Official 30 - conversation 2

conversation between student and art history professor

how was the museum

great, I have been there for few years

did you enjoy the Van Gogh(梵高) painting?

that's the thing, looks like I have to change my topic

we are getting to close to the deadline.

you were writing about the theme of night in painting of Vincent van Gogh? It's a wonderful topic.

I know, people don't usually think VG as an artist of nocturnal themes

nocturnal adj. 夜间发生的

they think of brightness, sunshine, all that yellow and orange.

you are right, about intense light associated with day time paintings but his night paintings don't exactly lack brightness.

that the paradox that I really like, the paradox of painting a nighttime scene using so much color and light.

paradox: one person, situation or action having seemingly contradictory qualities of phases.

so I was planning to focus mostly on his painting Starry Night.

but

when i went to the museum to look at the actual painting, like you told me to, it wasn't there.

really, isn't it a part of permanent collection.

yes, but it's on loan right now to museum in Europe.

I see, I am strict about having student write about the painting they can observed firsthand.

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well I found another painting I can study instead.

Ok, I read there are two painting called starry night.

the first one was done by French realist painter Millet. it may've been the inspiration for Van Gogh's painting.

Millet's painting is located near my family's house in Connecticut. and I am going there this weekend, and could study it then.

Connecticut: 康乃狄克州

I made sure that it's not out on loan.

that would definitely work then, VG copied many of Millet's compositions.

we know that he really admired Millet's work.

and a lot of us think Van Goah saw this particular painting by Millect in Paris in the late 1700s

1700s: seventeen hundreds

although Millet was realist painter and Van Goah a postimpressionist , the two painting still share lots of features, not just the name.

the most striking shared feature has been got to the amazing light effects.

striking: very unusual or easily noticed, and therefore attracting a lot of attention.

I'm excited to go see it, but one other thing.

I was thinking about getting head start of my next assignment while I'm at the gallery in Connecticut, the assignment on miniatures.

miniature: 微观模型

they have a lot of miniature portraits of children as a part of permanent collection.

American miniatures?

so I figure that I also get started on that essay, study a few while I'm there.

I focus on the meaning of object that some of children are holding, some are holding flower, one child has rattle, and another with toy violin.

rattle: 拨浪鼓

that would be fine, those objects we call them attributes.

the attributes chosen to included in particular miniature was often meant to the communicate parent hopes and dream for their child.

is meat to: it is expected to happen

so I think you'll learn a lot about how people viewed children at time of miniature painting were done.