THE CONCEPT COLOUR IN ESSAYS ON ART WRITTEN IN ENGLISH: A COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF JOHN BERGER’S AND JED PERLS’S ESSAYS ABOUT HENRI MATISSE

Introduction. The paper is devoted to the analysis of the concept COLOUR verbalized in the essays about Henri Matisse written by John Berger and Jed Perl. The context for the linguistic studies of the concept of COLOUR is provided through a brief outline of the linguistic approaches to the analysis of this concept and identification of the relation of the research on the verbalized concept COLOUR with the attempts to solve the question about the connection between language and thought as one of the key linguistic questions. The conception of A. Prikhodko about different types of concepts depending on their roles in constituting certain types of discourse is employed to identify the concept COLOUR as autochthonous, having the key role in the art-critical discourse. The purpose of the study is reveal the similarities and differences in the verbalization of the concept COLOUR in Berger’s and Perl’s essays. Methodological foundations of the research are the principles of the cognitive-discursive paradigm in modern linguistics. The following methods were used to analyse the data: analysis of definitions of lexemes, componential analysis, interpretation in the context, cognitive and pragmatic interpretation, comparative analysis. The study has revealed that the essays share the positive evaluation of the art of Matisse. However, the essays have different communicative aims with Berger striving to explain the creative genius of Matisse and Perl intending to get the readers interested in Matisse’s retrospective exhibition. Thus the concept COLOUR plays the key role in Berger’s essays as a means of interpretation of Matisse’s art, whereas it shares this role with three other concepts in Perl’s essay. The analysis has revealed a number of the similarities in the actualization of the concept COLOUR in both essays. This concept is verbalized by the lexeme colour / color or the names of specific colours; in both essays the conceptual metaphor COLOUR IS SOUND is used; in both essays there are contexts of the actualization of the conceptCOLOUR which perform such functions: discussing the main principle of how Matisse used his colours, placing Matisse in the context of the art styles and comparing Matisse with other artists. Such similarities make the conclusion that it is possible to provide some sort of objective, well-grounded interpretation of the works of art plausible.