21 The visual arts

A Changing tastes

T
Throughout
hroughout
suspicious of
the the
the
centuries,
new
centuries,
art
peoplepeople
movements
havehave
of
tended to be
tended
their period.
to be
suspicious of the new art movements of their period.
At At
thethe
endendof ofthethe19th
19th century,
century, forfor
example,
example, people
people were
were
1 1
shocked
shocked bybyImpressionism
Impressionism , criticising
, criticisingitsits
practitioners
practitioners
2 2 3
asascareless
carelessdaubers
daubers . Later,
. Later,when
when faced
faced with Cubist
with Cubist3
paintings, the public were puzzled by
paintings, the public were puzzled by those too. The those too. The
4 4 5 5 6 6
Surrealists
Surrealistswere wereinitially
initiallydeemed
deemedcrazy. Op-art
crazy. Op-artwas was
7 7
criticised
criticisedbecause
because itsitssubject
subject matter
matterwas wassaid to to
said consist
consist
of of
nothing
nothingof of significance.
significance. However,
However, nowadays,
nowadays, liking
liking
8 8
Surrealism or Op-art is considered perfectly
Surrealism or Op-art is considered perfectly acceptable, acceptable,
9 9
andandimages
images fromfromthese
these schools
schools of of
artartappear
appear
everywhere,
everywhere, from
fromposters
posters to to
advertising
advertising campaigns.
campaigns.
Perhaps
Perhaps because
because of of
thethe ubiquity
ubiquity of of
advertising,
advertising, people
people
10 10
tend to be more visually literate
tend to be more visually literate than they used than they used to to
be,be,
11 11
and so are perhaps inured to surprises.
and so are perhaps inured to surprises. Perhaps new Perhaps new
movements
movements in in
artart
will meet
will meet withwithless hostility
less hostilityin in
future.
future.

1, 3, 4, 6, 8
types of artist and schools of art of the last 150 years  ​2 someone who paints quickly and carelessly
5
(disapproving)  ​ considered; formal  ​7 content  ​9 art movement  ​10 educated with regard to art  
11
​ not affected by

B Words for commenting on art

original: new in a special and interesting way (opp. = predictable)
highbrow: intended for educated, intelligent people (often disapproving) (opp. = lowbrow)
impenetrable: extremely difficult to understand (opp. = transparent)
sophisticated: showing advanced skills and understanding (opp. = primitive)
challenging: demanding considerable effort to be understood (opp. = undemanding)
dazzling: inspiring great admiration because it is brilliant in some way (opp. = pedestrian)
evocative: calling up images and memories (opp. = uninspiring)
thought-provoking: making people think (opp. = unstimulating)
exquisite: having rare beauty or delicacy (opp. = clumsy)
intriguing: interesting because it is strange or mysterious (opp. = dreary)
peerless: better than any other (opp. = run-of-the-mill)
tongue-in-cheek: not intended to be taken seriously, despite appearing serious (opp. = earnest)
priceless: extremely valuable (opp. = worthless)
skilful: clever, masterly, done well (opp. = poorly done)

C Art and metaphor

Notice how words connected with art can be used when talking about literature.

The writer paints his hero in a fascinating light. Minor characters are more shadowy or sketchy
but they are also depicted quite powerfully, even though the focus is, inevitably, on the two
central characters. These are portrayed with great sensitivity. The heroine is particularly
colourful and we see how her character is shaped and moulded by events. Some say the author
illustrates his motifs in a black-and-white fashion, but the image he creates to illuminate the
evils of slavery will remain with me for ever.

48 English Vocabulary in Use Advanced

 Exercises
21.1 Choose a word from the text in A opposite to answer the questions.
1 What is the early 20th century school of art which shows unusual or impossible things happening?
2 What is the mid 20th century school of art which has its origins in optical illusions?
3 What is the early 20th century school of art which depicts people or objects as a set of geometric
shapes?
4 What is the late 19th century school of art whose aim was to represent the effects of light on
people or scenes?
5 What phrase can be used to mean the content of a painting or other work of art?
6 What phrase can be used to describe someone with an educated understanding of art?
21.2 Read the sentences and answer the questions.
1 Finn enjoys painting but he’s a dauber not an artist.
Does the speaker have a high or low opinion of Finn’s work?
2 Curious as it now seems, the artist’s work was deemed morally dangerous.
Is this sentence more likely to come from a formal or informal source?
3 The sculptor is now inured to criticism.
How is the sculptor affected by criticism?
4 While at art school, Matilda was particularly interested in the Cubist school of art.
What is the difference between art school and school of art?
21.3 Look at the adjectives in B opposite. Divide them into these categories:
usually positive associations usually negative associations negative or positive associations
21.4 Choose one of the words from each pair of opposites in B and think of a work of art (of
any kind) that you could apply it to. Write a sentence explaining why it applies.
example I think that the paintings by Salvador Dali could be called intriguing, because he uses such curious and surprising images.

21.5 Choose the correct word to complete these sentences.

1 I think that the artist’s cartoons are usually rather highbrow / dreary / lowbrow as they are
intended to appeal to a mass audience.
2 When an artist sent in an ordinary red brick to an exhibition, no one was sure whether it was
impenetrable / run-of-the-mill / tongue-in-cheek or intended as a serious statement.
3 Although the artist’s early work is very sophisticated, some of his later pieces are surprisingly
primitive / thought-provoking / original in style.
4 I find pictures of dull grey street scenes rather dreary / peerless / dazzling.
5 The design on that china plate is earnest / exquisite / transparent – however did they manage to
paint such fine detail?
6 Although his photographs are quite challenging / evocative / intriguing, it is worth making the
effort to understand them.
21.6 Make a verb–noun–adjective word formation table with these words from C opposite.

paint   ​sketch   ​depict   ​portray   ​colour   ​shape   ​illustrate   ​illuminate

21.7 Over to you

Visit the websites of well-known museums and art galleries and look at some of the works of
art in them. Use words from this unit to describe the works you see.

English Vocabulary in Use Advanced 49