Essay topics: TPO-03 - Integrated Writing Task

The reading passage and the lecture are both devoted to Rembrandt's work on which an old woman depicted. The writer avers that although the style seems to be original there are some evidence which casts doubt on the authenticity of the work. At the same time, the lecturer supplies us with new information which proves that the painting was created by the Great master. The evidence given in both the text and the audio will be discussed in details below.

Firstly, the author points out on some inconsistence in clothes of the woman. Although she wears a white linen cap which signals that she is a servant, the woman is pictured with a fur collar which might not be bought by a poor person. The speaker explains that the new expertise, which has been made recently, has revealed that the collar was added later probably in order to increase the cost of the drawing.

Secondly, in the reading passage we read that there is inconsistency between shadows and lights which is an unthinkable mistake for the master; however, the lecturer explains that before the fur collar was painted the maiden wears a light colored collar which reflected light on her face, thus there used to be no disharmony between picture's elements.

Finally, the writer states that the drawing was created on a wooden panel which was glued from several pieces. Rembrandt never used this technique. However, the professor claims that the novel expertise proves that the initially the masterpiece was drawn on one piece of wood and other elements were glued after the painting was finished. Furthermore, the expertise shows that the same tree was used for the work which we are discussing and for the well-known self-portrait of the master.