Passage (Walter Pater, *The Renaissance*, 1873, from "The School of Giorgione"): "All art constantly aspires towards the condition of music. For while in all other works of art it is possible to distinguish the matter from the form, and the understanding can always make this distinction, yet it is the constant effort of art to obliterate it. That the mere matter of a poem, for instance — its subject, its given incidents or situation; that the mere matter of a picture — the actual circumstances of an event, the actual topography of a landscape — should be nothing without the form, the spirit, of the handling; that this form, this mode of handling, should become an end in itself, should penetrate every part of the matter: this is what all art constantly strives after, and achieves in different degrees." Which of the following best captures Pater's main claim?
AAll art forms eventually become indistinguishable from music in their content.
BThe distinguishing achievement of art lies in fusing form and matter so completely that the two cannot be separated.
CThe subject matter of a painting or a poem matters more than its style or handling.
DMusic is inferior to poetry and painting because it lacks definite subject matter.
Answer & Solution
Correct answer: B. The distinguishing achievement of art lies in fusing form and matter so completely that the two cannot be separated.
Pater's claim is summed up in the closing sentence: art strives to make "this form, this mode of handling, become an end in itself, should penetrate every part of the matter." The whole paragraph is built to defend the proposition that great art **dissolves** the distinction between matter (subject) and form (handling). Music does this most fully; other arts aspire to do the same.
- **A** misreads *condition of music* as *literal music* — Pater means a state of fusion, not a transformation of media.
- **C** inverts Pater's emphasis: the entire passage argues *form* is what matters most, not subject.
- **D** would dismiss music; Pater is doing the opposite, placing music at the *top* of his hierarchy.
Related questions
An argument states 'the village bus service is unreliable, so it should be banned'. The unA 'strengthen' CR question asks which option, if true, would:In a GMAT Critical Reasoning question, the FIRST step to take is:In formal GMAT register, which idiom is correct? 'Her findings are _____ those of the earlWhich uses correct parallel structure? 'On weekends she enjoys _____.'Choose the option with correct subject-verb agreement: 'The collection of old coins _____ On GMAT Sentence Correction, the recommended elimination strategy is to:In a GMAT Sentence Correction question, option (A) ALWAYS represents: