book 6 unit one 导学案.docVIP

Section_ⅠWarming Up Reading — Pre-reading Leonardo da Vinci is famous all over the world.The smile of Mona Lisa attracts many people.Do you know how he created the painting？Please read the following passage to get the answer. Leonardo da Vinci was one of the great creative minds of the Italian Renaissance. He was not only hugely influential as an artist and sculptor but also talented as an engineer, scientist and inventor. He was widely considered to be one of the greatest painters of all time. He was born on 15 April, 1452 near the town of Vinci in Florence. In about 1483, he moved to Milan to work as an engineer, sculptor, painter and architect. Da Vinci remained in Milan until the city was invaded by the French in 1499. He may have visited Venice before returning to Florence. During his time in Florence, he painted several portraits (肖像画), but the only one that survives is The Mona Lisa. The Mona Lisa was one of Da Vincis favourite paintings, and he carried it with him until he died. Today, it is regarded as the most famous painting in the world, and is visited by many thousands of people every year. The painting, a half-length portrait, depicts a woman with an expression often described as mysterious. Who is this familiar figure? Many suggestions have been made, but the most likely one is Lisa Gherardini, the wife of a Florentine silk merchant. Another more unlikely — but popular — theory is that the painting was a self-portrait. There are certainly similarities between the facial features of the Mona Lisa and of the artists self-portrait painted many years later. Could this be why Da Vinci gave the subject such a mysterious smile? Da Vinci used a technique known as Sfumato (渲染层次) — the blurring (使模糊不清) of sharp edges by mixing colours — to leave the corners of the eyes and the mouth in shadow. It is this technique that makes the Mona Lisas expression that can be understood in more than one way. Today, the Mona Lisa looks rather sad, in dull shades of brown and