【正文】 Young Li fesaver Schem e at hi s hi gh schol. When congratul ati ng John, Mr Al an Southerton, Di rector of the Young Li fesaver Schem e sai d, “There i s no doubt that John’s qui ck thi nki ng and the fi rst ai d skil ls he l earned at school saved Ms Sl ade’s l ife. It shows that a knowl edge of first ai d can m ake a real di fference.” Before receivi ng thei r awards l ast ni ght, John and the ni ne other Li fe Savers attended a speci al recepti on yesterday hosted by the Prim e Mi nister. 選修六 Uni t 1 A SHO RT H ISTO RY O F WESTERN PAIN TIN G Art i s i nfl uenced by the custom s and fai th of a peopl e. Styl es i n Western art have changed m any tim es. As there are so m any different styl es of Western art, it woul d be i m possi bl e to descri be al l of them i n such a short text. Consequentl y, thi s text wi l descri be onl y the m ost i m portant ones, starti ng from the si xth century AD. The Mi ddl e Ages (5th to the 15th century AD) Duri ng the Mi ddle Ages, the m ai n aim of pai nters was to represent reli gi ous them es. A conventi onal artist of thi s period was not i nterested i n showi ng nature and peopl e as they real y were. A typi cal pi cture at thi s tim e was ful of rel igi ous sym bol s, which created a feeli ng of respect and l ove for God. But i t was evi dent that i deas were changi ng i n the 13th century when pai nters li ke Gi oto di Bondone began to pai nt rel i gi ous scenes i n a m ore real i sti c way. The Renai ssance (15th to 16th century) Duri ng the Renai ssance, new i deas and val ues gradual l y repl aced those hel d in the Mi ddl e Ages. Peopl e began to concentrate less on reli gi ous them es and adopt a m ore hum ani sti c atti tude to l ife. At the sam e tim e pai nters returned to cl asi cal Rom an and Greek i deas about art. They tried to pai nt people and nature as they real y were. Ri ch peopl e wanted to possess thei r own pai nti ngs. so they coul d decorate thei r superb palaces and great houses. They pai d famous artists to pai nt pi ctures of them sel ves, thei r houses and possessi ons as wel l as thei r activi ti es and achi evem ents. O ne of the m ost im portant di scoveri es during thi s peri od was how to draw thi ngs i n perspecti ve. This techni que was first used by Masacci o i n 1428. When peopl e fi rst saw hi s pai nti ngs, they were convi nced that they were l ooking through a hol e i n a wal l at a real scene. If the rul es of perspective had not been di scovered, on one would have been abl e to pai nt such real i sti c pi ctures. By coi nci dence, oi l pai nts were al so devel oped at thi s ti m e, whi ch made the col ors used i n pai nti ngs l ook ri cher and deper. Wi thout the new pai nts and the new techni que, we woul d not be abl e to see the m any great m asterpi eces for whi ch thi s peri od i s fam ous. Im presi oni sm (l ate 19th to earl y 20th century) In the l ate 19th century, Europe changed a great deal , from a m ostl y agricul tural soci ety to a m ostl y i ndustri al one. Many peopl e m oved from the countrysi de to the new ci ti es. There were m any new i nventions and soci al changes. N atural y, these changes al so l ed to new pai nti ng styl es. Am ong the pai nters who broke away from the tradi ti onal styl e of pai nti ng were the Im pressi onists, who li ved and worked i n Paris. The Im pressi oni sts were the fi rst painters to work outdoors. They were eager to show how l ight and shadow fel l on objects at di fferent tim es of day. However, because natural li ght changes so quickl y, the Im pressioni sts had to pai nt qui ckl y. Thei r painti ngs were not as detai l ed as those of earl i er pai nters. At fi rst, many peopl e di sli ked thi s styl e of pai nti ng and becam e very angry about i t. They sai d that the pai nters were carel ess and thei r pai nti ngs were ri di cul ous. Modern Art (20th century to today) At the tim e they were created, the Im pressi oni st pai nti ngs were controversi al, but today they are accepted as the begi ni ng of what we cal l “m odern art”. This i s because the Im pressi onists encouraged arti sts to l ook at their envi ronm ent i n new ways. There are scores of m odern art styl es, but without the Im pressi onists, m any of these painti ng styl es m i ght not exi st. O n the one hand, som e m odern art i s abstract。 that is, the painter does not attem pt to pai nt objects as we se them wi th our eyes, but i nstead concentrates on certai n quali ties of the object, usi ng col or, li ne and shape to represent them. O n the other hand, som e pai ntings of m odern art are so real isti c that they l ook li ke photographs. These styl es are so di fferent. Who can predi ct what pai nti ng styl es there wil be i n the future? TH E BEST OF MANH ATTAN’S ART GALLERIES The Fri ck Col ecti on (5th Avenue and E. 70th Street) Many art l overs woul d rather vi si t thi s sm al art gal ery than any other i n N ew York. H enry Cl ay Fri ck, a rich N ew Yorker, di ed i n 1919, leaving hi s house, furni ture and art col ecti on to the Am erican peopl e. Fri ck had a preference for pertwenti eth century Western pai nti ngs, and these are wel lrepresented i n thi s excel ent col l ecti on. You can al so expl ore Fri ck’s beauti ful hom e and garden whi ch are wel worth a vi sit. Guggenhei m Museum (5th Avenue and 88th Street) Thi s m useum owns 5, 000 superb m odern painti ngs, scul ptures and drawi ngs. These art works are not al l displ ayed at the sam e tim e. The exhi bi tion i s al ways changi ng. It wi l apeal to those who l ove Im pressi oni st and PostIm pressioni st pai nti ngs. The Guggenheim Museum buil di ng i s al so worl dfam ous. When you wal k i nto the gal l ery, you feel as i f you were i nsi de a fragil e, white seashel. The best way to see the pai ntings i s to start from the top fl oor and wal k down to the bottom . There are no stairs, just a circular path. The m useum al so has an excel lent restaurant. Metropoli tan Museum of Art (5th Avenue and 82nd Street) The reputati on of thi s m