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Listen to an Academic Talk Test #082
Listen to an Academic Talk
1. What is the main subject of the talk?
A) The life of a famous Baroque painter
B) A technique for using light in painting
C) The origins of the Italian language
D) The use of color in Renaissance art
2. What did the artist Caravaggio use chiaroscuro for?
A) To paint landscapes more realistically
B) To make his subjects appear flat
C) To create emotional and dramatic effects
D) To follow the rules of earlier art periods
3. What does the lecturer imply about paintings that do not use chiaroscuro?
A) They are considered more valuable today
B) They often have more complex backgrounds
C) They were primarily made outside of Italy
D) They might appear less three-dimensional
4. Why does the lecturer use the term "theatrical event"?
A) To suggest the paintings were used in plays
B) To criticize the technique as unrealistic
C) To emphasize the dramatic quality of the technique
D) To compare painting with modern photography
Lecturer: Let's discuss a technique that dramatically changed painting during the Baroque period: chiaroscuro. The word is Italian for "light-dark," and that's exactly what it is—the use of strong, dramatic contrasts between light and shadow.
It's more than just shading; it's about using light to carve figures out of darkness, giving them a sense of three-dimensional volume. The painter Caravaggio, working around the year 1600, was a master of this.
In his works, light often comes from a single, harsh source, illuminating the key figures while plunging the background into deep shadow. This wasn't just for realism. The intense contrast creates powerful psychological drama, focusing the viewer's attention and heightening the emotion of the scene. It transforms a painting from a simple depiction into a theatrical event.
It's more than just shading; it's about using light to carve figures out of darkness, giving them a sense of three-dimensional volume. The painter Caravaggio, working around the year 1600, was a master of this.
In his works, light often comes from a single, harsh source, illuminating the key figures while plunging the background into deep shadow. This wasn't just for realism. The intense contrast creates powerful psychological drama, focusing the viewer's attention and heightening the emotion of the scene. It transforms a painting from a simple depiction into a theatrical event.
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