III. There are hundreds of art galleries all over the world. Read the story about one of them. Fill in the words in appropriate form from the box.

to appreciate, rare, to locate, diverse, to be noted for, masterpieces, significance, relics, to display, items

 

Housed in the vast buildings of the Winter Palace in Saint Petersburg, the State Hermitage museum (1) …. one of the word’s greatest collection of art. The (2) …

collection includes (3) … of Italian Renaissance and French Impressionist paintings.

The collections are now (4) … in five magnificent interconnected buildings, including the Winter Palace. The richly decorated exteriors and interiors of these buildings are of architectural and historical (5) … in themselves. They provide a rich setting for (6) … collections that (7) … virtually every aspect of the fine arts, from the (8) …of classical antiquity to 20th century painting. The collection also includes examples of Russian art, (9) … from non-Western cultures, oriental art, coins, and jewellery. To really (10) … the collection, one should spend days and days viewing it.

 

IV. Work in small groups. Describe a visit to an art exhibition. Specify the following aspects: a) what the exhibition was dedicated to; b) what kind of art (contemporary or classical) it embraced; c) which items you liked best; d) how much you appreciated going there.

V. Prove the idea that art galleries preserve the cultural heritage of a nation better than any other institution.

 

VI. Communication Work:

a) Get you fellow  student to give you information about his/her favourite museum. Try to get as many details as you can.

b) Persuade your partner to agree with your opinion that life is made much more colourful if you regularly visit art exhibitions.

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

d) The great value of visiting a museum and studying works of art first-hand is that one becomes aware of the qualitative difference between original art and photographic reproductions. Work in pairs and enlarge on this statement.

 

 

                                     Skill Developing

I. Give Russian equivalents for the following English proverbs and sayings.

  1) When one loves his art no service seems too hard.

  2) The devil is not so black as he is painted.

  3) When in doubt leave it out.

  4) Art is long, life is short.

  5) That’s a horse of another colour.

   6) A thing of beauty is a joy forever.

   7) Art lies in concealing art.

     8) Art has no enemy except ignorance.

 

 II. Explain the meaning of each proverb.

 III. Make up a dialogue to illustrate one of the proverbs

 

 

Group Discussion

Topic I. Is the appreciation of pictures a special faculty which only a few can possess?

         Taking points:

1) The habit of looking at good pictures is in itself a means by which taste can be formed and the scope of one’s enjoyment widened and developed.

2) The acquisition of good taste is a matter of time. Painting in this respect does not differ from other arts (poetry, music)

 

Topic II. A great painting enriches our experience of life, just as a great poem does or a great  musical composition.

          Taking points:

1) Great painters make us see and think a great deal more than the objects before us, they teach us to look at a scene through their eyes.

2) The masterpieces of painting, like the masterpieces of music and poetry transform experience; they are an inexhaustible source of beauty which derives from the originality of the artist’s outlook, his capacity for combining form and colour into a harmonious unity.

 

 

Reading Comprehension Test

 

 

Marc Chagall

Marc Chagall, the oldest of nine children, was born on July 7, 1887 in Vitebsk. Thanks to his mother, Marc was enabled to go to an official state school after he had finished the Jewish elementary one. Jews were not admitted to state schools, but Marc’s mother bribed the teacher. So, instead of remaining within the limits of his Jewish background, Marc took violin and singing lessons, began to draw, and spoke Russian rather than Yiddish. He was able to enter the world where cosmopolitan and cultural interests were valued.

In the winter of 1906 – 1907 Chagall moved to St. Petersburg for a thorough artistic training in the cultural heart of Russia. The young man won a scholarship to the celebrated art school. Through his training there, Chagall acquired a sense of his role as an artist. At 22, he was no longer a naive lad. In the capital, away from his origin, he turned to the subjects and motifs that were typical of his future work: village scenes, peasant life. At that time he became acquainted with Bella Rosenfeld, the daughter of a Jewish jeweler, who also came from Vitebsk and who studied in Moscow. Later, in 1915 they got married. Many of his paintings of the period were dedicated to her.

Russian artists were to be better received in Paris than in their own country. That’s why the only place for Chagall to go was Paris. He moved into one of the studious there in the winter of 1911-1912. “Once in Paris I was finally able to express the joy of my childhood memories of Vitebsk”, Chagall wrote later. His work was called “surreal”. This concept, surrealism, gave a name to an era. The inventor of the term, the poet Appolinaire, tirelessly tried to organize exhibition space for him. In the spring of 1914 the painter got his chance; his major solo exhibition was arranged in Berlin.

But the new event came soon. It was the Russian revolution. The early days were marked by untroubled optimism. Lunacharsky was appointed head of the Ministry of Culture. Marc Chagall had known Lunacharsky in Paris, so their acquaintanceship resulted in an official position for the artist: he was made Fine Arts Commissar in Vitebsk. Art was highly valued in the opening days of the Revolution, and it was hoped that art and politics would inspire each other. Chagall, full of enthusiasm, dedicated himself to his new position. He organized exhibitions, opened museums, and restarted classes at the Vitebsk Academy of Art. Yet in May 1920 he moved with his family to Moscow.

His mood began to change gradually. “I think the Revolution could be a great thing if it preserved respect for what is other and different”, wrote Chagall in his autobiography. With neither money nor prospects, he had no reason to stay in the Soviet Union. For the next twenty-five years the painter lived in France and America. Curiously enough, in Paris the family lived in the apartment were Lenin had stayed before them. The early 1930s saw the triumph of the ideology of National Socialism in Germany.

He had to leave the Continent and arrived in New York in June 1941. After the liberation of Europe, the artist returned to the Old World. He stayed in France till his death in 1985.

After the war Chagall undertook many monumental commissions including the windows in the United Nations building in New York, and ceiling paintings in the Paris Opera House, murals for the Metropolitan Opera in New York, and many others. These masterpieces made him a world known contemporary artist whose work was appreciated and judged very highly.

No other 20^th century artist had such a gift for harmonizing the contradictions of life. He bridged gaps that had been widening for centuries between different religious communities and different ideologies. It was his dream to create one world of brotherly peace.

 

 

* bribe – v. to influence the judgment by offering gifts or money

** murals – n. a painting that is painted on the wall

 

 

I.Choose the meaning in which the word is used in the text:

1. admit:

a) to agree to the truth;

b) to let in;

c) to leave a chance for being possible.

2. background:

a) the scenery or the space behind the main objects or people;

b) the conditions that exist;

c) a person’s family, social class, experience and education.

3. cosmopolitan:

a) consisting of people from many different parts of the world;

b) not narrow-minded, showing wide experience of different people and places;

c) existing in most parts of the world.

4. position:

a) employment;

b) a place where someone or something is or stands;

c) a particular place or rank in competition.

5. commission:

a) a group of people appointed at a high level to find out facts and write a report;

b) money related to the value of goods sold, paid to the person who sold them;

c) a special job, duty given to a person or group of people.

 

 

II.Choose the best corresponding variant of translation:

1. …Chagall acquired a sense of his role as an artist.

a) … Шагал почувствовал свою роль художника.

b) … Шагал осознал свою роль как художника.

 

2. … restarted classes at the Vitebsk Academy of Art.

a) реставрировал классы в Витебской Художественной академии.

b) возобновил занятия в Витебской Художественной академии.

 

3. The early days were marked by untroubled optimism.

a) Первые дни были отмечены спокойным оптимизмом.

b) В ранние дни был отмечен тихий оптимизм.

 

4. No other 20^th century artist had such a gift…

a) Ни в одном, кроме 20-го, веке у художника не было такого дара…

b) Ни у одного художника 20-го века не было такого дара…

 

III.Complete the sentences according to the contents of the text;

1. … could prevent Chagall from getting a good education.

2. Besides taking violin classes…

3. Chagall first turned to the village scenes and peasant life…

4. Chagall moved to Paris in 1911 because…

5. The poet Appolinaire helped Chagall with …

6. Being appointed Fine Arts Commissar in Vitebsk Chagall…

 

IV.Mark the following statements as “True” or “False”

1. Being born into a Jewish family Chagall had good prospects in getting education.

2. To play the violin remained his vain dream.

3. In his early 20s Chagall was a naive and dreamy youth.

4. The main subject of his paintings in St. Petersburg art school was country life.

5. Bella Rosenfeld was born in Moscow.

6. The early days of Russian revolution inspired Chagall greatly.

7. Chagall left the Soviet Union because he needed new impressions.

8. Chagall’s work was appreciated highly only after his death.

 

V. Answer the questions:

1. What family was Chagall born into?

2. How did he manage to get secondary education?

3. Why was he admitted to a celebrated art school in St. Petersburg?

4. Who was Chagall’s muse at that period?

5. Why did Chagall move to Paris?

6. What genre of painting became typical of Chagall in Paris?

7. What position did Chagall occupy in Vitebsk after the October Revolution?

8. What made Chagall leave Vitebsk again?

9. What masterpieces made him world known?

10. What was the main message of all his paintings? (“One ”)