I. Reading

Read the text given below. For questions (1–5), choose the answer (A, B, C or D) which you think fits best according to the text.

There are few visitors to the countryside around Aix-en-Provence who do not see its dramatic forms through the eyes of its most famous inhabitant, Paul Cézanne. Day after day for the last 20 years of his life the artist set up his easel to paint Mont Sainte Victoire and the surrounding countryside.

Sadly, Cézanne’s efforts frequently left him dissatisfied as he felt he was not achieving the high artistic goals which he had set himself. Nor was his dedication appreciated by the townspeople of Aix, where Cézanne had been born in 1839.

The painter was very much disliked, and lived alone and isolated – a classic case of the misunderstood, awkward and unconventional artistic genius.

He had retired to Aix partly because he had not done well in the artistic world of Paris. His work took much longer to gain acceptance than that of the Impressionists – an injustice for which Cézanne bitterly resented his former artistic colleagues.

Cézanne had first gone to Paris in 1861. He met Camille Pissarro at the Academia Suisse, and the violent subjects of his early work gave way to the subjects and style of Impressionism. But he soon felt the need to go beyond this, to “make of Impressionism something solid and lasting, like the art of the museums”. He wanted to add intellect to the sensations that lay behind the work of artists like Monet.

Like the Impressionists, Cézanne was part of a movement away from the museums as a source of artistic inspiration and towards the direct observation of nature. “One must make a vision for oneself,” he wrote. “One must see nature as no one has seen it before.”

Cézanne’s efforts lasted a lifetime. “I must carry on – I simply must paint from nature,” he wrote in 1906. By this time, his work was beginning to be recognised. He had had his first successful exhibition in 1895, and was beginning to attract a few young followers. Despite this, his death certificate identifies him as a man of private means and not as an artist.

His works were not shown in the town museum until some years after his death. Aix is now embarrassed by this late acceptance of its artistic son, and today one can get a map which leads one to Cézanne’s favourite places for painting. Although much has changed, you can still see landscapes which are very much the same as those seen in the paintings. You can also visit Cézanne’s studio, where objects made famous in Cézanne’s still life are on display.

A it was not popular.

B it was disliked by the people of Aix.

C it did not satisfy his own ambitions.

D it did not make him much mone

2. The people of Aix…

A accepted the artist.

B thought he was a genius.

C behaved awkwardly towards him.

D thought he was odd

3. Cézanne resented the Impressionists because…

A they treated him unfairly.

B they did not accept him.

C their work was more popular than his.

D they did not understand his work.

4. Cézanne was not satisfied with Impressionism because…

A it dealt only with feelings, not intelligence.

B it was too solid.

C it was too much like the work in museums.

D it did not inspire him

5. What did Cézanne have in common with the Impressionists?

A He worked in museums.

B He painted from nature.

C He was observant.

D He saw nature as they did.