The impressionist painters expressly disavowed any interest in philoso

GMATNinja and other experts.

As for Q1, where are the 'implications' discussed ? The article is more on the new techniques although the 'developed' part is a bit fishy.

can i get a explaination for all answers

For question 6, answer (E) is correct.


I. How did the Impressionists perceive matter?

"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."

Gives the Greek view of matter (bodies/objects). Impressionists' viewed matter as "not the ultimate visual reality".

"In Impressionist painting, solid bodies became mere reflectors of light, and distinctions between one object and another became arbitrary conventions"

Gives how Impressionists viewed matter.

"The Impressionist world was composed not of separate objects but of many surfaces on which light struck..."

Again, gives how Impressionists viewed matter.

II. What is the unifying element in a typical Impressionist painting?

"...for by light all things were welded together"

No doubt about this that light was the unifying element.

II. How did the Impressionists’ view of color differ from that of eighteenth-century artists?

"...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."

Again, no doubt.

Thanks for explaining but it says correct answer for Q6 is E i.e. i ii and iii. I am still not able to understand "The impressionist painters expressly disavowed any interest in philosophy, yet their new approach" could be true but adding 18th century artists would make this ans choice out of scope as the passage tells nothing about the 18th century artists. I chose i and ii only plz help

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.

Hi, DmitryFarber

The explanations for eliminating A, B, D, and E are sound. But, in C, granted that the "picture" has nothing to do with the nature of the objects it depicts, how can we comment on the "quality" of the picture having nothing to do with these objects?

It would be great if you could help me out here. Thanks in advance!

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…..

VeritasKarishma egmat GMATNinja GMATNinjatwo
Could you please help explain why option A in question 4 is incorrect?
I was choosing between A and E but ended up choosing A.
I didn't see the difference between these 2 options.

GMATNinja, can you please explain on the basis of what E for q3 should be eliminated?

GMATNinja, for Q5, can you please explain why E should be eliminated? What is the rationale for A in this question?

I originally selected E for this question based on the understanding that mosaic of colors is essentially the mixture of colors.


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
(B) broad, sweeping brush strokes
(C) clearly defined forms and objects
(D) subjects devoid of emotive or literary qualities
(E) the glowing reds, greens, and midnight blues of stained glass

GMATNinja, could you please help to determine for q6 where does it mention in the passage that view of artists from 18th century (not from other centuries) and Impr's view have been compared?