few yards back into the picture, where he immediately encountered the flat, blue wall, Masaccio leads the eye into the distance, over the shore of Galilee, past half-dead trees to the range of far-off mountains, and eventually to the sky with its floating clouds. And while Giotto'sought for the best means of telling the story selected as the subject, Masaccio sought a fitting incident which as a theme, would enable him to depict the characters he chose to represent.
On the narrow entrance wall to the chapel Masaccio painted his vision of the
Masaccio made a great advance in both linear and aerial perspective; his figures were placed firmly on different planes in the same composition. Masaccio's style was characterised by his contemporaries as «pure, without ornament». By the fifteenth century the Brancacci Chapel had become the place where young artists including Michelangelo, went to learn from Masaccio – the basic principles of form, space, light, and shade of the Renaissance painting.
Make sure you know how to pronounce the following words:
Masaccio; Renaissance; Donatello; Florence; Apostles; Galilee; Capernaum; Milan; Eden; archaic; paroxysm
I. Read the text. Mark the following statements true or false.
1. Masaccio was the first founder-figure of Italian painting.
2. 'Nothing is seen without light' was Giotto's maxim.
3. Masaccio created a new sense of supernatural reality.
4. Late life Masaccio revolutionised the art of painting.
5. In a paroxysm of guilt and grief Eve covers her face.
6. The Arena Chapel became the place where young artists studied the basic principles of the Renaissance painting.
II. How well have you read? Can you answer the following questions?
1. What did Masaccio paint at the age of twenty-five?
2. How did Masaccio develop Giotto's innovations? What miracle did Masaccio perform?
3. Is the
4. What does the subject of the
5. What differs the Masaccio from the Giotto? How far did Masaccio take the observer into his painting the
6. What is represented in the
III. I. Give Russian equivalents of the following phrases:
Gothic pointed arches; light and shade; a central panel of an altarpiece; the grandeur of sculpture; the Passion; to take the observer a few yards back in the picture; in the principle scene; a sense of actual masses existing in actual space; the subject recounts; sculpted group; a tax-gatherer; to cast for the fish; to perform a miracle; on the entrance wall to the chapel; the impact of light on an object; to float above: payoff; to render the event; a simple maxim; in a paroxysm of guilt and grief; to cover the face with the hands; to lift up the face; to paint with breadth and ease.
II. Give English equivalents of the following phrases:
изобразительное искусство; центральная часть алтарного образа; влияние света на предмет; величие скульптуры; над входом в капеллу; сюжет повествует; сотворить чудо; скульптурная группа; готические стрельчатые арки; ощущение естественности среды, в которой пребывают герои; парить над; сотрясаться от рыданий; принципы пространства и светотени; оплата; передать событие; бросить невод; писать размашисто и легко; закрыть лицо руками; мытарь; в приступе вины и горя; простая истина; провести зрителя на несколько метров вглубь картины.
III. Make up sentences of your own with the given phrases.
IV. Translate the following groups of words into Russian:
create – creator – creative – creativity – creature; found – founder – foundation; sculpture – sculptor – sculptural – sculptured; revolution – revolutionary – revolutionise – revolutionist; image -imaginary – imagination – imaginative; real – reality – realism – realistic; sacrifice – sacrificial.
V. Arrange the following in the pairs of synonyms:
a) immediately; to recount; short-lived; impact; power; to connect; to perform; desolate; central; monumental; to cast; basic;
b) principal; influence; massive; to tell; at once; to link; to do;
authority; brief; barren; fundamental; to throw.
VI. Arrange the following in the pairs of antonyms:
a) central; large; giant; short-lived; separate; create;
b) dwarf; peripheral; little, small; unite; break; long-lived.
IV. Here are descriptions of some of Masaccio 's works of art. Match them up to the given titles…
1. The painting depicts archaic, unsmiling sculpted images.
2. The artist has arranged the Apostle figures around Christ.
3. The man's separation from God is shown as a tragedy.
a. Tribute Money
b. Expulsion from Eden
c. Madonna and Child Enthroned
V. Translate the text into English.
Мазаччо, выдающийся флорентийский художник, решил проблемы живописи, поставленные Джотто. В главных сценах росписи в капелле Бранкаччи – «Чудо со статиром» и «Изгнание из Рая» Мазаччо показал как помещать фигуры в пространстве. В «Изгнании из Рая» мощное тело Адама сотрясается от рыданий, в приступе вины и горя он от стыда закрыл лицо руками; Ева рыдает, запрокинув в отчаянии голову. В сцене «Чудо со статиром» Мазаччо объединил три сюжета: Христос с учениками у ворот, которых остановил сборщик налогов, – центральная композиция; Петр, по велению Христа забросивший невод, – композиция слева; сцена выплаты подати – справа. Сцены, соединенные на одной плоскости, написаны с учетом линейной и воздушной перспективы (linear perspective and aerial perspective). В отличие от Джотто, который уводит взгляд зрителя только на несколько шагов вглубь картины, Мазаччо образует глубинное пространство, проводя взгляд зрителя над берегами Моря Галилейского, полузасохшими деревьями, к хребту далеких гор, и, наконец, к небу. Благодаря фрескам Мазаччо церковь Санта Мария дель Кармине превратилась в своеобразную академию, где учились многие художники.
VI. Summarize the text.
VII. Topics for discussion.
1. Masaccio's artistic heritage.
2. Masaccio's impact on art development.
