Single correct option
The best summary of the following paragraph:
Museums have traditionally organised their collections around the idea of the masterpiece, a small number of objects singled out for sustained display while the great majority of holdings remain in storage, seen by almost no one. Recent curatorial practice has begun to challenge this model, arguing that the masterpiece framework distorts public understanding of a period or a maker by presenting a handful of exceptional works as if they were representative, when in fact ordinary and workshop-produced pieces make up the bulk of any artistic tradition and often reveal more about how art was actually made, used and circulated.
Museums have traditionally organised their collections around the idea of the masterpiece, a small number of objects singled out for sustained display while the great majority of holdings remain in storage, seen by almost no one. Recent curatorial practice has begun to challenge this model, arguing that the masterpiece framework distorts public understanding of a period or a maker by presenting a handful of exceptional works as if they were representative, when in fact ordinary and workshop-produced pieces make up the bulk of any artistic tradition and often reveal more about how art was actually made, used and circulated.
- A. Museums should stop displaying masterpieces altogether and focus only on ordinary objects.
- B. The traditional focus on a few masterpieces, while most holdings stay in storage, is being questioned because it misrepresents artistic traditions that were mostly made up of ordinary, workshop-produced work.
- C. Museum storage facilities are too small to hold the growing size of modern collections.
- D. Workshop-produced pieces are of higher artistic quality than the masterpieces museums traditionally display.
Show answer and solution
Answer: (B) The traditional focus on a few masterpieces, while most holdings stay in storage, is being questioned because it misrepresents artistic traditions that were mostly made up of ordinary, workshop-produced work.
The paragraph's point is that curators are questioning the masterpiece-centred model because it misrepresents traditions dominated by ordinary/workshop work, not that masterpieces should be eliminated (A, too extreme), that storage space is the issue (C, not mentioned), or that ordinary pieces are of higher quality (D, not claimed — only that they are more representative).
Saved on this device. Sign in or create a free account to keep it on every device.