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How to describe famous Paintings
Sep 17, 2025
This short video explains the four key features to describing paintings and includes a range of fixed English phrases. It also includes a practice activity of describing a famous painting and possible answers. WORKSHEET DOWNLOAD: https://academic-englishuk.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/Describing-Paintings-Practice-Video-AEUK.docx BUY LESSON: COMING SOON... WEBPAGE LINK: https://academic-englishuk.com/english-for-art/
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[Music]
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Hello and welcome to this short academic
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English video on how to describe
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paintings.
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Before we begin, there is a worksheet
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that accompanies this video. So, pause
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the video and download it now before we
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begin.
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So, let's begin by thinking of a famous
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painting that you like. Here are some
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examples. How would you describe it?
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Well, when describing art, we usually
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focus on four areas. Number one is a
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general description. Number two is style
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and technique. Number three is colors
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and mood. And number four is your
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personal interpretation.
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So if we begin with number one, a
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general description, we tend to use
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phrases like this painting shows or
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depicts or portrays,
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the artwork represents,
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it is a portrait of or it is a landscape
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of the scene is set in. It appears to
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be.
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Then number two, style and technique is
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a bit more complicated.
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Phrases would be like this. The gray
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font represents possible ideas.
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So it was painted in the Renaissance
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style or impressionist style or cubist
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style etc.
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I think it was painted by with the
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artist's name and it is called
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the artist uses bright muted contrasting
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earthly colors.
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The brush strokes are bold, delicate,
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expressive, loose, full of movement,
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precise.
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The composition is balanced,
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symmetrical, fragmented
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with it is painted in oil or watercolors
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or fresco acrylic on canvas.
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If we just look at the first point
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style, it is important to know the main
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artistic styles.
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Here on this slide are 14 different
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artistic styles.
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Pause the slide, read through each one,
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and write down some notes about what you
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know about these. Pause and do the
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activity.
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Okay, here are some official definitions
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of these styles. Again, pause the slide
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and read through them and check them to
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your ideas.
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Okay, moving on. Next is number three.
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Colors and mood phrases include the
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dominant colors are the use of light
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creates a dramatic, calm, mysterious,
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striking, unsettling, stark effect.
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Colors give the painting a warm, cold,
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vibrant, monumental, formal, serious
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atmosphere.
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The mood of the painting is joyful,
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melancholic, unsettling, reflective,
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tense, serene.
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Okay. And finally is number four,
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interpretation
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and personal response.
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This is the critical thinking part of
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looking at paintings
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with phrases such as the painting might
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symbolize it could reflect the artist's
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feelings about it makes me feel. I like
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this work because this reminds me of.
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So, you have these four key titles of
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general description, style and
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technique, colors and mood, and personal
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interpretation with a range of phrases
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that can be used to describe and help
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you interpret a painting.
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Right, then it's your turn. I'm going to
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share a famous painting, and I'd like
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you to use this table of phrases to help
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you describe and interpret it.
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This table is on the download document.
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And what I'd like you to do is add
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information to the phrases in each
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section.
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So here is the painting. I won't tell
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you who painted it or what's it called
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at this stage. So pause the slide, study
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the painting, and fill in the table with
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your own ideas. Pause and do the
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exercise.
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Okay, here come the answers. So, the
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painting is called Impression Sunrise.
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It was painted in 1872
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by the artist Claude Monet.
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Here is a possible answer I've done
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myself. So, pause and check it to your
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own.
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Now, here is what the art experts say
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about it.
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So, subject and context. Impression
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Sunrise shows the port of Leah Hav at
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dawn, Monet's hometown. Instead of
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detail, it captures atmosphere and
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change, reflecting modern industrial
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France.
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Technique and style. Monet used loose
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brush strokes, thin paint, and striking
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color contrast. The orange sun glows
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against hazy blues, breaking with
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academic tradition. Its title gave
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impressionism its name.
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Psychological effect. The misty scene
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feels calm yet alive. Blurred out let
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viewers imagine the details, creating
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immediacy and showing perception rather
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than reality.
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Reception and legacy. First mocked as
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unfinished, it is now seen as a turning
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point in art. Critics recognize it as
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the manifesto of impressionalism and a
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foundation of modern art.
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General overview. Experts agree that
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Impression Sunrise is less about the
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port itself and more about capturing an
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instant of light and atmosphere.
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It represents a turning point in art
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history where the focus shifted to
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subjective perception and modern life.
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Its revolutionary technique,
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psychological immediacy and cultural
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impact make it one of the defining works
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of the 19th century paintings.
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Okay, sadly that's the end of the video.
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If you'd like more then we have a
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booklet you can buy with another four
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famous paintings to describe. Of course,
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it includes all the answers and expert
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analysis.
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Or if you'd like more English for art
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lessons, then go here for a selection of
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listenings, readings, speakings, and
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writings at Academic English
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UK/englishforart.
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Until next time, as always, thanks for
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watching. Goodbye.
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[Music]
#Painting
#Visual Art & Design