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This test consists of 15 multiple choice questions and 5 short answer questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What does the author say in Appendix 5 about Nature "at the middle distance"?
(a) We are so familiar with it that we think we know everything about it.
(b) It is the best way to see natural creatures in their habitat.
(c) It is the only way humans are conditioned to view Nature.
(d) It is not the best distance from which to view Nature's details.

2. According to the author, what would Baudelaire have called the young boy in Gericault's portrait?
(a) "A budding Satan."
(b) "An absurd halfling."
(c) "An apathetic cherub."
(d) "A mockery of youth."

3. What is striking about the painting of the butcher bird, to which the author refers at the end of Appendix 5?
(a) It has an almost human expression.
(b) It is drawn in painstaking detail.
(c) It is looking directly at the viewer.
(d) It stands alone with nothing on any side of it.

4. Which of La Tour's paintings does the author mention by name at the end of Appendix 4?
(a) "Creation."
(b) "Nativity."
(c) "Beneficence."
(d) "Old Man in a Boat."

5. What "divine tautology" is expressed by the subjects of great nature art, according to the author?
(a) "I am that I am."
(b) "I am whatever you think I am."
(c) "To be or not to be."
(d) "I think, therefore I am."

6. A mental state similar to that of schizophrenia can be induced by administering what drug?
(a) Mescalin.
(b) PCP.
(c) LSD.
(d) Derivatives of adrenalin.

7. What was the subject of most of Vuillard's paintings?
(a) Landscapes.
(b) Gardens.
(c) Models.
(d) Interiors.

8. To what sort of life are schizophrenics condemned, according to the author?
(a) Ineffectiveness and solitude.
(b) Fury and isolation.
(c) Frustration and anguish.
(d) Apathy and catatonia.

9. The author discusses the history of what type of ideas at the end of Appendix 6?
(a) Psychological.
(b) Eschatological.
(c) Theological.
(d) Physiological.

10. The "new Art of Versailles" was deliberately cultivated, according to the author, during the reign of which king?
(a) Phillip II.
(b) Louis XIV.
(c) Henry VIII.
(d) Edward VI.

11. What is the difference, according to the author, between the Japanese butcher bird painting and Hardy's thrush?
(a) Each bird is painted in a very different style due to the difference in culture.
(b) There is no difference; they are very similar paintings in terms of their visionary qualities.
(c) The Western bird is surrounded by foliage, while the Eastern bird is not.
(d) The Western bird wants to teach the viewer something, whereas the Eastern bird is content to simply be.

12. Where was Gericault when he saw the horse that inspired him to paint "Officiers de Chasseurs"?
(a) The streets of London.
(b) In a forest in Leeds.
(c) The road to Saint-Cloud.
(d) A pasture in the countryside.

13. Which of Van Gogh's paintings does the author use as an example of Western landscape art?
(a) "Cypresses."
(b) "Long Road."
(c) "The Day After."
(d) "Starry Night."

14. According to Carlyle, why didn't he suffer from any definite fear?
(a) Nothing could be worse than his present condition.
(b) He knew God would protect him.
(c) He felt that death was merely another stage of existence.
(d) He had no hope.

15. What does Carlyle call "an incredible tradition"?
(a) Raising children.
(b) Working for a living.
(c) Friendship.
(d) Marriage.

Short Answer Questions

1. Which of these is NOT something with which schizophrenics have lost touch, according to the author?

2. What does Carlyle write of the men and women around him?

3. What does the author say about Millais' "Ophelia" in Appendix 5?

4. To what animal does Carlyle compare himself?

5. According to the author, what is an example of Vuillard giving the viewer "the best of both worlds" in his paintings?

(see the answer keys)

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