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Hyde, Kenny Nick, - Teachers Resource

The passage discusses arguments for and against considering Leonardo da Vinci's Mona Lisa as a great work of art. While the painting's longevity and ability to fascinate audiences over 500 years would qualify it as great, some modern critics argue it may not be da Vinci's finest work and we overrate it. However, the passage counters that no other work has captured the world's imagination as much or inspired as many people to take up art. The hidden word is "contrary".

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Lorena Rivera
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14 views

Hyde, Kenny Nick, - Teachers Resource

The passage discusses arguments for and against considering Leonardo da Vinci's Mona Lisa as a great work of art. While the painting's longevity and ability to fascinate audiences over 500 years would qualify it as great, some modern critics argue it may not be da Vinci's finest work and we overrate it. However, the passage counters that no other work has captured the world's imagination as much or inspired as many people to take up art. The hidden word is "contrary".

Uploaded by

Lorena Rivera
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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08 Photocopiable activity

8B Complete the essay

a as as as certainly contrary course example for for granted however in instance is


more moreover my of on opposite quite result that the the view well what

(1) , what makes a work of art great rather than just good is its ability to appeal to the majority
rather than the minority. (2) , it needs to have longevity, to hold its fascination long
after it has been executed. (3) , Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona Lisa would be considered a
great work of art. (4) there are very few people who would stand in front of the painting in
the Louvre and say ‘I really don’t like that’. (5) , it has fascinated and mystified almost everyone
who has seen it since the great artist set it down on canvas over 500 years ago.
(6) , not everyone thinks it is as great as we have been led to believe.
(7) , some modern critics have taken a rather negative revisionist approach to
the painting. (8) , they say, the artist was a uniquely skilled individual who was years ahead of his
time. (9) , the Mona Lisa was not necessarily his ‘finest hour’, and perhaps we give it more credit
than it deserves.
So why should this be? The painting’s detractors have some compelling arguments. (10) ,
they point out that it is not what we see that makes us think of it as a great work of art, but what we imagine. We see a
woman with an enigmatic smile, but our imagination does all the work. Who was she? What was she smiling at? What
was her relationship to the artist? (11) , its aura of mystique has fooled us into believing it is a
great piece of art.
Personally speaking, I would find it hard to agree with them. (12) ,
in fact. I cannot think of any other work of art that has captured the world’s imagination so much and,
(13) , has inspired so many people to take up art professionally or as a hobby. That
would not have happened, I am sure, if the Mona Lisa were not such a great work of art.

Write the hidden word.


, the more critics dismiss a work of art, the more I like it.

© Pearson Education Limited 2013 PHOTOCOPIABLE


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M09_PROF_EXP_TRB_9012_PC8.indd 160 17/01/2013 14:08

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