Unit 1
The history of arts
Text A
I Listen and remember the following words
1. to compare
2. landscape
3. to survive
4. to inspire
5. to accomplish
6. exuberance
7. abundant ,
8. to supplant
9. to exaggerate
10. furniture
II Read and remember the following phrases
enormous influence
to become aware
desire to return
to take root
sense of awe
III Read and translate the following text:
The history of arts. Brief overview
Part I
Art in ancient Greece and Rome
The art of ancient Greece has exercised an enormous influence on the culture of many countries from ancient times until the present, particularly in the areas of sculpture and architecture. In the West, the art of the Roman Empire was largely derived from Greek models.
It is necessary to differentiate between the Hellenistic tradition and the Roman tradition. Roman painting provides a wide variety of themes: animals, still life, and scenes from everyday life. During the Hellenistic period, it evoked the pleasures of the countryside and represented scenes of shepherds, herds, rustic temples, rural mountainous landscapes and country houses.
The main innovation of Roman painting compared to Greek art was the development of landscapes, in particular the techniques of perspective.
While inspired by the Greeks, Romans also developed some of their own innovations, such as the bust and the democratization of the portrait.
Gothic is the term generally used to denote the style of architecture, sculpture, and painting that developed from the Romanesque during the 12th century and became predominant in Europe by the middle of the 13th century. Gothic Art took the form of a softer, more realistic style whose general characteristics survived until the middle of the 13th century. Although details such as faces and hands continued to be described chiefly by means of line, drapery and other shapes were modelled in terms of light and shade.
Literally the term 'Renaissance' means rebirth. In art-history the Renaissance reflects the period in which human became conscious again of their power to influence their own lives. It is the period of light and new beginnings, in contrast to the dark Middle-Ages. For the first time since the end of the Classic Period human became aware of the beginning of a new era. They got inspired by the ideas and principals of the Classical Period; The Greek and Roman Cultures, because they saw these cultures as the best human had ever accomplished. People started to explore and analyze everything scientifically, like nature, philosophy, politics and art. The Renaissance painters were the first artists who used geometric structured perspective in their work to create the effect of space.
In the arts, Baroque is a period as well as the style that used exaggerated motion and clear, easily interpreted detail to produce drama, tension, exuberance in sculpture, painting, literature, dance, and music. The style started around 1600 in Rome, Italy and spread to most of Europe.
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Some traits and aspects of Baroque paintings that differentiate this style from others are the abundant amount of details, often bright polychromy, less realistic faces of subjects, and an overall sense of awe, which was one of the goals in Baroque art.
The Rococo style of art was largely supplanted by the Neoclassic style. Primarily, Rococo was a style of art found in French interior design around 1700. Rooms were designed as works of art with elegant furniture, small sculptures, ornamental mirrors, and tapestry complementing architecture and wall paintings.
IV Answer the questions:
1. What has an enormous influence on the culture of many countries?
2. What themes did Roman painting provide?
3. What innovations did the Roman develop?
4. What style became predominant in Europe by the middle of the 13th century?
5. What does the term 'Renaissance' mean?
6. What did the Renaissance painters use to create the effect of space?
7. What are some traits and aspects of Baroque paintings that differentiate this style from others?
8. How did the rooms designed in Rococo style look like?
9. What supplanted the Rococo style?
V Complete the sentences with the words from the text:
1. The development of landscapes was the main of Roman painting.
2. Drapery and other shapes were modelled in terms of light and shade in Art.
3. The Renaissance painters were the first artists who used perspective in their work to create the effect of space.
4. The Baroque paintings were characterised by the amount of details, often bright polychromy.
5. Rococo was a style of art found in design around 1700.
VI Find the English equivalents to the words:
, , , , , , , , ,
VII Make up sentences with the terms:
enormous influence, variety of themes, drapery, conscious, inspired, abundant amount, to supplant
VIII Give definitions to the words:
to differentiate, to provide, to accomplish, enormous, trait, scientifically, to create
IX Translate the sentences into English:
1. .
2. .
3. .
4. .
5. , .
6. .
7. .
8. , .
X Speak on the topic using the following words and word-combinations:
enormous influence, scenes of shepherds, rural landscapes, techniques of perspective, in terms of light and shade, conscious, accomplish, scientifically, exaggerate, exuberance, abundant, sense of awe, tapestry
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Text B
I Read and remember:
1. to encompass
2. objective survey
3. distinguishing features
4. precedent
5. gradually
6. onset ,
7. artifact
8. monastic
9. obscurity ,
10. sentiment ,
11. quite the contrary
12. subtle shift
13. secular
II Read the text and define the main idea of it:
Text B
The History of Arts
The history of art usually refers to the history of the visual arts, such as painting, sculpture and architecture. The term also encompasses theory of the visual arts. It does not usually refer to the performing arts or literary arts. The history of art attempts an objective survey of art throughout human history, classifying cultures and periods and noting their distinguishing features and influences.
The field of "art history" was developed in the West, and originally dealt exclusively with Western painting, and Western art history, with the High Renaissance (and its Greek precedent) as the defining standard. Gradually, with the onset of Modernism, a wider vision of history has developed, seeking to place other societies in a global overview by analyzing their artifacts in terms of their own cultural values. Thus, the subject is now seen to encompass all visual art, from the megaliths of Western Europe to the paintings of the Tang Dynasty in China.
The Renaissance was a cultural movement that profoundly affected European intellectual life in the early modern period. Beginning in Italy, and spreading to the rest of Europe by the 16th century, its influence was felt in literature, philosophy, art, politics, science, religion, and other aspects of intellectual enquiry. Renaissance scholars employed the humanist method in study, and searched for realism and human emotion in art.
Renaissance thinkers sought out learning from ancient texts, typically written in Latin or ancient Greek. Scholars scoured Europe's monastic libraries, searching for works of antiquity which had fallen into obscurity. In such texts they found a desire to improve and perfect their worldly knowledge; an entirely different sentiment to the spirituality stressed by medieval Christianity. They did not reject Christianity; quite the contrary, many of the Renaissance's greatest works were devoted to it, and the Church patronized many works of Renaissance art. However, a subtle shift took place in the way that intellectuals approached religion that was reflected in many other areas of cultural life. Artists strove to portray the human form realistically, developing techniques to render perspective and light more naturally. Political philosophers, most famously Niccolò Machiavelli, sought to describe political life as it really was, and to improve government on the basis of reason. In addition to studying classical Latin and Greek, authors also began increasingly to use national languages; combined with the invention of printing, this would allow many more people access to books, especially the Bible.
In all, the Renaissance could be viewed as an attempt of intellectuals to study and improve the secular and worldly, both through the revival of ideas from antiquity, and through novel approaches to thought.
