The Belief that Art Originates in Intuitive Rather than Rational Faculties

Reading Passage Questions

The belief that art originates in intuitive rather than rational faculties was worked out historically and philosophically in the somewhat wearisome volumes of Benedetto Croce, who is usually considered the originator of a new aesthetic. Croce was, in fact, expressing a very old idea. Long before the Romantics stressed intuition and self-expression, the frenzy of inspiration was regarded as fundamental to art, but philosophers had always assumed it must be controlled by law and by the intellectual power of putting things into harmonious order. This general philosophic concept of art was supported by technical necessities. It was necessary to master certain laws and to use intellect in order to build Gothic cathedrals, or set up the stained glass windows of Chartres. When this bracing element of craftsmanship ceased to dominate artists’ outlook, new technical elements had to be adopted to maintain the intellectual element in art. Such were linear perspective and anatomy.

“The belief that art originates in intuitive rather than rational faculties” - is a GMAT reading comprehension passage with answers. Candidates need a strong knowledge of English GMAT reading comprehension.
This GMAT Reading Comprehension consists of 4 comprehension questions. The GMAT Reading Comprehension questions are designed for testing candidates’ abilities in understanding, analyzing, and applying information or concepts. Candidates can actively prepare with the help of GMAT Reading Comprehension Practice Questions.

Solution and Explanation

1. The passage suggests that which of the following would most likely have occurred if linear perspective and anatomy had not come to influence artistic endeavor?

(A)The craftsmanship that shaped Gothic architecture would have continued to dominate artists’ outlooks.
(B)Some other technical elements would have been adopted to discipline artistic inspiration.
(C)Intellectual control over artistic inspiration would not have influenced painting as it did architecture.
(D)The role of intuitive inspiration would not have remained fundamental to theories of artistic creation.
(E)The assumptions of aesthetic philosophers before Croce would have been invalidated.

2. The passage supplies information for answering which of the following questions?

(A)Does Romantic art exhibit the triumph of intuition over intellect?
(B)Did an emphasis on linear perspective and anatomy dominate Romantic art?
(C)Are the intellectual and intuitive faculties harmoniously balanced in post-Romantic art?
(D)Are the effects of the rational control of artistic inspiration evident in the great works of pre-Romantic eras?
(E)Was the artistic craftsmanship displayed in Gothic cathedrals also an element in paintings of this period?

3. The passage implies that which of the following was a traditional assumption of aesthetic philosophers?

(A)Intellectual elements in art exert a necessary control over artistic inspiration.
(B)Architecture has never again reached the artistic greatness of the Gothic cathedrals.
(C)Aesthetic philosophy is determined by the technical necessities of art.
(D)Artistic craftsmanship is more important in architectural art than in pictorial art.
(E)Paintings lacked the intellectual element before the invention of linear perspective and anatomy.

4. The author mentions “linear perspective and anatomy” in the last sentence in order to do which of the following?

(A)Expand his argument to include painting as well as architecture
(B)Indicate his disagreement with Croce’s theory of the origins of art
(C)Support his point that rational order of some kind has often seemed to discipline artistic inspiration
(D)Explain the rational elements in Gothic painting that corresponded to craftsmanship in Gothic architecture
(E)Show the increasing sophistication of artists after the Gothic period

Suggested GMAT Reading Comprehension Questions

• A One-Child Policy was Implemented in China in 1979
• Seeking a Competitive Advantage, Some Professional Service Firms
• On the surface, the Conquest of the Aztec Empire by Herman Cortes
• But Man is Not Destined to Vanish. He can be Killed, but he cannot be Destroyed, Because his Soul is Deathless and his Spirit is Irrepressible.
• When Literary Periods are Defined on the Basis of Men’s Writing, Women’s Writing Must be Forcibly Assimilated
• Behind Every Book Review There are Two Key Figures: A Book Review Editor and A Reviewer.
• Barbara Strozzi was a Singer and Composer of Madrigals, Aria
• During the Victorian Period, Women Writers were Measured Against A Social
• It Is Perhaps Not Surprising that Debate has Arisen Over Bioluminescence-Based Biotechnologies
• The Fact that Superior Service can Generate a Competitive Advantage
• The Origin of the Attempt to Distinguish Early from Modern Music
• The Phenomenon of College Basketball's Surging Popularity Remains a Challenge to Classify
• The United States Government has a Long-Standing Policy of Using Federal Funds to Keep Small Business Viable.
• A Recent Study has Provided Clues to Predator-Prey Dynamics in the Late Pleistocene Era.
• Even More Than Mountainside Slides of Mud or Snow, Naturally Occurring Forest Fires Promote the Survival of Aspen Trees.
• The Black Death, a Severe Epidemic that Ravaged Fourteenth Century Europe
• The System of Patent-Granting, Which Confers Temporary Monopolies for the Exploitation of New Technologies
• Ethnohistoric Documents from Sixteenth-Century Mexico Suggesting that Weaving and Cooking were the Most Common Productive Activities for Aztec Women
• Solar Ponds are Bodies of Water in Which Circulation is Incomplete and There is a Very High Salt Concentration that Increases with Depth
• Traditional Social Science Models of Class Groups in the United States are Based on Economic Status