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11
The unreality of Botticelli is a blind alley in the development of Renaissance painting, the
brilliance and beauty of his line are not, and it may have influenced the pictorial style of
Michelangelo.
Make sure you know the pronunciation of the following:
Sandro Botticelli [
]; Florence [
]; Flora [
];
Graces [
]; Hours [
]; Savonarola [
]; Renaissance
[
]; Venus [
]; Christian [
]; Zephyms [
]; Chloris
[
]; Mercury [
]
NOTES
Primavera (The Allegory of Spring) - "Весна"
Birth of Venus - "Рождение Венеры"
Baptism of Christ - Крещение Христа
Mystic Nativity - "Мистическое Рождество"
TASKS
I. Read the text. Mark the following statements true or false.
1. Botticelli's contemporaries admired his works of art.
2. In the Primavera Christianized Venus reigns on Olympus.
3. Flora, Mercury and Zephyrus dance in a ring.
4. Botticelli's figures are extremely attenuated.
5. In the Birth of Venus Botticelli depicted the sea as a seascape painter.
6. Later in life Botticelli's imagery becomes more esoteric and less Christian.
II. How well have you read? Can you answer the following questions?
1. What glorified Botticelli? What other painters are mentioned in this text? How were they
connected with Botticelli?
2. What impact did Savonarola's preaching make on Botticelli?
3. What are Botticelli's most celebrated pictures? How are they interpreted?
4. What gods and goddesses are pictured in the Primavera? What do they do? What is
Botticelli's allegory related to?
5. What is represented in the Birth of Venus? What gods are depicted in this painting? What do
they do? Where is Venus placed? How is Venus proportioned? What differs Botticelli's Venus from
the splendid Venuses of classical antiquity? What did Botticelli try to reconcile in the Birth of
Venus?
6. What does the Mystic Nativity exemplify? What device did Botticelli use to emphasize the
importance of the Madonna and the Child?
7. Whose pictorial style did Botticelli influence?
III. i. Give Russian equivalents of the following phrases:
poetic (scientific) current; early in life; celebrated pictures; to give up painting; to pursue the
nymph; to spread blossoms from the folds; sloping shoulders; a complex allegory; a mature work;
on canvas; on panel; in the fresco; in the picture; companion pieces; lovely creatures; drapery folds;
an interweaving of linear patterns; classical antiquity; to interpret in different ways; delicate faces;
attenuated figures; to be aloof from; transparent garments; a withdrawal from naturalism; wafted to
the shore by the wind-god; to reconcile a pagan legend with the Christian tradition; spread a cloak
around Venus; to stand in the cockleshell; V-shaped marks for waves; to paint the sea without
concern for space.
ii. Give English equivalents of the following phrases:
ведущий художник; научное (романтическое) направление; парные работы; знаменитые
картины; на холсте; на доске; на картине; на фреске; на рисунке; отход от натурализма;
проповеди; разбрасывать цветы; примирить языческую легенду с христианской традицией;
зрелая работа; прозрачные одежды; трактовать по-разному; легко касаться земли; перестать
писать картины; стилизованный берег; галочки вместо волн; фигуры необыкновенно
воздушны; преследовать нимфу; влекомая к берегу; легко стоять в раковине; утонченные
лица; переплетение линий; последователь к-л.