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........................................................................................... 4
I. Warm-up............................................................................................. 5
Functional vocabulary ........................................................................ 6
II. Vocabulary drill................................................................................ 9
III. Texts for studying ......................................................................... 10
Text 1. English painting ................................................................... 10
Text 2. Great graffiti! ....................................................................... 15
Text 3. Describing creative work of an artist ................................... 16
IV. Participation drill .......................................................................... 17
V. Listening .......................................................................................... 20
VI. Topical vocabulary........................................................................ 21
VII. Project work................................................................................. 22
Appendix 1. Sidelight on usage ............................................................. 23
Appendix 2. Reference-list of artists, sculptors and architects
whose names occur in the booklet .................................... 27
Appendix 3. A Russian-English vocabulary.......................................... 28
Appendix 4. Text for studying............................................................... 33

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I. WARM-UP:
Answer the following questions.
1) Are you interested in art?
2) Do you like modern art?
3) What famous painters do you know?
4) Do you enjoy visiting art museums?
Study the following quotations. How do you understand them?
1) "A picture is a poem without words." (Horatio)
2) "Art is long and life is fleeting." (Longfellow)
3) "All art is but imitation of nature." (Seneka)
4) "Art for arts sake." (Cousin)
5) "Pictures must not be too picturesque." (Emerson)
Learn the following.
a) Study the following words and put them into the appropriate columns:
Things in the painter's Exhibitions
Works of art
Colours
studio
Brilliant, easel, subdued, flesh colour, graphic art, paint-box, warm,
purple, pink, charcoal, oil, art exhibitions, canvas, red, nude model, drapery,
blue, cool, special exhibitions, ivory, harsh, vivid, one-man exhibitions,
stretcher, light, crimson, travelling exhibitions, painting, brush, crayon, sculpture, navy blue, applied art, permanent exhibitions, dark, intense, scarlet, palette, strong, soft, orange, beige, delicate, dull grey, water-colour, yellow.
b) Study the following words.
Painting: painting, picture, canvas.
The name of the artist can be used like a common noun to denote a
work by him. A Picasso means a work by him.
Genres of painting. A landscape is a picture representing a tract of
country with the various objects it contains. In the context of art landscape
generally denotes a picture and not a view depicted there. When speaking of
the view use scenery, countryside.
A seascape is painting or other artistic representation of the sea.
A portrait is a painting, picture or representation of the person, especially of a face generally drawn from life.
5

Sitter, subject, model is a person who is having his portrait painted.

A still life is a painting of such unanimated subjects as fruit, flowers
and other decorative things.
A fresco is a picture on a wall or ceiling where a plast is still wet or
damp.
Genre painting is a painting which represents scenes from every day
life in a more or less realistic way.
A scene is used in various expressions specifying the subject of the
picture: street scene; city scene; country scene; hunting scene; historical
scene; battle scene.
Scene is often followed by "from ... life".
A piece is used as a general term meaning "work", "picture".
To depict, to portray, to render, to catch, to capture.
FUNCTIONAL VOCABULARY
Agreement
We see eye to eye to it.
You couldn't have said it better.
You took the words out of my
mouth.
Exactly so.
Beyond all doubts.
Surprise
Indeed?
Oh, have you?
Really?
Fancy that!
Do my eyes deceive me?
Rejection
That's just crazy, that's what I say.
It's hell on earth.
Humbug!
It's awful (terrible, ugly, etc.)!
Of course not.

Acceptance, appreciation
I like the texture (colour).
Looks like that.
I've never seen anything like that.
This is head and shoulders above
the rest.
I give it four stars.
That's gorgeous (marvelous)!
It's a masterpiece!
It gets two thumbs up.
Disagreement
Nonsense!
Horsefeathers.
Nothing of the kind.
Look me in the eye and repeat it.
You must be kidding.
Soothing
No harm meant.
Now, steady on.
Now, calm / cool down.
I'm just kidding.
Take it easy.
6

Match the terms on the left with their definitions on the right.
1. caricature
a) a picture made with a pencil
2. cartoon
b) a drawing showing the parts of something to
3. collage
explain how it works
4. diagram
c) a drawing showing by a line the connection
5. drawing
between two quantities
6. fresco
d) a rough drawing without many details
7. graph
e) a picture to go with the words of a book
8. illustration
f) a picture in solid black
9. mural
g) a picture painted in water colour on a surface of
10. silhouette
fresh wet plaster
11. sketch
h) woven cloth hanging on a wall, with pictures
12. tapestry
woven from coloured wool or silk
i) a humorous drawing, often dealing with something of interest in the new in an amusing way
j) a representation of a person made so that that
aspects of his or her appearance appear more
noticeable than they really are
k) a picture made by an unusual combination of
bits of paper, cloth, metal, etc.
l) a picture painted directly onto the wall
Choose the right answer.
1. Mr Cheater made a living works by famous painters.
a) devising b) faking c) pretending d) shamming
2. A sculpture by Rodin fetched more than two million dollars at the
last month.
a) auction b) gallery c) museum d) sale
3. The of Rembrandt's paintings finishes next week.
a) demonstration b) exhibition c) show d) spectacle
4. They thought the painting was genuine but it turned out to be .
a) a facsimile b) an imitation c) a replica d) a reproduction
5. There was no difference between the original and the copy.
a) discernible b) discoverable c) knowable d) understandable
6. Mr Adventurous has taken painting since he retired.
a) down b) in c) over d) up
7. A young art student acted as our when we visited the museum.
a) coach b) conductor c) guide d) lead
7

8. This self-portrait did not come to until after the artist's death.
a) light b) range c) sight d) view
9. Mr Vernix is the greatest expert on techniques of painting.
a) alive b) live c) living d) nowadays
10. Children and pensioners are admitted to the museum at prices.
a) decreased b) less c) reduced d) undercharged
11. On examination by experts, the picture turned out to be a .
a) fabrication b) fake c) fraud d) sham
12. In the right-hand corner of the portrait there is a flower.
a) front b) high c) top d) up
13. He is sometimes considered to be an outstanding artist, but I consider
his work to be quite .
a) common b) intermediate c) mediocre d) moderate
14. All visitors are requested to with the regulations.
a) agree b) assent c) comply d) consent
15. He made some sketches which would serve as guides when he
painted the actual landscape.
a) elementary b) introductory c) preliminary d) primary
16. Admission to the gallery is except on Saturdays and Sundays
when a charge of one dollar is made.
a) allowed b) free c) nothing d) paid
17. The paintings are hung in heavy gold .
a) easels b) frames c) fringes d) rims
18. This beautiful portrait is to Rubens.
a) assigned b) attached c) attributed d) prescribed
19. He earns his living by works of art.
a) recovering b) renewing c) restoring d) reviving
20. That landscape is somewhat of Rembrandt's early work.
a) memorable b) mindful c) reminiscent d) similar
21. The portrait you see here is a very good of my mother.
a) appearance b) likeness c) reproduction d) resemblance
22. I would love to go to the exhibition with you, but I'm afraid I can't
the time.
a) leave b) lose c) save d) spare
23. He said he had never across a painting which please him more.
a) come b) happened c) seen d) viewed
24. I made it quite clear that I had no of selling the portrait.
a) aim b) intention c) meaning d) purpose
8

II. VOCABULARY DRILL.

a) Make up true sentences using the following:
portrait
landscape
1) My preference lies with the genre of battle piece
still life
historical painting
oil paintings
water-colour paintings
2) I personally like
pastel pictures
drawings

3) I prefer

landscapists
portraitists
animalists
batalists

4) I care much for

to

because

because they are

portray
seascape
depict
still life
painters as they reveal
cubist
interpret
abstract
express

knee-length
full-length
shoulder-length
half-length

portraits because

5) "Marriage-a-la-Mode"
(W. Hogarth)
"The Shipwreck"
(W. Turner) is admired for its
"Rain, Steam and Speed" is criticised for its
(W. Turner)
"The Morning Walk"
(T. Gainsborough)

brilliant / low-keyed colour-scheme

colour-scheme where
predominates
delicacy of tones
subtle / gaudy colouring
dull / oppressive / harsh
colours

b) Give as many word combinations as possible with the following

and translate them into Russian.
1) Supply attributes for the following nouns:
perspective, style, composition, plasticity, conception, surface, handling,
9

treatment, painting, draftsmanship, portrait, brush-work, (brush) strokes,

colour, shadows, scene, execution, chalk, arrangement.
2) Supply direct objects for the following verbs:
to build up, to balance, to render, to convey, to eclipse, to twist, to distort,
to apprentice, to conceive, to execute, to handle, to treat, to suffuse, to fuse.
3) Supply prepositional objects for the following:
to paint in, to draw in, to be bathed in, to stand out against, to be charged
with, to be suffused with, to loom over, to reduce.
4) Supply nouns to go with the following adjectives:
sculpturesque, architectural, linear, balanced, off-centred, plastic, cold,
warm, transparent, fluid, flowing, nervous, spontaneous, harmonious,
broad, authentic, graphic, crystal-clear, crisp, emotional, sturdy, crowded,
stylised, austere, distorted, tightly-knit.
III. STUDY THE FOLLOWING TEXTS.
Text 1. ENGLISH PAINTING
A) Painting in England in the 17th-19th centuries is represented by a
number of great artists and during that period it was greatly influenced by
foreign painters. The Flemish painter Van Dyck was really the father of
English portrait school. Van Dyck created the impressive, formal type of
portrait and such masters as Reynolds, Gainsborough, Lawrence and Raeburn owed much to their study of his works. He created a genre of aristocratic and intellectual portrait, which influenced much the development of
English painting.
William Hogarth (16971764) is one of the greatest English painters. In his pictures he reflected social life and in many of them the beauty of
his painting was accompanied by satire. The "Marriage-a-la-Mode", "The
Election Entertainment" were painted to show the life very satirically.
In 1742 Hogarth painted "The Graham Children" where he brilliantly
uses his delicate colours to show the charm of childhood.
John Constable (17761837) was fond of the place where he was
born and spent his childhood on the river Stour. He saw very beautiful
woods, greens in nature and, being very talented, reflected nature's colours
in his sketches which he then composed into pictures. He painted the landscape without any changes and the trees or other objects were in his paintings very true to life. He is said to be the first landscape painter in England.
William Turner (17751851) began his activity in art as a watercolour master. Light and atmosphere were his characteristic feature. Turner is a
10

super colourist. In 1805 he painted "The Shipwreck". He showed a terrible

disaster at sea. Green was a colour that Turner particularly disliked.
In "Snow Storm" he reflected with the help of snow the idea of survival and even in our days it looks very prophetic. It is considered one of
his most original paintings. He studies colour very seriously and is said to
anticipate the art of Impressionists and abstract painters of the 20th century.
In his "Rain, Steam and Speed" (1844) he worked much on the colour
interrelation.
Thomas Gainsborough (17271788). A very lyrical painter who
successfully connected man and nature. A very strong psychologist, he
painted mostly women on the background of a scenery.
He liked blue colours best of all. His portraits are optimistic and the
light and shade of colour are in full harmony with the lines.
B) Van Dyck created the type of portrait,
which helped him to convey the sitter's
individual psycho-logy. It can be well observed in his "Family Portrait" (picture 1).
The sitter's individuality is vividly
expressed in this portrait. One can easily
follow the gentle and even character of the
young woman and the outstanding searching, restless personality of her husband. The
artist managed to create the impression of
spiritual relationship in spite of the difference of characters. The colour scheme of
this canvas is very beautiful. The prevailing
tones are red, golden and brown.
During the 18th century the truly
Picture 1. Van Dyck.
national
school of painting was created,
The Family Portrait
William Hogarth was the first great English painter who raised British pictorial art to a high level of importance.
Hogarth (1697-1764) wasn't a success as a portrait painter. But his pictures
of social life, which he called "modern moral subjects", brought him fame
and position. Among his favourite works are six pictures united under the
title "Marriage a la Mode". This famous series is really a novel in paint telling the story of the marriage of an earl's son and city merchant's daughter, a
marriage made for reasons of vanity and money. Despite the satirical, often
amusing details, the painter's purpose is serious. He expects his pictures to
be read and they are perhaps full of allusions. At the same time Hogarth
11

remained an artist and passages especially in "Shortly after the Marriage"

(picture 2) show how attractively he could paint. As a painter Hogarth was
harmonious in his colouring, very capable and direct in his theme and composition. He painted many pictures. He is well known as a humorist and
satirist on canvas.
In the second half of the 18th
century narrative and satirical
themes lost their leading role in the
English art. The ruling classes tried
to show in art a confirmation and
glorification of their social position.
The most popular form of painting
became ceremonial portraits of representatives of the ruling class. Sir
Joshua Reynolds was the most outstanding portraitist of the period. In
December 1768 the Royal Academy was founded and Reynolds be-came its first president. He created a
whole gallery of portraits of the most famous of his contemporaries. He
usually painted his characters in heroic style and showed them as the best
people of the nation. As a result his paintings are not free of a certain idealization of the characters. Reynolds was greatly influenced as a painter by
the old masters. This influence can be seen in his "Cupid Untying the Zone
of Venus". The picture is close to Titian's style in the use of colour but it is
typical of the 18th century English school of its approach to subject-matter.
He often included real personages in his mythological works (Venus Lady
Hamilton).
Thomas Gainsborough, one of the greatest masters of the English
school, was a portraitist and a landscape painter. His portraits are painted in
clear tones. Blue and green are predominant colours. One of the most famous
works is "The Morning Walk" (picture 3). 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 a 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
Picture 2. William Hogarth.
Shortly after the Marriage

12

beautiful. It is an idyllic scene in a romantic landscape. Thanks to the soft colour

treatment the picture has a lyrical and poetic atmosphere.
His works contain much poetry and music. He is sometimes considered the forerunner or the impressionists. Gains-borough was the antithesis of the businesslike
Reynolds. He was very poetic by his nature, he abhorred rules and cares little
about the old masters. By necessity a portraitist he was by inclination a landscapist.
John Constable, an English landscape painter, painted many well-known
Picture 3.
works ("A Cottage in a Cornfield", "The
Thomas Gainsborough.
Loch"). He is the first landscape painter
The Morning Walk
who considered that every painter should
make his sketches direct from nature that is working in the open air. His
technique and colouring are very close to the impressionists. Constable ignored the rules established by Reynolds. He insisted that art should be
based on observation of nature and feeling. He was the herald of romanticism. But the realistic qualities of his art are sensed very strongly.
A complete expression of romantic ideal can find itself in the pictures
of Turner. Joseph Turner was an outstanding painter whose most favourite
topic was to paint sea ("The Shipwreck"). He painted waves and storms,
clouds and mists with a great skill.
"The world has never seen anything like this picture," wrote a contemporary critic when "Rain, Steam and Speed" was first exhibited at the
Royal Academy in 1844. "This is a dramatic painting, a canvas filled with
restless energy. Only the cowman and the couple drifting on a boat in the
middle of the river suggest any kind of stability and even that seems deliberate, as if they already represent the way things were, helpless onlookers in
this new age of speed. Turner uses thick dollops of pigment and subtle
shades of white and yellow smeared this way and that across the canvas to
create a powerful impression of that most familiar of English phenomena the swift, swirling shower that douses the countryside even at the height of
summer. He contrasts the traditional force of nature with the train, the new
force created by man, moving doggedly and powerfully towards us, unshaken by the elements. The colours here are dark and bold. Blood-red
ashes spill from the boiler along with white and grey steam, a man-made

replica of the activity in the skies above."

Although his talent was recognized immediately he deliberately
turned his back to the glittering social world of London. Victorian England,
which found it more important that a man be a gentleman in the first place
and only in the second a genius, never forgave him.

13

14

Reading Comprehension.
1) The world bold means:
a) confident and brave;
b) without feeling of shame;
c) printed in thick type;
d) that can be clearly seen.
2) The word elements means:
a) groups of people within society,
b) four forces of nature,
c) characteristic parts of something,
d) strong emotions.
3) J. Constable's novelty is expressed by:
a) ignoring the rules of mature artists like Reynolds;
b) realistic qualities of his art and making sketches direct from nature;
c) by his being the herald of Romanticism.
4) True or false?____ Since the very beginning English painting has been
genuinely English without any foreign influence.
5) True or false?____ Reynolds' characteristic style was a ceremonial portrait.
6) Gainsborough is considered:
a) the father of English portrait school;
b) the forerunner of the impressionists;
c) the first president of the Royal Academy;
d) a humorist and satirist on canvas.
7) According to Van Dyck a portrait should help:
a) to show the confirmation and glorification of the ruling classes' social
position;
b) to use the discoveries and ideas of the old masters;
c) to learn the rules of art;
d) to understand the individual psychology.
8) Turner's contemporary critic finds his painting:
a) too picturesque;
b) of no value;
c) artificial;
d) dramatic.

Text 2. GREAT GRAFFITI!

Do you know what graffiti is? This text will help you to enlarge your
knowledge about it.
An intruder who got into the house of Mr Frank Bowers in Harrogate
while he was away for six days drank two bottles of his whisky but left almost every room glowing with murals, the like of which Mr Bowers had
never seen.
The unknown artist, or artists, painted large abstracts in the dining
room and the main bedroom, Disney cartoon characters and a cartoon of
Superman going "Zap!" in one of the children's bedrooms. Downstairs, the
intruder left three abstract paintings on a board signed BRAAQ'74, a bust
adorned with one of Mr Bowers's hats and his sunglasses, and a few
sketches for sculptures. There were other paintings of a less mentionable
nature as well.
When Mr Bowers, a 36-year old business consultant, left with his
four children for Stoke-on-Trent a week ago, the walls inside their home in
Yew Tree Lane were graced by nothing more exciting than magnolia paint.
Far from being outraged by what he found on his return, Mr Bowers was
delighted. He may not know much about art, but he knows what he likes,
and he certainly likes what the intruder has left him. Mr Bowers cannot
paint himself, and knows no one else who does "except an auntie who
does sunflowers and things in Stoke-on-Trent" and can think of no relative or friend who would have wanted to surprise him on his return. Nor can
he find any clue to the intruder, in spite of having played amateur detective
by searching the dustbin. But such worries were driven from his head when
he saw the mural in the dining room and heard the excited squeals and
laughter of the children as they ran from room to room, discovering fresh
delights in each. Some of the murals he will have to have painted over "because of the neighbours" but most of them are there to stay.
He is not reporting the intrusion to the police because he reckons that
he has gained from it rather than lost. One of the abstracts left downstairs he
considers to be "stunningly beautiful" and another over the bed-head "an
absolute knockout".
Use the information from the text to do the following tasks:
1. If you had come back from a holiday and found your house had been
treated in this way, what would your reaction have been and why?
2. Make up an imaginary conversation between Mr Frank Bowers, his aunt
in Stoke-on-Trent and the unknown artist.
3. Transfer this story to any other period you like and imagine (say) a house
visited in this way by Michelangelo, Czanne or any other famous artist.

Text 3. DESCRIBING CREATIVE WORK OF AN ARTIST

The following is an imaginary obituary of an artist, sculptor and president of an eminent society of artists.
Hubert Thake, whose sudden death in a car crash was briefly reported yesterday, was widely known as a portrait painter and as the sculptor of many memorial and decorative works. As a president of the General
Arts Association he had one of the longest terms of office in recent times
(1959-1973) and his work in gaining recognition for the association was
one of his great contributions to art in Britain. He was aged 82.
His portrait commissions were executed with a competency to which
the skill acquired from a thorough training and extensive professional practice both contributed. It is likely, however, that the work is best known to
the public (his "Political Portraits") has somewhat obscured his more personal artistic qualities. One could perhaps compare him to a composer
whose bent is for chamber music but who is continually commissioned to
write the theme music for films.
This is far from saying that his portrait work was unsuccessful, particularly the sculpture groups carried out in collaboration with Jason Snurd
for the forecourt of the new Worridge Town Hall, but other work could be
considered more typical of the artist's personal aspirations. An example is
the water-colour "Evening", exhibited for the first time in 1948 and now in
a private collection, which with its delicacy of line and attention to detail
gives a clearer impression of the artist's real identity.
However it was perhaps Mr Thake's versatility which was his most
striking quality. In this age of specialists it was quire remarkable to find a
man who could turn his hand to almost any form of painting or sculpture
with considerable success. Not only did he paint in oils and water-colour,
but he was also an expert on printing and design work. His sculptures
ranged from delicate statuettes lovingly finished to large-scale reliefs for
the front of public buildings. He always stated it as a principle that no artist
should be totally one-sided.
Use the information from the text to do the following tasks:
1. In his career, Hubert Thake probably met many young would-be artist
whose work he did not admire. Make an imaginary dialogue between
Hubert Thake and a student he is trying to discourage from taking up art

15

16

4. If you could choose, what pictures would you like to see painted in your
house? (Add sculptures etc., if you wish.)
5. Do you think graffiti is a form of art?

as a career. (Use any italicised phrases from the passage which you find
useful.)
2. What might Hubert Thake have especially admired in the work of another artist?
3. Write a similar obituary for a famous artist such a Gauguin.
IV. PARTICIPATION DRILL.
1. Translate the following sentences into English, the text by heart.
1. , ,
, .
2. ,
,
.
.
3. , , ,
.
, , . " " ("The Calais Pier") (1803) .
4. 1838 "
",
. ,
,
. .
5. ,
, . .
- . .
2. Describe different pictures. Use the following words and word combinations:
1) to evoke, intense, to capture the sitter's vitality, to paint from life, penetrating studies of a character, special insight into the psychology, immediacy, spontaneity;
17

2) conception, brilliant, to portray ... with moving sincerity, poetic in tone

and atmosphere, to anticipate, investigation of colour, range of colours, coloured patches;
3) vivid, life-like, supreme mastery of technique, to achieve lightness of
tone, high artistic quality, to be impressed by, to retain freshness, to be fascinated by the subject;
4) pure, vivid, to break with the tradition, to place the figure against the
landscape background, to look natural, intensity, to emphasize;
5) appeal, brilliance, primary colours, to convey, to produce impression, to
acquire, to affect, to glorify, to render;
6) to render, soft, delicate colours, elegant gesture, spiritual face, a brilliant
colourist, the impression of, airiness and lightness;
7) to radiate, spirituality, to combine form and colour harmonious unity, romantic, poetic in tone and atmosphere, to ignore the rules, the purest lyricist;
8) emotion, natural and characteristic pose, sharp psychological expressiveness, feeling of air, to convey, finished technique, to produce impression, to
penetrate.
3. Discuss a portrait painting according to the following plan.
1) THE GENERAL EFFECT. (The title and the 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 accessories, the dress and environment. Any attempt to render the 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 picture
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 imperceptible? Are the brushstrokes left visible?).
4) INTERPRETATION AND EVALUATION. (Does it exemplify a high
degree of artistic skill? What feelings or ideas does it evoke in the viewer?).
4. What does it mean?
1) It's hard to overestimate the role of art in one's life.
2) Art forms our outlook and enriches our inner world.
3) Art has a great educational significance.
18

4) Art brings people up makes them more humane and kind.

5) Art holds up people's spirits in the tragic moments of their lives.
6) The language of art is universal.
5. Let's have a talk about art.
1) Do you believe what art critics say?
2) What makes good art? Do you think art can be great if it is not linked
with the people's lives, their interests and ideals? Give your reasons.
3) How does art help us understand the outside world?
4) What purpose does true art serve?
5) What life would be without art? Why is art important?
6) Share your opinions:
a) Real art appeals to the heart and mind of man, to his feelings and ideals and it proclaims life. Art is life, pretence of art is death.
b) True art elevates the mind and the soul of the people.
7) What is art?
6. Here are two extreme viewpoints on modern art.
A: "Modern art is mostly decadent rubbish. Painters produce ridiculous
daubs that a child could do in five minutes, and they are sold for thousands
of pounds because the painter is fashionable. Everybody says that artists
like Klee or Jackson Pollock are good, because everybody is afraid that if
they admit their real feelings they will be thought stupid."
B: "Modern artists have different aims from older artists. A modern painter
does not want to do the work of a photographer; he or she want to communicate their own personal experience of the world, their deepest feelings
about life, death and the human soul. A great artist can use the symbols of
painting to express things which cannot be said in words."
Discuss the following points using the information given above,
showing both sides of a problem even when you agree firmly with one
side. Try to back up your general statements with anecdotes and stories
which illustrate the points you are trying to make. Use the expressions
from the functional vocabulary in your answers.
1. The purpose of art is to represent the world.
The purpose of art is to express the artist's feelings.
The purpose of art is to improve our lives.
Art has no purpose.
Different artists have different purposes.
19

2. Paintings should be in private houses, not in museums.

3. Artists should be subsided by the state.
4. Only a painter has a right to criticise paintings.
5. Artists like Rembrandt and Botticelli had far more skill than any modern
painter.
6. We cannot possibly judge the value of modern art only posterity will be
able to do that.
7. The best painting has religious or social significance art for art's sake is
sterile and pointless.
8. Picasso is a fraud.
9. Modern art is decadent because life is decadent.
10."I don't know much about art but I know what I like."
11. The meaning of "harmony" has been lost today.
12. Painting comes naturally. If a man has to "learn" it he is no true artist.
V. LISTENING. (True To Life. Interm., Unit 20)
1. Julia Quenzler is a court artist: in other words, she draws pictures of
people in the court (including the accused) during trials. Listen to the recording about her and answer these questions.
a) In what order did these things happen?
she started working for the BBC
she started her own gallery
she worked for NBC
she drew people in a nightclub
b) What is the main difference between the work of a court artist in the
United States and a court artist in Britain?
c) In the text, what is the significance of these times?
15 minutes
one and a half hours
15 seconds
2. Choose one or two statements from this list that you agree with or disagree with strongly. Discuss in groups.
a) Artists should not be allowed to draw pictures in court.
b) Drawings of people on trial should be shown on television.
c) Trials should be televised.
d) Important private art collections must be opened to the public for part
of the year.
e) Art galleries should not be financed with tax-payers' money.
20

f) The sale of paintings of national importance to overseas buyers must

be approved by the government.
g) A painting was recently sold for $26 million. It is better to spend
money on art than on arms.
VI. TOPICAL VOCABULARY.
PAINTERS AND THEIR CRAFT. A fashionable /self-taught/ nature
artist; a portrait /landscape painter; to paint from nature /memory
/imagination; to paint mythological /historical subjects; to specialize in portraiture /still life; to portray people /emotions with moving sincerity/restraint; to depict a person /a scene of common life /the mood of...; to
render /to interpret the personality; to reveal the person's nature; to capture
the sitter's vitality /transient expression; to develop one's own style of painting; to conform to the taste of the period; to break with the tradition; to be
advance of one's time; to expose the dark sides of life; to become famous
overnight; to die forgotten and penniless.
PAINTINGS. GENRES. An oil painting; a canvas; a water-colour/a
pastel picture; a sketch; a study; a family group; a ceremonial /an intimate
portrait; a self-portrait; a shoulder-length /half-length /knee-length/fulllength portrait; a landscape; a seascape; a genre /historical painting; a still
life; a battle piece; a flower piece; a masterpiece.
COMPOSITION AND DRAWING. In the foreground /background; in
the top /bottom /left-hand corner; to arrange symmetrically, asymmetrically
/in a pyramid /in a vertical format; divide the picture space-diagonally; to
define the nearer figures more sharply; to emphasize contours purposely; to
be scarcely discernible; to convey a sense of space; to place the figures
against the landscape background; to merge into a single entity; to blend
with the landscape; to indicate the sitter's profession; to be represented
standing /sitting /talking; to be posed /silhouetted against an open sky /a
classic pillar /the snow; to accentuate something.
COLOURING. LIGHT AND SHADE EFFECTS. Subtle /gaudy colouring; to combine form and colour into harmonious unity; brilliant /lowkeyed colour scheme; the colour scheme where ... predominates; muted in
colour; the colours may be cool and restful /hot and agitated /soft and delicate /dull /oppressive /harsh; the delicacy of tones may be lost in a reproduction.
IMPRESSION. JUDGEMENT. The picture may be moving /lyrical
/romantic /original /poetic in tone and atmosphere; an exquisite piece of
painting; an unsurpassed masterpiece; distinguished by a marvellous sense
21

of colour and composition; the picture may be dull /crude /chaotic /a colourless dab of paint; obscure; unintelligible; gaudy; depressing; disappointing; cheap; vulgar.
Additional vocabulary for describing pictures.
Air, appeal, arrangement, brilliance, light and shade, primary colours,
riot of colours, to convey, craftsmanship, delineation, effect (atmosphere effects, colour effects), to execute, exquisite, to producer impression, intensity,
highlights, complete command of colours, diffused light, relations of tone and
colour, to render, to represent, statement of form and colour, subject, subject
matter, semi-tones, to treat, out of value, to fade, design, poetic in tone and
atmosphere, abundance, accuracy, to acquire, to affect, affirmation, animation, apotheosis, life-asserting art, to attain, austere, combination of colours,
facial expression, to glorify, infinite, personification, to render, pure /vivid
/brilliant /intense /soft /delicate colours, to evoke, conception, to radiate,
spirituality, range of colours, to command attention, to penetrate, finished
technique, expressiveness, emotional impact, harmony of colours, individual
traits, skill, message, to radiate, immediacy, luminous, secondary colour, at
one stroke, subdued colours, to be silhouetted against, to catch /to capture /to
seize, splashes of colour, fluid /fluent, to anticipate, crystal-clear.
VII. PROJECT WORK.
Work out the presentation of an art gallery using the following Internet
resources.
1. http://adam.ac.uk/index.html (ADAM, the Art, Design, Architecture &
Media Information Gateway, is a searchable catalogue of Internet resources
that have been carefully selected and catalogued by professional librarians
for the benefit of the UK Higher Education community. To search, use such
keywords as: art galleries United Kingdom.)
2. http://bubl.ac.uk/link/a/artmuseums.htm (the index for art links)
3. http://www.artefact.co.uk ("Galleries" the UK's largest circulating
monthly Art Listings magazine, describing current exhibitions and stock of
over 500 commercial and public art galleries, galleries for hire and art services.
4. GALLERIES ONLINE:
http://nmaa-ryder.si.edu/t2go (the Smithsonian American Art Museum)
http://www.oddyart.com (Highgate Fine Art)
http://www.gardenofeden.co.uk (The Garden of Eden Art Gallery)
http://advancedgraphics.co.uk (Advanced Graphics London)
22

http://www.acag.co.uk (Ainscough Contemporary Art)

http://www.albemarlegallery.co.uk (Albemare Gallery)
http://www.bsgart.com (Berkeley Square Gallery)
http://www.nevillgallery.com (Nevill Gallery)
http://www.stives.dircon.co.uk (New Millennium Gallery)
http://www.historicalportraits.com (Historical Portraits)
http://www.piccadillygall.demon.co.uk (Piccadilly Gallery)
http://www.scolarfineart.com (Scolar Fine Art)
http://www.stentongallery.com (Stenton Gallery)
http://www.diorama-arts.org.uk (Diorama Arts)
http://www.apollogallery.ie (Apollo Gallery)
5. ONLINE GALLERIES (Internet only galleries)
http://www.artconnection.com/ (Art Connection fine art & sculpture)
http://www.artlondon.com (ArtLondon.com Londons international fine
art portal)
http://www.hollyblue.com (Holly Blue On Line Gallery art & photography)
APPENDIX 1.
SIDELIGHT ON USAGE
ART, SKILL, CRAFT
The earliest and still common implications of art are those which are
now associated specifically with skill: technical knowledge, and proficiency
or expertness in its exercise or practical application. Art and craft were once
synonyms but now tend to become contrasted terms; both words still imply
ingenuity and subtlety in workmanship, craft tending to be applied to a
lower kind of skill or inventive power revealing itself in the mastery of materials or technique and in effects that can be analysed and imitated, and art
to a higher creative power capable of expressing a personal vision and of
achieving results which defy analysis and imitation, thus, an artist may
demonstrate his craft in painting sunlight but he manifests his art in painting
a scene that conveys his feelings to the spectator.
ARTIST see PAINTER
BACK, FRONT
A basement-back is a basement facing the yard; in the same way a
top-floor back is a room on the top floor looking out on to the yard; a one
(two, three)-pair back is a room on the first (second, third) floor overlooking the yard and a two-pair front is a room on the second floor with all the
23

windows giving upon the street. The word pair in the combination a pair of
stairs (steps) means "a flight". A three-pair front and the like may also denote occupants of these rooms.
BUILD, ERECT, CONSTRUCT
Build signifies the making of a house. Erect means "to set up straight".
Construct signifies to build by piling stones one on top of another, etc. The
word build by distinction expresses the purpose of the action; erect indicates
the mode of the action; construct indicates contrivance in the action. What is
built is employed for the purpose of receiving, retaining, or confining; what is
erected is placed in an elevated situation; what is constructed is put together
with ingenuity. All that is built may be said to be erected or constructed, but
all that is erected or constructed is not said to be built; likewise what is
erected is mostly constructed, though not vice versa. We build from necessity;
we erect for ornament; we construct for utility and convenience. Houses are
built, monuments erected, machines are constructed.
BUILDING, EDIFICE, STRUCTURE
Building is the common and in most cases the adequate term. Edifice
usually applies to large and elegant buildings only. Structure retains more
frequently than the others the sense of something constructed, often in a
particular way; as a tumble-down structure; a modern steel structure. Like
edifice, structure is often used of buildings of some size and magnificence.
Edifice, for building, in its concrete sense (generally with reference to a
large building), belongs to that class of words to which M. E. U. has given
the happy term "genteelisms". A genteelism Fowler defines as the substitution, for the ordinary natural word that would first suggest itself to the
mind, of a synonym thought to be less familiar, less vulgar, less improper.
In a figurative sense edifice can be an effective word.
COLOUR, HUE, SHADE, TINT, TINGE
Colour is the ordinary term and in careful use, the only generic term
of this group. Hue in poetry or elevated prose, is often synonymous with
colour. More specifically, hue suggests some modification of colour. Shade
is often used in the sense of one of the gradations of a colour, especially as
its hue is affected by its brilliance, as to seek a darker shade of blue (i.e. a
blue that is lower in brilliance because nearer to dark grey or black); a
brighter shade of green (i.e. one higher in brilliance and saturation) is desirable; various shades of grey. Tint is also used as meaning a gradation of

M. E. U. Modern English Usage by W. H. Fowler.

24

colour in respect to brilliance, but it always suggests hue, and is commonly

used in reference to light colours (or colours of high brilliance) that seem to
be given by a light or delicate touching; thus, what are often called "pastel
colours", or less properly, "pastel shades", are in precise use, tints. The term
is not infrequently used in contrast to shade, especially when the latter word
connotes comparative darkness or dullness (or low brilliance). Tinge implies more of interfusion or stain than tint.
CONSTRUCT see BUILD
COPY see REPRODUCTION
CRAFT see ART
DISPLAY see SHOW
EDIFICE see BUILDING
ERECT see BUILD
EXHIBIT see SHOW
FLOOR, STOREY
The numbering of floors and storeys is peculiar, the second floor,
e.g., being the third storey. The ground floor and the ground storey are the
same, but the first floor and first storey are different, first storey being another name for ground storey, but the first floor being above it. In houses
other than the one-storied there are:
(1) sometimes cellars (underground, and not used for habitation); (2) sometimes a basement (partly or all underground, and used for habitation); (3) the
first or ground storey, or ground floor; (4) sometimes a mezzanine or entresol
(low, and not reckoned in numbering); (5) sometimes other storeys or floors
numbered onwards from the preceding; (7) sometimes garrets or attics or lofts
(with part of the upper room-space cut off by the roof).
The words garret and attic mean the same thing, but the former is
usually chosen when poverty, squalor etc., are to be suggested. Loft generally means "an attic open to the rafters" and a space not occupied by human
beings, but used for storing things.
FRONT see BACK
HUE see COLOUR
PAINTER, ARTIST
A painter is (a) one who puts-paint on walls, ships, sides, etc.; (b) one
who paints pictures. A painter of pictures would not usually speak of himself or another of his craft as an artist, thereby implicitly claiming a monopoly for his profession of a word that includes also writers, musicians,
sculptors, etc. Artist used for one who practices the profession of painting is
a genteelism. A painter of pictures may not be an artist. On the other hand
25

one might praise a talented artist for using paint with "the touch of an artist". Nevertheless if a child asked Who (or what) was Rembrandt? the answer should be A painter, and not An artist.
PAINTING, PICTURE
As nouns, painting describes rather the action or operation, and picture the result. When we speak of a good painting, we think, particularly of
its execution as to drapery, disposition of colours, and the like; but when we
speak of a fine picture, we refer immediately to the object represented, and
the impression which it is capable of producing on the beholder; paintings
are confined either to oil-paintings or paintings in colours; but every drawing, whether in pencil, in crayon, or in India ink, may produce a picture;
and we have likewise pictures in embroidery, pictures in tapestry, and pictures in mosaic.
PICTURE see PAINTING
REPRODUCTION, COPY, TRANSCRIPT
Reproduction may imply identity in material or substance, in size,
and in quality, or it may imply differences, provided that the imitation gives
a fairly true likeness of the original. A copy is a reproduction of something
else often without the exact correspondence which belongs to a duplicate.
Transcript applies only to a copy made directly from an original.
SHADE see COLOUR
SHOW, EXHIBIT, DISPLAY
One shows anything which one enables another or others to see or to
look at, as by putting it forward into view intentionally or inadvertly or by
taking another where he may see it.
One exhibits anything which one puts forward prominently or openly,
either with the express intention or with the result of attracting others' attention
or inspection, as, to exhibit the museum's collection of Whistler engravings.
One displays anything that one spreads out before the view of others
or puts it in a position where it can be seen to advantage or with great clearness; as, in the exhibition of pictures was criticised because the best paintings were not properly displayed.
SKILL see ART
STOREY see FLOOR
STRUCTURE see BUILDING
TINGE see COLOUR
TINT see COLOUR
TRANSCRIPT see REPRODUCTION
26

APPENDIX 2.
REFERENCE-LIST OF ARTISTS, SCULPTORS AND
ARCHITECTS WHOSE NAMES OCCUR IN THE BOOKLET
(the) BASSANI a family of Italian painters: Jacopo Bassano [b's:nou]
(15101592) and his four sons
BERNINI [b'ni:ni] (15981680), an Italian sculptor, architect and painter
BURNE-JONES [b:n'dounz] (18331898), an English painter and designer
CARAVAGGIO [kr'v:dou] (15731610), an Italian painter
CEZANNE [sei'zn] (18391906), a French painter
COLLOT [k'lo:] (17481821), a French sculptress
CONSTABLE ['konstbl] (17761837), an English landscape-painter
COROT [ko:'rou] (17961875), a French painter
DEGAS [d'g:] (18341917), a French painter
DELACROIX [dl:kr'w:] (17981863), a French painter
DONATO [do'n:tou] see DONATELLO
DONATELLO [don'telou] (1386? 1468), an Italian sculptor
DOUW [dou] (16131675), a Dutch portrait-painter
DRER ['dju:r] (14711528), a German painter and engraver
EL GRECO [el'greikou] (15411614), a Spanish painter
GAINSBOROUGH ['geinzb()r] (17271788), an English painter
GHIRLANDAJO [girl:n'd:jo] (14491494), an Italian painter
GIOTTQ ['dotou] (1266? 12761337), an Italian painter
GOYA ['goj:] (17461828), a Spanish painter and engraver
GREUZE [gr:z] (17251805), a French painter
GUTTUSO [gu'tu:zou] (b. 1912), an Italian painter
KENT [kent] (b. 1882), an American painter
LEAL [leal] (16291690), a Spanish painter
LEMERCIER [l:m'sj:] (15851654), a French architect
LEONARDO DA VINCI [li: 'n:dou d:'vinti] (14521519), an Italian
painter
MANET [m:'ne] (18321883), a French painter
MICHELANGELO [maikl'ndilou] (14751564), an Italian sculptor,
painter, architect and poet
MILLET [mi'lei] (18141875), a French painter
MONET [mo:'nei] (18401926), a French painter
27

MURILLO [mju()'rilou] (16171682), a Spanish painter

PHIDIAS ['fidis] (5th cent. . .), a Greek sculptor
PISSARRO [pi'srou], [pis'rou] (18301903), a French painter
POTTER ['ot] (16251654), a Dutch painter
RAPHAEL ['rfe(i)l] (14831520), an Italian painter
REMBRANDT ['rmbrnt] (16061669), a Dutch painter
REPIN ['repin] (18441930), a Russian painter
REYNOLDS ['renldz] (18411919), an English painter
ROERICH ['r:rik] (18741947), a Russian painter
RUBENS ['ru:binz] (15771640), an Flemish painter
SARGENT ['s:dint] (18561925), an American painter
SCOTT, GILBERT ['skot 'gilbt] (181118Z8), an English architect
SHAW, NORMAN ['o: 'no:mn] (183119-12), an English architect
TITIAN ['tiin] (14771576), an Italian painter
TURNER ['t:n] (17751881), an English landscape-painter
VAN DER HELST [vndr'helst] (16131676), a Dutch portrait-painter
VAN GOGH [v:n 'go:g] (18531890), a Dutch painter
VASARI [v'zri] (15111571), an Italian painter and art-historian
VELASQUEZ [vi'lskwiz] (15991660), a Spanish painter
WHISTLER ['wisl] (18341903), an American painter
ZURBARAN [z:b'rn] (15981662), a Spanish painter
APPENDIX 3.
A RUSSIAN-ENGLISH VOCABULARY

water-colour
architect
architecture
architectural
bas-relief, low relief
fade
bust
varnishing-day
view
stained glass
erect, set up
execute
execution
28


( )

()

( )

()
()

( )

cut, carve
carve
exhibition, show, display
exhibit, show, display
exhibition rooms
gallery
tapestry
engraving
engraver
engrave
woodcut
linocut
etching
print
graphic art, black-and-white art
gouache
genre
painting
picturesque
finish
building, structure
connoisseur
architect
earthenware, stoneware
crystalware
chinaware
delftware
representation
portrayal, picture, image
portray, present, give
exquisite
art
caricature
cartoon
picture, painting, piece
cartoon
ceramics, pottery
29

( )

( )
()
()

()

()
()

()
( )
,

30

brush
masonry
collection
marbles
colouring, colour-scheme
composition, design
; reproduction
colour, paint
oil(s)
line
lithograph
daub, daubing
stroke, touch, dash, dab
daub
lay-figure
painter of sea-scares
master
craftsman
craftsmanship, workmanship, skill
execution
studio, atelier
scale
miniature
model
model, mould
easel
roughing in, sketch
rough in, sketch
trend
life
model, sitter
still life (arrangement)
nude
the nude
the altogether
unveiling
mould
shade, hue, tint
colour effects


( )
( )

()

:

etching
palette
colour-scheme
panel
pastel
landscape, scene, scenery; view
city-scape, townscape
seascape, water piece, marine
convey, render, treat
paint
in the foreground
in the middle ground
in the background
plain air
stretcher
attitude, pose
sit for one's portrait, sit to (for) an
artist, pose
canvas
portrait; likeness
portraiture
design
design
designer
work of art, production
guide (book)
foreshortening
burin; chisel
carver
relief
craft
reproduction
restore, reconstruct
restorer
draw
portray
drawing
light
light and shade, chiaroscuro

()

( )
( )

31

()

( )

()

sitting
sculptor
sculpture; statuary
cast
modelling stand
statuette, figurine
statue, figure
style
building, construction, structure
build, construct, erect
builder; constructor
building, construction
construction
(construction-)site
subject
subject, theme
subject matter
shade, shadow
treatment, statement
decoration
background
form; shape
mural, fresco
canvas
artist, painter
designer
artistic
colour, tint, hue
masterpiece
touch, stroke, dash
visit
guide
exhibit
be on display (on show)
sketch
sketchy
print
study
paint-box
32

APPENDIX 4.
Study the following text.

To perceive (adj. perceptible) to become aware of (trough the senses).

To make manifest to show.
11
Eric Newton (1893-1965) was a distinguished English art critic and a
regular contributor to The Guardian and The New York Times.
10

The Nature of Art

A postage stamp, the overture to the Magic Flute, a suburban villa,
Guerlain's1 latest perfume, Leonardo's "Last Supper", an innings2 by Don
Bradman3, Shakespeare's "Hamlet", a performance of "Sylphides"4, St Paul's
Cathedral, a Walt Disney cartoon all these are (or can be) works of art.
There are other things that are not works of art. Niagara Falls is not a
work of art, nor is the afterglow of the snows of Monte Rosa5, nor the sound
of breakers against a cliff, nor the dance executed by washing hanging on a
clothes line in a stiff breeze, nor the scent6 of a pine wood on a summer day.
These two classes of phenomena are different in kind. The first are
man-made and man-designed. They had to be conceived7 in the mind of a
man (or group of men) and then made communicable8 to other men by the
skill of the designer, working in some medium that could be perceived9 by
the senses of other men the eye, the ear, the nose, the palate.
The other set of phenomena Niagara Falls, the sound of breakers
and so on are not man-made or man-designed.
They may be equally beautiful or equally pleasurable. They may even
be the result of a design by God or the Laws of Nature or what you will, but
they were not imagined first and then made manifest through the medium of
visible materials, visible movements, audible sounds, perceptible smells.
If the story of art is to be told it is necessary to know what art is, and
if I define it briefly as a human conception made manifest10 by the use of a
medium; and if I define good art as a noble (or arresting, or interesting, or
valuable) conception made manifest by the skilful use of a medium, I can
then have done with definitions.

Answer the following questions using the information from the text.
1. What do the things listed in the first paragraph have in common?
2. What do all the items in the second paragraph have in common?
3. What similarities are there between the two types of phenomena concerning their effect upon us?
4. What are the various stages in the process of creating a work of art?
5. What makes a work of art "good art", according to Eric Newton?
Discuss the following points.
1. Discuss whether a particular postage stamp is a) a work of art, b) good
art, by applying Eric Newton's definitions.
2. If Niagara Falls is not a work of art, what about a) a photograph of Niagara Falls, b) a painting of Niagara Falls and c) a painting of some imaginary
waterfall?
3. Make a list of Eric Newton's criteria for classifying something as (good)
art. Then arrange them in a list of priorities to clarify what you expect of a
work of art. You may strike off any of Newton's criteria and/or add new
ones. Give reasons for your choice and concrete examples.

(From European Painting and Sculpture by Eric Newton11, Penguin 1951.)

Notes:
1
Guerlain name of a French firm which produces perfume.
2
Innings the time during which a cricket player is batting.
3
Don Bradman former captain of the Australian national cricket team.
4
Les Sylphides [sil'fid] ballet to the music of Frdric Chopin (1810-1849).
5
Monte Rosa highest mountain in Switzerland (4 638 m).
6
Scent pleasant smell.
7
To be conceived to be formed in the mind.
8
Communicable that can be communicated, made understood.
33

34

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)

..
..
12.03.03. 6084 1/16.
. . 2,1. .-. . 2,4. 100 . 193.
-
644077, . -77, . , 55,

35

36