Exercise №3. Make up a summary of the topic(in 5 sentences) in a written form.

 

 

REMBRANDT (1608-1669)

Rembrandt was born in Leiden in 1608. He was the Netherlands’ greatest artist. Rembrand’s output of works of art was tremendous. Some scholars credit him with about 600 paintings, 300 etchings and 1400 drawings. His masterpieces are kept in all the big museums of the world. There are 26 paintings of his at the Hermitage too.

When talking about his early works, they are small pictures of Biblical and historical subjects. In general, the range of Rembrandt’s subjects is extraordinary. His works depict stories inspired not only by the Bible and mythology (“ Holy family”, “Abraham’s sacrifice”, “John the Baptist preaching”,”Christ appearing to Mary Magdalen”), but he also painted portraits, landscapes, nudes and scenes of everyday life. Throughout his career, Rembrandt made about 100 known self-portraits,where he portrayed himself in various roles and contexts.

In 1632 he moved to Amsterdam, where he painted portraits of wealthy middle-class patrons. He started painting in the baroque style.He was influenced by Caravaggio’s contrasts of light and dark and by Rubens’s compositions.

In 1634 he married Saskia van Uylenburgh.In these years Rembrandt got a reputation as the most fashionable portrait-painter in Amsterdam. He became wealthy and collected works of art.

One of his most famous pictures is “ The Return of the Prodigal Son”. In this canvas the artist used the subject of an ancient legend.The picture portrays the meeting of an old father with his son, who has been away for a long period of time. Rembrandt uses the light so skilfully that he manages to emphasize the old man’s face.The father is touching his son, who is kneeling before him.His son has just returned home and is asking his father for help.Judging by the clothes, the son is dressed in, his appearance, one may see that he has survived a lot of troubles. He has lost faith in life and future, but his father is ready to help him.

This painting was produced at the peak of Christian spirituality and reflects the relationship of the Self to the Eternity.

No doubt, in this painting Rembrandt emphasized the humanistic idea of closeness of people, their readiness to help in time of need.The picture was painted at the end of great master’s life and summed up all his creative life.Besides, it remains a brilliant example of Baroque painting.

The mature Rembrandt didn’t enjoy the wide popularity he had as a young painter, especially after his wife’s death. Though he ranked as one of the country’s leading artists, he ran short of money. During his last years he painted more and more for himself. Light seemed to glow from within his works.The shadows became more intense and vibrant. Remrandt reduced his pallete to warm colours such as brown and orange.

When a great master of art died in 1669, he left his relatives a fairly large inheritance.

 

Learn the following vocabulary items:

 

tremendous-грандіозний

credit smb with smth-приписувати комусь щось

etching-гравюра

extraordinary-надзвичайний,дивовижний

to inspire-надихати

“Holy family”-„Свята родина”

“Abraham’s sacrifice”-„Жертвоприношення Авраама”

“John the Baptist preaching”-„Проповідь Іоанна Хрестителя”

“Christ appearing to Mary Magdalen”-„Поява Христа перед Марією Магдалиною”

self-portrait- автопортрет

patron-прихильник

baroque-барокко

“The Return of the Prodigal Son”-„Повернення блудного сина”

skilfully-майстерно

to emphasize-наголошувати, підкреслювати

to kneel-ставати навколішки

to survive-переживати

spirituality-духовність

to reflect-відображати

to sum up- підсумовувати

to enjoy wide popularity-користуватися популярністю

to rank-посідати певне місце

to glow-виблискувати

intense-надмірний,інтенсивний,насичений

vibrant-живий,вібруючий

to reduce-обмежити,зменшити

inheritance-спадок

 

 

Answer the following questions:

1. How many works of art did Rembrandt create?

2. Where are his paintings displayed?

3. Is the range of Rembrand’s pictures rich? What are the main subjects portrayed?

4. What do you think inspired him to execute his works?

5. Was Rembrandt the author of portraiture?

6. Can you enumerate any pictures dedicated to the Bible stories?

7. When did Rembrandt start painting in the Baroque style?

8. Did he like etching?

9. What was his wife’s name?

10. Is that true that Rembrandt collected works of art?

11. What influenced Rembrandt to execute “ The Return of the Prodigal Son”?

12. What is the general idea of this painting?

13. When was it produced? What is reflected in this picture?

14. How can you characterize the use of light and shadow in Rembrandt’s mature works?

15. Was he rich or poor at the end of his life?

 

 

Exercise №1. Give Ukrainian equivalents of the following words and phrases; make sure you know them:

a work of art; a self-portrait; to execute a painting; the baroque style; to produce etchings; to portray the subjects; a portrait-painter; a landscape-painter; spirituality of art; a canvas; a palette; early works; a masterpiece.

 

 

Exercise №2. Translate into English:

зображати себе в різних ролях; багатий діапазон творів; епізоди повсякденного життя; оголена постать; зображати Біблійні історії;представники середнього класу; надихати на створення образів;найвідоміший портретист; колекціонувати твори мистецтва;майстерно зображати світло та тінь;підкреслювати гуманістичну ідею; втрачати популярність.

 

 

Exercise №3.Translate the following sentences from Ukrainian into English:

1. Рембрандт-найвидатніший голландський художник та один з геніїв в історії мистецтва.

2. Він писав пейзажі, оголених постатей та портрети,релігійні епізоди.

3. Найкращими груповими портретами вважаються „ Урок анатомії лікаря Тулпа” (“ Anatomy Lesson of Dr. Tulp”) та „Нічний нагляд”(“The Night Watch”).

4. Біблійна тематика була дуже важливою для Рембрандта.

5. У Амстердамі Рембрандт почав творити у стилі барокко.

6. Найвидатнішим його твором у стилі барокко є „Повернення блудного сина”.

7. Рембрандту вдалося розкрити складний внутрішній світ людини.

8. Окрім малювання картин він займався гравіюванням.

9. Ремрандт вивчав різні техніки гравіювання.

10. Він створив понад 290 офортів(гравюр).

11. Саме духовність у мистецтві відрізняє Рембрандта від його голландських сучасників.

 

 

LEONARDO DA VINCI

(1452-1519)

 

The Renaissance, an age of discoveries,presented the mankind with painters concerned with investigations. New meaning was given to the human figure, which became the main subject of all Renaissance paintings.

The early Renaissance gave the world such bright representatives as Giotto,Van Eyck and Botticelli.

When speaking about the most outstanding representatives of the High Renaissance, we bear in mind Raphael, Michelangelo and Leonardo da Vinci.

The history of western civilization records no man as gifted as Leonardo da Vinci.He was a great painter,sculptor,musician,architect,engineer,scientist and philosopher.He was described as a real “ Renaissance man”, who was curios and inventive. Everyone agrees that he was the most glittering personality of the High Renaissance in Italy.

Leonardo was born in 1452 in Tuscany, near Florence.He was a son of a wealthy notary and a peasant woman.When a boy, he evinced an interest in painting and in 1466 his father sent him to an exellent teacher- Verrocchio.In Verroncchio’s workshop Leonardo was introduced to various activities,such as painting and even the creation of sculptural projets in marble and bronze.In 1472 the teacher considered him to be his assistant.In Verrocchio’s “ The Baptism of Christ”, a beautiful angel was painted by Leonardo da Vinci.According to the story of Giorgio Vasari,who learned in detail the biography of Leonardo da Vinci,we get to know that when Verrocchio saw Leonardo’s work, he was so amazed that he decided never to touch a brush again. Leonardo became an independent painter at 26. His first masterpiece is “ The adoration of the Magi”. He started it in 1481, but he didn’t complete it.In this work Leonardo started with the moment of feeling, form came next.

Between 1482 and 1499 Leonardo spent in Milan.During these years he executed a lot of paintings,sculptures and drawings.Though he had projects of a lot of works, only a few of them were completed. These include “ The Virgin of the Rocks” or “ “ The Madonna of the Rocks ”, “ The Last Supper”, “ The Madonna and Child with St. Ann”.

“ The Madonna of the Rocks” is one of the earliest works of Leonardo da Vinci, where he displayed his superb technical skill, arranging the figures in geometric composition. He represented Mary in the midst of rock forms, where the sun seems never to appear and the plants are deprived of colour.

In all his works Leonardo used the most characteristic device of almost all High Renaissance artists-fitting the figures into a specific geometric pattern.

Leonardo’s genius as an artist can be clearly seen in his most famous works “The Mona Lisa” and “ The Last Supper”.

“ The Last supper” was painted on the walls of the refectory of Santa Maria Monastery in Milan in 1495. Christ announces his disciples that soon one of them will betray him.The Christ’s followers are divided into four groups of three each. By means of a skilful use of light and shadow Leonardo portrays the mixed emotions of surprise,horror, innocence and guilt on disciples’ faces.

Unfortunately, he tried out new ideas with the paint and the picture began peeling off. The thing is, that ”The Last Supper” was painted not in true fresco but in experimental oil technique.

As for “Mona Lisa”,it is considered to be Leonardo’s greatest work.The personality of Mona Lisa makes a vivid impression on us.Most researchers are prone to think that Lisa de Gherardini del Giokondo, a wife of the merchant,Francesco del Giocondo is portrayed in this picture.At the foreground we can see a figure, who sits in a relaxed position with her hands crossed.There is a faint gentle smile on her face. At the background one can observe a beautiful landscape.”The Mona Lisa” reflects Leonardo’s interest in moods of the human soul. There is something mysterious about Mona Lisa, that we can not grasp at first sight. He created a problem to which gives no answer.He makes a viewer reconsider it.” Mona Lisa” is a supreme example of Leonardo’s ability to create a masterpiece, showing a complex inner world of his figures.

All of the preserved Leonardo’s works are fascinating.

 

Learn presumably unfamiliar words:

 

discovery-винахід, відкриття

mankind-людство

to be concerned with- пов’язаний з;

investigation-дослідження

glittering- яскравий, блискучий

curious- допитливий

inventive-винахідливий

notary-нотаріус

peasant-селянський,сільський

workshop-майстерня

marble-мармур

amazed-дивовижний, вражаючий

brush-пензель

skill-майстерність

to arrange-розташовувати

to be deprived- бути позбавленим

device-прийом

refectory-трапезна(у монастирі)

disciples-1)учні,послідовники;2)апостоли

to betray-зраджувати

mixed-змішаний

innocence-невинність

guilt-провина

to peel off- лущитися; облізати

prone-схильний

foreground- передній план (картини)

background-задній план (картини)

mysterious- загадковий; таємничий

grasp-вловлювати; сприймати

sight-погляд

reconsider-обдумувати;розмірковувати

fascinating-прекрасний,захоплюючий