1 . “He is a giant of the 20th-century art, but that doesn’t mean he only did big paintings, said Lynn Miller, director of Rochester Central Gallery, in an interview last Thursday.
Entitled “Picasso and His Drafts”, a special exhibit marking 50 years since the death of Pablo Picasso is held at the gallery this month. Instead of his paintings, the notebooks on which the Spanish legendary artist drew drafts are shown to the public for the first time.
Matchbox covers, postcards, restaurant napkins all served as drafting notes for the artist at moments of inspiration. It is important to know that each of the 14 notebooks presented reflects what was going on in his life.
For example, a tiny notebook whose size is just 3 by 5 inches stands out among the exhibits. Inside the little book was a self-portrait of the artist finished roughly in pencil, with deep and thoughtful eyes. It was done in 1918 and Picasso, then in his mid-30s, had just got married. He produced big-sized artworks but he also kept this tiny notebook around, filling it with scenes of his wife, their friends, the beach and the town, and drafts of upcoming paintings. Actually, many of the draft drawings are early versions of famed paintings like Les Demoiselles d’Avignon (1907) and Dora Maar in an Armchair (1939).
“He is a great artist of the modern period, and we see practice and determination in his notebooks,” said Lynn Miller, referring to Picasso’s efforts in improving his skills through copious drawing. Bernard Ruiz-Picasso, a grandson of Picasso’s, remembered him always drafting until the last piece of paper available. “My grandpa was permanently drawing something,” Ruiz-Picasso said.
In a documentary film shown at the gallery, Picasso, shirtless and in shorts, was standing on a ladder to reach the top of his canvas (画布). It reminds visitors of the real size of his masterworks.
1. What are the key features of the recent exhibit at the gallery?| A．Notebooks for sale. | B．Picasso’s artworks. |
| C．Priceless artistic drafts. | D．Masterpieces of the 20th century. |
| A．His life experience. | B．The love for his country. |
| C．The content of his books. | D．His education background. |
| A．Creative. | B．Diligent. | C．Optimistic. | D．Humorous. |
| A．Picasso used to mind his appearance. | B．The gallery exhibits real masterworks. |
| C．The documentary movie is worth seeing. | D．Picasso’s artworks are actually of great size. |
2 . Claude Monet, a French painter who was the leader and advocate of the Impressionist style. When Claude, the eldest son of a grocer, was five years old, the family moved to the Normandy coast, where his father took over the management of his family’s grocery business. This event has more than biographical significance. It was Monet’s childhood, spent along the beaches and the knowledge he gained of the sea and the rapidly shifting Norman weather that would one day give rise to his fresh vision of nature. In these early years he also finished pencil sketches of sailing ships, which were almost technical in their clear descriptiveness. His aunt, Marie-Jeanne Lecadre, was an amateur painter, and, perhaps at her suggestion, Claude went to study drawing with a local artist. But his life as a painter did not begin until he was befriended by Eugène Boudin, who introduced Monet to the practice of painting in the open air. The experience set the direction for Monet, who for more than 60 years would concentrate on visible phenomena.
As the 1870s began, Monet continued his pursuit of natural phenomena. In order to avoid the Franco-German War, he left his family and traveled to London. There, he was introduced to Paul Durand-Ruel, who was to become his dealer. The years he lived there marked the height of the Impressionist movement. He helped organize an independent exhibition of the Impressionists ‘work in 1874.lmpression: Sunrise (1872), one of Monet’s works at the exhibition, inspired the journalist Louis Leroy to give the group their name.
Monet attracted the dedicated support of collectors throughout his career, most notably from Americans. His influence on other artists was wide-ranging. During the years 1886 to 1914, a colony(群体) of mainly American artists gathered around him and regarded him as the best example of modern French painting. They adopted his fresh palette(调色板), subject matter, and natural style and eventually introduced these elements to American art.
1. Which influenced Monet’s new vision of nature?| A．His love for the sea and beaches. |
| B．His childhood experiences in Norman. |
| C．His early life spent with Eugene Boudin. |
| D．His early years of pencil sketches practice. |
| A．In a formal artistic school. | B．From his aunt. |
| C．At home by self-teaching. | D．From other artists. |
| A．To meet his dealer. |
| B．To paint more in the open air. |
| C．To keep away from the war. |
| D．To launch the art movement. |
| A．The criticism to Monet. |
| B．Monet’s influence on other artists. |
| C．The popularity of Monet in America. |
| D．Monet’s art achievements. |
