Glossary

idle – workers who are idle have no work.

precursor – something that exists before something else, and is related to it or influences its development.

daub – to spread a wet substance such as paint on a surface in acareless way.

pinnacle – the most successful or exciting part of someone’s life.

curlicue – a curl or twist used as a decoration.

Activities

1. Answer the questions to the texts.

• What is the difference between Gainsborough’s and Reynolds’s style?

• What are the main features of the period?

• How did the interpretation of nature changed?

• Who are the most famous Spanish artists of that period?

• What are the distinctive features of Velazquez’s masterpieces?

• What does the term «Rococo» mean?

• Why did artists think that the subject of a painting should be a battle or epic scene?

2. Look at the picture. Whose artwork is it? Discuss these questions.

Texture:

1. Where in the artworks are there both rough and smooth parts?

2. Which artwork looks as if the artist used very thick paint to make texture?

3. How would you describe the texture of __________, __________,_________, and the _______________________ (name of objects).

4. In which artwork can you see the artist's brushstrokes?

5. In the tapestry (or certain paintings), we can see different kinds of textured clothing/material. If we touched the tapestry, how do you think it would really feel?

5. Translate the sentences from English into Russian.

1. Since religious art was forbidden in Puritan churches and the taste for mythological subjects never caught on, English art was limited almost exclusively to portraits.

2. Although Velazquez is considered a master of realism, he achieved his effects with loose brushstrokes that, when scrutinized at close range, seem to melt into blurred daubs of paint.

3. Left to his own devices, Poussin chose to paint in what he called «la manieramagnifica» (the grand manner) – is that the subject and the narrative should be grandiose, such as battles, heroic actions, and religious themes.

4. The pinnacle of Baroque opulence was the magnificent chateau of Versailles, transformed from a modest hunting lodge to the largest palace in the world.

5. Rococo was primarily a form of interior decoration, the name deriving from the «rocaille» motif of shellwork and pebbles ornamenting grottoes and fountains.

3. The diagram below asks you to connect each genre of painting (center) with its correct description and example. An example has been provided.

Description	Genre	Example
1. small, intimate paintings of objects	portraiture	David’s The Death of Socrates, 1787
2. scenes from ancient Greek myths, Biblical narratives, or momentous contemporary events	genre painting still life landscape history painting	Boucher’s Portrait of Madame Pompadour, 1750
3. paintings of the countryside		Chardin’s Soap Bubbles, 1734
4. scenes of everyday life		Claude Lorrain’s View of La Crescenza, 1648–505
5. representations of significant persons		Chardin’s Still Life with Fish, 1769