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The relationship between the artist and his patron varies greatly from age
to age. In some periods the patron has had almost complete power to
decide what kind of art the artist should produce, even down to detailed
choice of colours, as, for example, when the early Christian Church laid down
rules as to what images should be used in churches and
how they should be presented. In Renaissance Italy
under the patronage of the Church and merchant princes,
artists were still required to confine themselves to
well-established subjects, religious or classical, but
they were given great freedom both in their
interpretation and in the technical handling of these
themes. For the most part they were still in harmony
with the ideas of their patrons, al- though disputes
between artist and patron became more frequent as the
artist gained more individual freedom. Michelangelo's
quarrels with his patron Pope Julius are famous, while
Rembrandt became the first great painter to sacrifice
secure patronage in order to be free to develop his own
ideas and style.
It is only in modern times, beginning with
middle-class society in Holland after the Reformation,
that the artist loses direct patronage generally and
must now produce his work without being commissioned,
selling it competitively in the open market like any
other modern commercial product. This development has
had both great advantages and drawbacks for the modern
artist. On the one hand it has freed him from the
restrictions imposed by the patron, enabling him to
experiment and to explore every aspect of reality and
thus to expand the language of art to a degree that was
hardly possible in the past. This may be thought by many
to outweigh any possible disadvantages, in an age which
places so much value on individual freedom.
On the other hand this complete creative freedom has resulted in the
modern artist being, strictly speaking, unemployed at the outset of his career.
Unlike other trades and professions he is not guaranteed
employment at the end of his training but must work and live precariously until,
if he is lucky, he gains the interest of some individual patron, or of an agent
who considers his work saleable. His artistic freedom may sometimes
prove to be an illusion if he is then required to adapt his style to what is
merely fashionable. But perhaps the most serious result of the modern
artist's independence is that the development of artistic language in the
20th century has taken place as an activity among artists and "experts"
only, and has been divorced from the public at large.
However, the relationship between artist and public is already improving
as an ever-wider public comes to understand the aims of modem art, and
as the contemporary artist is more and more drawn back into the main-
stream of life through the popular art movements which have arisen in
recent years.
There are many signs that the coming generations may provide a new
and exciting kind of patronage, just as they will inevitably create a new
kind of art.
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1. |
As a patron of artists, the early Christian Church |
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(A) |
allowed artists great individual freedom. |
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(B) |
adopted a very liberal attitude towards artists. |
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(C) |
dictated its preferences to artists. |
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(D) |
was very unkind to artists. |
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2. |
In Renaissance Italy patrons allowed artists |
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(A) |
to choose their own subjects. |
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(B) |
to paint subjects which were not religious or classical in character. |
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(C) |
absolute freedom in the choice of themes. |
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(D) |
freedom of interpretation and technique in their handling of themes. |
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3. |
Disputes between artist and patron became more and more frequent as a result of |
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(A) |
the artist's desire for individual freedom of expression. |
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(B) |
the bad example set by Michelangelo and Rembrandt. |
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(C) |
insecure patronage. |
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(D) |
new ideas and new styles. |
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4. |
Both Michelangelo and Rembrandt seemed |
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(A) |
to have been quarrelsome men. |
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(B) |
to have been bad artists. |
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(C) |
to have valued individual freedom of expression above secure patronage. |
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(D) |
not to have deserved respectable patronage. |
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5. |
The greatest advantage that the modern
artist enjoys over the Renaissance artist is |
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(A) |
secure patronage. |
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(B) |
the ability to sell art as a commercial product. |
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(C) |
the ability to produce works without being commissioned. |
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(D) |
absolute individual freedom of expression. |
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6. |
In the passage, we are told that the modern
artist has often to "work and live precariously". Why is it so ? |
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(A) |
He finds it difficult to earn a steady income by his
work. |
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(B) |
Most of the time his works are hardly saleable. |
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(C) |
He is subject to the whims and fancies of his patron. |
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(D) |
He is highly temperamental and cannot work consistently. |
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7. |
Why may an artist's artistic freedom
sometimes prove to be an illusion ? |
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(A) |
His style may be unacceptable to other artists. |
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(B) |
His style may not be appreciated by the public. |
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(C) |
He may have to modify his style to suit the current
taste. |
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(D) |
There is really no such thing as artistic freedom. |
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8. |
The writer is of the opinion that 20th
century art is |
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(A) |
merely fashionable. |
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(B) |
an illusion. |
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(C) |
not generally understood by the public. |
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(D) |
limited in scope. |
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9. |
The word "experts" in the fourth paragraph
refers to |
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(A) |
patrons. |
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(B) |
people who claim to know about modern art. |
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(C) |
people who buy modern paintings. |
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(D) |
people in academic circles. |
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10. |
In the concluding two paragraphs, the writer
seems ______ about the future relationship between the artist and the
public. |
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(A) |
indifferent |
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(B) |
cynical |
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(C) |
pessimistic |
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(D) |
optimistic |
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