The seventeenth century in the Netherlands is often called its Golden Age, not least because of its painting, featuring such masters as Johannes Vermeer, Jacob van Ruysdael, and Frans Hals. Many factors allowed the Dutch (Netherlandish) artistic scene to flourish, but two of the most important were innovations in the stylistic treatment of paintings and in the process of producing them. In the early 1600s Esaias van de Velde began to paint landscapes with a simplified color scheme, fewer people, and a lower horizon, creating a sense of space that helped make the image more attractive. Painter Jan Porcellis and others modified their seascapes in a similar way, using simpler compositions, as well as a more monochromatic approach with less varied and less vivid colors-now known as the “tonal” approach. This helped create an interest in pictures of everyday life, moving away from historical or religious subjects that had long been dominant.
The art historian Michael Montias presented some of the inventions by van de Velde, Porcellis, and others as innovations in process. By combining a swifter painting technique with simpler compositions (fewer figures and objects)and more restricted colors, Porcellis and van de Velde are considered to have set in motion a trend for producing cheaper paintings that could penetrate a broader market and thus attract new groups of potential purchasers. By using more sky, more shade, and less crowding in their pictures, painters effectively reduced the amount of labor they needed to invest in the painting. Such specialized and “painterly” works took much less time to complete than their meticulously executed counterparts, and since labor costs were the prime determinant of production costs, this had a dramatic impact on the price of paintings. Montias asserted that the works of the realistic “tonal” school of landscape painting, for instance, brought substantially lower prices than those of their predecessors(typically 15 to 30 florins, versus 70 to 100 florins for the older works).
At roughly the same time, Dutch publishers cut back on production costs by reducing the size of books. It has been suggested that painters also applied this strategy, but as of yet there is no quantitative evidence to convincingly corroborate this. Fortunately, the few quantitative studies that exist on the size of Dutch paintings provide some clues. Historian Ad van der Woude’s analysis of the average size of paintings in the s Dutch Rijksmuseum produced by Dutch painters indicates a gradual decline in the size of paintings over time. On average, painters born between 1550 and 1599 produced larger paintings than the groups born in 1600-1649 and 1650-1699. His data, however, are not extensive enough to show exactly when this trend set in. Another clue can be found in the distribution of paintings by subject matter. The sizes of traditional subjects of religion, mythology, and history paintings produced by the 1550-1649 group were on average significantly larger than landscapes, figure painting, or still lifes–paintings of inanimate objects, such as a bowl of fruit. We can combine this finding, which is based on a limited sample of paintings, with the relative distribution of subjects in probate inventories (court documents created for inheritance purposes)in seventeenth-century Amsterdam(a Dutch city) and collected by Montias. He compared inventories from the periods 1620-1649 and 1650-1679 and found that the share of landscapes, figure paintings, and still lifes increased, while the share of history paintings dropped significantly. This suggests that an increasingly large share of paintings in Amsterdam inventories were of smaller than traditional size.
By offering quality paintings for reasonable prices, the new generation of painters unlocked the demand for paintings. Whether the primary motives of the trendsetters were artistic or economic, the consequences were unambiguous as productivity increased and paintings could be offered for lower prices without losing out on quality or necessarily threatening painters’ profits. The middle-income groups that previously could only afford copies or prints were now able to own new and original paintings by living masters. Because the artistic novelties did not replace or exclude other subjects, styles, and techniques, the range of paintings on offer expanded dramatically.
题目：
1
The seventeenth century in the Netherlands is often called its Golden Age, not least because of its painting, featuring such masters as Johannes Vermeer, Jacob van Ruysdael, and Frans Hals. Many factors allowed the Dutch (Netherlandish) artistic scene to flourish, but two of the most important were innovations in the stylistic treatment of paintings and in the process of producing them. In the early 1600s Esaias van de Velde began to paint landscapes with a simplified color scheme, fewer people, and a lower horizon, creating a sense of space that helped make the image more attractive. Painter Jan Porcellis and others modified their seascapes in a similar way, using simpler compositions, as well as a more monochromatic approach with less varied and less vivid colors-now known as the “tonal” approach. This helped create an interest in pictures of everyday life, moving away from historical or religious subjects that had long been dominant.
The word “modified” in the passage is closest in meaning to
Acreated
Bchanged
Cimproved
Dimagined
2
The seventeenth century in the Netherlands is often called its Golden Age, not least because of its painting, featuring such masters as Johannes Vermeer, Jacob van Ruysdael, and Frans Hals. Many factors allowed the Dutch (Netherlandish) artistic scene to flourish, but two of the most important were innovations in the stylistic treatment of paintings and in the process of producing them. In the early 1600s Esaias van de Velde began to paint landscapes with a simplified color scheme, fewer people, and a lower horizon, creating a sense of space that helped make the image more attractive. Painter Jan Porcellis and others modified their seascapes in a similar way, using simpler compositions, as well as a more monochromatic approach with less varied and less vivid colors-now known as the “tonal” approach. This helped create an interest in pictures of everyday life, moving away from historical or religious subjects that had long been dominant.
Which of the following is NOT mentioned in paragraph 1 as an innovation introduced by Dutch painters in the 1600s?
ALower horizons
BSimpler compositions
CLess bright colors
DFewer landscapes
3
The art historian Michael Montias presented some of the inventions by van de Velde, Porcellis, and others as innovations in process. By combining a swifter painting technique with simpler compositions (fewer figures and objects)and more restricted colors, Porcellis and van de Velde are considered to have set in motion a trend for producing cheaper paintings that could penetrate a broader market and thus attract new groups of potential purchasers. By using more sky, more shade, and less crowding in their pictures, painters effectively reduced the amount of labor they needed to invest in the painting. Such specialized and “painterly” works took much less time to complete than their meticulously executed counterparts, and since labor costs were the prime determinant of production costs, this had a dramatic impact on the price of paintings. Montias asserted that the works of the realistic “tonal” school of landscape painting, for instance, brought substantially lower prices than those of their predecessors(typically 15 to 30 florins, versus 70 to 100 florins for the older works).
The word “meticulously” in the passage is closest in meaning to
Aattractively
Bcarefully
Cimperfectly
Dtraditionally
4
The art historian Michael Montias presented some of the inventions by van de Velde, Porcellis, and others as innovations in process. By combining a swifter painting technique with simpler compositions (fewer figures and objects)and more restricted colors, Porcellis and van de Velde are considered to have set in motion a trend for producing cheaper paintings that could penetrate a broader market and thus attract new groups of potential purchasers. By using more sky, more shade, and less crowding in their pictures, painters effectively reduced the amount of labor they needed to invest in the painting. Such specialized and “painterly” works took much less time to complete than their meticulously executed counterparts, and since labor costs were the prime determinant of production costs, this had a dramatic impact on the price of paintings. Montias asserted that the works of the realistic “tonal” school of landscape painting, for instance, brought substantially lower prices than those of their predecessors(typically 15 to 30 florins, versus 70 to 100 florins for the older works).
According to paragraph 2, Montias claimed that paintings from the tonal school differed from earlier landscape paintings in which of the following ways?
AThey required more work to produce.
BThey appealed to a wider range of possible buyers.
CThey were sold through a less expensive sales process.
DTheir price was unrelated to the labor involved in creating them.
5
At roughly the same time, Dutch publishers cut back on production costs by reducing the size of books. It has been suggested that painters also applied this strategy, but as of yet there is no quantitative evidence to convincingly corroborate this. Fortunately, the few quantitative studies that exist on the size of Dutch paintings provide some clues. Historian Ad van der Woude’s analysis of the average size of paintings in the s Dutch Rijksmuseum produced by Dutch painters indicates a gradual decline in the size of paintings over time. On average, painters born between 1550 and 1599 produced larger paintings than the groups born in 1600-1649 and 1650-1699. His data, however, are not extensive enough to show exactly when this trend set in. Another clue can be found in the distribution of paintings by subject matter. The sizes of traditional subjects of religion, mythology, and history paintings produced by the 1550-1649 group were on average significantly larger than landscapes, figure painting, or still lifes–paintings of inanimate objects, such as a bowl of fruit. We can combine this finding, which is based on a limited sample of paintings, with the relative distribution of subjects in probate inventories (court documents created for inheritance purposes)in seventeenth-century Amsterdam(a Dutch city) and collected by Montias. He compared inventories from the periods 1620-1649 and 1650-1679 and found that the share of landscapes, figure paintings, and still lifes increased, while the share of history paintings dropped significantly. This suggests that an increasingly large share of paintings in Amsterdam inventories were of smaller than traditional size.
Why does the author provide the information that “On average, painters born between 1550 and 1599 produced larger paintings than the groups born in 1600-1649 and 1650-1699.”？
ATo provide evidence that painters changed the size of their paintings over time to cut production costs
BTo challenge the claim that Ad van der Woude’s data do not show exactly when the trend for smaller paintings began
CTo support the claim that paintings with traditional subjects were significantly larger than landscapes and still lifes
DTo show that the paintings in the Dutch Rijksmuseum are representative of Dutch paintings from these three periods
6
At roughly the same time, Dutch publishers cut back on production costs by reducing the size of books. It has been suggested that painters also applied this strategy, but as of yet there is no quantitative evidence to convincingly corroborate this. Fortunately, the few quantitative studies that exist on the size of Dutch paintings provide some clues. Historian Ad van der Woude’s analysis of the average size of paintings in the s Dutch Rijksmuseum produced by Dutch painters indicates a gradual decline in the size of paintings over time. On average, painters born between 1550 and 1599 produced larger paintings than the groups born in 1600-1649 and 1650-1699. His data, however, are not extensive enough to show exactly when this trend set in. Another clue can be found in the distribution of paintings by subject matter. The sizes of traditional subjects of religion, mythology, and history paintings produced by the 1550-1649 group were on average significantly larger than landscapes, figure painting, or still lifes–paintings of inanimate objects, such as a bowl of fruit. We can combine this finding, which is based on a limited sample of paintings, with the relative distribution of subjects in probate inventories (court documents created for inheritance purposes)in seventeenth-century Amsterdam(a Dutch city) and collected by Montias. He compared inventories from the periods 1620-1649 and 1650-1679 and found that the share of landscapes, figure paintings, and still lifes increased, while the share of history paintings dropped significantly. This suggests that an increasingly large share of paintings in Amsterdam inventories were of smaller than traditional size.
According to paragraph 3,probate inventories from seventeenth-century Amsterdam have helped art historians reach which of the following conclusions about the Dutch Golden Age?
AThe Dutch Rijksmuseum had begun to include more landscape paintings.
BAd van der Woude’s claims about the average size of paintings were incorrect.
CThe value of large Dutch paintings dropped between 1620-1649 and 1650-1679.
DThere was an increase in the number of small paintings being made.
7
By offering quality paintings for reasonable prices, the new generation of painters unlocked the demand for paintings. Whether the primary motives of the trendsetters were artistic or economic, the consequences were unambiguous as productivity increased and paintings could be offered for lower prices without losing out on quality or necessarily threatening painters’ profits. The middle-income groups that previously could only afford copies or prints were now able to own new and original paintings by living masters. Because the artistic novelties did not replace or exclude other subjects, styles, and techniques, the range of paintings on offer expanded dramatically.
Which of the sentences below best expresses the essential information in the highlighted sentence in the passage? Incorrect choices change the meaning in important ways or leave out essential information.
AWhether their motives were artistic or economic, painters increased their productivity with only moderate losses in quality and profit.
BWhatever their motives, painters were able to profitably produce more paintings of equal quality and at lower prices.
CAs productivity increased, painters became as interested in making profits as they were in maintaining quality.
DAlthough the consequences of increased productivity while maintaining quality were clear, the painters’ motives for lowering their prices were not clear.
8
Paragraph 4 suggests which of the following about Dutch paintings with traditional subjects, styles, and techniques?
AThey were sometimes produced by trendsetting artists.
BThey were purchased by middle-income groups, rather than the wealthy.
CThey continued to be produced alongside paintings with new styles and subjects.
DThey gradually went out of fashion despite their high quality.
