Question 11---21
Panel painting, common in thirteenth -and fourteenth -century Europe , involved a
painstaking , laborious process. Wooden planks were joined, covered with gesso to
prepare the surface for painting , and then polished smooth with special tools. On this
perfect surface, the artist would sketch a composition with chalk, refine it with inks,
and then begin the deliberate process of applying thin layers of egg tempera paint (egg
yolk in which pigments are suspended) with small brushes. The successive layering of
these meticulously applied paints produced the final, translucent colors.
Backgrounds of gold were made by carefully applying sheets of gold leaf, and then
embellishing of decorating the gold leaf by punching it with a metal rod on which a
pattern had been embossed. Every step in the process was slow and deliberate . The
quick-drying tempera demanded that the artist know exactly where each stroke be
placed before the brush met the panel, and it required the use of fine brushes. It was,
therefore , an ideal technique for emphasizing the hard linear edges and pure, fine areas
of color that were so much a part of the overall aesthetic of the time. The notion that an
artist could or would dash off an idea in a fit of spontaneous inspiration was
completely alien to these deliberately produced works.
Furthermore, making these paintings was so time-consuming that it demanded
assistance. All such work was done by collective enterprise in the workshops. The
painter or master who is credited with having created painting may have designed
the work and overseen its production, but it is highly unlikely that the artist’s hand
applied every stroke of the brush. More likely, numerous assistants, who had been
trained to imitate the artist’s style, applied the paint. The carpenter’s shop probably
provided the frame and perhaps supplied the panel, and yet another shop supplied the
gold. Thus, not only many hands , but also many shops were involved in the final
product.
In spite of problems with their condition, restoration, and preservation many panel
paintings have survived, and today many of them are housed in museum collections.
11. What aspect of panel paintings does the passage mainly discuss?
(A) Famous examples
(B) Different styles
(C) Restoration
(D) Production
12. According to the passage, what does the first step in making a panel painting ?
(A) Mixing the paint
(B) Preparing the panel
(C) Buying the gold leaf
(D) Making ink drawings
13. The word "it" in line 4 refers to .
(A) chalk
(B) composition
(C) artist
(D) surface
14. The word "deliberate" in line 5 is closest in meaning to
(A) decisive
(B) careful
(C) natural
(D) unusual
15. Which of the following processes produced the translucent colors found on panel paintings? (A) Joining wooden planks to form large sheets
(B) Polishing the gesso
(C) Applying many layers of paint
(D) Covering the background with gold leaf
16. What characteristic of tempera paint is mentioned in the passage ?
(A) It dries quickly
(B) It is difficult to make
(C) It dissolves easily
(D) It has to be applied directly to wood
17. The word "demanded" in line 17 is closest in meaning to
(A) ordered
(B) reported
(C) required
(D) questioned
18. The "collective enterprise" mentioned in line 18 includes all of the following EXCEPT
(A) supplying the gold leaf
(B) building the panels
(C) applying the paint
(D) selling the painting
19. The word "imitate" in line 22 is closest in meaning to
(A) copy
(B) illustrate
(C) promote
(D) believe in
20. The author mentions all of the following as problems with the survival of panel painting EXCEPT
(A) condition
(B) theft
(C) preservation
(D) restoration
21. The word "them" in line 27 refers to
(A) problems
(B) condition, restoration, preservation
(C) panel paintings
(D) museum collections