thereby dramatic. In his search for the spontaneous expression of the effects which appealed to him he would use oil-colour as if it were water-colour, building up with those light feathery brush strokes in the pure colour we associate with his work.

Not for nothing was the master a musician. His painting has a quality belonging to this most abstract and fleeting of arts.

Gainsborough is the purest lyricist of English painters, Reynolds - the master of the epic style.

Exercises

IV. What is the difference between a really good portrait and a coloured photograph? Sometimes people say looking at a picture: “It’s like a coloured photograph.” What exactly do they mean? Is it praise or criticism? Explain your point of view.

V. Using a reproduction of a portrait give a talk on it showing that it is a study of human nature. Through what technical devices does the painter expose the sitter’s inner qualities? Use the following outline:

1. The general effect. (The title and name of the artist. The period or trend represented. Does it appear natural and spontaneous or contrived and artificial?)

2. The contents of the picture. (Place, time and setting. The age and the physical appearance of the sitter. The accessories, the dress and environment. Any attempt to render the personality and emotions of the model. What does the artist accentuate in his subject?)

3. The composition and colouring. (How is the sitter represented? Against what background? Any prevailing format? Is the posture bold or rigid? Do the hands (head, body) look natural and informal? How do the eyes gaze? Does the painter concentrate on the analysis of details? What tints predominate in the colour scheme? Do the colours blend imperceptibly? Are the brushstrokes left visible?)

4. Interpretation and evaluation. (Does it exemplify a high degree of artistic skill? What feelings, moods or ideas does it evoke in the viewer?)

LANDSCAPE PAINTING

Exercises

IV. Give a talk on a reproduction of a landscape (seascape). What are the implications of a really good landscape? Is it just a view or is there a deeper meaning in it? What are the educational and ethical values of this genre of painting?

V. Act as interpreter in the following dialogue:

(Mr Dillon and C. Petrov talk painting)

"On my way back I'll be staying in Leningrad a couple of days. I can't wait to see the Hermitage again. It's a wonderful collection you have there".

"Побывать в Эрмитаже для меня тоже всегда праздник, которого с нетерпением ждешь. Отдел первобытной культуры и искусства народов Востока в Эрмитаже считается крупнейшим в мире по богатству своих коллекций. Но и картинная галерея Отдела истории западноевропейского искусства – одна из самых лучших. Там прекрасно представлены Рубенс, Тициан, Рафаэль, Рембрандт".

"Why, the Hermitage has some of the best Rembrandts. Rembrandt I know well. I saw his pictures in Dresden, Louvre, and the Hague. I also happened to be in Paris in 1960 when 700 pictures from the depot were put on view in Louvre, seven canvases by Rembrandt among them. And yet, his 'Return of the Prodigal Son' is the one that, I think, is his best. The picture is a masterpiece".

"Да, картина производит очень сильное впечатление. Рембрандт достиг в ней совершенства, с точки зрения строгости и выразительности формы, и, кроме того, она глубоко человечна. В Эрмитаже хорошо представлена и его портретная живопись. "Портрет старика" – один из лучших его портретов".

"What strikes one about his portraits is the seeming simplicity and restraint of his artistic idiom. Especially in the later period. Take his self-portraits of the period, or the magnificent group portrait of the 'Syndici' commissioned by the clothmakers' guild or the portrait of Titus, Saskia's son. But then, not only his portraits - his pictures on biblical subjects of the period show the same restraint and complete lack of affectation".

"Да, и именно в последний период он нашел свой неподражаемый золотисто-коричневый, красный, коричневато-черный и оливково-зеленый тона".

"And his mastery of chiaroscuro. It has been unequalled by any artist ever since. When I visit the Hermitage I usually go straight to the Rembrandt hall. You can stay for hours before his pictures and never tire of seeing them".

"К сожалению, английская живопись в Эрмитаже представлена не особенно широко. Есть там отличный портрет Гейнзборо, несколько картин Рейнольдса, портрет Хоппнера, пейзажи Морленда и один пейзаж Констебля. Английских художников я знаю только по картинам Дрезденской галереи и по репродукциям".

"You didn't mention William Hogarth, but I happen to remember there are a few etchings by Hogarth there. One is 'Marriage a la Mode'. Some people believe his series of picture cycles have little artistic value, but I like his etchings. He used his keen power of observation to give en edge to social satire. He parades a gallery of types of characters whose blatant truthfulness hits you in the eye. However, speaking about English artists I'd say that Constable and Turner are my favourite painters".

"Хотя я знаю Тернера в основном по репродукциям, он мне нравится. Это очень поэтичный художник. Его картины создают впечатление, что он любуются различными состояниями атмосферы. Будь то лондонский туман или просто голубое небо, для него это объект любовного и тонкого изображения".

"I believe his greatness is in his grasp of the essence of things and his power of creating impression with the mere suggestion of form. And you are right in that his ever recurring theme is the atmosphere suffused with light in all its gradations, from the drab mist of London to the silvery blue of the South. I have two of his water-colours at home".

"Мне бы очень хотелось лучше знать Констебля. Я о нем довольно много читал, но, конечно, это не способ знакомиться с художником. Я знаю, что он оказал большое влияние на своих современников, в частности, на французских художников. Делакруа, оказывается, увидев его работы на выставке 1824 года, заново переписал свою уже законченную картину "Резня на Хиосе". Кстати, эта выставка была, я знаю, его единственным настоящим успехом при жизни. Соотечественники ведь его не очень признавали?".

"No, Turner was by far more successful and popular. In a sense he was the precursor of impressionism in that he thought a momentary impression very important. He was the first landscape painter to consider as the primary task the sketch made from nature at a single sitting. He left many studies from nature, some much finer than finished pictures. Now, as to the influence, Constable as well as Turner and Bonington did influence the French artists. On the other hand, the French artists led by Monet, Sisley and Pissaro revolutionized our way of seeing for generations".

"Я думаю, что а конце этого года или в начале следующего у меня будет командировка в Англию, и тогда, конечно, я постараюсь восполнить пробел в своих знаниях английской живописи".

"I'll be only too happy to be your guide round galleries. I am sure we'll both enjoy the time".

 

THE TRETYAKOV GALLERY

I. Describe the reproduction of Surikov's "Boyarina Morozova" using this text as a guide.

The "Boyarina Morozova" is one of the greatest paintings in the world of pictorial art - a work of epic grandeur.

The subject of the painting is based on a historical fact which actually occurred during the reign of Tsar Aleksei Mikhailovitch, the father of Peter I.

The action takes place in a quiet, narrow Moscow street in the 17th century. The short winter day is declining; it is nearly twilight. The quiet snow-covered street presents an unusual aspect: it is filled with throngs of people who are surging into the street.

The Muscovites are there to accompany and pay homage to the first Boyarina of Moscow, who is being taken to interrogation and torture for her unbending adherence to the old believers, the so-called dissenters (Raskolniki).

The Boyarina forms the centre of the composition, and immediately attracts attention by her pale inspired face, set off by her dark garment and marked by an inner storm of emotions. Her hand is raised in an eloquent gesture with two fingers making the sign of the cross, the symbol of the dissenters, forbidden by the church. She is superb in her indomitable inflexibility and readiness to die for what she considers a righteous cause.

Each character in the picture is strikingly individualised, revealing strength and might of the popular masses. Each of the characters accompanying the Boyarina is portrayed with unforgettable expressiveness. Each figure in the picture is an actual portrait. The exalted expression on the face of the beggarly, feeble-minded devotee, with his two fingers raised, repeating the sign made by the Boyarina, as a token of his devotion and adherence. The pilgrim who is absorbed in deep thought. The Boyarina's sister, princess Urusova, who is walking by the sledge, ready to share the fate of the Boyarina. The kneeling old beggar-woman who worships the heroic martyr. The young woman with the inspired sorrowful face whose beauty is enhanced by the deep blue of her coat and the yellow of her shawl and particularly by the position of her bent figure, which expresses the reverence she feels for the Boyarina. The young girl with the frightened expression in her eyes. And the young nun, whose pale, sorrowful face stands out as a sharp contrast to her black garb. All the parts are brought together with great mastery revealing Surikov's fine sense of composition. From the point of view of its composition the picture is easily divided into two parts, with the sledge bearing the Boyarina in the centre.

Extraordinary convincing is the rendering of the rhythm with which the movement of the sledge is animated, as it moves slowly amidst the dispersing crowd. The impression produced by the diagonal lines of the composition is heightened by the movement of the boy running after the sledge, and particularly by the tracks just made by the sledge runners in the snow.

Surikov understands the law of contrast and association of colours. Remarkably picturesque is the harmonious colouring of the whole canvas with the dominating bluish tints in it and the expressiveness achieved by the association of black and white, the repetition of the red and yellow spots. The blues and the reds and the yellows merge into one another and create a harmonious whole.

The landscape repeats the blue, red and yellow colour scheme of the shawl worn by princess Urusova with its white background. The design on the shawl is again repeated in the architecture of the ancient buildings and even in the shaft-bow of the harness. The artistic skill and love with which the painter renders this national originality and beauty show his keen appreciation of his people.

Exercises

1. Find in the text English equivalents for the following phrases and write them out:

работа эпического размаха; сюжет картины основан на; действие происходит в; представлять собой нечто необычное; засвидетельствовать почтение; несгибаемая верность (приверженность); образовывать композиционный центр; чем-либо привлекать внимание; одухотворенное лицо; буря эмоций; красноречивый жест; умереть за правое дело; изображать с незабываемой выразительностью; усиливать; резкий контраст с; изысканное чувство композиции; с точки зрения композиции; передача ритма; диагональные линии композиции; сливаться с друг другом и создавать гармоничное целое.

Suggested situations.

a) You are doing the Tretyakov Gallery. You are struck by this picture. Address someone who just happens to be standing near you.

b) A guide explains pictures to a group of tourists. The scene is laid in the Tretyakov Gallery. The style of representation should be formal.

II. Act as interpreter in the following dialogue:

(At the Tretyakov Gallery)

"Usually when I go to a museum it's never to see the pictures in general, but some particular canvases. It is 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 in Moscow in 1969 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 afraid I have what you'd call a catholic taste in art. 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 10 раз. Может быть у вас есть какие-нибудь 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 центрального 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 популяризовать искусство. Было это более ста лет назад, и в разные периоды в него входили такие художники, как Репин, Суриков, Серов, Левитан, Ярошенко, Нестеров, Архипов и другие. Словом, многие из тех, кто составляет гордость нашей живописи".

"It would, appear that among the genres 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, они стремились привлечь внимание к страданиям народа России. Многие их картины были настоящим вызовом правительству. Ну, вот мы пришли. Это одна из исторических картин, которые вы хотели видеть. Только называется она несколько иначе: "Иван Грозный и его сын, 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 skilfully 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 skilfully balanced and it has powerful vitality. Look at this redbearded 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 very 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 streltsi suggest 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 palette 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 и 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, 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".

EVALUATION OF PICTURES

A painting can be studied on several levels and from a variety of perspectives. Here are a few examples of how pictures can be described, analyzed, interpreted and evaluated. The extract to follow shows how a writer may see a picture. Note the deep implications that the speaker discovers in a seemingly simple unpretentious still life.

From "Christmas Holiday"

By W. S. Maugham

"Chardin," he said. "Yes, I've seen that before... I've always rather liked his still lifes myself."

"Is that all it means to you? It breaks my heart."

"That?" cried Charley with astonishment. "A loaf of bread and a flagon of wine? Of course it's very well painted."

"Yes, you're right; it's very well painted; it's painted with pity and love. It's not only a loaf of bread and a flagon of wine; it's the bread of life and the blood of Christ, but not held back from those who starve and thirst for them and doled out by priests on state occasions; it's the daily fare of suffering men and women. It's so humble, so natural, so friendly; it's the bread and wine of the poor who ask no more than that they should be left in peace, allowed to work and eat their simple food in freedom. It's the cry of the despised and rejected. It tells you that whatever their sins men at heart are good. That loaf of bread and that flagon of wine are symbols of the joys and sorrows of the weak and lowly. They ask for your mercy and your affection; they tell you that they are of the same flesh and blood as you. They tell you that life is short and the grave is cold and lonely. It's not only a loaf of bread and a flagon of wine; it's the mystery of man's lot on earth, his craving for a little friendship and a little love, the humility of his resignation when he sees that even they must be denied him.

...And isn't it wonderful that with those simple objects, with his painter's exquisite sensibility, moved by the charity of his heart, that funny dear old man should have made something so beautiful that it breaks you? It was as though unconsciously perhaps, hardly knowing what he was doing, he wanted to show you that if you only have enough love, if you only have enough sympathy, out of pain and distress and unkindness, out of all the evil of the world, you can create beauty."

The extracts below will show you how paintings are described in art books and picture-gallery guides. Observe the difference in treatment comparing with the previous text.

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.

FREE SPEECH ACTIVITY

¨

I. Make a secret note of the title of the picture that is reasonably well known. Tell the others in the group about the picture. See if they can guess the title.

II. Get your fellow-student to give you information about his/her favourite museum/picture gallery. Try to get as many details as you can.

III. Give a brief talk on a favourite painter of yours.

IV. One of you has recently returned from England. The other is questioning him/her on the impressions of the National Gallery/the Tate Gallery.

V. You are an expert in Peredvizhniki. Your partner is a foreigner who is completely ignorant of this period in Russian art.

VI. You are doing the Tretyakov Gallery.

VII. You are both young teachers, just beginners. Ponder over and argue about what and how you would tell your junior schoolchildren to introduce them to the vast and complicated world of Fine Arts. Outline those basic things you find indispensable to their general conception of Arts.

VIII. You are both learning to be guides in art. Evaluate what you have been taught and what you are studying presently. Exchange your opinions about what other knowledge of the subject you’d like to obtain.

IX. While preparing for an interview with a famous artist discuss the general trend of the interview and its particular items.

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Role playing

A