 |
Mortlake Terrace” by J.M. Turner
|
|
|
|
Turner was interested in optical effects produced by light under varying conditions. In this picture he has represented a scene looking directly into the rays of the afternoon sun.
With scientific exactness he has portrayed the golden path of the reflection on the water, the sparkle of light on the lawn. This canvas painted for William Moffatt depicts his estate at Mortlake, on the Thames just west of London. Like so many of Turner’s works, it is based on numerous preparatory drawings, in which the artist recorded the topography and studied various ways of balancing the mass of the house and land against the open river and sky.
J.M. Turner.
Mortlake terrace: early summer morning.1826.
Oil on canvas.93 x 123.2 cm.
|
A companion view of the terrace and river on a summer evening as seen from a ground-floor window of the house is in the National Gallery, Washington. Shown in the same Royal Academy exhibition of 1826 as the more ambitious painting of Cologne, Mortlake Terrace was praised for its “lightness and simplicity.” Turner’s penchant for a luminous shade of yellow is again a dominant feature of the painting.
3. Describe the pictures using the vocabulary of the lesson.
| J. Constable. Salisbury Cathedral, from the Bishop's Grounds. 1823. Oil on canvas. Victoria and Albert Museum, London, UK. |
| T. Gainsborough. Mrs. Sarah Siddons. 1785. Oil on canvas. National Gallery, London, UK. | 
|
4. For Questions 1 – 15, read the text below and decide which answer А, В, С or D best each space. There is an example at the beginning (0).
The three blank spaces (0) C the wall of the Frankfurt Schirn Gallery are probably more photographed than the old paintings which (1)... there until last Thursday. That was the day when thieves (2)... two paintings by JMW Turner, which were (3)... loan from London’s Tate Gallery. In fact, as theft increases, empty walls are (4)... an increasingly familiar (5)... in Europe’s galleries. The thieves are usually (6)... of professional gangs who study the layout of their target in (7)... beforehand. They are becoming better at overcoming the tightest security. The thieves of Frankfurt waited (8)... the gallery closed at 10 pm, overpowered the security guard before he could (9)... on the alarm system and (10)... with the paintings to a waiting car. The pictures are (11)... at £37,7 million and, since they are (12)...famous to sell, police suspect that the thieves will hold them to ransom. A £62,800 reward is being (13)... for information. Unfortunately European Union policy has made it easier for thieves to (14)... borders and harder for police to follow them. To discourage thieves, galleries may have to turn themselves (15)... high security fortresses.
| a) in | b) over | c) on | d) along | |
| a) hung | b) stayed | c) held | d) fixed | |
| a) robbed | b) stole | c) burgled | d) borrowed | |
| a) for | b) at | c) in | d) on | |
| a) getting | b) becoming | c) having | d) growing | |
| a) sight | b) scene | c) site | d) look | |
| a) guessed | b) members | c) partners | d) owners | |
| a) fact | b) addition | c) detail | d) general | |
| a) for | b) while | c) before | d) until | |
| a) turn | b) go | c) rely | d) set | |
| a) escaped | b) parted | c) got | d) hid | |
| a) measured | b) charged | c) valued | d) appreciated | |
| a) too | b) enough | c) very | d) quite | |
| a) stated | b) offered | c) held | d) taken | |
| a) swap | b) after | c) change | d) cross | |
| a) for | b) towards | c) into | d) over |
|
|
|
5. Complete the gaps in the text with a word formed from the word given in the margin. All the words you need to write are nouns. The first one has been done as an example.
| Until the end of the XVIII century, most artists worked on the basis of earning out specific commissions for churches, royal courts or wealthy private (0) collectors, and thus enjoyed a measure of financial security. This form of (1) ……… declined in the following century, however, and painters and (2) ……… were increasingly obliged to try to sell their works on the open market, with their main outlet being large official exhibitions in which their work was displayed along with that of their (3) ………. This made life hard for many artists, especially for (4) ……… whose style did not coincide with public taste. Since the second half of the XIX century the rise of small commercial galleries under private (5) ……… has given artists better opportunities to display their work, but nevertheless many artists still go through periods of considerable financial (6) ………. Recently company (7) ………, especially in the form of prizes, has begun to partially fill the gap left by the demise of private patrons. For example, the high-street bank NatWest offers an annual art prize worth a total of £36,000 – including 11 awards of £1,000 to all (8) ………. However, unlike (9) ……… for literature prizes such as the Booker, who usually enjoy increased sales as a spin-off from appearing on the shortlist, artists do not necessarily benefit from the media (10) ……… generated by winning a prize. One recent winner of the controversial Turner Prize found that galleries did not offer her subsequent exhibitions, as she had hoped, because they felt she was “too obvious a candidate for invitation”. | COLLECT PATRON SCULPT COMPETE INNOVATE OWN HARD SPONSOR FINAL NOMINATE COVER |
6. For questions 1-4, read the following texts about art. Answer with a word or short phrase. Then summarize in your own words the reasons given in the texts for why the public appreciate art.
A critic may crush an artist by telling him that what he has just done may be quite good in its own way, only it is not “Art”. And that same critic may confound anyone enjoying a picture by declaring that what he liked in it was not the Art but something different.
Actually, I do not think there are wrong reasons for liking a statue or picture. Someone may like a landscape painting because it reminds him of home, or a portrait because it reminds him of a friend. There is nothing wrong with that. All of us, when we see a painting, are bound to be reminded of a hundred and one things which influence our likes and dislikes. As long as these memories help us to enjoy what we see, we need not worry. It is only when some irrelevant memory makes us prejudiced, when we instinctively turn away from a magnificent picture of an alpine scene because we dislike climbing, that we should search our mind for the reason for the aversion which spoils a pleasure we might otherwise have had. There are wrong reasons for disliking a work of art.
|
|
|
Most people like to see in pictures what they would also like to see in reality. This is quite a natural preference. We all like beauty in nature, and are grateful to the artists who have preserved it in their works.
1) In your own words, explain how, according to the writer, a viewer might react to a critic’s comments about a work of art.
2) Explain what the writer means by “some irrelevant memory makes us prejudiced”.
Art has changed over the last few decades. Although continual change is the very essence of art, the most recent changes run far more deeply, and go beyond external appearances. The very concept of art is in fact being questioned. At first glance it might indeed seem to be mainly a matter of ephemeral and non-essential questions. For instance, contemporary art has never before enjoyed such wide popularity. Prices are soaring, and private collectors are currently placing an unprecedented number of orders. The prices for modern classics at auctions in London and New York have reached unimaginable heights, as art is increasingly regarded as a sound investment for the future.
Contemporary art has in fact become an integral part of today's middle-class society. Even works of art which are fresh from the studio are met with enthusiasm. They receive recognition rather quickly – too quickly for the taste of the surlier culture critics. Of course, not all works of art are bought immediately, but there is undoubtedly an increasing number of people who enjoy buying brand new works of art. Instead of fast and expensive cars, they buy the paintings, sculptures and photographic works of young artists. They know that contemporary art also adds to their social prestige. Furthermore, since art is not exposed to the same wear and tear as automobiles, it is – in principle – a far better investment.
3) Explain in your own words the evidence given by the writer of the “wide popularity” of art today.
4) Which phrase suggests new works of art are not always received positively when first displayed?
7. For Questions 1 – 15, read the text below and decide which answer А, В, С or D best fits each space. There is an example at the beginning (0).
|
|
|
