|
Home > Verbal
Ability > Comprehension
Read the passage below and answer the questions following it.
Leonardo da Vinci’s the last Supper, painted in the monastery of Santa Maria
delle Grazie in Milan, is one of the supreme masterpieces of Western art. But
for 20 years it has been under restoration – partially or totally obscured by
scaffolding.
It was hoped restoration work would be finished on time to celebrate the 500th
anniversary of Leonardo’s completion of the work in 1497. That anniversary came
and went.
At the end of last year, it was predicted the restoration would be finished by
the end of the current year. There is now no chance of that or of it being
finished next year.
Signora Pinin Brambilla the women who has devoted two decades of her life to
restoring the masterpiece, now says, “We might be finished by the year 2000.
But we might not.”
The glacial slowness of the restorers work is, of course, in a tradition started
by the Master himself – even if Signora Brambilla has, so far, taken nearly
seven times longer to restore the last supper than Leonardo took to paint it.
But Leonardo himself was berated for being too slow by the prior who
commissioned the painting. He complained to Leonardo that he just stood in
front of the wall for half an hour added a few brush strokes, and then left for
the day. Leonardo tartly replied that he was having problems imagining the face
of anyone as evil as Judas, but if the prior was in a hurry, the difficulty
could be solved by using his portrait.
To give himself the time he felt he needed, Leonardo jettisoned traditional
fresco technique. True fresco – buonfresco – means that you have to paint while
the plaster is still wet that gives you at most a day to paint any given area
of wall. And you have to paint fast – if you make a mistake, your only option
is to slather on a new layer of plaster and start again.
1. The last supper is expected to be restored by:
a) The end of 1998
b) 1999
c) 2000
d) None of the above
View Answer / Hide Answer
2. Where was Leonardo’s da Vinci’s The Last Supper painted?
a) The monastery of Santa Maria delle Grazie
b) Milan
c) Spain
d) None of the above
View Answer / Hide Answer
ANSWER: The monastery of Santa Maria delle Grazie
3. The author’s attitude towards Signora Brambilla’s work can be described as
a) Regretful
b) Analytical
c) Approving
d) Disinterested
View Answer / Hide Answer
4. How long did Signora Brambilla take to restore the painting?
a) 7 times longer
b) 10 times longer
c) 5 times longer
d) All of the above
View Answer / Hide Answer
|
