Part 3: Samuel Prout Artist Talk
Question 21-25
Choose the correct letter, A, B or C
The artist Samuel Prout
21 According to Jac, why did Samuel Prout never become very famous?
A His output was very limited
B He was seen as old-fashioned
C His work never had a major exhibition
22 Dr Rubin and Jack agree that many of Prout’s problem were caused by
A poor health
B Jealous colleagues
C an unhappy marriage
23 How did Prout learn paint?
A his father taught him
B he went to art
C he copied pictures
24 What point does jack make about Prout’s style?
A prount used different styles simultaneously
B many other artists had a similar style
C Prout’s style developed throughout his career
25 What did john Ruskin admire about Prout’s paintings?
A their realism
B their representation of buildings
C their wide range of subject matter
Question 26-30
What information do the speakers give about each of the following pictures?
Choose FIVE answers from the box and write the correct letter, A-G, next to question 26-30
Information
A one of several paintings of the same view
B probably an inaccurate title
C may not be genuine
D was never finished
E typical subject matter for Prout
F skillful painting of light and dark
G shows an event that never took place
Picture
26 A view in Germany: at Wurzburg ……………………………………….
27 Bridge on the Ouse, near Yok …………………………………………
28 Venice …………………………..
29 Entrance to a harbor ……………………………..
30 Entrance to harbor ……………………………
Transcripts
Dr. Rubin: Dr. Reuben.
Jack: Hello Jack.
Dr. Rubin: So have you chosen which artist you’re going to give your presentation on?
Jack: Yes, Samuel Prout, the 19th century English watercolour painter.
Dr. Rubin: Right. Interesting choice. I always feel he never quite got the fame he deserved, did he?
Jack: 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 to more people’s attention.
Dr. Rubin: 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 throughout his life.
Jack: Yes, It must have been hard for him, but it seems he had a loving wife and family, and a strong network of colleagues and supporters.
Dr. Rubin: 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 time.
Jack: No, well, I think he painstakingly reproduced other painters’ works, essentially sort of schooling himself. And then later on, he actually became an art teacher.
Dr. Rubin: How do you feel about Prout’s style of painting?
Jack: 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 seems to have several on the go all at the same time.
Dr. Rubin: Yes, with others, you can say, oh, that must be by so-and-so and painted in around 1820, say.
Jack: 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 great artist.
Dr. Rubin: Yes, but Ruskin’s assessment was quite biased, wasn’t it?
Jack: How do you mean?
Dr. Rubin: 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 lifelike. For me, his detaining of architecture was too predictable, but for Ruskin, that was where Prout’s genius lay.
Jack: Well, I guess that’s what Ruskin was particularly interested in.
Dr. Rubin: OK 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 work, OK?
Jack: Right.
Dr. Rubin: Well, I wanted to start with a view in Germany at Würzburg.
Jack: It’s a detailed watercolour showing a busy market scene with a background of flamboyant detail like in so many of his pictures.
Dr. Rubin: Yes, basically what Prout had made his name doing so well. It really gives the flavour of his work.
Jack: Right, there’s a painting called Bridge on the Ouse near York, except that experts now think this isn’t York at all, but somewhere in the south of England.
Dr. Rubin: Right.
Jack: But as far as I know, the picture has never been renamed.
Dr. Rubin: No, that would make cataloging and researching Prout’s pictures more complicated.
Jack: And the next one is called Woodland Scene. This one has a signature, it says S Prout in the bottom left. But even so, experts on Prout say they doubt he actually painted it.
Dr. Rubin: Yes, I remember reading that, that detailing is too clumsy, with the sun not casting shade in the right place.
Jack: Exactly, and there’s a lot of blue that basically doesn’t appear in any other Prout pictures, so it’s probably a forgery?
Dr. Rubin: Yes.
Jack: And what’s the next one?
Dr. Rubin: Venice.
Jack: 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 is shown brilliantly.
Dr. Rubin: Mmm, lovely use of colour, Prout at his best, I think.
Jack: Right.
Dr. Rubin: And then there’s Entrance to a Harbour.
Jack: Right, he grew up by the sea, didn’t he?
Dr. Rubin: Yes in Plymouth.
Jack: 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.
Dr. Rubin: Right. Well, now, you’ve obviously thought you’d be the one who’s going to be the one who’s
