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GENERAL ENGLISH · ENGLISH IN VIDEO · ADVANCED T

(C1-C2)

THE GIRL
WITH A
PEARL
EARRING
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1 Warm up

Match the following names to the

paintings.

A) Girl with a Pearl Earring by B) American Gothic by

Vermeer Wood
C) Mona Lisa by Da D) Self-Portrait with a Straw Hat by Van
Vinci Gogh

1 2 3 4

*Source: Reuters

Now in pairs, answer the following questions.

1. Which one do you like the most? Why?

2. Which one do you like the least? Why?
3. Are there any other paintings that you particularly like? What do you like about
them?
4. Do you enjoy looking at paintings, or do you prefer other types of art? Explain
your answer.
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2 Understanding the introduction

Read the extracts from the beginning of the script and number them in the correct order from 1 -
8. The first one is done for you.

6
A girl reading a letter. A piano lesson. A portrait artist at work.

3
a painting often referred to as the "Mona Lisa of the North."

Belonging to a Dutch style of idealized, sometimes overly expressive paintings known as

"Tronies," the 4
Girl with the Pearl Earring has the allure and subtlety characteristic of Vermeer’s work.

5
But this painting stands apart from the quiet narrative scenes that we observe from
afar in many of Vermeer’s paintings.

Is she turning towards you or away from you? No one can agree. 1
2
She’s the mysterious subject of Dutch master Johannes Vermeer’s Girl with the Pearl Earring,

7
These paintings give us a sense of intimacy while retaining their distance - a drawn
curtain often emphasizes the separation.
8
We can witness a milkmaid serenely pouring a bowl of milk, but that milk isn’t for us.
We’re only onlookers.

Now watch the first part of the video (00:00 - 01:01) to check your answers.

Find words or phrases in the introduction which have the following meanings.
expressive

1. allure
(adj.): displaying a lot of emotion and feeling

2. subtlety
(n): a quality which makes you interesting and attractive

3. stands apart
(n): a from
way that isn’t obvious

4. narrative
(phr. verb): to be clearly different from other things in the same grouping

5. intimacy
(n): the telling of a story

6. serenely
(n): the state of being in a close, personal relationship with someone

7. onlookers
(adv.): in a peaceful, gentle way

8. (pl. n): people who are watching an event but are not personally involved

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3 Focus on vocabulary

Part A: Match the following words to their

definitions.

1. invoke a. a change in the shape or appearance of something or the

(v) sound that it makes so that it is unusual or different
2. foreshortening b. a person who supports a cause, a charity or artists, usually
(n) financially
3. distortion c. interesting but difficult to understand completely as it’s
(n) not clear
4. portraiture d. something which isn’t there, an
(n) illusion
5. patron e. the act of making something appear smaller or closer than
(n) it really is within a painting, drawing, or photograph
6. spearhead f. the art of representing people’s faces in paintings,
(v) drawings, or photographs,
7. mirage g. to give someone a particular feeling or sense of
(n) something
8. enigmatic (adj.) h. to start something new and lead the way

Part B: Complete the following sentences with one of the words from Part A. You may need to
change the form of the word.
1. enigmatic
While much has been written about the life of Marilyn Monroe, the
circumstances surrounding her death remain the subject of much speculation.
2. When I look at this painting, itinvokes such dream-like memories from
childhood.
spearhead
3. The city council is going to a new initiative to encourage artists to
live and work in the area.
distortion
4. There’s a lot of in this old recording of Grandad, so it’s sometimes
hard to tell what he’s saying. But it’s still really fascinating.
foreshortening
5. They’d used in the movie to make it look like he was just about to
get crushed by the semi-truck. In reality, it was several feet away.
6. I did a lot of nature photography when I was growing up, but now what I most enjoy
isportraiture
patron
. People can be fascinating.
7. He’s been successful in business and gives back to the community by being a
mirage
of the local theatre.
8. When I met him, I thought he was rich and educated. But his wealth was a
, and he couldn’t talk about anything in any depth.
Now in pairs, discuss the following questions.
9. What words are synonyms for enigma?
10. What else can you distort apart from sound and images?
11. What else can you invoke apart from a sense or a feeling?
12. What are the different meanings of the noun portrait?
13. What are two different uses of the verb patronize?
14. Where are you most likely to see a mirage? What causes it?
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4 Comprehension

Now watch the rest of the video (01:01 - 04:32) and decide on the best answer for the following
questions.

1. What do Vermeer’s paintings usually do to create their effect?

a. They use a variety of colors and unusual shapes to create a feeling of

uncertainty.
b. They are precisely organized and use perspective to create a sense of balance.
c. They focus on sharp details of the face to create a feeling of realism and being
close to the subject.

2. What is the meaning of chiaroscuro?

a. a simple portrait of a woman who is usually beautiful

b. a painting that uses color in an unusually dramatic manner
c. a painting that uses light and darkness to create a 3D effect

3. According to the video, what is it about the painting that makes it fascinating?

a. The impression she gives that she is just about to speak together with the way
she is looking at us.
b. The soft tones of the skin make her seem life-like, as though we can touch her.
c. There is a familiarity about her face as if we know her from a dream.

4. What political events had an effect on Dutch painting in the 17th century?

a. the rejection of Spanish rule and the religious order that came with it
b. the end of the Netherlands being governed by a royal family and the beginnings
of democracy
c. the Catholic church having increased power within Dutch society

5. What did the new patrons of the arts want to see in paintings?

a. romanticized versions of the Dutch countryside, which they could have with
them on their journeys abroad
b. attractive women painted in a life-like manner for them to place in their
bedrooms
c. everyday scenes from middle-class houses with common objects

6. What does the pearl in the earring tell us?

a. Vermeer has the ability to create an impression of something which doesn’t exist.
b. The size of the pearl makes it clear that the girl came from a very wealthy family.
c. The pearl is clearly a fake, which makes us question the girl and her family
background.

7. In which city is A Girl with the Pearl Earring on display?

a. Paris
b. The Hague
c. Amsterdam
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5 Discussing vocabulary (optional task)

Look at the following extracts from the script and discuss the meaning of the word in bold.
Write down their meanings.

With the checkered floor in many of his works...

1.squares of black and white like a chessboard

Vermeer would even hide the leg of an easel for the sake of composition.

2.the way in which a painting or picture is organized

Her eye contact and slightly parted lips...

3. not together

Cities like Delft were unsupervised by kings or bishops...

without anyone watching over them

4.

It created a merchant class...

a person who buys and sells goods to people to make a living

5.

... these merchants preferred middle-class subjects ...

People who are not extremely wealthy or poor, which usually includes
6. university-educated people and business people

Upon close inspection, we are reminded...

The
7. action of looking very carefully at the details of something

...her presence is simultaneously penetrating and subtle.

gets inside you, in this case, into your thoughts and feelings
8.

Now discuss the following questions.

1. What does it mean if someone has a checkered past?

2. What does it mean if you compose yourself? What connection does it have to the
composition of a painting?
3. What does the saying "A fool and his money are soon parted" mean?
4. During which parts of your day or week are you unsupervised?
5. In the history of your country, what did the first merchants usually do?

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6. What jobs do middle-class people in your country typically have?

7. Have you ever had to give an inspection or been the subject of an inspection? What
was it for?
8. What does it mean if someone has a penetrating stare?

6 Talking point

In pairs, discuss the following questions.

1. What information did you learn from the video that you weren’t aware of before?
2. What do you think of the painting? Is it something you would want in your home?
Why/Why not?
3. Why do you think some portraits are more famous than others?
4. At the end of the video, then the narrator says, "In her enigmatic way, she
represents the birth of a modern perspective on economics, politics, and love." What
do you think he means?

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7 Extended activity/homework
Write a letter to a close friend describing seeing a portrait of your choice for the first
time.

Use the following questions to help you plan your writing.

1. Who is the portrait of, and who painted it?
2. What do you know about the history of the portrait?
3. What do you like about the portrait?
4. What do you not like about the portrait?
5. How does the portrait make you feel?
6. How would you describe the portrait to someone who has not
seen it?

You should:
• Write at least 250 words
• Be sure to check your grammar, spelling, and
punctuation.

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