1 . Shane Grammer’s artwork can be found in cities in Mexico, South Korea, Dubai and beyond.In the past years, it’s the murals (壁画) he painted on damaged walls throughout the town of Paradise, California that have gained attention and touched viewers.
In 2018, the Camp Fire, the deadliest wildfire in California’s history, swept through Paradise, flattening entire communities, killing scores of people, and displacing tens of thousands. Grammer,whose hometown was just 15 miles from Paradise, was living with his family and working in the Los Angeles area when he saw accounts of the destruction on his friends’ social media pages. A single mother he knew shared a photo of ash and rubble where her home once stood. A childhood friend’s post showed her burned-down house. After he saw a photo of a friend Shane Edwards’ home, which had been reduced to a brick wall with only a chimney standing, he was driven to paint it.
With Edward’s permission, Grammer then used spray paint to transform Edwards’ burnt chimney into a strikingly black-and-white portrait of a woman, a piece he called “Beauty Among the Ashes.” Once the image was posted on Instagram, the victims of the fire, especially, could not contain themselves. “You bring beauty and hope.” one posted. Over three months, the 47-year-old created a series of more than a dozen spray-painted murals on the remains of buildings and vehicles rendered useless by the flames. The images included a victim of the fire, a young girl who survived but lost her house, and a series of religious characters.
As a street artist, Grammer has committed his life to creating more art installations (装置艺术) all over the world that connect people through tragic life events. He has started a foundation called the Art Through Hope Foundation where he intends to bring peace through his art to those affected by tragedy. “I want to do something powerful and make art that emotionally influences people,” said Grammer in an interview with KRCR. “I think any artist would consider that as their ultimate goal. And to me, that is the biggest miracle I feel like.”
1. What has led to Grammer’s rise to fame?| A．The Art Through Hope Foundation. | B．The post of a burnt-down house. |
| C．His paintings on the ruins in Paradise. | D．His art installations all over the world. |
| A．To record the wildfire. | B．To bring hope to the victims. |
| C．To add beauty to the ashes. | D．To remember his friend's home. |
| A．Creating touching art. | B．Working miracles in art. |
| C．Bringing peace through art. | D．Doing something powerful. |
| A．From Ashes to Art: Street Artist’s Murals of Hope |
| B．From Paradise to Worldwide: Street Artist’s Journey |
| C．From Tragedy to Hope: the Story of Shane Grammer |
| D．From Mural to Miracle: Shane Grammer’s Art Mission |
As the daughter of a painter, Artemisia Gentileschi was afforded access to the art world at a young age. Early on, she was in her father’s workshop mixing paints and he supported her career when he noticed that she was gifted. As a famous painter of the Italian Baroque period, Artemisia Gentileschi did not let her gender hold her back from her subject matter. She painted Biblical and mythological (神话的) paintings, just like male painters.
Angelica Kauffman (1741—1807)Born in Switzerland, Angelica Kauffman was the daughter of the artist Johann Joseph Kauffman. She received artistic training while acting as her father’s assistant from a very young age and copying the works of old masters as they traveled for commissions (委托). As a young woman, she also trained in Italy, where her historical paintings and portraits were well received.
Rosa Bonheur (1822—1899)Like many female artists at the time, Rosa Bonheur’s father was a painter. The French Realist painter is considered one of the most famous female artists of the 19th century, known for her large-format paintings that featured animals. She showed her works regularly at the famous Paris salon and found success abroad in both the United States and Britain.
Berthe Morisot (1841—1895)Considered one of the great female Impressionists, Berthe Morisot had art running through her veins. Born into a noble French family, she was the great-niece of celebrated Rococo painter Jean-Honore Fragonard. Her art often focused on family scenes, and she preferred working with pastels (粉彩), watercolor, and charcoal (木炭).
1. What artistic style do Artemisia Gentileschi’s paintings belong to?| A．Rococo. | B．Baroque. | C．Realism. | D．Impressionism. |
| A．Artemisia Gentileschi. | B．Angelica Kauffman. |
| C．Rosa Bonheur. | D．Berthe Morisot. |
| A．They all learned painting from their fathers. |
| B．They all loved copying classic paintings. |
| C．They were all born into a noble family. |
| D．They all grew up in an artistic environment. |
3 . The exact location from where Vincent van Gogh is likely to have painted his final masterpiece, perhaps just hours before his death, has been determined with the help of a postcard.
The scene in Tree Roots, a painting of trunks (树干）and roots growing on a hillside, was first spotted on a card dating from 1900 to 1910 by Van der Veen, the scientific director of the Institute Van Gogh. Following a comparative study of the painting, the postcard and the current condition of the hillside, researchers concluded that it was highly possible that the place where Van Gogh made his final brushstrokes had been unearthed.
The main trunk in the painting has survived the 130 years since the Dutch master’s death. It has long been believed that Van Gogh had been working on Tree Roots shortly before he took his own life with a shot to the chest. Andries Bonger, the brother-in-law of Van Gough's brother Theo, had described in a letter how the “morning before his death” Van Gogh had “painted a forest scene, full of sun and life” Van der Veen said, t4The sunlight painted by Van Gogh suggests that the last brushstrokes were painted towards the end of the afternoon.”
Teio Meedendorp, a senior researcher at the Van Gogh Museum, said the spot, some 150 meters from the hotel where Van Gogh had stayed the last 70 days of his life, would likely have been passed on a number of occasions by him. “The scene on the postcard shows very clear similarities to the shape of the roots on Van Gogh’s painting,” he said. “He must often have passed by the location when going to the fields behind the castle of Auvers, where he painted several times during the last week of his life and where he would take his own life.”
1. What is Tree Roots?| A．A trunk. |
| B．A hillside. |
| C．A drawing. |
| D．A postcard. |
| A．He had a close relationship with his brother. |
| B．What he drew in his paintings all came from real life. |
| C．He was working on his artwork shortly before killing himself. |
| D．He was so sick in his last days that he spent all the time in a hotel. |
| A．In the fields. | B．In a local hotel. |
| C．In the castle of Auvers. | D．In the scene on the postcard. |
| A．To remember a famous painter. Van Gogh. |
| B．To introduce Van Gogh's life and his works. |
| C．To describe the influence of Van Gogh in art. |
| D．To tell the place in Van Gogh’s last painting. |
