File 5 - The Artist Samuel Prout

SPEAKER_01: Section 3.
You will hear an art history student called Jack talking to

a lecturer Dr. Rubin about an English artist called Samuel Prout. First you have
some time to look at questions 21-25 on page 5.
SPEAKER_02: Dr. Rubin. Hello Jack. So have you chosen which artist you're going to
give your presentation
SPEAKER_00: on? Yes, Samuel Prout, the 19th century English watercolor painter.
SPEAKER_02: Right, interesting choice. I always feel he never quite got the fame
he deserved, did
SPEAKER_00: he? No, I think that's true. I mean, I don't think he ever went
completely out of vogue, even though tastes and fashions come and go. He was really
prolific in his day, but there's never really been a high profile showing of his
paintings. That could have brought him
SPEAKER_02: to more people's attention. Sure. But I think it's remarkable that he
achieved any critical success given the problems that he had. Apparently he was
prone to chronic chest infections
SPEAKER_00: throughout his life. Yes, it must have been hard for him, but it seems
he had a loving
SPEAKER_02: wife and family. And a strong network of colleagues and supporters.
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I've been trying to find out what got him interested in painting
in the first place. He doesn't seem to have learned the skill from his father, like
so many artists of his
SPEAKER_02: time. No, well, I think he painstakingly reproduced other painter's
works, essentially sort of schooling himself. And then later on, he actually became
an art teacher. How do you feel about Prout's style of painting?
SPEAKER_00: It's interesting how a lot of artists, you can see how their style is
developing as their work matures, but not so much with Prout. He seemed to have
several on the go all at
SPEAKER_02: the same time. Yes, with others, you can say, oh, that must be by so
and so and painted in around 1820, say. Right, but not so much with Prout. Of
course, Prout's career had a huge boost when the art critic John Ruskin declared
him a
SPEAKER_00: great artist. Yes, but Ruskin's assessment was quite biased, wasn't
it? How do you mean? Well, Ruskin admired Prout, and he didn't seem to mind the
fact that many of his paintings showed more or less the same thing, European street
scenes, or that the people in Prout's pictures can look rather wooden and not very
SPEAKER_02: life-like. For me, his detailing of architecture was too predictable,
but for Ruskin, that was where Prout's geniously…
SPEAKER_00: Well, I guess that's what Ruskin was particularly interested in.
SPEAKER_01: Before you hear the rest of the discussion, you have some time to look
at questions 26-30 on page 6. Now listen and answer questions 26-30.
SPEAKER_02: Okay, Jack, so your brief was to prepare a presentation to give to the
group and show some pictures associated with the artist, each of which makes a key
point about their
SPEAKER_00: work, okay? Right. Well, I wanted to start with a view in Germany at
Würzburg. It's a detailed watercolour showing a busy market scene with a background
of flamboyant detail, like in so many of his pictures.
SPEAKER_02: Yes, basically what Prout had made his name doing so well. It really
gives the flavour
SPEAKER_00: of his work. Right. Okay. There's a painting called Bridge on the Oohs
near York, except that experts now think this isn't York at all, but somewhere in
the south of England. Right. But as far as I know, the picture has never
SPEAKER_02: been renamed. No, that would make cataloging and researching
SPEAKER_00: Prout's pictures more complicated. And the next one is called Woodland
scene. This one has a signature. It says S-Proud in the bottom left. But even so,
experts on
SPEAKER_02: Prout say they doubt he actually painted it. Yes, I remember reading
that. That detailing is too clumsy, with the sun not casting shade in the right
place.
SPEAKER_00: Exactly. And there's a lot of blue that basically doesn't appear in
any other Prout pictures.
SPEAKER_02: So it's probably a forgery? Yes. And what's the next one?
SPEAKER_00: Venice. It's a view from the Grand Canal, with some rather grand
buildings, they're bathed in sunlight with a sort of picturesque shadow cast by the
building's opposite, which
SPEAKER_02: is shown brilliantly. Lovely use of colour. Prout at his best, I
think.
SPEAKER_00: Right. And then there's entrance to a harbour. Right. He grew up by
the sea, didn't he? Yes, in Plymouth. He didn't specialise in seascapes, but this
same location with the harbour and the sea also appear in other pictures, showing a
range of weather conditions. They don't all have figures like this one, but I think
they're really well done.
SPEAKER_02: Right. Well now you've obviously...
SPEAKER_01: That is the end of section 3. You now have half a minute to check your
answers. Now turn to section 4 on page 7.

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SPEAKER_01: Section 3.

You will hear an art history student called Jack talking to

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