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Presenter 1: Hello, dear friends! We are glad to see you at our Christmas Gallery. Today we want to tell you about artists who worked in different epochs and whose works reflect Bible stories connected with Jesus Christ.
Music: “Zvenyat Kolokola”, Jeanne Bichevskaya
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Presenter 2: Let’s start with Rembrandt, the outstanding Dutch painter. He was born in 1606 in Leiden in the family of a prosperous miller. For some time he studied at Leiden University, but then he left it and began studying art. His first teacher was an unknown local painter, but later lessons were given to him by Amsterdam painter Pieter Lastman. The period of studying wasn’t long and soon Rembrandt left for his hometown to study art by himself in his own studio.
In 1632 he came back to Amsterdam, the cultural center of Holland. There, in 1634, he got married. His wife Saskia was from a very rich family. At that time the happiest period of his life began. He became very popular and fashionable. He had a large studio where his pupils worked. His house was full of aristocrats and wealthy customers.
Presenter 1: The 1640s and 1650s were the years of his maturity. He chose the most lyrical and poetic features of life in his works: mother’s love and compassion. The richest material was taken from the Bible. He chose different scenes of life of the Holly Family. Rembrandt represented the members of the family, Josef and Mary, as ordinary people in his canvas “The Holly Family”. Only angels descending into the dark poor dwelling remind us of the fact that it is an unusual household. Peaceful silence of working life and holiness of maternity are depicted in this painting. If one wants to determine the peculiarities of Rembrandt’s works, one can say that they are compassion and a great desire of the master to make the world just and kind. Rembrandt influenced the art greatly. There was not a single artist in Holland who didn’t feel the influence of the outstanding painter.
Music:“Silver Bells”, Elvis Presley
Slideshow of Rembrandt’s works
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Presenter 3: Now let’s speak about the representatives of the Italian Renaissance. The art of this epoch is brightly reflected in Raphael’s work. Raphael Santi was born in 1483 in Urbino, one of the cultural centers of Italy, in the family of a court painter and poet. His first teacher was his father and later some other great painters. All Raphael’s works are full of lyrics and feeling of pacification. During all his life he had been looking for the image of Madonna and his numerous paintings with her image made him world-famous. The merit of the painter is that he was able to incarnate all the feelings in the idea of maternity. It’s shown in all his canvases, beginning with the first “Conestabile Madonna” and later on in “Madonna in Greenery”, “Madonna with a Goldfish” and “Madonna in Armchairs”, and especially in the top of his masterpiece “Sistine Madonna”. It’s an image of a perfectly beautiful woman with a baby in her arms whom she gives for the sake of redemption of human sins. The look of Madonna is full of sad prediction of her son’s tragic fortune. Raphael created plenty of works of art. It’s even difficult to imagine that all this could be done by a single man. He died in 1520. His premature death was a shock for his contemporaries. He was buried in Pantheon.
Music:“Ave Maria”, Robertino Loretti
Slideshow of Raphael’s works
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Presenter 4: Another representative of the Italian Renaissance was Sandro Botticelli. The information about his biography is very poor. His real name was Alessandro Filipepi. He was born in 1445 in the family of a tanner. His teacher was Filippo Lippi, but Botticelli excelled the teacher. He created a certain type of a woman’s face: lengthened oval, plump lips, seemed to be cried eyes. In 1480s Botticelli painted the wall of Sistine Chapel and so his frescoes were to be compared with Michelangelo’s painting done half a century later. Madonna in Botticelli’s canvases is very sad. Nobody before him had ever described the annunciation like that. The angel like a whirlwind flies into Mary’s dwelling and Mary like a thin branch stretches her hand to him. His work “Crying over Christ” is full of suffering and sadness. Botticelli remained single all his life. He died forgotten by everybody in 1510.
Music:“Christmas Song”, Elvis Presley
Slideshow of Botticelli’s works
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Presenter 1: Titian Vecelli is the greatest painter of Venice Renaissance. He created works dealing with myths and Christian stories and his long life gave him the opportunity to leave the richest inheritance. Titian was born in Cadoro, a small town near the Alps, in the family of a military man. He became famous very early. In 1516 he became the first painter in the republic and success followed him till his last days. Rich people asked Titian to paint altar images and he created large icons of Mary and others. At the end of his life Titian appealed to the Christianity more often. His last canvas “Crying Over” was finished by his pupil after his death. Titian died very old, having lived almost a century.
Music:“Christmas Bells”, Elvis Presley
Slideshow of Titian’s works
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Presenter 2: Now let’s speak about one of the greatest masters of Spanish art El Greco. His real name was Domenico Teotecopuli. He was born in 1541 and was Greek by origin. Before coming to Spain he studied art in Italy and his teacher was Titian. El Greco painted mainly icons and made mosaics for monasteries and churches. The theme of his works was ordinary for that time and was religious. His canvases produce an unexpected impression. Faces of his characters are always long and ascetic, eyes are wide-open and asymmetric. There is a lot of mystery in deeply personal and expressive art of El Greco. The best works of his art influenced greatly the fine arts of Spain in the 17th century.
Music:“Santa Lucia”, Robertino Loretti
Slideshow of El Greco’s works
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Presenter 3: There is no doubt that icons express the deepest what is there in the Ancient-Russian culture. And now we want to tell you about some masters of Ancient-Russian and Russian art. The greatest among them is Andrey Rublev. They say he was born in the 14th century. At first he lived in the world and then became a monk. Rublev’s icons are united in an art album. The main features of his works are great spirituality of his images, connected with mildness, lyricism and poetics. In many scenes of his works the feeling of peace, sincerity and tender is expressed. Rublev worked together with another painter Daniil Cherny. Together they created quite new art phenomena. One can see the victory of kindness, justice, call for braveness and better life in their works. The deeply human images, their lightness, warm-heartedness, readiness to help are the features common for these masters.
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Presenter 4: The most famous of all Rublev’s works is considered to be his “Trinity”. The icon was painted for the Trinity Lavra of St. Sergius, at the place where Sergius of Radonezh was buried. The religious theme of the icon was quite understandable for his contemporaries and carried the idea of a three-united God. Rublev freed the picture from the theme. Strangers at the table are speaking about eternal things. It is a holly meal and the bowl on the table with a head of a calf is a symbol of sacrifice, taking the hard way of earth sufferings. The painting carries the idea of great love for the sake of the great purpose.
Music: Jeanne Bichevskaya
Slideshow of Rublev’s works
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Presenter 1: Another great representative of Rublev’s school was Dionisius. He lived in the world and was noble by origin. He headed a big group of painters which included customers of monasteries and his two sons Vladimir and Pheodosy worked with him. The most remarkable work of Dionisius is the monumental fresco painting of the Virgin Nativity Cathedral of the Ferapontov Monastery. The frescoes depict scenes from the life of the Virgin in pure and gentle colours. The icon of Godmother belongs to Dionisius.
Music:“Tsaritsa Nebesnaya”, Jeanne Bichevskaya
Slideshow of Dionisius’s works
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Presenter 2: The most famous artist of the middle of the 19th century was Alexander Ivanov. He was born in Petersburg in 1806. In 1830 he left for Italy and returned to Russia a month and a half before his death. He died of cholera. His life was never easy. His talent was appreciated by Gogol, Gertsen, Sechenov, but not by painters. Ivanov was fond of History of Religion and created famous Bible pictures. He believed in people’s improvement and his belief led him to the main theme of his work – to the painting “The Appearance of Christ Before the People”. He has been called the master of one work, for it took him twenty years to complete it.
Music:“Gospodi Pomilui”, Jeanne Bichevskaya
Slide:“The Appearance of Christ Before the People” by Alexander Ivanov
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Presenter 1: Our meeting has come to an end. We hope you’ve had a good time having touched a wonderful world of art. Thank you for being with us. Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
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