Дополнительный материал для чтения World Famous Museums and Art galleries
учебно-методический материал по английскому языку на тему

Федеральное государственное образовательное учреждение

среднего профессионального образования

« Ростовский – на – Дону строительный колледж»

Дополнительный материал для чтения:

World famous museums and art galleries.

        Разработала: преподаватель

        Гловинская Н. В.

        г. Ростов - на - Дону

Данный дополнительный материал предназначен для студентов 1-4 курсов и предлагает информацию о наиболее известных музеях и картинных галереях мира. Тексты сопровождаются вопросами, позволяющими преподавателю контролировать понимание текста студентами.

The Hermitage.

One of the places of interest most visitors to St. Petersburg want to see is the Hermitage State Museum. It is one of the most outstanding museums of world culture and art. The Hermitage was founded in 1764.

The Hermitage contains art collections of all ages. There are is the richest collection in the world of Oriental art and culture. There are wonderful collections from China, India, ancient Greece and Rome. West0European paintings are widely represented in the Hermitage too. They include world-famous works by Leonardo da Vincy, Raphael, Rembrandt, Rubens and others. The collection of the museum represents the art of Italy, Spain, Holland, Belgium, France, Great Britain and other countries. The West-European department of the Museum has a wonderful collection of European sculpture, among which there are monuments to Michelangelo, Roden and others.

Special departments of the museum are devoted to the history of culture and art of Russia. The Hermitage is also famous for its outstanding collections of applied art: tapestries, furniture, metal work, silver and jewellery.

Thousands of people visit the Hermitage and admire its collections every year. The museum is so big that it is impossible to see half of its treasures within one visit.

Questions

1Where is the Hermitage?

2What kind of museum is it?

3What place do West-European paintings occupy in the Hermitage?

4What is the Museum famous for?

The Tretyakov Gallery.

One of the famous art museums of Moscow is the Tretyakov Gallery. It is housed in a two-storey building in Lavrushinskaya  by-street. The Gallery has collections of Russian and Soviet art. The museum was founded in 1856 by Pavel Tretyakov. He had been collecting pictures for 40 year and had a rich collection of Russian paintings. They included works of Russian art of the 18th and the 19th centuries, outstandindg works of his contemporaries. Beginning with the 1860s, he established a gallery of portraits of outstanding Russian scientists, writers and artists by such famous Russian painters as Vassily Perov, Nikolai Ghe, Ivan Kramskoy and Ilya Repin.

The collection of the gallery reflects the history of Russian art, you can see icons of  Rublev, portraits by Repin, historical canvases by Suricov and many others, as well as sculptures. Outstanding artists of the whole of multinational Russia represent rich cultural and art traditions of the country. Recently the gallery has been reconstructed. A lot of visitors can admire its canvases again. The gallery also holds exhibitions of Russian masters in its Exhibition Hall which is popular both among Muscovites and visitors to Moscow.

Questions

1Where is the Tretyakov Art Gallery situated?

2When was the gallery founded?

3 What kind of paintings were there in Tretyakov’s  collection?

4 Have you ever been to the Tretyakov Gallery?

Smithsonian.

The Smithsonian is a complex of 13 local museums, 9 of which are situated directly on the Mall between the Capitol and the Washington Monument, and the National Zoo.

The Smithsonian boasts a collection of more than 135 million objects and specimens.

The Institution began in the 1850s, with a gift from Englishman James Smithson, a British scientist. He wanted to found “ an establishment for the increase and diffusion of knowledge among men”.

The Castle, which is the original building and worldwide symbol of the Smithsonian, was constructed in 1850s and houses the Smithsonian headquarters and a visitor information center.

Of all the Smithsonian museums, the most visited- indeed, one of the most visited museums in the world- is the National Air and Space museum. The museum has aircraft and spacecraft that were important in aviation history. It has the command module that returned the Apollo11 astronauts to earth after their moon landing.

The National Museum of American History exhibits objects including George Washington’s life and politics, Bell’s telephone and the original Star Spangled Banner that inspired Francis Scott Key to write the words to the National Anthem.

The national Museum of Natural History of the Smithsonian Institution is a treasure chest of our natural world. Highlights include a huge preserved African bush elephant, genuine Egyptian mummies and an enormous skeleton of a woolly mammoth, the world’s oldest fossil, which is over 3 billion years old. A special geological section displays everything from meteorites to moon rocks.

A number of the Smithsonian museums are devoted to art: The Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, National Gallery of Art, National Museum of American Arts and National Portrait Gallery.

Questions

1 What is the Smithsonian? Where is it located?

2 What is the symbol of the Smithsonian?

3 What museums does it include?

London  Art Galleries                                   V-1

Some world famous art galleries are situated in London. Among them we should first mention The National Gallery housing the national collection of European painting. It was founded in 1824 when the British government bought 38 paintings that had belonged to the  recently deceased merchant John  Julius Angerstein. The National Gallery has the most comprehensive collection of Italian Renaissance paintings outside Italy, with works of the great Florentine and Venetian masters of that period.

The National Portrait Gallery in London houses the national collection of portraits of British men and women, including pictures, busts, photographs and oil paintings.

The Tate Gallery includes a collection of sculpture and a collection of modern works by non- British artists. The Tate Gallery has the world's largest and finest collection of works by the British painter J. W. Turner.

The Victoria and Albert Museum has vast collections of European sculpture, ceramics, furniture, metalwork, jewelry from the early Middle Ages to the xx century and many art objects from South and East Asia. In addition the museum houses the national collections of British watercolours and miniatures, prints and drawings. The collection of Italian Renaissance and Baroque sculpture is one of the best outside of Italy.

Questions

What is London famous for?

What does the National Gallery contains?

Whose works does the Tate Gallery?

Museums of London                                                                    V-2

London is one of the biggest world centres of culture and art. There are quite a number oа different museums and art galleries there. The British museum is one of the greatest and best known museums in the world, which was founded in 1753. There are eleven major departments in the museum that contain the Egyptian, the Greek and Roman, the Assirian and Babylonian antiquities. Extremely interesting are its collections including exhibits from the Pacific Islands, the American and African civilizations. There is also a notable collection of items from all the countries of Europe. The British Museum is also known for its library which is the greatest and most famous in Britain.

Among other museums of London that attract visitors are the Museum of British Transport, the Museum of London and Madame Tussaud's Museum of Waxworks. One of London's newest museums is the Museum of London, opened in 1976. The aim of the museum is to do justice to London's long history. The exhibits start with pictures of the formation of the lands on which London stands and end with a view of the modern complex city.

If you are in South London, you may visit the Museum of British Transport, which tells you the story of public transport in Britain.

The world's famous museum of waxworks, Madame Tussaud's is situated in the center of London. You can see life- size wax portraits of kings, queens, statesmen, well- known writers, singers and even criminals.

Questions

What is the greatest and best known museum in the world?

What are the other famous museums in London?

Which of London museums would you like to visit and why?

The Tate Gallery                                                                         V-3

There are many sights of London. There are Westminster Abbey, Tower Bridge, Albert Hall ( one of the biggest concert halls in London), Trafalgar Square and others.

If you are fond of painting you will go to the Tate Gallery. This gallery was founded in 1897. Most of the National Gallery collections of British paintings were taken to the Tate Gallery. There are about 300 oils and 19000 water colours and drawings.

There are a lot of paintings by the 16th century English artists there. You can also see many works by the English painter William Turner. Most of his paintings are connected with the sea theme.

You can see many paintings by foreign artists of the 19-20th centuries in the Tate Gallery. There are some paintings by impressionists and post- impressionists there. In the Tate Gallery one can see works by modern painters, Pablo Picasso among them.

There are many interesting sculptures there. The collection is rather big. Henry Moore's works can be seen in this gallery. He was a famous British sculptor. The paintings of this gallery impress everyone who visits it.  

The Tate Gallery--галерея Тейта (живописи)

W. Turner-- В. Тёрнер-- английский  живописец

Sculpture-- скульптура

H. Moore-- Г. Мур-- английский живописец

P. Picasso-- П. Пикассо-- французский художнтк

Among--среди

Questions

Where is the Tate Gallery situated?

How many paintings has the collection of the Tate Gallery?

Can you see any works by foreign painters in the Tate Gallery?

Have you been to the Tate Gallery?

Museums and art Galleries in London                                           V-4

The best known art galleries of London are the National Gallery, the National Portrait Gallery and the Tate. The National Gallery which is in Trafalgar Square contains Britain's famous collection of pictures. It is also rich in paintings by such Italian masters as Raphael and Veronese and contains pictures representing all European schools of art. Admission to the Gallery is free, as to other British national galleries and museums.

The National Portrait Gallery stands just behind the National Gallery. It contains portraits of British monarchs and of historical celebrities such as Chauser, Shakespeare and Cromwell.

The Tate Gallery or the National Gallery of British Art represents English artists and modern pictures and sculptures by foreign artists. The Tate Gallery is very popular with the young people.

Among museums of London that attract visitors are the National History Museum, the Museum of  British Transport, the Museum of London and Madame Tussaud's Museum of Waxworks.

One of London's newest museums is the Museum of London opened in 1979. This museum has become popular not only with London's visitors but also with the millions of people who live and work there.

If you are in South London  you may visit the Museum of British Transport which tells you the story of public transport in Britain.

Questions

What is London famous for?

What does the National Gallery contain?

What can you find in the Tate Gallery?