Unit 1 Art
By: XieYongqing
(下载整理)
Unit Art
Warming up -Brainstorming
 If you were an artist, what kind of pictures
would you paint?
modern
traditional
realistic
colourful
pictures
abstract
religious
kinds of painting
 oil painting
 water color
 landscape
 cartoon
 charcoal drawing
 brush drawing
 wash drawing
 figure drawing
 graphic art
 imitating
 life drawing
 sketch
Note on technical terms
abstract--realistic
 Abstract art contains no recognizable real-life
objects but is more concerned with such
painterly qualities as colour, texture, shape and
line. Some painters are semi-abstract, such as
much of Picasso’s art.
 “Realistic” has been used to encompass all
recognize figurative art, that is art in which
objects are recognizable as real objects. This
category covers many styles from
Abstract painting by Haessle
Abstract art
 is defined as art that has no reference to
any figurative reality. In its wider
definition the term describes art that
depicts real forms in a simplified or rather
reduced way - keeping only an allusion of
the original natural subject. The abstract
paintings of Joan Miro are a good
example of this wider definition. The term
non-figurative is used as a synonym.
The Renaissance
 This was a period in European history of great intellectual
and cultural change and marks the end of the middle ages
and the beginning of modern times. This period was
determined by a renewal of interest in the art and culture of
Ancient Greece and Rome (the classical period) and an
educational system that valued the humanities ,athletics,
science arts and craft, and athletics and sport. The
Renaissance valued “free thought’ and the extension of
knowledge in all fields. Great artists, writers, scientists and
explorers proliferated in Europe during this time. A
questioning of traditional values eventually led to a
questioning of religious doctrines which culminated in the
Reformation, when protestant religions developed to
challenge Roman catholic doctrine.
Renaissance
 The term adopted from the French equivalent of the Italian
word rinascita, meaning literally "rebirth," describes the
radical and comprehensive changes that took place in
European culture during the 15th and 16th centuries,
bringing about the demise of the Middle Ages and
embodying for the first time the values of the modern world.
 The consciousness of cultural rebirth was itself a
characteristic of the Renaissance. Italian scholars and
critics of this period proclaimed that their age had
progressed beyond the barbarism of the past and had
found its inspiration, and its closest parallel, in the
civilizations of ancient Greece and Rome.
 The term Renaissance, describing the period of European
history from the early 14th to the late 16th century, is
derived from the French word for rebirth, and originally
referred to the revival of the values and artistic styles of
classical antiquity during that period, especially in Italy.
 During the interval of relative peace from the mid15th century until the French invasions of 1494,
Italy experienced a great flowering of culture,
especially in Florence and Tuscany under the
MEDICI. The brilliant period of artistic
achievement continued into the 16th century--the
age of Leonardo da Vinci, Raphael, Titian, and
Michelangelo--but as Italy began to fall under
foreign domination, the focus gradually shifted to
other parts of Europe.
Influence of
the Renaissance
 The Renaissance lived on in established canons of taste
and literature and in a distinctive Renaissance style in art,
music, and architecture, the last often revived. It also
provided the model of many-sided achievement of the
creative genius, the "universal man," exemplified by
Leonardo da Vinci or Leon Battista ALBERTI. Finally, the
Renaissance spawned the great creative vernacular
literature of the late 16th century: the earthy fantasies of
RABELAIS(French humanist and writer ), the worldly
essays of MONTAIGNE, the probing analysis of the
human condition in the plays of William SHAKESPEARE.
Impressionism
 French Impressionnisme, a major movement, first in painting
and later in music, that developed chiefly in France during the
late 19th and early 20th centuries. Impressionist painting
comprises the work produced between about 1867 and 1886 by
a group of artists who shared a set of related approaches and
techniques. The most conspicuous characteristic of
Impressionism was an attempt to accurately and objectively
record visual reality in terms of transient effects of light and
colour. The principal Impressionist painters were Claude Monet,
Pierre Auguste Renoir, Camille Pissarro, Alfred Sisley, Berthe
Morisot, Armand Guillaumin, and Frédéric Bazille, who worked
together, influenced each other, and exhibited together
independently. Edgar Degas and Paul Cézanne also painted in
an Impressionist style for a time in the early 1870s. The
established painter Édouard Manet, whose work in the 1860s
greatly influenced Monet and others of the group, himself
adopted the Impressionist approach about 1873.
 Impressionism is a light, spontaneous manner of painting
which began in France as a reaction against the
restrictions and conventions of the dominant Academic art.
Its naturalistic and down-to-earth treatment of its subject
matter, most commonly landscapes, has its roots in the
French Realism of Camille Corot and others.
The movement's name was derived from Monet's early
work, Impression: Sunrise, which was singled out for
criticism by Louis Leroy upon its exhibition.
The hallmark of the style is the attempt to capture the
subjective impression of light in a scene.
The core of the earliest Impressionist group was made up
of Claude Monet, Alfred Sisley and Pierre-Auguste Renoir.
Others associated with this period were Camille Pissarro,
Frederic Bazille, Edgar Degas, Gustave Caillebotte,
Edouard Manet, and the American Mary Cassatt.
the impressionist style of
painting
 is characterized chiefly by concentration on the general
impression produced by a scene or object and the use of
unmixed primary colors and small strokes to simulate
actual reflected light. Impressionist artist
 The impressionist aim to capture the atmosphere of an
instantaneous moment in time. The artist creates the effect
of light on the surface of the subject using complimentary
colour. Realizing that you cant reproduce natures effects in
two dimension they result to using colour side by side
(rather than mixed colour) to enhance the effect of a
fleeting moment thus leaving the viewer to perceive colour
in their mind
Impressionism
 Impressionist art originated in France in
the 1860s and dominated European in
France and American art up to the end of
the 19th century. Impressionist artists
wanted to capture the way light plays on
objects in nature. Main impressionist
artists were Monet, Renoir, Sisley,
Cezanne and Degas. From the 1880s
onwards, artists began to move away
from the pure impressionist theories and
their style were described as postimpression.
Post-Impressionism
 The Impressionist style was probably the single most
successful and identifiable "movement" ever, and is still widely
practiced today. But as an intellectual school it faded towards
the end of the 19th century, branching out into a variety of
successive movements which are generally grouped under the
term Post-Impressionism.
 Post-Impressionism is an umbrella term that encompasses a
variety of artists who were influenced by Impressionism but
took their art in other directions.
There is no single well-defined style of Post-Impressionism, but
in general it is less idyllic and more emotionally charged than
Impressionist work.
The classic Post-Impressionists are Paul Gauguin, Paul
Cezanne, Vincent van Gogh, Henri Rousseau and Henri de
Toulouse-Lautrec. The Pointillists and Les Nabis are also
generally included among the Post-Impressionists.
Giotto di Bondone
(1267 - 1337).
 Florentine painter and architect. Outstanding as a
painter, sculptor, and architect, Giotto was
recognized as the first genius of art in the Italian
Renaissance. Giotto lived and worked at a time
when people's minds and talents were first being
freed from the shackles of medieval restraint. He
dealt largely in the traditional religious subjects, but
he gave these subjects an earthly, full-blooded life
and force.
The Mourning of Christ
Michelangelo - Portrait
Michelangelo ------Italian Renaissance sculptor, painter,
architect, and poet who exerted an unparalleled influence on
the development of Western art.
 I cannot live under
pressures from
patrons, let alone
paint. -Michelangelo,
quoted in Vasari's
Lives of the Artists
Delphes Sylphide
ceiling of the Sistine Chapel in Vatican City
 Gigantic marble, started in
1501 and completed in 1504.

Michelangelo began work on
the colossal figure of David in
1501, and by 1504 the
sculpture (standing at
4.34m/14 ft 3 in tall) was in
place outside the Palazzo
Vecchio. The choice of David
was supposed to reflect the
power and determination of
Republican Florence and was
under constant attack from
supporters of the usurped
Medicis. In the 19th century
the statue was moved to the
Accademia.
 The Holy Family
with the infant St.
John the Baptist
(the Doni Tondo)
c. 1503-05 (130
Kb); Tempera on
panel, Diameter
120 cm (47 in);
Uffizi, Florence
Creation of the Sun and Moon
The Creation of Man (Fragment
of the Sistine Chapel ceiling)
1511-12
 Tommaso di ser Giovanni di Mone
Cassai (San Giovanni Valdarno
1401- Rome 1428). He was one of
the most important painters of the
15th century and the founder of
Renaissance painting. He took up
the inheritance of Giotto,
developing it according to the new
techniques and methods of
perspective, thus giving the human
figure a completely new, freer and
more concrete position in the world.
 the series of frescoes in the Brancacci Chapel in Santa
Maria del Carmine. They are considered to be the first
real paintings of the Renaissance. Masaccio was to
condense the ideas behind the new naturalistic revolution
in his stories of St. Peter and the Original Sin: the space
was divided up according to the rules of scientific
perspective, light came from a precise direction and the
shadows gave depth and great intensity to the figures;
this was a holy story which found itself in the reality of the
moment and was told with great simplicity.
This cycle of frescoes found immediate fame and is
extremely important in the history of painting
Frescoes in St. Maria del Carmine - Brancacci Chapel
Edouard Manet
 On the bridge between Realism and Impressionism is
Edouard Manet. Born in Paris in 1832, he preferred a
more classical approach to painting. However, his subject
matter in paintings such as Le Dejeuner Sur L'herbe and
Olympia gave him the reputation as a nonconformist.
Manet places the Olympia we see in classical paintings
in a contemporary setting rather than an allegorical one
and she looks directly at the viewer. The refusal of the
salon to show these paintings earned him the dubious
title, "Father of Impressionism".
The Monet Family in Their Garden at Argenteuil, 1874
Édouard Manet (French, 1832–1883)
Oil on canvas; 24 x 39 1/4 in. (61 x 99.7 cm)
Bequest of Joan Whitney Payson, 1975 (1976.201.14)
 In the summer of 1874, Manet stayed at his family's house
in Gennevilliers, just across the Seine from Monet in
Argenteuil. The Monet family was living in a house that
Manet had helped them find the year before. The two
painters saw each other often that summer and Manet
attempted twice to paint Monet and his wife Camille as
Monet worked aboard his floating studio. While Manet
painted the Monet family, Renoir painted beside him and
Monet worked nearby. Monet painted Manet at his easel
(present location unknown), while Renoir, like Manet,
painted Madame Monet, Jean Monet, and the rooster
(National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.). Monet later
recalled that as Renoir painted, Manet glanced at his
canvas from time to time, and at one point the older artist
walked over to Monet and whispered: "He has no talent,
that boy! Since you're his friend, tell him to give up
painting!"
Claude Monet --Impressionism
French
Impressionist
painter, who
brought the
study of the
transient effects
of natural light to
its most refined
expression.
Sunrise
The only merit I have is
to have painted
directly from nature
with the aim of
conveying my
impression in front of
the most fugitive
effects.
Claude Monet
 1883 Monet settled at Giverny where he
created a magnificent garden. This
garden was the inspiration for most of
his later work and inspired the series
Water Lilies and the Japanese Bridge
(begun in 1899). As age and
deteriorating eyesight descended upon
the artist his works lost almost all sense
of form and are now referred to as
'Abstract Impressionism'. someone once
said that Monet was "only an eye, but my
God, what an eye." Monet died on
December 5, was known to have said
that he "feared the dark more than
death."
Wheatstacks (End of Summer)
1890-91,Oil on canvas, 60 x 100
 Claude Monet is best known for his paintings of his
garden at Giverny. In the 1890's he began to build a water
garden around his house. There he painted his famous
water lily paintings. By 1909 he had conceptualized an
idea for a vast project of water lily canvases that would
envelop an entire room. From 1916 almost until his death
he worked on these canvases. He spoke of this endeavor,
"In the night I am constantly haunted by what I am trying to
realize. I rise broken with fatigue every morning." In these
canvases perspective is reduced to the water lilies floating
on the surface of the water.
 Monet paints thick with strange combination
of colour in later life probably because his
eyesight was failing. He naturally was
having difficultly coming to terms with
blindness, every artist nightmare. he had an
accurate memory for colour and would get
his stepdaughter to help with the colour
before applying it to the canvas.
 Monet has crystallized a sound knowledge
of the theories of colour perception,
intentionally using warm nest to cool and
yellow next to blue to vitalized his painting
Garden at Sainte-Adresse
"I prefer enjoying my bad sight, renouncing to paint
if necessary, but at least see a bit what I like."
Claude Monet
Haystacks at Chailly at Sunrise
1865, oil on canvas, 30 x 60 cm
San Diego Museum of Art
Poplars from Marsh
Claude Monet
"The passing cloud, the cooling breeze, the sudden storm that
threatens to burst and finally does, the wind that stirs and suddenly
blows with full force, the light that fades and is reborn are all
things, elusive to the eyes of the uninitiated, that transfigure the
color and shape of the bodies of water."
Claude Monet
"My sensitivity, far from
diminishing, has been
sharpened by age,
which holds no fears for
me so long as unbroken
communication with the
outside world continues
to fuel my curiosity, so
long as my hand
remains a ready and
faithful interpreter of my
perception."
Poplars at Giverny
Claude Monet
 Rouen Cathedral: The
Portal (in Sun), 1894
Claude Monet (French,
1840–1926)
Oil on canvas; 39 1/4 x 25
7/8 in. (99.7 x 65.7 cm)
Theodore M. Davis
Collection, Bequest of
Theodore M. Davis, 1915
(30.95.250)
The Houses of Parliament at Sunset
Water Lilies
1919
Pierre Auguste Renoir
 French Impressionist painter.
He is recognized as one of the
greatest and most independent
painters of his period, and is
noted for the brilliance of his
colour and the intimate charm
of his work, which takes in a
wide variety of subjects. Unlike
other Impressionists, he was
as much interested in painting
the human figure or portraits
as he was in landscapes;
unlike them, too, he did not
subordinate composition and
form to a fascination with
rendering the effect of light.
 Renoir was especially concerned with the
play of light and shadow as they danced
across the surface of an object. The
fondness for impressionism exists today
because these images capture forever the
changing moments of time that we can all
relate to in our contemporary world.
Raphael ---Italian painter whose works,
including religious subjects, portraits, and frescoes,
exemplify the ideals of the High Renaissance.
 Raphael is best known for his Madonnas and
for his large figure compositions in the
Vatican in Rome. His work is admired for its
clarity of form and ease of composition and
for its visual achievement of the Neoplatonic
ideal of human grandeur.
 While we may term other works paintings,
those of Raphael are living things; the flesh
palpitates, the breath comes and goes, every
organ lives, life pulsates everywhere.
Leonardo da Vinci (Italian,
1452–1519)
Italian
Charcoal, black and red chalks;
traces of framing line in pen and
brown ink at upper right; 8 x 6
1/8 in. (20.3 x 15.6 cm)
Head of the Virgin in Three-Quarter View Facing Right, 1508–12
 This hauntingly beautiful drawing closely relates to an oil painting
on panel of the Virgin and Child with Saint Anne from around 1508–
12, and may have been a preparatory study for it. The head seen
here appears to be exactly the size of the Virgin's head in the
Louvre painting. The delicately finished drawing focuses on the
atmospheric dissolution of her relieflike forms, and vividly
illustrates the depth of Leonardo's explorations of optical
phenomena late in his career. The artist would increasingly rely on
complex pictorial techniques of drawing to articulate his scientific
research on the perspective of color, the disappearance of form,
and the gradations of light and shadow. Here, Leonardo reworked
the charcoal and black chalk drawing with red chalk, especially
evident in the face (but also extending less noticeably to the locks
of hair in the underdrawing). He softly smudged all the strokes of
drawing to achieve a seamlessly blended tone "in the manner of
smoke" (fumo), as he called it in his notes. It conforms with the
observable phenomenon of disappearing edges in the secondary
planes of a perspectival space, a subject that he amply discussed
in his scientific writings. Further preparatory studies for the Virgin
and Child with Saint Anne composition are at the Royal Library
(Windsor Castle), and these transform scientific principles into a
pictorial language of magical force and nuance.
Fauvism
 The word Fauvism comes from the French word
fauve, which means "wild animals". And indeeed this new modern art style was a bit wild - with
strong and vivid colors. Paul Gauguin and the
Dutch painter Vincent van Gogh had carried
Impressionism to its limits by using expressive
colors. Fauvism went one step further in using
simplified designs in combination with an "orgy of
pure colors" as it was characterized by their
critics.
Gogh, Vincent Willem van
(1853-1890), Dutch
postimpressionist painter,
whose work on canvas
represents the archetype
of expressionism, the
idea of emotional
spontaneity in painting.
Self Portrait
Wheatfield with Crows (Auvers-sur-Oise,
July 1890)
Vincent van Gogh (Dutch, 1853–1890)
Oil on canvas; 50.5 x 103 cm
 Early in life he displayed a moody, restless temperament that
was to thwart his every pursuit. By the age of 27 he had been
in turn a salesman in an art gallery, a French tutor, a
theological student, and an evangelist among the miners at
Wasmes in Belgium. His experiences as a preacher are
reflected in his first paintings on canvas of peasants and
potato diggers; of these early works, the best known is the
rough, earthy Potato Eaters (1885, Rijksmuseum Vincent van
Gogh, Amsterdam). Dark and somber, sometimes crude,
these early works evidence van Gogh's intense desire to
express on canvas the misery and poverty of humanity as he
saw it among the miners in Belgium.

Nursery on the Schenkweg, April 1882
Vincent van Gogh (Dutch, 1853–1890)
Reed pen and iron gall ink; brush and wash; touches of gouache and scraping on
laid paper; 11 5/8 x 23 1/16 in. (29.6 x 58.5 cm)
Bequest of Walter C. Baker, 1971 (1972.118.281)
Van Gogh's first commission came from his uncle Cornelis Marinus, an art dealer,
for drawings of views of the Hague, where he was then living. This large view of a
nursery close to Van Gogh's studio was among those he sent.
Museum, Amsterdam
The Potato Eaters (Nuenen, April – May 1885)
Vincent van Gogh (Dutch, 1853–1890)
Oil on canvas; 82 x 114 cm
Image courtesy of Van Gogh Museum Foundation, Amsterdam / Vincent van Gogh
 Van Gogh's admiration for the
Barbizon artists, in particular
Jean-François Millet, influenced
his decision to paint rural life. In
the winter of 1884–85, while living
with his parents in Nuenen, he
painted more than forty studies of
peasant heads, which culminated
in his first multifigured, large-scale
composition The Potato Eaters)
(Rijksmuseum Vincent van Gogh,
Amsterdam); in this gritty portrayal
of a peasant family at mealtime,
Van Gogh wrote that he sought to
express that they "used the same
hands with which they now take
food from the plate to dig the
earth." Its dark palette and coarse
application of paint typify works
from the artist's Nuenen period
 The Potato Peeler (recto:
Self-Portrait with a Straw Hat),
1885
Vincent van Gogh (Dutch,
1853–1890)
Oil on canvas; 16 x 12 1/2 in.
(40.6 x 31.8 cm)
Bequest of Miss Adelaide Milton
de Groot (1876–1967), 1967
(67.187.70b)
 This painting of February–
March 1885, with its restricted
palette of dark tones, coarse
fracture, and blocky drawing, is
typical of the kind of works Van
Gogh painted in Nuenen, the
year before he left Holland for
France. Van Gogh's peasant
studies of 1885 culminated in
his first important painting, The
Potato Eaters (Rijksmuseum
Vincent van Gogh, Amsterdam).

Enlarge
Shoes, 1888
Vincent van Gogh
(Dutch, 1853–1890)
Oil on canvas; 18 x 21
3/4 in. (45.7 x 55.2 cm)
Purchase, The
Annenberg Foundation
Gift, 1992 (1992.374)
Van Gogh painted several still lives of shoes or boots during his Paris period.
This picture, painted later in Arles, evinces a unique return to the earlier motif.
Unlike the first works, Van Gogh has here placed the shoes within a specific
spatial context, namely, the red-tile floor of the Yellow House. Not only may we
identify the setting, but perhaps the owner of the boots as well. It has been
suggested that "this still life of a peasant's old boots" may have been those of the
peasant Patience Escalier, whose portrait Van Gogh executed around the same
time, in late summer 1888.

The Flowering Orchard, 1888
Vincent van Gogh (Dutch, 1853–
1890)
Oil on canvas; 28 1/2 x 21 in.
(72.4 x 53.3 cm)
The Mr. and Mrs. Henry Ittleson Jr.
Purchase Fund, 1956 (56.13)

This painting belongs to a series
of fourteen blossoming orchards
that Van Gogh painted in spring
1888, shortly after his arrival in
Arles, the Provençal town in the
south of France where he worked
from February 1888 until May
1889. The present example,
which includes a scythe and rake,
is one of only two orchards that
allude to human presence or labor.
The motif and Van Gogh's stylized
treatment are related to Japanese
prints.

The composition and calligraphic
handling of The Flowering
Orchard (56.13) suggest the
influence of Japanese prints,
which Van Gogh collected
 First Steps, after
Millet, 1890
Vincent van Gogh
(Dutch, 1853–1890)
Oil on canvas; 28 1/2 x
35 7/8 in. (72.4 x 91.1
cm)
Gift of George N. and
Helen M. Richard,
1964 (64.165.2)
In fall and winter 1889–90, while a voluntary patient at the asylum in Saint-Rémy,
Van Gogh painted twenty-one copies after Millet, an artist he greatly admired. He
considered his copies "improvisations" or "translations" akin to a musician's
interpretation of a composer's work. He let the black-and-white images—whether
prints, reproductions, or, as here, a photograph that his brother Theo had sent—
"pose as subject," then he would "improvise color on it." For this work of January
1890, Van Gogh squared up a photograph of Millet's First Steps, which he then
transferred to the canvas.
Portrait of Picasso, 1912, by Juan Gris
Hand Painted Original Oil on
Canvas
 Figure out Chinese meanings.
Double Joy & Happiness
Good Fortune
Longevity
Bamboo, Pine, Plum Under
Moonlight
Introduction of
Three Friends in Winter
and other Chinese paintings
Chinese Bamboo Paintings
 Always green in color, bamboo is a symbol
of old age and modesty. Chinese paintings
with bamboo and plums together represent
man and wife. As Bamboo does not die in
the winter but remains upright and
evergreen even in the harshest of weather,
bamboo symbolizes long friendship and a
bringer of great happiness. Bamboo, pine
trees, and plums commonly seen
together in Chinese paintings are known
as the "Three Friends in Winter". In
Chinese paintings of plants, the four noble
plants are the bamboo, orchid,
chrysanthemum, and plum blossom. A
bamboo twig or branch is one of the
emblems of the goddess of mercy, Guanyin.
Bamboo is one of the first subjects a
Chinese artist will learn to paint yet it is said
painting bamboo takes a lifetime to master.
Chinese Plum Blossom
Paintings
 One of the most famous flowers in China, the plum flower
has a bright color and gives off a fragrant aroma. It is
pretty and has a delicate fragrant smell. The flower has
been loved by the people since ancient times. Noble and
unsullied, the plum flower braves snow and frost to bloom
in the cold winter, bringing vigor and vitality to the world
and encouraging the people. Men of letters in China often
compared plum flower to human personality. The flower
consists of five petals, symbolizing five auspiciousnesses.
Plum flower, pine, bamboo, and chrysanthemum form the
“four plants of virtue.” When the plum flower, pine, and
bamboo are together, they are known as the three durable
friends of winter. In Chinese, the characters plum and
eyebrow have the same pronunciation. When a magpie
bird perches in a plum tree, the tree and the bird form a
design meaning happiness and appears on the eyebrows.
Chinese Peony Paintings
 Chinese peony paintings are hung in the home for good luck
and in the office place for a good, prosperous business. The
tree peony bears the title of “The King of Flowers” although it
is sometimes referred to as “The Queen of Flowers”. Known
as the flower of riches and honor, the peony is a emblem of
wealth and distinction. It is also regarded as an omen of good
fortune.
An emblem of love and affection and a symbol of feminine
beauty, the Chinese tree peony represents the season of
Spring (Lotus of Summer, Chrysanthemum of Autumn, Wild
Plum of Winter). The Chinese tree peony is a flower of the
Yang principle, that of brightness and masculinity.
Deep red peonies are known as “ink”, the white peony as
“jade” and the cream peony as “bright”. Most highly prized are
the red “ink” peonies with a yellow mark on the petal edge.
Red Chinese peonies are typical found on Chinese paintings
although other colors may accompany them.
Chinese Lotus Paintings
 Very popular within the Chinese culture, the
lotus is one of the most often painted
flowers. Mainly thanks to the Buddhist
influence, the lotus (or sea-rose) is of
unique importance in Chinese folklore and
symbolism. It is the symbol of purity. The
lotus comes out of the dark mire but is not
itself soiled. It is inwardly empty yet
outwardly upright. It has no branches but
yet smells sweet. The words for lotus in
Chinese have the same meanings as "to
bind, connect (in marriage), one after the
other, uninterrupted, to love, and modesty".
It is one of the Eight Auspicious Symbols of
Buddhism. Chinese paintings with lotus are
typically very elegantly painted and many
include birds or fish.
Chinese Horse Paintings
 Renowned in legend and story, the horse is a popular
theme found on traditional Chinese paintings. The horse
is the seventh creature in the Chinese zodiac and
regarded as a noble animal. In Chinese mythology the
Chinese horse is used to symbolize the male principle
(Yang) and the cow to symbolize the female principle
(Yin).
 The most recognized Chinese horse paintings are by the
famous Chinese artist Xu Beihong (1895-1953). Many
Chinese horse paintings found today were inspired by
this famous artist’s Chinese paintings.
Chinese Fish Paintings
 Chinese paintings depicting fish are very popular for the
home and business. The Chinese word for fish sounds much
like the Chinese word for "abundance and affluence" so the
fish symbolizes prosperity and wealth. A Chinese painting
with nine fish symbolizes long term prosperity and wealth.
 A Chinese fish painting that depict fish and lotus has the
meaning "Year after year may you live in affluence". The fish
most seen in Chinese paintings for business is the carp. The
carp symbolize a wish for benefit or advantage in business. A
Chinese painting showing a child with a fish means “May you
have an abundance of high ranking sons.
Chinese Landscape Paintings
 The two Chinese written characters for the word landscape
translate to “mountain” and “water”. Chinese landscape
painting dates back to the Han dynasty but greatly flourished
during the T’ang dynasty. Until the T’ang dynasty, landscapes
were mainly used as backdrops to the popular figure painting.
During the T’ang dynasty, Chinese landscape painting
transformed into its own form of art due to changes in
Chinese philosophy, and also due to the importance of
landscape in Chinese literature. Both provided fertile ground
for the later development of Chinese landscape painting.
 A traditional Chinese painting commonly depicts mountains,
water, mist or clouds, woods and trees, and sometimes
dwellings or pavilions, figures, and animals. The mountains in
a Chinese landscape painting represent longevity, and water
representing the sea of happiness. Mist or clouds symbolize
good fortune and happiness, especially when they have more
than one color. Clouds with five colors are emblems of fivefold happiness. Clouds arise from a union of the two main
principles of Yin and Yang.
Pre-readinga short history of Western
painting
 Do you ever visit art galleries?
 What are the names of some famous
Western or Chinese artists?
 Do you know in which century they lived?
Fast reading-skimming
 Skim the first paragraph to find the sentence that tells the
reader what the text is going to be about.
 The last sentence in the paragraph.
 What is the topic sentence and how is the information
organized?
 It is about western painting and the information is organized
in the time periods, from the earliest and present time.
 What’s the writer’s purpose?
 Make the reader understand how culture affects artistic
styles. (introduces some of the major movements in western
art and demonstrates how art has changed stylistically over
the centuries)
What have you learnt from
the text?
 I learnt that impressionist paintings were
so different from earlier art that many
people were angry about them.
 I learnt that in the middle ages painters
were more interested in teaching people
about God than in making realistic
pictures……..
Second readingcomprehending
 What have you learnt from the passage?
 1. I learnt that artistic style changes as a society’s culture
and values change.
 2. I learnt that in the middle ages most paintings had
religious subjects.
 3. I learnt that before 1428 Western painters didn’t know
how to draw in perspective.
 4. I learnt that at first people hated impressionist painters.
 5…….
 Ex2.FTFTTFTT
 Ex3.western art has changed more often
than Chinese art because the way of life
and beliefs and values of people in the
West has changed more often than in
China.
Differences between the
development of Western art
and Chinese art
 The style of Western art has changed many
times since the 4th Century AD. Chinese art, on
the other hand, has changed less often, and most
traditional styles still remain. Art is influenced by
the way of life and beliefs of the people. Unlike
Europe, China has been united by language,
writing, religion (especially Taoism and Buddhism)
dynastic rule and the philosophy of Confucianism
for a very long time. Also , the past is more
valued in China than it is in the West.
Discussion of the text
structure


What is the text structured?
It is a historical report, which is structured in a way that is typical of many reports. The
first paragraph introduces the topic and the theme of the text and then state what the
rest of the text will be about. The rest of the report presents the information in
chronological order and relates this to the them of the change in artistic style reflecting
cultural change.


Why do you think the writer put the headings in the text?
To make the text easier to understand, the author has used headings within the text to
mark the change to a different time period. In addition, each section begins with a topic
sentence which acts as an introduction to the theme and the content of that section.


Underline the topic sentence in each paragraph.
The last sentence of the report functions as a conclusion by asking the reader to reflect
on the major theme of the text and to predict what might happen in the future.


Underline some of the time expressions in the text.
A feature of historical reports is the abundance of time expressions.
Find out the time
expressions
 The style of Western art has changed many times, while
Chinese art has changed less often.
 ….china, unlike Europe, has followed a similar way of life for a
very long time.
 …this text will describe only a few of the main styles, starting
from the 4th century AD.
 During the Middle Ages, the main aim of painters was to
represent religious themes.
 Things had begun to change by the 13th century…
 In the Rennaissance, new ideas and values took the place of
those that were held in the Middle Ages.
 One of the most important discoveries during this period was
how to draw things in perspective.
 The first person to use perspective in his paintings was
Masaccio in 1428.
 When people first saw his paintings they were
convinced they were looking….
 During the Renaissance oil paints were also
developed,…..
 In the late 19th century, Europe changed a great
deal….
 At first, most people hated this new style of painting.
 At the time they were created, the impressionists’
paintings were controversial….
 Nowadays, there are scores of modern art styles….
It is interesting to predict what styles of painting
there will be in the future.
T or F
 A painting reflects the artist’s vision, but it is also a product
of its time.
 Landscape artists pay close attention to the perspective in
trying to capture a particular outdoor scene.
 Abstract painters are interested in mood over subject
matters.
 By using light and shade, the artists gave their images depth.
 Giotto dealt largely in traditional religious subjects in a more
realistic style.
 Masaccio was the first person to use prospective in his
paintings.
 The impressionists attempted to accurately and objectively
record visual reality in terms of transient effects of light and
colour.
Ex.2









In the 5th century
Until the 15th century
Renaissance
In the Middle Ages
1428
From the 15th to 16th century
In the late 19th century
Nowadays
In the future
Ex3/Ex4












Real
Impress
Symbol
Shadow
Religious
Attempt
Value
Aim
Predict
Believe
Europe
Ridicule
Aim
Symbol
Possessions
Europe
Abstract
Focus on
Using language-reading
Scanning What is the title of the text?
 What does the map show?
 What do you think the numbers on the map are for?
 How many galleries are featured in this text?
 What do you think the purpose of this text is?
 To give people information about various art galleries in New
York and to show them where they are.
 Who do you think the text was written for?
 Tourists, art gallery visitors.
 Where might you see such a text?
 Possibly in a guide book.
Scanning-Match the numbers on the
map with the names of the
museums
Numbers on map Museum
Guggenheim Museum
1
2
Metropolitan Museum of Art
3
4
Whitney Museum of American Art
The Frick Collection
5
Museum of Modern Art
Name
Address
Which
centuries?
What
countries?
Whitney Museum
of American Art
945 Madison
Avenue
(near 75th St.)
Contemporary
(mainly art by
living artists)
America
Museum of
Modern Art
53rd St (between
5th and 6th
Avenues)
Late-nineteen Western
century to 21st countries
century
Metropolitan
Museum of Art
5th Avenue and
82nd street
From ancient
to modern
times
All over the
world
Guggenheim
Museum
5th Avenue and
88th street
Modern (from
late 19th
century
onwards)
Western
countries
The Frick
Collection
5th and Madison
Avenue
Before the
twentieth
century
Western
countries
Pre-listening
 Study the map and name the galleries that are grouped close
together.
 Tell us something about each gallery-what kind of art each
contains and from what countries and period.
 Do you think they will agree at the beginning of the tape which
galleries they will visit?
 What kind of differences of opinion might they have?
 Whether to visit a museum with only modern or only traditional
art, how many galleries to visit altogether
listening
 Ex 1. Metropolitan Museum of Art

the Frick Collection

Museum of Modern Art

Whitney Museum of American Art

Guggenheim museum
Ex.2 listen and answer
questions







1.John.
2.Susan.
3.He wants to see the exhibition of Chinese art.
4.Small galleries.
5. It is big, crowded and too expensive.
6.Modern art.
7.The Frick collection and Metropolitan Museum
on Friday and the Whitney and the Guggenheim
on Saturday.
What's happening in
Manhattan Art and Culture
 Don't miss out on New York City's best art
and culture. See what's new at Manhattan's
galleries, museums, theaters and
performance spaces. Uptown, downtown,
and underground.
The Frick
Collection
 is located in the former mansion of Mr. Frick, whose private
art collection was made into a museum after his death in the
early twentieth century; the museum is designed to feel more
like a private home than a public place. The mansion is a
true work of art; the low stone building and courtyard take up
almost an entire city block and statues stand prominently by
the entranceway. Some of the rooms of the house have
painted walls like the frescoes of a Renaissance church or
castle, and the furniture that adorns all the rooms of the
house is almost entirely from the sixteenth century. All the
other rooms have rich wood walls and floors, marble
fireplaces and decorative columns, giving visitors the sense
of being in an old, musty castle or cathedral. It seems
impossible that people actually lived here, but they did.
The Guggenheim Museum
 of painting and modern sculpture in New York, completed in
1959, can be found at number 1071 Fifth Avenue. From an
urbanistic point of view it contradicts the usual chess board
type of building, typical of New York, the outside of which
presents strong links to the past with flower boxes at street
level and the possibility of seating, the large curved
overhang of the first floor underlining an invitation to the
loggia underneath, the bridge being a link between the two
bodies of the Museum acting as a kind of middle road
between the outside and the inside. The inside space is a
continual upwards movement using a six-floor spiral with
galleries which spread out from the first ramp indicated by a
large water fountain in the central room on the ground floor.
 For the Guggenheim, this
occurred in 1937, when
Solomon R. Guggenheim
established a foundation
empowered to operate a
museum that would publicly
exhibit and preserve his
holdings of non-objective art.
Today, the Guggenheim is a
museum in multiple locations
with access to shared collections,
common constituencies, and
joint programming. Nevertheless,
it is the permanent collection
that constitutes the very core of
the institution, no matter how farreaching its activities may be.
Metropolitan Museum of Art
1000 Fifth Avenue
Fifth Ave at 82nd Street
New York, NY 10028-0198
 The story of the Guggenheim Museum is essentially the story of
six very different private collections—
 Solomon R. Guggenheim's collection of non-objective painting
premised on a belief in the spiritual dimensions of pure
abstraction;
 his niece Peggy Guggenheim's collection of Surrealist and
abstract painting and sculpture;
 Justin K. Thannhauser's array of Impressionist, PostImpressionist, and early Modern masterpieces;
 Karl Nierendorf's holdings in German Expressionism;
 Katherine S. Dreier's paintings and sculptures of the historic
avant-garde;
 and Dr. Giuseppe Panza di Biumo's vast holdings of European
and American Minimalist, Post-Minimalist, Environmental, and
Conceptual art.
1929 | The Museum of Modern Art opens in the Heckscher
Building (corner of Fifth Avenue and 57 Street). Six rooms
rented for galleries and offices.
1932 | Museum moves to townhouse at 11 West 53 Street
(part of present site).
 The world's first curatorial department devoted to
architecture and design was established in 1932 at The
Museum of Modern Art. From its inception, the collection
has been built on the recognition that architecture and
design are allied and interdependent arts, so that synthesis
has been a founding premise of the collection.
 The collection provides an extensive overview of
modernism. Starting with the reform ideology established by
the Arts and Crafts movement, the collection covers major
movements of the twentieth century and contemporary
issues. The architecture collection documents buildings
through models, drawings, and photographs.
 The design collection comprises more than 3,000 objects,
ranging from appliances, furniture, and tableware to tools,
textiles, sports cars—even a helicopter. The graphic design
collection includes over 4,000 examples of typography,
posters, and other combinations of text and image.
Portrait of Joseph Roulin.
Arles
 Vincent van Gogh.
 early 1889.
 Oil on canvas, 25 3/8
x 21 3/4" (64.4 x 55.2
cm).
Starry night
 Van Gogh's night sky is a field of roiling energy. Below the exploding
stars, the village is a place of quiet order. Connecting earth and sky is
the flamelike cypress, a tree traditionally associated with graveyards
and mourning. But death was not ominous for van Gogh. "Looking at
the stars always makes me dream," he said, "Why, I ask myself,
shouldn't the shining dots of the sky be as accessible as the black dots
on the map of France? Just as we take the train to get to Tarascon or
Rouen, we take death to reach a star."
 The artist wrote of his experience to his brother Theo: "This morning I
saw the country from my window a long time before sunrise, with
nothing but the morning star, which looked very big." This morning star,
or Venus, may be the large white star just left of center in The Starry
Night. The hamlet, on the other hand, is invented, and the church spire
evokes van Gogh's native land, the Netherlands. The painting, like its
daytime companion, The Olive Trees, is rooted in imagination and
memory. Leaving behind the Impressionist doctrine of truth to nature in
favor of restless feeling and intense color, as in this highly charged
picture, van Gogh made his work a touchstone for all subsequent
Expressionist painting.

The Olive Trees
Vincent van Gogh.
Whitney Museum of American Art
 is the leading advocate of 20thcentury and contemporary American
art. Founded in 1930, the Whitney
Museum emerged out of Gertrude
Vanderbilt Whitney's active role in
supporting the American artists of her
day and, over the course of 69 years,
the Museum's holdings have grown to
include approximately 12,000 works
of art representing more than 1,900
artists.
 The Permanent Collection is the
preeminent collection of 20th-century
American art and includes the entire
artistic estate of Edward Hopper, as
well as significant works by Marsh,
Calder, Gorky, Hartley, O'Keeffe,
Rauschenberg, Murphy and Johns
among other artists.
 The Whitney Museum of American Art
is located at 945 Madison Avenue at
75th Street, New York, New York
10021.
 Hopper's paintings of empty streets, storefronts, and
solitary figures in urban settings evoke a sense of such
profound loneliness and alienation that they seem to
transcend their particular time and place. Iconic in their
stillness and psychological force—achieved as much
through composition and palette as through outright theme
or subject—paintings such as Early Sunday Morning
(1930), Seven A.M. (1948), and A Woman in the Sun
(1961) have made Hopper one of America's most beloved
artists. These cornerstones of the Whitney Museum's
Hopper collection, as well as the numerous early paintings,
loosely painted watercolors, and revealing charcoal and
pencil studies, have made the Whitney a crucial center for
the study and exhibition of this important American artist's
life and work.
Discussionhow to set out a business
letter
 It is usual to state the reason for writing
in the first paragraph.
 Take suggestions about a suitable
opening and write the one they like best
on the board.

Sample writing
 Dear Committee members,
 I wish to make a suggestion about the kind of art that should go
into our new gallery. As I have carefully researched the subject
and have had many discussions with residents in our district, I
believe my suggestion will be popular with most people.
 I have discovered that we have many fine artists in our district.
We have many painters, both modern and traditional, some
sculptors and a few excellent potters. We also have a group of
people who meet regularly to practice traditional folk art. At
present, none of these groups have a place to display their
work. The gallery would provide such a place and would help
people in the district to learn more about our artists.
 I believe a gallery of local art and craft would encourage the
artists and would also make others proud of our local talent. I
do hope you will consider my suggestion.

Your faithfully,

Tina Francis

Language points
 1. The style of Western art has changed many
times, while Chinese art has changed less often.
 while用来表示对比或相反的情况。
 我爱喝清咖啡而他喜欢加奶油的。
 I drink black coffee while he prefers it with cream.
 英语世界通用，但土耳其语离开本国就很少有人说了。
 English is used all over the world, while Turkish is
spoken by a few people outside Turkey itself.
while
 While in prison, he wrote his first novel.
在…期间，当…时候
 He listens to the radio while driving to work.
与…同时
虽然
 While I admit that there are problems, I
didn’t agree that they can’t be solved.
Art is influenced by the way of
life and beliefs of the people.
 belief 信条，信仰—beliefs (pl.)
 He acted in accordance with his strongly
held beliefs.
 他按照自己坚定的信念行事。
loaf
leaf
wolf
self
shelf
grief
knife
-f/-fe
----ves
half
belief
chief
wife
life
thief
dwarf
cliff
直接加－s
reef
safe
roof
proof
gulf
take place-take the place of
 In the Rennaissance, new ideas and
values took the place of those that were
held in the middle ages.
take place
 When did the accident
exactly?
took the place of
 I’ll
my father for a while=
 I’ll take my father’s place
for a while.
took place
 The wedding
yesterday.
focus on
focused
 People became
more on
humans and less on religion.
 I’ll focus on
the main group of people
over there.
were focused on
 All the eyes
him.
a great deal=a good deal
 In the late 19th century, Europe changed a
great deal. adv.
adv.
 He ate a great deal for supper yesterday.
 He ran a great deal faster than I. adv.
 A great deal of money was spent on the
project. adj.后接不可数名词
shadow--shade
影子
shadow
 As the sun set, the
became longer.
 Under the floodlight, each player in the
football match has four shadows .
 Let’s find some shade and take a rest.
『U』—任何遮住阳光的地方
scores of
 I have heard that scores of (很多)times.
 Nowadays, there are scores of （好几十种）
modern art styles.
Scores of

(很多) people attended the special
performance.
 Two score of （有40人）those people wanted
to fly there.
 A score of
（有20人）people were present
at the party.
attempt
 The painter does not attempt to paint
objects as we see them with our eyes.
 The second question was different I didn’t
 attempt it.
 I attempted to speak but was told to be
quiet.
Listening-p41
 Which subject do you think would be the most expensive?
 If you could have one of these objects as present, which
would you choose? Why?
 If you had to buy a present for someone who was an art
teacher, which present do you think she would like best?





How many boys and how many girls did you hear speaking?
Did all three students arrive at the same time?
Did they find it easy to decide on a present?
At the end of the tape, do we know which present they
choose?
 1 1.vase
 2.paints and brushes
 3.book
 4.wall hanging
 2. Steve Lee=4 times

Wang Pei=7 times

Xiao Wei=7 times
 3.1.Xiao Wei.
 2.it was too expensive.
 3.Mrs Hang would probably have known what to get mr.
hang.
 4.At first he liked the book but later he thought the wall
hanging would be first.
 5.I think they will probably seem to get the wall hanging
because the others seem to respect Wang Wei’s opinion.
Also, they know Mr Hang likes that type of wall hanging.
Listening-p44
order
name of the
historical period
3.
Tang Dynasty
features
The traditional style that is practised even today was
well developed. Pictures of human figures, animals
and everyday life were popular during the Tang
Dynasty.
5.
20th century
Painters have become influenced by Western art, both
abstract and realistic art painted.
2.
First century AD
Religious theme , organized system of drawing
focused on the use of brush strokes
6.
20th century
Painters have become influenced by Western art, both
abstract and realistic art painted.
1.
5000-3000BC
painted pottery
4.
Yuan Dynasty
Pictures of human figures and still life became popular.
Scenery did not look realistic with a particular part of
the scenery enlarged/ focused on.
Using words and
expressions
verbs
noun
adjective
abstract
abstraction
abstract
attempt
attempt
attempted
collect
collection
collective/collectable/
collected
exhibit
exhibit/exhibition
exhibited
influence
influence
influential
photograph
photograph/photogr photographic
apher
predict
prediction
Predicted/predictable
/
profession
professional
symbol
symbolic
symbolise
 2/1.Nouns. These are no exceptions in
this chart(-tion is a common ending)
 2.the verb column. Verbs are often, but
not always shorter than any other parts of
speech.
 3.-ed. Other common endings for
adjectives are –al, -ic, -able, -ful and –y.
Ex.3
 collective

predictable

attempt

exhibit

symbolize
 abstraction

photographer

influence

profession
Using language-ex.4
 1.She knows a great deal more about contemporary
modern art than I do.
 2.Impressionist painters broke away from traditional ideas
about art.
 3.Today we will focus on the art works of the Renaissance.
 4.If I had a permanent address, you would be able to send
me those paintings.
 5. I have scores of CDs at home. Would you like to come
and listen to some of them?
 6. I have not only seen Picasso in the flesh, but also know a
lot about his life experiences and all his art works.

Reading task







Who wrote the letter?
Who was the letter written to?
When was it written?
What three purposes of the letter?
What three things do students want to do?
What is the purpose of the second last paragraph?
To argue the case/ give reasons to support the
students’ request.
 What is the purpose of the last paragraph?
 To summarize their requests and to finish the letter
in a polite way.
Letter from Jo ryan, Class president
Asking for the permission and a donation of $500
Reason: To make the back of the school more attractive.
Their plan:
1 make a nature garden that has trees, grass, paths and
a pond.
2. Paint the back wall of the school.
3. Paint the rubbish bins.
Work will be done by: Parents and students.
Discovering useful
structure—
subjective mood
 The situation being referred is not real, it
is hypothetical.
 Hypothetical situations arte exoressed
using the subjective mood.
If someone gave you a valuable painting
as a present, what would you do with it?
 I’d hang it on the wall of my bedroom/
 I’d sell it and buy something useful for my
family.
 I’d give it to our town’s art gallery so lots
of people could enjoy it.
further practice
 If you were the mayor of Guangzhou City,
what changes would you make first?
 If you were the headmaster of our school,
what changes would you make first?
 If you could travel anywhere in the world,
where would you go and what would you
do?










Ex.2
1. were, would drink
2. were, would be
3. were, would be
4. could, would draw
5. were, would help
6. were, would visit
7. knew, would send
8. were, would be
10. came, would go
Using structures
 I wish I were the principal of this school,
then I’d give us all a holiday today.
 I wish I could do magic, then I’d wave my
wand and turn you all into cute little
pussy cats.
 I wish I could read your thoughts, then I’d
know what you are thinking right now.
Ex.1
 I wish I were taller enough to play basketball.
 I wish you could come.
 I wish he could/ was able to visit us next
week.
 I wish I could draw well.
 I wish I could go to Paris with you.
Ex.3
 If I ran into a dinosaur in the forest, I would run
away as fast as I could.
 If I met Pavarotti in the flesh, I would tell him
how much I enjoyed his painting.
 If I know more about Beijing opera, I would
probably enjoy it more.
 If I were good at paper cutting, I would make
greeting cards for all my friends.
 If I lived in Beijing, I would go to the opera all
the time.
Grammar-wish后的宾语从句
含义
动词形式
例句
针对现状表
达愿望（与
事实相反）
过去时形
式
I wish I had a little lab of my own
对过去发生
的事情表示
遗憾或后悔
过去完成
式形式
I wish you had let me known earlier.
针对将来表
达愿望（虽
然可能性极
小，但有实
现的可能）
would/co
uld/migh
t+动词原
形
I wish you wouldn’t smoke any more.
I wish he could come tomorrow.
She sincerely wished that she might do
something to comfort him.
wish-hope





I wish Tessa were here now.
I hope you weren’t late.
I hope you are ready.
I hope he comes tomorrow.
We hope you’ll be very happy.
wish后的宾语从句常用were代替was
hope后面不用虚拟语气，而用相应的时态表达过去、
现在或将来的有关愿望
 2.表示现在、将来的情况的虚拟条件句
动词形式
含
义
与
事
实
相
反
If从句
现在
过去时形式
将来
过去时形式
例句
主句
If we had enough
money, we would buy a
computer.
If it rained tomorrow,
we’d stay at home.
would/should
/could/might+
If I were /was to ask,
动词原形
were/was to
would you help me?
+动词原形
should
+动词原形
It it should be
necessary, I could come
at six.
说明：
 If I were rich, I would buy you anything you want.
 （虚拟条件从句种常用were代替was）
 Were she in charge (=if she were in charge), she would
do things differently.
 (含有were的虚拟条件句中的if可能被省略，这时从句要
采用倒转语序)
 It’s raining. We’ll get wet if we go out.
 (不是所有的条件句都用虚拟语气，有可能发生的假设不
用虚拟语气，而用相应的时态表达与过去、现在或将来
有关的假设)










I wish I could be
(can) clever enough to work out the
abstract(abstract /easy) geometry problem.
If I were (be) you, I could buy(will) buy abstract painting.
If you focused more on
(focus more on) your study, I believe you
could make (can make) great progress.
wouldn’t finish
If we don’t have
(have) a great deal of time, we
(will finish) the project
as you wish.
would buy
had
If I
(have) enough money, I
(buy) that beautiful sculpture.
could (can) go to the art gallery with us. If there were
I wish you
(be)
enough tickets, I’d let you know.
passed
would
I
go to my favourite art gallery, if I
(pass) the terrible maths
exams this Friday.
He would (will) paint objects in a different style if he knew (know) modern art.