Unit 1 Art Reading

Pre-reading- a 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 reading- comprehending  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 

 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