Pleasure Reading.Part 2

                                                       

    Nick described Gatsby's Saturday night parties: they had become legendary in New York for their opulence and hedonism. Nick was eventually invited to one of these parties, but not by Gatsby himself; instead, Gatsby's chauffeur brought an invitation to Nick's door. When Nick arrived at the party there was a very mixed crowd there. He met Jordan at the party and everybody gossiped about the mysterious Gatsby and how he might be a murderer or in the CIA or something.

   In the garden, Nick stroke up a conversation with a handsome, youthful man who looked familiar to him; as it turned out that they had served in the same division during the war. This man was the mysterious Gatsby. Gatsby had an English accent and a highly formal way of speaking. He standed aloof from his guests, watching the party rather than taking part in it. Gatsby left to take a phone call; later, he sent his butler to ask Jordan Baker for privately talk. When she finished talking to Gatsby, she discovered "remarkable" news for Nick.

Rendering 2.ART

                                                      

   The article under consideration is headlined "As One Renaissance Door Closes, Other Open ". It is published on the website of the newspaper “The New York Times” on February 23,2013. the author of the article is   Elizabetta Poveledo.In the current article the author speaks at length about the long  restoration campaign of  Raphael's works and the closing of Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel for the public.  
    The article opens with a brief description of one of the most popular attractions of the Vatican Museums -Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel.The author gives information about the closing of this outstanding monument of art to the public,because of the electing of the successor of Pope Benedict XVI. Cardinals will need two week for making a decision.Further on the author underlined that visitors will be able to find some artistic consolation by lingering in the rooms that Raphael painted.She stresses upon that  30-year restoration of Raphael rooms now finally complete. 
    The article reports that Raphael was an Italian painter and architect.His work is admired for its clarity of form and ease of composition. Together with Michelangelo and Leonardo da Vinci he forms the traditional trinity of great masters of that period.  The restoration campaign brought new insights into how Raphael worked, including how he transferred his drawings from a nearly nine-yard-wide cartoon onto the walls, the methods he used to apply plaster, how quickly he painted and the organization of his workshop.
   Analyzing the process of restoration it’s necessary to point out that it is a very delicate task,that requires caution and patience. Professional restorers can spend years for their work,as it was in the Vatican Museums.
   The article draws a conclusion that government of Vatican should fund restorations in order to keep  the most popular attractions beautiful.Despite of the wear and tear to the museums caused by five million visitors a year it is very important keep them in good condition for future generations.
  As for me, I’m not going to the Vatican in the nearest future. I think when I decide to go there, Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel will open,and I will be able to see wonderful pieces of art. As for the Raphael, he is ,no doubt,a very talented artist. A lot of people admire his paintings all over the world.

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/23/arts/design/30-year-restoration-of-raphaels-frescoes-in-vatican-is-done.html?ref=a

Pleasure reading

                

                                         Part 1

      

   

   Nick Carraway was a very tolerant, and had a tendency to reserve judgment. Carraway came from a prominent Midwestern family and graduated from Yale. Nick fought in World War I; after the war, he went through a period of restlessness. In the summer of 1922, Carraway arrived in New York in order to learn the bond business and was living in a part of Long Island known as West Egg. West Egg was the home to the nouveau riche. They are people who had recently made money and lacked an established social position.

   Nick's house was next door to Gatsby's enormous, vulgar Gothic mansion. Sometime later Carraway had dinner with Daisy, his second cousin, and her husband, Tom Buchanan, whom he went to college with. A friend of Daisy's was also in attendance whose name was Jordan Baker. When Tom left the company to take the call, Nick got to know that Tom's phone call was from his lover in New York. After this confusing situation he went home. On the way to his home Carraway saw a handsome young man, Jay Gatsby, standing on his wide lawn, with his arms stretched out to the sea.

    The second chapter began with the description of the valley of ashes, a dismal, barren wasteland halfway between West Egg and New York. Tom Buchanan took Nick to George Wilson's garage, which lied at the edge of the valley of ashes. Wilson's wife, Myrtle, was the woman with whom Tom had been having an affair. Tom forced both Myrtle and Nick to accompany him to the city. There, in the flat they had a shrill, vulgar party with Myrtle's sister, Catherine, and a repulsive couple named McKee. The group gossiped about Jay Gatsby: Catherine claimed that he was somehow related to Kaiser Wilhelm, the much-despised ruler of Germany during World War I.

Rendering № 1

                                  

     The article published on the website of the newspaper “The Guardian” on February 10, 2013 is headlined “Claerwen James: The art of being Clive James's daughter”. The article is written by Vanessa Thorpe.

     The article gives the reader  information about the Claerwen James exhibition in London's Flowers gallery, about her life, about her style in art, about the difficulties, that she had to overcome on her way to becoming an artist. It should be noted that she is a scientist and it is her specialty, however she hasn’t a calling for this profession. Many of the spare time Claerwen spent painting, but she didn't think she had anything to offer in art. Only after she started to paint full-time she couldn’t understand how she lived without it.

     Analyzing the style and strategy of painting it is necessary to note that at her pictures we can see sad and powerful faces of people; it is just the way Claerwen sees the people. Her portraits are painted from photographs rather than live sittings.

It is a technique that has won her fans and collectors, among them the novelist Ian McEwan, who bought a portrait in 2006.She doesn’t really paint portraits to commission, she is doing this for pleasure and painting makes her happy.

     In addition to we can find information about the relationship between Claerwen and her farther in this article. Clive James is an Australian author, critic, broadcaster, poet and memoirist. The fact is that, her father is very famous, hindered Claerwen to express her individuality. Clive underlined that there's a great loneliness in some of her paintings, he hopes he is not responsible for that .He and his daughter meet regularly at weekends.

     As for me I saw a lot of Claerwen’s works, she paints beautiful portraits, especially portraits of children. I can’t say that people are sad at these pictures; they are thoughtful, concentrated and dreaming. I am happy that Claerwen James found herself in painting, because she is really talented person.

February,12

                
   My Pleasure Reading

Year I Term I - "Pride and Prejudice" by Jane Austin
Year I Term II -"Theatre" by Somerset  Maugham
Year II Term III - "Jane Eyre" by Charlotte Brontë
Year II Term IV - "The catcher in the rye " by Jerome Salinger
Year III Term V - "Atonement" by  Ian McEwan
Year III Term VI -"The Great Gatsby" by F. Scott Fitzgerald