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…..