GRE Question of the Day (January 24)

Verbal

Matisse and Picasso; Picasso and Matisse. Throughout the twentieth century, this pairing has been touted as the quintessential artistic rivalry. In Matisse and Picasso, Yve-Alain Bois follows Hubert Damisch in proposing that the interaction between Picasso and Matisse should be seen as a dynamic game rather than a static conflict of artistic polarities. Bois employs the metaphor of chess, arguing that the game represents the artists’ exchange as “a competitive rivalry and a complex temporality” that can be viewed both as a linear process and a simultaneous structure. But the metaphor of a competitive sport, however complex and intellectually rich, is misleading. The two artists were engaged not just in competition (even friendly competition) but also in friendly dialogue. The two men were more than rivals: they were colleagues, critics, teachers, and occasional friends. A better model, though perhaps one with less flash, is that of a simple conversation, with all the rich variation and shifts in motivation and tone that are possible. Picasso’s Large Nude in a Red Armchair marks the extremes of the artist’s combativeness towards Matisse. The painting is a clear parody of Matisse’s earlier Odalisque with a Tambourine. The composition of the figures is strikingly similar: a woman lounges in an armchair at the center of the painting, arm raised above her head, decorative wallpaper behind her. Both paintings feature vivid color contrasts, with green wallpaper, vivid reds, glaring yellows, and rich browns. But Picasso’s painting, finished in 1929, mocks the achievements of Matisse’s earlier work. The sensuous, rich mood of Matisse’s painting has been transformed in Picasso’s work into something harsh and grotesque. The other extreme of the dialogue between the two artists can be seen in Picasso’s Woman with Yellow Hair and Matisse’s response, The Dream. The exchange begins with Picasso’s work, in 1931. The painting depicts a woman asleep on her arms, resting on a table. She is full, rich, warm, and curved, her head and arms forming a graceful arabesque. This image seems a direct attempt to master Matisse’s style and to suggest to the older artist new directions for his work. While there may well be an edge of competitiveness to the painting, a sense that Picasso was demonstrating his ability to do Matisse’s work, it remains in large part a helpful hint. Matisse, nearly a decade later, continues the conversation in a similar tone. In The Dream 30 of 1940, he proposes a revision of Picasso’s work. Again, a woman lies asleep on a table, her arm tucked beneath her head. Matisse accepts Picasso’s basic suggestions for his style: sinuous curves, volumes, and shocking uses of color to express an effect. But Matisse also modifies the earlier work significantly. Color is no longer rigidly tied to form, as bits of fuchsia seep outside the thick black line marking the outline of the table and the patch of yellow on the woman’s 35 blouse refuses to be contained by the drawn line. Matisse uses Picasso’s same palette of red, purple, white, black, and yellow to create this revision, editing out only the garish green, as if to chide Picasso for the choice. The brilliant interplay of colors in Matisse’s work is far more sophisticated and subtle than that offered by Picasso. “Thank you,” Matisse seems to be saying, “but you missed a few spots.”

The primary purpose of the passage is to

(A) discuss the two best painters of an epoch
(B) evaluate a theory and endorse a revision
(C) compare selected works of two masters
(D) show that Matisse’s work is more sophisticated
(E) illustrate how Picasso taught Matisse

Correct Answer - B - (click and drag your mouse to see the answer)

The author would most likely agree with which of the following statements?

(A) Artistic rivalries are more like Olympic competitions than professional sports.
(B) Artistic mastery is best demonstrated by employing multiple styles.
(C) Artists must be good conversationalists.
(D) Artistic rivalries can actually be reciprocally nourishing.
(E) Artistic rivalries generally last for decades.

Correct Answer - D - (click and drag your mouse to see the answer)

According to the passage, which of the following describes Woman with Yellow Hair?

(A) It was parody of a work by Matisse.
(B) Its colors were not rigidly tied to its form.
(C) Its color palette was larger than that of The Dream.
(D) It was a response to a work by Matisse.
(E) It was harsh and grotesque.

Correct Answer - C - (click and drag your mouse to see the answer)

Which of the following, had it actually occurred during the artists’ lifetimes, would further support the author’s thesis?

(A) A joint exhibition of the two artists’ work
(B) A radio broadcast of the two artists discussing painting
(C) A movie that dramatized the competition between the two artists
(D) A play that depicted the two artists playing chess
(E) A painting of the two artists

Correct Answer - B - (click and drag your mouse to see the answer)

Question Discussion & Explanation