在线英语听力室

VOA慢速英语2009年-PEOPLE IN AMERICA - Mary Cassatt, 1844-192

时间:2009-08-05 03:17:53

搜索关注在线英语听力室公众号:tingroom,领取免费英语资料大礼包。

(单词翻译)

VOICE ONE:

I'm Bob Doughty1.

VOICE TWO:

And I'm Faith Lapidus with PEOPLE IN AMERICA in VOA Special English. Today we tell about the nineteenth century artist Mary Cassatt. She was best known for her beautifully expressive3 paintings of women and children. Cassatt spent her life working to change traditional beliefs about art and a woman's role in society.

(MUSIC)

VOICE ONE:

Mary Cassatt was born in eighteen forty-four near Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Her father, Robert, was a wealthy investor4. Her mother, Katherine, had a deep knowledge of books, art and the French language. When Mary was seven years old, her family moved to Europe for several years.

VOICE TWO:
 
An event room at the Universal Exhibition of 1855 in Paris

Mister Cassatt wanted his children to experience European education and culture. The Cassatt family lived in Paris, France for about two years before moving to Heidelberg in modern day Germany. In eighteen fifty-five, Mary's brother Robbie died. Mister Cassatt decided5 it was time to return to the United States. But first, the family stopped once more in Paris.

It was an exciting time to be in that city. Mary and her family visited the Universal Exhibition. This event showed the success of French art and industry. Mary would have seen important works by the most famous French artists of the time.

VOICE ONE:

She might also have seen the works of a revolutionary painter, Gustave Courbet. Courbet's art was criticized for its realism. So, he was not permitted to show his work in the exhibit. Instead, he created his own exhibit space nearby.

At an early age Mary saw the different movements within the French art world. She would one day be part of this world and would make her own rebellious6 art.

(MUSIC)

VOICE TWO:

During the nineteenth century in the United States, wealthy women usually did not have careers. Women generally learned how to care for a house. They might learn to play music, sew and paint. But Mary Cassatt was different. She believed that her training in art was much more than a fun activity. She saw art as her future. In eighteen sixty, at the age of seventeen, Mary began classes at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts. Her father did not approve of her decision to become an artist. But Mary did not let this stop her.

VOICE ONE:
 
Mary Cassatt's portrait of herself

Mary Cassatt worked very hard and was a good student. But she realized that to become a fully2 trained artist, she had to go to Europe to study. Travel was impossible during the four year American Civil War that began in eighteen sixty-one. So, it was not until eighteen sixty-six that she returned to Paris.

For four years, Mary studied in Paris and other smaller towns in France. Because she was a woman, she could not study at the French Academy of Fine Arts in Paris. Instead, she created her own program of study.

VOICE TWO:

Cassatt worked hard copying the great paintings hanging in the Louvre museum. She also studied with different teachers. In eighteen sixty-eight, one of Mary Cassatt's paintings was accepted into the Paris Salon7. This show was operated by the government-controlled French Academy of Fine Arts. Two years later, the Salon accepted another of her paintings. Her career as a successful artist had begun.

(MUSIC)

VOICE ONE:

In eighteen seventy, Mary Cassatt returned home to Pennsylvania. But life at home was not easy. Her father was no longer willing to support Mary's artistic8 career. She tried showing her paintings in New York City, but no one bought them. She exhibited her art in Chicago, only to lose them all in the Great Chicago Fire of eighteen seventy-one.

VOICE TWO:

Luckily, a religious center in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania hired her to copy two famous religious paintings that hung in Parma, Italy. Mary Cassatt had found a way to return to her beloved Europe and be paid to work. In Parma, she soon began to receive wide critical praise for her art.

VOICE ONE:

Cassatt continued to have her works accepted in the Paris Salon. But she began to tire of the traditional values of the official art world. The Salon was very set in its ways. It rejected works that showed bright colors, unusual subjects, or any form of experimentation9. Cassatt had to make a decision: Would she paint in a way that received public approval or in a way that she found interesting and exciting?

She found her answer in a group of rebellious painters known as the Impressionists.

(MUSIC)

VOICE TWO:

Mary Cassatt once said that she used to go to a Paris art seller's shop. She would flatten10 her nose against the window to take in all that she could of the art of Edgar Degas. She said his paintings changed her life.

In eighteen seventy-seven, Edgar Degas came to her studio and asked her to join his group of artists who called themselves the Independents. This group later became known as the Impressionists. These artists included Claude Monet, Auguste Renoir, and Camille Pissarro.

VOICE ONE:
 
A detail of “A Woman with a Red Zinnia”, painted in 1891

Degas and the other artists had decided that they would no longer follow the rules and restrictions11 of the Paris Salon. These artists refused to submit art to the Salon. Instead, they formed their own exhibition in eighteen seventy-four. Today, the works in this historical show are some of the most famous paintings in the world. But at the time, many people condemned12 their art.

VOICE TWO:

Degas and the Impressionists were interested in painting the effects of light, and how the human eye sees subjects. The Impressionists used bright colors, rough brush strokes and thick paint to show light and movement in its many forms. They also painted subjects of everyday life. Traditional artists generally painted imagined scenes from history or literature.

Mary Cassatt said this about Edgar Degas' invitation to join the Impressionists: "I accepted with joy. I hated conventional art. I began to live."

(MUSIC)

VOICE ONE:

Cassatt spent two years producing works to show in the Impressionists' next exhibit in eighteen seventy-nine. During this period, her parents moved to Paris. Finally, Robert Cassatt had accepted his daughter's skill, and praised her growing success.

VOICE TWO:

Paintings from this period include one of her mother reading a newspaper. It is called "Reading Le Figaro." Mary Cassatt's loose brush work skillfully captures the effect of the sunlight in the room.

In "Woman and Child Driving" she masters the effect of outdoor light and draws attention to a child's glowing face. Her works show people in private moments. Her subjects act naturally, and are sometimes caught in movement.

VOICE ONE:
 
A detail of the print “Maternal13 Caress” from 1891

Mary Cassatt did not stay with the Impressionists for long. She chose freedom over being part of a set art movement. In the eighteen nineties Cassatt started to experiment with making prints. She was influenced by a series of prints from Japan. She repeated their simple but very modern forms in her own prints. They include "La Toilette," an image of a woman bathing.

In "Maternal Caress," a few simple lines express the deep love of a mother for her child. Mary Cassatt sold many copies of her prints when she exhibited them in Paris. And, she would continue to explore the subject of mothers and children in her paintings.

VOICE TWO:

In "Baby Reaching for an Apple" Cassatt shows a mother gently holding her child as the baby looks with wonder at the fruit. "The Boating Party" shows a mother and child in a small boat. The diagonal angle of the painting is very bold and inventive.

Cassatt held another successful exhibit in eighteen ninety-three. One critic said that no artist had painted "the poem of the family" with such feeling. Mary Cassatt had become one of the most successful artists of her time.

VOICE ONE:
 
A detail of “The Boating Party”, painted around 1893

Cassatt bought a house in the French countryside and used her success to help others. She advised young artists. She also helped wealthy American art collectors choose fine works of art by Impressionist painters. She believed it was important that Americans be able to study such fine art at home. Thanks to her efforts, many Impressionist paintings became part of American art collections. Cassatt also worked hard to support women's right to vote in the United States.

VOICE TWO:

Mary Cassatt won many top awards, but she refused to accept most of them. She said she was an early member of an independent art movement and was against juries14, medals and awards. Cassatt continued working and travelling into her late sixties. She later was forced to stop painting because of her failing eyesight.

VOICE ONE:

Mary Cassatt died in nineteen twenty-six at the age of eighty-two. She spent most of her life working to change traditional beliefs about art, artists and a woman's professional role in society. Today, her paintings are in the top museum collections in the world.

(MUSIC)

VOICE TWO:

This program was written and produced by Dana Demange. I'm Faith Lapidus.

VOICE ONE:

And I'm Bob Doughty. For transcripts15, mp3s and podcasts of our shows go to voaspecialenglish.com. Join us again next week for PEOPLE IN AMERICA in VOA Special English.


分享到:


点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 doughty Jk5zg     
adj.勇猛的,坚强的
参考例句:
  • Most of successful men have the characteristics of contumacy and doughty.绝大多数成功人士都有共同的特质:脾气倔强,性格刚强。
  • The doughty old man battled his illness with fierce determination.坚强的老人用巨大毅力与疾病作斗争。
2 fully Gfuzd     
adv.完全地,全部地,彻底地;充分地
参考例句:
  • The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气,然后全部呼出。
  • They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。
3 expressive shwz4     
adj.表现的,表达…的,富于表情的
参考例句:
  • Black English can be more expressive than standard English.黑人所使用的英语可能比正式英语更有表现力。
  • He had a mobile,expressive,animated face.他有一张多变的,富于表情的,生动活泼的脸。
4 investor aq4zNm     
n.投资者,投资人
参考例句:
  • My nephew is a cautious investor.我侄子是个小心谨慎的投资者。
  • The investor believes that his investment will pay off handsomely soon.这个投资者相信他的投资不久会有相当大的收益。
5 decided lvqzZd     
adj.决定了的,坚决的;明显的,明确的
参考例句:
  • This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
  • There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。
6 rebellious CtbyI     
adj.造反的,反抗的,难控制的
参考例句:
  • They will be in danger if they are rebellious.如果他们造反,他们就要发生危险。
  • Her reply was mild enough,but her thoughts were rebellious.她的回答虽然很温和,但她的心里十分反感。
7 salon VjTz2Z     
n.[法]沙龙;客厅;营业性的高级服务室
参考例句:
  • Do you go to the hairdresser or beauty salon more than twice a week?你每周去美容院或美容沙龙多过两次吗?
  • You can hear a lot of dirt at a salon.你在沙龙上会听到很多流言蜚语。
8 artistic IeWyG     
adj.艺术(家)的,美术(家)的;善于艺术创作的
参考例句:
  • The picture on this screen is a good artistic work.这屏风上的画是件很好的艺术品。
  • These artistic handicrafts are very popular with foreign friends.外国朋友很喜欢这些美术工艺品。
9 experimentation rm6x1     
n.实验,试验,实验法
参考例句:
  • Many people object to experimentation on animals.许多人反对用动物做实验。
  • Study and analysis are likely to be far cheaper than experimentation.研究和分析的费用可能要比实验少得多。
10 flatten N7UyR     
v.把...弄平,使倒伏;使(漆等)失去光泽
参考例句:
  • We can flatten out a piece of metal by hammering it.我们可以用锤子把一块金属敲平。
  • The wrinkled silk will flatten out if you iron it.发皱的丝绸可以用熨斗烫平。
11 restrictions 81e12dac658cfd4c590486dd6f7523cf     
约束( restriction的名词复数 ); 管制; 制约因素; 带限制性的条件(或规则)
参考例句:
  • I found the restrictions irksome. 我对那些限制感到很烦。
  • a snaggle of restrictions 杂乱无章的种种限制
12 condemned condemned     
adj. 被责难的, 被宣告有罪的 动词condemn的过去式和过去分词
参考例句:
  • He condemned the hypocrisy of those politicians who do one thing and say another. 他谴责了那些说一套做一套的政客的虚伪。
  • The policy has been condemned as a regressive step. 这项政策被认为是一种倒退而受到谴责。
13 maternal 57Azi     
adj.母亲的,母亲般的,母系的,母方的
参考例句:
  • He is my maternal uncle.他是我舅舅。
  • The sight of the hopeless little boy aroused her maternal instincts.那个绝望的小男孩的模样唤起了她的母性。
14 juries 7cb6e15c6e53ff1e3e89512e7655e755     
n.陪审团( jury的名词复数 );评判委员会
参考例句:
  • Grand juries have enormous powers to investigate wrong-doing by public officials as well as private citizens. 大陪审团拥有极大权力调查政府官员及平民的过失。
  • Juries for a state court are drawn from the county in which the court is located. 州法院的陪审员一般从该法院所在的县选取,而联邦法院的陪审员则从整个地区选取,包括许多县。
15 transcripts 525c0b10bb61e5ddfdd47d7faa92db26     
n.抄本( transcript的名词复数 );转写本;文字本;副本
参考例句:
  • Like mRNA, both tRNA and rRNA are transcripts of chromosomal DNA. tRNA及rRNA同mRNA一样,都是染色体DNA的转录产物。 来自辞典例句
  • You can't take the transfer students'exam without your transcripts. 没有成绩证明书,你就不能参加转学考试。 来自辞典例句

本文本内容来源于互联网抓取和网友提交,仅供参考,部分栏目没有内容,如果您有更合适的内容,欢迎 点击提交 分享给大家。