ESO YEAR 4 - 6th-10th February

DUE WEDNESDAY, 8TH FEBRUARY 2017

READING - MODERN MASTERS - VAN GOGH

CHAPTER 4 – STARRY, STARRY NIGHT

Vincent Van Gogh put his whole life into art, but the pressure was too much. He knew he was not well. He didn’t want to move in with Theo and his new wife, because he didn’t want to disturb them. He asked the police to admit him to the local mental asylum at Saint-Remy. He was 36.

Van Gogh’s last year was spent in the asylum. Vincent had only one request: he wanted his paints and canvasses. Theo made sure that Vincent had one room to rest in and one room for painting.

Even in the asylum, Vincent motivation to create never stopped. He painted the olive trees and cypress trees that he saw on his daily walks. He even continued copying other artists: Delacroix, Rembrandt and his favourite: Millet.He never stopped improving. He painted some of his most famous works at Saint-Remy, including The Starry Night and Cornfield with Cypresses.

The Starry Night is one of the most famous paintings of all time. It shows a dramatic night sky over the village of Saint-Remy. A cypress tree trembles in the breeze. The sky is alive with motion., strong winds and stars as bright as candle flames.

It’s hard to believe, but Van Gogh was not very happy with this painting. He was always very critical of himself.

The next year, his Impressionist friend, Pissarro, introduced Van Gogh to Dr Paul Gachet, an amateur painter and an art lover. This was a lucky break for Van Gogh because the doctor understood Van Gogh’s genius and knew that he lived for painting. Van Gogh moved to Auvers-sur-Oise to stay with Dr Gachet.

Vincent finally found some peaceof mind with DR Gachet’s help. He painted in light blues and bright greens putting an enchanting young girl in many of the paintings. This character was based on Dr Gachet’s daughter. Vincent’s art was evolving from his original paintings of coal miners in dark greys and blacks.

Later that year, some of his paintings were exhibited in Brussels and Paris, and received a lot of praise. It seemed that Van Gogh would soon be well enough to go home.

Theo brought him some good news. Somebody wanted to buy his first painting, The Red Vineyard, for 400 francs! It was the only painting Van Gogh sold in his lifetime.

Van Gogh's final self-portrait shows the many sides of his personalality. His expression is serious, but his suit is blue and happy. A turquoise sky swirls chaotically all around him.

Although he was finally released from the asylum, Vincent's depression became worse.

One of his last paintings is Wheat Field with Crows. The painting shows black crows flying into the night sky which many people believe shows the depth of his depression. Not long after finishing it, Vincent walked into a field and shot himself. He died a few days later on 29^th July. The year was 1890 and he was 37. An unfinished letter to Theo was found after his death: “I'm risking my life for my work,” Van Gogh wrote, “and I've got only half my sanity as a result.”

At the time of his death, most of the world had never heard of Vincent Van Gogh. But his work was recognised a few years after his death and his influence is still felt today. He went beyond the Impressionists and experimented more than anybody in his time, opening the way for much contemporary art.

Because of the chances Van Gogh took, artists learnt that they, too, could experiment. They learnt that they could do more than paint the outside world. Like Vincent Van Gogh, they could also express themselves and their feelings through their paintings.

DUE THURSDAY 9TH FEBRUARY 2017

UNIT 5 - VOCABULARY: JOBS

Copy the following definitions onto your notebook, and try to find out what jobs they match:

a. A person who works in military service

b. A person who gathers news for a newspaper or a television station

c. The person who decides if someone is guilty or innocent

d. A person who works in a ship

e. A person who performs illusions to trick the audience

f. The person who takes your order and brings you food in a restaurant

g. A person who represents or advises clients in legal matters

h. A person who writes books, articles, etc.

i. A person who obtains secret information from the enemy

j. A member of the police force

k. A person who installs or repairs electric devices or wiring

l. An owner or executive engaged in commercial matters

m. A person who has animals for their exploitation or who cultivates land

n. A person who installs and repairs pipes and devices connected to running water

o. An investigator who gets information and evidence about a crime

p. A person who works in an office typing, filing and answering phonecalls

q. A person who studies ancient peoples and cultures by searching utensils and tools

r. A person with an important position in a bank

s. A doctor for your teeth

t. A person who governs a company