The impressionist painters expressly disavowed any interest in philoso

1. The author of the passage is primarily concerned with

(A) explaining how the Impressionists were influenced by scientific studies of light and color – nothing was told about scientific studies
(B) discussing the philosophical implications of the Impressionist style of painting – the correct answer
(C) identifying the revolutionary artistic techniques developed by the Impressionist painters - the philosophical implications, not techniques is the main point
(D) analyzing the influence of thinkers like Taine and Mauclair on Impressionist painting – those philosophers were only examples, not the main figures
(E) defending the importance of the Impressionist painters in the history of modern art – not importance in the history, but the philosophical implications are relevant here.

2. According to the passage, the Impressionists differed from the ancient Greeks in that the Impressionists

(A) considered color to be property inherent in objects
(B) placed a higher value on the narrative element in painting
(C) depicted the objects in a painting as isolated, rather than united in a single pattern – the opposite answer choice
(D) treated light, rather than matter, as the ultimate reality – Correct “The Impressionists, on the other hand, viewed light, not matter, as the ultimate visual reality.”
(E) regarded art primarily as a medium for expressing moral and aesthetic ideas

3. The author’s quotation of a statement by Taine (lines 15-16) serves which of the following functions in the passage?

Here I hesitate between A and E, but choose E, because A for me is more like a function in the paragraph, while E in the passage.

(A) It furnishes a specific example of an Impressionist painting that features light as its chief subject.
(B) It resolves an apparent contradiction in the philosophy of the Impressionists.
(C) It qualifies the statement that the ancient Greeks viewed the world in concrete terms.
(D) It summarizes the unique perspective that the Impressionists brought to painting.
(E) It provides a concrete illustration of the far-reaching philosophical implications of Impressionism. - Correct

4. According to the passage, the Impressionists believed that the atmosphere

(A) reflects light with varying intensity
(B) creates the illusion of color in colorless surfaces
(C) modifies the shapes of objects – Correct: “The Impressionist world was composed not of separate objects but of many surfaces on which light struck and was reflected with varying intensity to the eye through the atmosphere, which modified it.”
(D) is the result of vibrations of light
(E) affects the way we perceived color

5. The author’s use of the term “mosaic of colors” (line 32) suggests that Impressionist paintings were characterized by
(A) discontinuous dabs of unmixed pigment – not correct: “The Impressionist world was composed not of separate objects”
(B) broad, sweeping brush strokes – cannot be inferred from the info given
(C) clearly defined forms and objects – not correct: “The Impressionist world was composed not of separate objects but of many surfaces on which light struck”
(D) subjects devoid of emotive or literary qualities - correct
(E) the glowing reds, greens, and midnight blues of stained glass – we cannot conclude the concrete colors

6. The passage contains information that answers which of the following questions?
I. How did the Impressionists perceive matter? – Yes: “The interest of the object upon which it plays is secondary.”
II. What is the unifying element in a typical Impressionist painting? – Yes, it’s light.
III. How did the Impressionists’ view of color differ from that of eighteenth-century artists? – Although it’ s said that “Color, formerly considered a property inherent in an object, was seen to be merely the result of vibrations of light on the object’s colorless surface.”, nothing is said about the view of 19 cent artists.
(A) I only
(B) III only
(C) I and II only - correct
(D) II and III only
(E) I, II, and III

7. The ideas attributed to the Impressionists in the passage suggest that an Impressionist painter would be most likely to agree with which of the following statement?
(A) A picture is significant primarily as a manifestation of the artist’s mental state.
(B) The highest purpose of art is to teach religious truths. – not correct: “all ideas—religious, moral, psychological—were excluded”
(C) The quality of a picture has nothing to do with the nature of the objects it depicts. – correct: the third paragraph explains that the color and shape of the objects are the work of the artist.
(D) An artist should strive to recreate on canvas the inner nature of objects from real life.
(E) It is futile to attempt to paint pictures that aim to copy the optical appearance of the world.

It would be good to see the OA and OE…..

"For the view of matter that the Impressionists assumed differed profoundly from the view that had previously prevailed among artists. This view helped to unify the artistic works created in the new style.
The ancient Greeks had conceived of the world in concrete terms, even endowing abstract qualities with bodies. This Greek view of matter persisted, so far as painting was concerned, into the nineteenth century. The Impressionists, on the other hand, viewed light, not matter, as the ultimate visual reality.”

This entire part of the passage give you the answer to whether each of the three statements for Q6 is true:

I. How did the Impressionists perceive matter? only mentions that they perceived matter differently than previous artists.

II. What is the unifying element in a typical Impressionist painting? only mentions that this different view helped unify the artistic works created in the new style; does not say WHAT the unifying element was.

II. How did the Impressionists’ view of color differ from that of eighteenth-century artists? directly mentions it in this part, "The Impressionists, on the other hand, viewed light, not matter, as the ultimate visual reality.”

6. The passage contains information that answers which of the following questions?
I. How did the Impressionists perceive matter? We know that they didn't perceive matter as an ultimate reality but we didn't know "how they perceive matter"
II. What is the unifying element in a typical Impressionist painting?

The people, places, and things depicted in an Impressionist picture do not tell story or convey any special meaning; they are, instead, merely parts of pattern of light drawn from nature and captured on canvas by the artist. I thought this is the unifying element in impressionist painting.
II. How did the Impressionists’ view of color differ from that of eighteenth-century artists?
(A) I only
(B) III only
(C) I and II only
(D) II and III only
(E) I, II, and III

4. According to the passage, the Impressionists believed that the atmosphere
(A) reflects light with varying intensity
(B) creates the illusion of color in colorless surfaces
(C) modifies the shapes of objects
(D) is the result of vibrations of light
(E) affects the way we perceived color

Atmosphere is not modifying the shape of object. The Impressionist world was composed not of separate objects but of many surfaces on which light struck and was reflected with varying intensity to the eye through the atmosphere, which modified it => I think this "it" is "light" and not "shape of object"



7. The ideas attributed to the Impressionists in the passage suggest that an Impressionist painter would be most likely to agree with which of the following statement?

(C) The quality of a picture has nothing to do with the nature of the objects it depicts.
(D) An artist should strive to recreate on canvas the inner nature of objects from real life Incorrect

Can somebody explain "what is quality of picture here"

plz experts provide explanations for q4,5,6. as v all r unable to digest oa's.

Hey! Even I'm unable to understand Q5 and Q6 but here goes for Q4:

The line in the passage reads- "light struck and was reflected with varying intensity to the eye through the atmosphere, which modified it."

Option E correctly says that atmosphere affected the way we perceived color (that was generated when light was reflected with varying intensity. Understand it from the concept of rainbow formation we studied in science. White light when reflected with varying intensities give spectrum of 7 colors) because atmosphere modified it.

Hope I make sense to you.

Whatever you are saying, if they are true then how did you achieve this mind-blowing RC technique? I really want to know. And I am asking you seriously as I want to improve my RC score.

The passage is easy to understand but the questions take toll. 14 min - 5 correct.

Hi GMATNinja, GMATNinjaTwo

Can you please share your views on Q5,Q6,Q7

Thanks in advance

Hey

I didnt understand question 4, can you heelp to explain it?

Hi pikolo2510,

4. According to the passage, the Impressionists believed that the atmosphere
The Impressionist world was composed not of separate objects but of many surfaces on which light struck and was reflected with varying intensity to the eye through the atmosphere, which modified it. It was this process that produced the mosaic of colors that formed an Impressionist canvas.

(A) reflects light with varying intensity - atmosphere does not reflect but the surfaces do
(B) creates the illusion of color in colorless surfaces - Incorrect
(C) modifies the shapes of objects - Out of scope
(D) is the result of vibrations of light - Incorrect - the atmosphere by itself is not the result but the process of light striking a surface and reflecting with varying intensity to eye occurs through the atmosphere.
(E) affects the way we perceived color - Correct -

Answer E

Hope this helps!!

Hi pikolo2510,

Please refer to the below lines from the passage:
The Impressionist world was composed not of separate objects but of many surfaces on which light struck and was reflected with varying intensity to the eye through the atmosphere, which modified it.

Looking at the options:
A - Passage does not say that atmosphere reflects light. Instead, it is reflected through the atmosphere.
B - Not relevant.
C - Impressionists paintings was not composed of separate objects as highlighted above but instead they perceived surfaces on which light struck.
D - This is mentioned in previous para which is mentioned to be a result of color
E - It means that the light reflected through atmosphere is perceived by our eyes and this reflection resulted in the way we perceive color.(Correct)

I hope it makes sense.

The answer to #6 was misrecorded. It is actually E. II is answered in p1 and III is answered in p2. I is answered throughout the first two paragraphs!

As for #7, what we know about Impressionists is that they were preoccupied with light, not with the actual objects in the picture. Paragraph 4 even tells us that they didn't care about the underlying meaning or significance of the painting. For those reasons, we can eliminate A, B, and D, which all have to do with meaning and ideas, rather than the visual nature of the picture.

That leaves us with C and E. E goes against the idea of the passage, which is that Impressionism was "a purely optic art" (p3). It's certainly possible that they knew they couldn't fully recreate what the world looked like, but there's no indication that they thought it was futile to try. C, on the other hand, says that the objects are not the point of the painting. This is emphasized heavily in p2.

Sorry but I disagree how statement 1 can be answered in Q6. I think OA being B is wrong. Should be D, not even E as stated above.

workout Please bump this for expert review. Too many doubts here and not a single confident answer.

GMATNinja KarishmaB - any insights please ?

This is what a mosaic is:

The author uses the word mosaic to impress upon us the many small surfaces on which light struck and was reflected with varying intensity (hence producing different colours).
The author further emphasises that the object is secondary (implying that it's not a continuous flow of colour to show an object)

5. The author’s use of the term “mosaic of colors” (line 32) suggests that Impressionist paintings were characterized by
(A) discontinuous dabs of unmixed pigment
This is what mosaic represents. Correct

(B) broad, sweeping brush strokes
Not true. Light reflecting off many surfaces with varying intensity does not imply broad brush strokes.

(C) clearly defined forms and objects
No. It is not about the objects. It is about light only.

(D) subjects devoid of emotive or literary qualities
Though the author seems to be implying that impressionist paintings did not focus on the emotions of the subjects, mosaic of colours does not indicate that. A mosaic is made with discontinuous dabs of paint and the author is trying to bring that out here. He is trying to tell us that the painting is all about light reflected on many surfaces creating a mosaic of colours.

(E) the glowing reds, greens, and midnight blues of stained glass
Though mosaics are made on glass too (along with other surfaces), there is nothing that leads us to believe in the specifics given in this option. Many surfaces would produce many colours and stained glass is too specific to be implied by the term "mosaic".

Answer (A)

Q5 really just relies on the meaning of the word "mosaic": a design composed of small colored pieces or tiles. This word is often used to describe something that resembles an actual mosaic visually or metaphorically. There's no metaphor here, so it must simply mean that the pictures are composed of small bits of color. (If you've seen any Impressionist art, this may not be surprising.) A is the only answer choice that conveys this meaning. If there are other choices that seem to fit, let me know and I can address them!

Hi Experts,

I have one concern over option E in Question 6.
[b]How did the Impressionists’ view of color differ from that of eighteenth-century artists?
Although the following statement from the passage contains information that answers this, I believe it is correct to certain extent only. How can we confidently link 'formerly considered a property' to 'color differ from that of eightheenth-century artists'. Feels there is something else that I might be missing.
Color, formerly considered a property inherent in an object, was seen to be merely the result of vibrations of light on the object’s colorless surface.
Need your help in understanding this.

Thanks..

Hi, for no.1 I was a bit torn between (B) and (C).
I think the passage does discuss both philosophical implications and the techniques the Impressionist painters.
I picked (C) eventually because I saw only first and last passage discuss both philosophical implications.

So I don't repeat the same mistake, any tips how do I decide which one is the actual main topic?