A few great painters of the 16th-19th centuries

a. Read the text and answer the question that follows:

Raphael Sanzio, Raffaello Sanzio (1483— 1520) Italian painter. He was one of the great­est artists of the High Renaissance, active in Perugia, Florence, and Rome, where he painted frescoes in the Vatican and for secular patrons. Many of his designs were engraved, and much of his later work was the product of his studio.

Question:

Why do you think all tourists coming to Vatican try to visit the Pontifi­cal Museums and see Raphael's Stanze (the four rooms decorated with Raphael's frescoes which form part of the palace of Nicholas V)?

b. Read the text and answer the questions that follow:

El Greco is the pseudonym of Domenikos Theotokopoulos (1541 — 1614). The painter was first called 'the Greek' in Crete where he was born. He studied in Italy, worked in Rome from about 1570, and by 1577 had settled in Toledo, Spain. He painted elegant portraits and in­tensely emotional religious scenes with increasingly distorted figures and flickering light: for example, The Burial of Count Orgaz (church of San Tome, Toledo). El Greco's paintings are exhibited in various mu­seums of Paris, London, New York, Madrid, Budapest.

Questions:

1 Do you know anything else about the life of this celebrated artist?

2 Have you seen the American film El Greco?

3 How do you think El Greco's St. Jerome came to the Frick Collec­tion, a picture gallery in New York?

c. Read this text and say where the paintings of this brilliant artist can be seen:

Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio (1573—1610). Italian early Ba­roque painter. He was active in Rome, then in Naples, and finally in Malta. He created a forceful style, using contrasts of light and shade, dramatic foreshortening, and a meticulous attention to detail.

d. Read this text and do the exercises that follow:

Rembrandt van Rijn (1609—1669). One of the greatest artists of all time, the Dutch painter Rembrandt van Rijn is noted for the vigour and realism of his work, particularly his portraits. His power of observation and deep psychological insight are evident not only in his portraits but also in his striking religious paintings and landscapes. All his life Rembrandt was fascinated with light and shade, and in many of his works a concentrated light falls on a central figure set in a shadowy background. Aging also fasci­nated him, and his many self-portraits record the gradual alteration of his features with a searching understanding and sincerity. His success as a portrait painter began in 1632 with The Anatomy Lesson of Dr. Talp and reached its peak in 1642 with his celebrated Night Watch. During this successful period, when he had many commissions and pupils, he married Saskia van Uylenborch, who brought him a good dowry and who appears in many of his works. She died in 1642.

Despite his wealth, extravagant living and waning popularity led him into financial difficulties and eventually bankruptcy. But Rembrandt's powers remained undiminished; he continued teaching and in these difficult years produced works of insight, compassion, and technical mastery. His self-portraits he had begun as a young man continued with ever-greater depth of feeling and rank among the most tender expressions ever executed in paint.

Bellona, goddess of war in Latin mythol­ogy, painted by Rembrandt

1. Transcribe the following words:

Rembrandt

artist

realism

insight

religious

psychological

shade

shadow

2. Read the first paragraph of the text paying attention to the intonation.

3. Mark the intonation of the sentences of the second paragraph and read it out loud.

4. Write down a few sentences of your own with the following words:

shade __________________________________ shadow

commission

to be fascinated by smth to diminish _______

5. Say what you know about Rembrandt and his masterpieces using the text and other sources of information.

6. Agree or disagree and substantiate your viewpoints:

• Rembrandt, like many other people, was fascinated by growing old.

• Rembrandt's self-portraits captured his development from a lively youth to a disillusioned old man.

e. Read this text and insert the correct prepositions:

Francisco Jose de Goya y Lucientes (1746— 1828). Spanish painter and engraver. He painted portraits... four successive kings of Spain; his series... etchings include the famous Caprichos and The Disaster... War, both depicting the hor­rors... the French invasion... Spain. Among his later works are The Black Paintings (Prado, Ma­drid),... such horrific images as Saturn Devouring One... his Sons.

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