Западноевропейское искусство от Джотто до Рембрандта

Regentesses of the Old Man's Almshouse – «Регентши приюта для престарелых»

Tasks

I. Read the text. Mark the following statements true or false

1. Today Hals is recognized as the most brilliant portraitist.

2. Hals shows citizen-soldiers in the midst of the banquets.

3. Malle Babbe is a glittering portrait.

4. The warmth of Hals's early style is seen in the Regentesses of the Old Man's Almshouse.

5. The Laughing Cavalier is the symbol of Baroque gallantry.

6. The subjects of the Regentesses of the Old Man's Almshouse participate in a calm acceptance of the effects of time.

II. How well have you read? Can you answer the following questions?

1. What gift was Hals blessed with?

2. What were Hals's early commissions? Why were not Hals's portraits conductive to imaginative painting? How did Hals's predecessors compose their group portraits? Who could raise group portraits to a level of high drama?

3. What is the Banquet of the Officers of the Saint George Guard Company noted for? What has Hals pictured in this work of art? What ties the picture together?

4. Where is the warmth of Hals's early style seen? How old is the subject? What makes the subject the symbol of Baroque gallantry? How did Hals interpret the Caravaggesque nowhere?

5. What is the opposite of The Laughing Cavalier? When was it painted? Whom has Hals depicted in it?

6. In what painting did Hals show a different side of his character? How old was he at that time? What did the painter show in this work?

III. I. Give Russian equivalents of the following phrases:

to catch the individual in a moment of action; group portraits in alignments; unerring strokes; a moment of perception; to be blessed with the gift; effects of time; to radiate one's self-confidence; Caravaggesque nowhere; a slashed sleeve; sketchy brushstrokes; armours proclivities; a taunting smile; to be irradiated with light; snowy ruff; a dashing hat; devastated faces; to be conductive to; the predecessors of the painter; show the citizen-soldiers in the midst of the banquets; to raise the portraits to a level of high drama; to tie the picture together; a glittering portrait; militia companies; a solemn picture; component elements.

II. Give English equivalents of the following phrases:

опустошенные лица; быть наделенным даром; широкие мазки; сияющий портрет; лихо заломленная шляпа; круглый плоеный жесткий воротник; стрелковые гильдии; предшественники художника; след времени; полные, средних лет мужчины; связать картину воедино; насмешливая улыбка; изображать стрельцов в разгар веселого застолья; склонность к военному искусству; сиять самоуверенностью; групповой портрет, построенных в шеренгу людей; рукав с разрезами; эскизная манера письма; поздний период творчества; поднять на уровень драмы.

III. Make up sentences of your own with the given phrases.

IV. Arrange the following in the pairs of synonyms:

a) strokes; radiate; traditional; indicate; predecessor;

b) conventional; precursor; brushwork; shimmer; show.

IV. Here are descriptions of some of Hals's works of art. Match them up to the given titles.

1. The model was caught in the midst of a fit of insane laughter.

2. The painter had only devastated faces and white collars of the figures as component elements.

3. The climax of the painting is the taunting smile.

4. Broad brushstrokes indicate the passage of light on colour with a flash and sparkle unknown even to Rubens.

a. The Laughing Cavalier

b. Banquet of the Officers of the Saint George Guard Company

c. Regentesses of the Old Man's Almshouse

d. Malle Babbe

V. Translate the text into English.

Франс Халс – крупнейший портретист Голландии XVII в. Халс написал серию групповых портретов. Это в основном изображения членов добровольных стрелковых гильдий города Гарлема. «Портрет офицеров гильдии святого Георга» (1616) является одним из лучших. Яркие краски, непринужденное расположение фигур – нравились современникам Халса. С полотен смотрят плотные, уверенные в своих силах люди средних лет. Халс изображает их обычно в товарищеской пирушке. Групповые портреты Халса – одно из высших достижений голландской живописи.

Индивидуальные портреты Халса носят черты жанровой картины. Лучшим примером этого является портрет старухи, «гарлемной ведьмы», Малле Баббе, с совой на плече. Эскизная манера была типична для Халса. Незадолго до смерти Халс написал два групповых портрета обитателей приюта для престарелых, в одном из которых он окончил свои дни. На портретах изображены старые люди, покорившиеся времени. Монохромный колорит портретов создает особый трагизм, подчеркивая драматизм судьбы самого больного, одинокого и нищего художника, создавшего свои самые драматические произведения на девятом десятке жизни.

Искусство Халса имело большое значение для развития портрета, бытового жанра, пейзажа и натюрморта в целом.

VI. Summarize the text.

Vll. Topics for discussion.

1. Hals's style and characters.

2. Hals's artistic achievements.

Unit XVI Rembrandt (1608-1669)

Rembrandt van Rijn is the greatest Dutch master, one of the supreme geniuses in the history of art. To this day the art of Rembrandt remains one of the most profound witnesses of the progress of the soul in its earthly pilgrimage toward the realization of a higher destiny. The son of a prosperous miller, Rembrandt was born in Leiden in 1608. He was trained as a painter by two minor local artists. His rapid success promoted him to move to Amsterdam in 1631.

In 1632 Rembrandt's worldly success was assured. He had more commissions and pupils than he could accept. He married Suskia van Uylenburg, the lovely daughter of a wealthy family. He bought a splendid house, started a collection of paintings and rarities.

The universal artist dealt with many world subjects. Rembrandt painted, engraved and drew more than eighty self-portraits. Rembrandt was a master of portraiture. He created around fifty portraits.

The best group portraits painted by Rembrandt are the Anatomy Lesson of Dr. Tulp, of 1632, and The Night Watch, of 1642. In the former Rembrandt has not only painted faces, beards and lace ruffles, he has given the composition a new drama. Mystery dominates in his painting, reminding the living of their own inevitable destiny. As for The Night Watch, the members of the Company of Captain F. B. Cocq were dissatisfied with the colossal group portrait. The subject of the painting is the formation of the militia company for a parade. Through wonderful effective lightning Rembrandt has turned a narrative prose into a dramatic poetry. Real events are submerged in the symphonic tide of the colouring. All the men paid equally to have themselves depicted, yet some are sunk in a shadow, one man is concealed except for his eyes. It was inevitable that Rembrandt would lose popularity as a portrait painter, although not at once.

In Amsterdam Rembrandt began to paint in a highly imaginative Baroque style. He was influenced by