Late nineteenth-century books about the French artist Watteau (1684-17

Question

Late nineteenth-century books about the French artist Watteau (1684-1721) betray a curious blind spot: more than any single artist before or since, Watteau provided his age with an influential image of itself, and nineteenth-century writers accepted this image as genuine. This was largely due to the enterprise of Watteau’s friends who, soon after his death, organized the printing of engraved reproductions of the great bulk of his work—both his paintings and his drawings—so that Watteau’s total artistic output became and continued to be more accessible than that of any other artist until the twentieth-century advent of art monographs illustrated with photographs. These engravings presented aristocratic (and would-be aristocratic) eighteenth-century French society with an image of itself that was highly acceptable and widely imitate by other artists, however little relationship that image bore to reality. By 1884, the bicentenary of Watteau’s birth, it was standard practice for biographers to refer to him as “the personification of the witty and amiable eighteenth century.”

In fact, Watteau saw little enough of that “witty and amiable” century for which so much nostalgia was generally felt between about 1870 and 1920, a period during which enthusiasm for the artist reached its peak. The eighteenth century’s first decades, the period of his artistic activity, were fairly calamitous ones. During his short life, France was almost continually at war: his native region was overrun with foreign troops, and Paris was threatened by siege and by a rampaging army rabble. The dreadful winter of 1709, the year of Watteau’s first Paris successes, was marked by military defeat and a disastrous famine.

Most of Watteau’s nineteenth-century admirers simply ignored the grim background of the works they found so lyrical and charming. Those who took the inconvenient historical facts into consideration did so only in order to refute the widely held deterministic view that the content and style of an artist’s work were absolutely dictated by heredity and environment. (For Watteau admirers, such determinism was unthinkable: the artist was born in a Flemish town only six years after it first became part of France, yet Watteau was quintessentially French. As one patriotic French biographer put it, “In Dreden, Potsdam, and Berlin I have never come across a Watteau without feeling refreshed by a breath of native air.”) Even such writers, however, persisted in according Watteau’s canvases a privileged status as representative “personifications” of the eighteenth century. The discrepancy between historical fact and artistic vision, useful in refuting the extreme deterministic position, merely forced these writers to seek a new formula that allowed them to preserve the desired identity between image and reality, this time a rather suspiciously psychic one: Watteau did not record the society he knew, but rather “foresaw” a society that developed shortly after his death.   1 
 1. Which one of the following best describes the overall organization of the passage?

(A) A particular phenomenon is discussed, the reasons that it is atypical are put forward, and these reasons are evaluated and refined.
(B) An assumption is made, results deriving from it are compared with what is known to be true, and the assumption is finally rejected as counterfactual.
(C) A point of view is described, one hypothesis accounting for it is introduced and rejected, and a better hypothesis is offered for consideration.
(D) A general characterization is offered, examples supporting it are introduced, and its special applicability to a particular group is asserted.
(E) A particular viewpoint is explained, its shortcomings are discussed, and its persistence in the face of these is noted.

2 
 2. The passage suggests that late-nineteenth-century biographers of Watteau considered the eighteenth century to be “witty and amiable” in large part because of

(A) what they saw as Watteau’s typical eighteenth-century talent for transcending reality through art
(B) their opposition to the determinism that dominated late-nineteenth-century French thought
(C) a lack of access to historical source material concerning the early eighteenth century in France
(D) the nature of the image conveyed by the works of Watteau and his many imitators
(E) their political bias in favor of aristocratic regimes and societies

3 
 3. According to the passage, explanations of artistic production based on determinism were unthinkable to Watteau admirers for which one of the following reasons?

(A) If such explanations were widely accepted, too many people who would otherwise have admired Watteau would cease to appreciate Watteau’s works.
(B) If such explanations were adopted, they would make it difficult for Watteau admirers to explain why Watteau’s works were purchased and admired by foreigners.
(C) If such explanations were correct, many artists who, like Watteau, considered themselves French would have to excluded from histories of French art.
(D) If such simple explanations were offered, other more complex arguments concerning what made Watteau’s works especially charming would go unexplored.
(E) If such explanations were true, Watteau’s works would reflect a “Flemish” sensibility rather than the especially “French” one these admirers saw in them.

4 
 4. The phrase “curious blind spot” (line 2 -3) can best be interpreted as referring to which one of the following?

(A) some biographers’ persistent inability to appreciate what the author considers a particularly admirable equality
(B) certain writers’ surprising lack of awareness of what the author considers an obvious discrepancy
(C) some writers’ willful refusal to evaluate properly what the author considers a valuable source of information about the past
(D) an inexplicable tendency on the part of some writers to undervalue an artist whom the author considers extremely influential
(E) a marked bias in favor of a certain painter and a concomitant prejudice against contemporaries the author considers equally talented

5 
 5. It can be inferred from the passage that the author’s view of Watteau’s works differs most significantly from that of most late-nineteen-century Watteau admirers in which one of the following ways?

(A) Unlike most late-nineteenth-century Watteau admirers, the author appreciates the importance of Watteau’s artistic accomplishment.
(B) The author finds Watteau’s works to be much less lyrical and charming than did most late-nineteenth-century admirers of the works.
(C) In contrast to most late-nineteenth-century Watteau admirers, the author finds it misleading to see Watteau’s works as accurately reflecting social reality.
(D) The author is much more willing to entertain deterministic explanations of the origins of Watteau’s works than were most late-nineteenth-century Watteau admirers.
(E) Unlike most late-nineteenth-century admirers of Watteau, the author considers it impossible for any work of art to personify or represent a particular historical period.

6 
 6. The author asserts that during the period of Watteau’s artistic activity French society was experiencing which one of the following?

(A) widespread social upheaval caused by war
(B) a pervasive sense of nostalgia for an idealized past
(C) increased domination of public affairs by a powerful aristocracy
(D) rapid adoption by the middle classes of aristocratic manners and life-style
(E) a need to reconcile the French self-image with French social realities

7 
 7. The information given in the passage suggests that which one of the following principles accurately characterizes the relationship between an artist’s work and the impact it is likely to have on a society?

(A) An artist’s recognition by society is most directly determined by the degree to which his or her works are perceived as lyrical and charming.
(B) An artist will have the greatest influence on a society that values art particularly highly.
(C) The works of an artist who captures the true and essential nature of a given society will probably have a great impact on that society.
(D) The degree of influence an artist’s vision will have on a society is conditional on the visibility of the artist’s work.
(E) An artist who is much imitate by contemporaries will usually fail to have an impact on a society unless the imitators are talented.

auradediligodo · Accepted Answer

Hi everyone,
Got 6/7 correct in 13:40 minutes, including 5:10 minutes to read.

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P1

The author starts with saying that when it comes to a French author (W), things are not what they look like. Such author is portrayed, and portrayed himself, as aristocratic. Such portrayal was aided by the support of the contemporary artists.

Purpose:   to claim that the appearances around Watteau do not reflect reality.

P2

In this paragraph the author claims that Watteau saw little of what he wrote about. The reason was that during the period of his creativity there was war.

Purpose:   to explain the discrepancy mentioned in the previous paragraph

P3

In the last paragraph the author talks about the people who supported this distorted image of the writer. Plus we are given that Watteau foresaw what was going to happen next.

Purpose:   to analyze the behavior of the supporters Watteau's distorted image.

Main point

To analyze the discrepancy related to Watteau and the behavior of those who did not recognize such discrepancy.

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1. Which one of the following best describes the overall organization of the passage?

Pre-thinking

Structure question

Presentation of the discrepancy----->causes of the discrepancy ------> analysis of the behavior of those not recognizing the discrepancy

(A) A particular phenomenon is discussed, the reasons that it is  atypical  are put forward, and these reasons are evaluated and refined.
 the phenomenon is not described as atypical

(B) An assumption is made, results deriving from it are compared with what is known to be true, and the assumption is finally rejected as counterfactual.
 no assumption is made

(C) A point of view is described, one hypothesis accounting for it is introduced and rejected, and a better hypothesis is offered for consideration.
 no hypothesis is introduced and then rejected

(D) A general characterization is offered, examples supporting it are introduced, and its special applicability to a particular group is asserted.
 the author talks about something specific, not general.

(E)   A particular viewpoint is explained, its shortcomings are discussed, and its persistence in the face of these is noted.
 the point of view is the point of view of those people who thought that Watteau lived the things he wrote about. The shortcomings are presented in P2 when the author talks about the war scenario and the persistence of such point of view is detailed in the last paragraph

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2. The passage suggests that late-nineteenth-century biographers of Watteau considered the eighteenth century to be “witty and amiable” in large part because of

Pre-thinking

Inference question

From P1:    By 1884, the bicentenary of Watteau’s birth, it was standard practice for biographers to refer to him as “the personification of the witty and amiable eighteenth century.”

(A) what they saw as Watteau’s typical eighteenth-century talent for transcending reality through art
 never discussed

(B) their opposition to the determinism that dominated late-nineteenth-century French thought
 out of context

(C) a lack of access to historical source material concerning the early eighteenth century in France
 never mentioned

(D)   the nature of the image conveyed by the works of Watteau and his many imitators
 Can be inferred by the lines above

(E) their political bias in favor of aristocratic regimes and societies
 Political biases are never discussed

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3. According to the passage, explanations of artistic production based on determinism were unthinkable to Watteau admirers for which one of the following reasons?

Pre-thinking

Detail question

From the last paragraph:   (For Watteau admirers, such determinism was unthinkable: the artist was born in a Flemish town only six years after it first became part of France, yet Watteau was quintessentially French. As one patriotic French biographer put it, “In Dreden, Potsdam, and Berlin I have never come across a Watteau without feeling refreshed by a breath of native air.”)

In short: Watteau was considered french but if one takes into consideration his origins it's hard to think of him as a real french

(A) If such explanations were widely accepted, too many people who would otherwise have admired Watteau would cease to appreciate Watteau’s works.
 Never mentioned

(B) If such explanations were adopted, they would make it difficult for Watteau admirers to explain why Watteau’s works were purchased and admired by foreigners.
 Never mentioned

(C) If such explanations were correct,  many artists  who, like Watteau, considered themselves French would have to excluded from histories of French art.
 Never mentioned

(D) If such simple explanations were offered, other more complex arguments concerning what made Watteau’s works especially charming would go unexplored.
 Never mentioned

(E)   If such explanations were true, Watteau’s works would reflect a “Flemish” sensibility rather than the especially “French” one these admirers saw in them.
 In line with pre-thinking

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4. The phrase “curious blind spot” (line 2 -3) can best be interpreted as referring to which one of the following?

Pre-thinking

Inference question

the curious blind spot is a kind of paradox because people thought of Watteau as an aristocratic who lived a certain life but actually Watteau lived in a war period

(A) some biographers’  persistent inability  to appreciate what the author considers a particularly admirable equality
  (B)   certain writers’ surprising lack of awareness of what the author considers an obvious discrepancy
(C) some writers’ willful refusal to evaluate properly  what the author considers a valuable source of information about the past 
(D) an inexplicable tendency on the part of some writers to  undervalue  an artist whom the author considers extremely influential
(E)  a marked bias in favor of a certain painter and a concomitant prejudice against contemporaries the author considers equally talented

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5. It can be inferred from the passage that the author’s view of Watteau’s works differs most significantly from that of most late-nineteen-century Watteau admirers in which one of the following ways?

Pre-thinking

Inference question

The author takes into consideration the environment in which Watteau lived while the admirers willingly ignored it

(A) Unlike most late-nineteenth-century Watteau admirers, the author appreciates the importance of Watteau’s artistic accomplishment.
 Also the admirers did

(B) The author finds Watteau’s works to be much less lyrical and charming than did most late-nineteenth-century admirers of the works.
 cannot be inferred

(C)   In contrast to most late-nineteenth-century Watteau admirers, the author finds it misleading to see Watteau’s works as accurately reflecting social reality.
 In line with pre.thinking

(D) The author is much more willing to entertain deterministic explanations of the origins of Watteau’s works than were most late-nineteenth-century Watteau admirers.
 the author never express his credo about deterministic theories

(E) Unlike most late-nineteenth-century admirers of Watteau, the author considers it impossible for any work of art to personify or represent a particular historical period.
 CAnnot be inferred

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6. The author asserts that during the period of Watteau’s artistic activity French society was experiencing which one of the following?

Pre-thinking

Detail question

War

(A)   widespread social upheaval caused by war
(B)  a pervasive sense of nostalgia for an idealized past 
(C)  increased domination of public affairs by a powerful aristocracy 
(D)  rapid adoption by the middle classes of aristocratic manners and life-style 
(E)  a need to reconcile the French self-image with French social realities

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

7. The information given in the passage suggests that which one of the following principles accurately characterizes the relationship between an artist’s work and the impact it is likely to have on a society?

Pre-thinking

Inference question

From P1:   This was largely due to the enterprise of Watteau’s friends who, soon after his death, organized the printing of engraved reproductions of the great bulk of his work—both his paintings and his drawings—so that Watteau’s total artistic output became and continued to be more accessible than that of any other artist until the twentieth-century advent of art monographs illustrated with photographs.

(A) An artist’s recognition by society is most directly determined by the degree to which his or her works are perceived as lyrical and charming.
 Too specific and extreme

(B) An artist will have the greatest influence on a society that values art particularly highly.
 This principle is never touched

(C) The works of an artist who captures the true and essential nature of a given society will probably have a great impact on that society.
 If so Watteau should not have been popular at all

(D)   The degree of influence an artist’s vision will have on a society is conditional on the visibility of the artist’s work.
 Can be inferred from the lines above

(E) An artist who is much imitate by contemporaries will usually fail to have an impact on a society unless the imitators are talented.
 Cannot be inferred

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It's a great day to be alive!

KarishmaB · Answer

Note that 17th century means 1601 - 1700
18th century means 1701 - 1800 and so on...

Late nineteenth-century books about the French artist Watteau (1684-1721) betray a curious blind spot: more than any single artist before or since, Watteau provided his age with an influential image of itself, and nineteenth-century writers accepted this image as genuine.
 
French artist Watteau (1684-1721) (lived in late 17th and early 18th century. Most of his paintings would have been made in 18th century)
Late 19th century books about him have a blind spot - they accept the image he shows of 18th century time as true.

This was largely due to the enterprise of Watteau’s friends who, soon after his death, organized the printing of engraved reproductions of the great bulk of his work—both his paintings and his drawings—so that Watteau’s total artistic output became and continued to be more accessible than that of any other artist until the twentieth-century advent of art monographs illustrated with photographs.  
This happened because W's work was made very accessible by his friends. So since a lot of work showed that image of 18th century, 19th century authors took that image to be a true representation.

These engravings presented aristocratic (and would-be aristocratic) eighteenth-century French society with an image of itself that was highly acceptable and widely imitate by other artists, however little relationship that image bore to reality. 
W's work presented an image of 18th century French society that was highly acceptable to that society and it was imitated by other artists too but it was not a true image.

By 1884, the bicentenary of Watteau’s birth, it was standard practice for biographers to refer to him as “the personification of the witty and amiable eighteenth century.” 
By 1884, biographers referred to W as "the personification of the witty and amiable eighteenth century" (though that was not true)

Sajjad1994 · Answer

Explanation

5. It can be inferred from the passage that the author’s view of Watteau’s works differs most significantly from that of most late-nineteen-century Watteau admirers in which one of the following ways?

Difficulty Level:   700

Explanation

Nicely paraphrases the argument in  Para 2.

(A)  Au contraire: 19th-century admirers thought Watteau’s accomplishments were extremely important.  (B), (D), and (E)  all distort the passage. The author never endorses the deterministic standpoint  (D)  or indicates whether she finds Watteau’s work lyrical and charming or otherwise  (B) . The extreme language in  (E)  ( “impossible for any work of art to personify or represent a particular historical period” ) helps tag this wrong answer choice.

• Questions that ask about the author’s attitude or viewpoint are not going to relate to minor issues or passing details. Sure, choices (A), (B) and (D) all remind you of issues raised in the passage. But they don’t capture the overall thrust of the passage the way choice (C) does.

Answer: C

7. The information given in the passage suggests that which one of the following principles accurately characterizes the relationship between an artist’s work and the impact it is likely to have on a society?

Difficulty Level:   700

Explanation

A tricky question that depends on your picking up on the implied reasons for Watteau’s success.  Para 1  explains why Watteau’s work had such a powerful impact on French society: Engravings of his work were made available in such numbers that his work became  “more accessible than any other artist until the 20th century.”  No word on whether he painted dogs playing poker or clowns on velvet.

(A)  focuses on a detail. Sure, Watteau was successful partly because he produced  “lyrical and charming”  images. But we cannot subscribe to  (A) ’s inference that only  “lyrical and charming”  works of art will achieve wide recognition.

(B)  is outside the scope. Nowhere does the author suggest that French society had an exceptional regard for art.

(C)  is very tricky. The passage certainly links Watteau’s long-standing appeal to the perception that he had captured the essential France of his time. But  Para 1  indicates that Watteau only became France’s favorite artist because his work was so widely available, so we can’t infer that capturing the true nature of your society guarantees artistic success. After all, Watteau’s  “lyrical and charming”  engravings wouldn’t have had an impact if they hadn’t been resurrected and sold like hot cakes. Another problem: As we know, Watteau didn’t really encapsulate the true nature of his time;  (C)  makes it sound as if he did.  (E)  distorts  para 1 ’s brief mention of Watteau’s imitators.

• Always watch out for choices that aren’t true to the spirit of the passage. In #7, for example, the tricky choice (C) sounds somewhat plausible until you remember that it represents the viewpoint that the author spends most of the passage attacking.

Answer: D

Hope it helps

GDT · Answer

VeritasKarishma

Can you pls explain me the meaning of 1st para and solution to Q1,2

Sajjad1994 · Answer

Explanation

2. The passage suggests that late-nineteenth-century biographers of Watteau considered the eighteenth century to be “witty and amiable” in large part because of

Difficulty Level:   650

Explanation

The end of  para 1  explains the most basic reason for Watteau’s reputation: Writers, aristocrats and would-be aristocrats ignored the historical facts because Watteau presented such a flattering picture of 18th-century French life.

(A)  is tricky: According to  para 3 , it was only the minority of writers who developed the sophisticated argument that Watteau was transcending reality.

(B)  also refers to this minority of writers ( para 3 ) who opposed the determinist stance.

(C)  is well outside the scope; no lack of historical source material is discussed.

(E)  distorts the passage. Nothing as radical as a political bias towards aristocrats is mentioned.

The keywords  “Most,” “those,”  and  “Even some...”  indicate that the passage is dealing with three different groups of Watteau admirers in  para 3.

Answer: D

Hope it helps

KarishmaB · Answer

1. Which one of the following best describes the overall organization of the passage?

(A) A particular phenomenon is discussed, the reasons that it is atypical are put forward, and these reasons are evaluated and refined.
(B) An assumption is made, results deriving from it are compared with what is known to be true, and the assumption is finally rejected as counterfactual.
(C) A point of view is described, one hypothesis accounting for it is introduced and rejected, and a better hypothesis is offered for consideration.
(D) A general characterization is offered, examples supporting it are introduced, and its special applicability to a particular group is asserted.
(E) A particular viewpoint is explained, its shortcomings are discussed, and its persistence in the face of these is noted.

The passage talks about a viewpoint, not a phenomenon or an assumption. There is no general characterisation either.

Viewpoint explained - that W was the personification of the witty and amiable eighteenth century. Its shortcomings are discussed that it was not true. How his time was a difficult time. Finally, the author says that the viewpoint persists.

Answer (E)

KarishmaB · Answer

2. The passage suggests that late-nineteenth-century biographers of Watteau considered the eighteenth century to be “witty and amiable” in large part because of

(A) what they saw as Watteau’s typical eighteenth-century talent for transcending reality through art
(B) their opposition to the determinism that dominated late-nineteenth-century French thought
(C) a lack of access to historical source material concerning the early eighteenth century in France
(D) the nature of the image conveyed by the works of Watteau and his many imitators
(E) their political bias in favor of aristocratic regimes and societies

The answer is (D) here. W's work showed 18th century French society to be witty and amiable and that was consider true by 19th century authors.

Hoozan · Answer

VeritasKarishma   GMATNinja  Please could you help me understand Q.4

I went through the original explanation but still I am still not clear.

GMATNinja · Answer

Question 4 
 
Here's question 4:

The purpose of the first paragraph is to identify this "blind spot" in late nineteenth-century books about Watteau, and explain why it existed.

Put simply, the blind spot is is that "Watteau provided his age with an influential image of itself, and nineteenth-century writers accepted this image as genuine." The writers were blind to the fact that Watteau's image of eighteenth-century French society was NOT genuine. In fact, Watteau's image bore little resemblance to the reality of the age.

Now let's take a look at each answer choice. We're looking for a choice that matches what the author has defined as "the curious blind spot" in paragraph 1: That nineteenth-century writers treated Watteau's depiction of his time as true to reality, despite the fact that it was not.

The "blind spot" the author describes is not something that the author  admires  about Watteau. Eliminate (A).

This looks good! When referring to a "blind spot," the author portrays these writers as unaware (one might even say  curiously  unaware) of the fact that Watteau's depictions bore little resemblance to reality. Let's keep (B) around while we evaluate the rest of the choices.

Even if the author is criticizing the writers in paragraph 1, the author never criticizes them specifically for  refusing to evaluate a valuable source of information about the past.  If this were the case, paragraph one would identify a specific source of information AND tell us how these writers REFUSED to evaluate that source in particular. The author never does this, so eliminate (C).

This doesn't match what we've read in paragraph 1. If anything, the author is identifying a way in which these writers have OVERvalued Watteau's creative output. Eliminate (D).

The author does explain that the writers' acceptance of Watteau's depictions are biased due to the accessibility of Watteau's total artistic output. However, the author never accuses the nineteenth-century writers of having "a concomitant prejudice against contemporaries the author considers equally talented." We only know that these writers referred to Watteau as "the personification" of the age he had portrayed, without questioning the accuracy of that portrayal. The second part of choice (E) is not supported by the passage, so eliminate it.

For all these reasons, (C) is the only answer that fully reflects how the author describes the "curious blind spot" of nineteenth-century writers in paragraph 1.

I hope this helps!

Late nineteenth-century books about the French artist Watteau (1684-17

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GMAT Reading Comprehension (RC) Questions

Late nineteenth-century books about the French artist Watteau (1684-17

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