Bridge on the Dobra river

Warming Up

Which light do you prefer: morning light or afternoon light? Why?
Have a look at the paintings of Rouen cathedral by Claude Monet. He painted them as a series, between 1892 and 1894. What differences can you see between them? What similarities can you find? https://www.tuttartpitturasculturapoesiamusica.com/2016/02/Claude-Monet.html

Story: Bridge on the Dobra

Matija Jama, a Slovenian impressionist painter, was born in Ljubljana. He lived, studied and worked in Germany and the Netherlands, among other places. In 1897, he enrolled in Anton Ažbe’s Art School in Munich (Germany). In 1902, he got married to the Dutch painter Luiza van Readers. Jama lived and worked across Europe but when World War I broke out, Jama and Luiza bought a villa in The Hague and ran a guest house and sold their paintings.
From the motive of the bridge on the Dobra and the rhythm of light under the bridge arches, and their mirroring on the water surface, Jama built a complex image of morning light. Everything is painted with brief brush touches.
The painting depicts the bridge on the Dobra River in Puškarić Selo (Croatia) and is exhibited at the National Gallery of Slovenia.

Cultural Heritage Background

Paintings by Slovenian Impressionists were presented to the public for the first time in 1900, in an exhibition in Ljubljana. Four Slovenian painters participated in the exhibition: Ivan Grohar, Matija Jama, Matej Strnen and Rihard Jakopič.

The leading figure of Slovenian Impressionism was Ivan Grohar. He started as a church painter, continued as a realist and ended up as an Impressionist. He painted “The Sower” which now features on the 5 cent Slovenian coin.

“The Sower” was also used on the cover of a high school manual. At the turn of the 19th century Impressionist painters cooperated closely with writers. They designed their book covers.

Avgust Berthold was the first Slovenian art photographer. He was interested in Slovenian landscape. He took a picture of a sower and Ivan Grohar took over this motif for his painting.

From the motif of the bridge on the Dobra river and the rhythm of light under the bridge arches, the painter Matija Jama built a complex image of morning light. Everything is painted with brief brush strokes.

Listening Comprehension

Reading the story

From the motive of the bridge on the Dobra and the rhythm of light under the bridge arches, and their mirroring on the water surface, Jama built a complex image of morning light. Everything is painted with brief brush touches.

The painting depicts the bridge on the Dobra River in Puškarić Selo (Croatia) and is exhibited at the National Gallery of Slovenia.

Reading Comprehension

Grammar

Prepositions of time Go to the BBC Learning English vocabulary page here to remind yourself about the rules for prepositions we use with time expressions.

Additional activities

Do some research into Impressionism in other European countries.
Bridges are a frequent motif in European art history. Can you think of any other paintings, photographs or other artworks showing bridges?

There is a very famous English children’s song about a bridge. Do you know it? Do you know its history? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0-Y7Qi3fMs0

Practise additional vocabulary used in the text. Put the following words into sentences:

Bridge/
Water/
Light /
Landscape
Work/
Dirt?