#12 - Concept Reference, Must Be True

[Administrator]

Complete Question Explanation

The correct answer choice is (E).

Answer choice (A):

Answer choice (B):

Answer choice (C):

Answer choice (D):

Answer choice (E): This is the correct answer choice.


This explanation is still in progress. Please post any questions below!

[puppytiff]

Why is the correct answer E instead of D?

Although the last paragraph talked about Venetian artist not skilled at painting human figure and liked to compose architecture, it didn't specifically make the comparison that the Venetian artists were better at painting architecture than human figure. From Passage #1 of this same section, question #7, I thought that we are not supposed to make assumption that author made a comparison that it's specifically mentioned in the passage.

On the other hand, the lack of skill in answer choice D is supported by line 49-57. However, I noticed the word "primarily". We can't be sure whether the lack of climate or the lack of skill "primarily" contributed to Venetian artists' reluctant to paint frescoes.

[Malila Robinson]

Hi Puppytiff,
Answer E comes from the end of the last paragraph and particularly the last sentence (I put the most relevant parts in bold):
"Moreover, because painting frescoes requires an (50) unusually sure hand, particularly in the representation of the human form, the development of drawing skill was central to artistic training in Tuscany, and by 1500 the public there tended to distinguish artists on the basis of how well they could draw (55) human figures. In Venice, a city virtually without frescoes, this kind of skill was acquired and appreciated much later. Gentile Bellini, for example, although regarded as one of the supreme painters of the day, was feeble at drawing. On the (60) other hand, the emphasis on architecture so evident in the Venetian narrative paintings was something that local painters obviously prized, largely because painting architecture in perspective was seen as a particular test of the Venetian painter's skill."

And your reasoning for why D is not the correct answer is great! The inclusion of the word 'primarily' is something that we cannot prove from the passage. The author has stated that both the lack of drawing skill and the temperature were reasons why there were so few frescoes, but the author does not state that one or the other is the primary reason.
Hoe that helps!
-Malila

[AspenHerman]

Is the reason why B is wrong because it says in the passage " as one would expect of paintings that are normally viewed from a distance" and nothing about the author's assumptions, as implied in answer B?



Lesson 4 Humanities passage #3.

[atierney]

Hello,

The particular statement you are referencing, in lines 34 and 35, is actually referring to Frescoes from Tuscany and is actually used as a point of contrast between Tuscan and Venetian narrative paintings. The author makes the point that Tuscan churches used this narrative style in expectation that the paintings would be viewed at a distance, but that Venetian narrative paintings did not employ such technique. Because this question is asking about Venetian artists, it is definitely not the correct answer.

As a side note, some of these questions really test your ability to focus on the relevant details of the passage. And it can be easy to get caught in the weeds and miss the little four-leaf clover that is the right answer! Here, I think annotating the passage would help to detail the particular concepts, as it's that final paragraph in the passage that contains the correct answer here in the discussion of the distinctions in technique between the Venetian and Tuscan artists.

Let me know if you have further questions.

[AspenHerman]

Hello,

The particular statement you are referencing, in lines 34 and 35, is actually referring to Frescoes from Tuscany and is actually used as a point of contrast between Tuscan and Venetian narrative paintings. The author makes the point that Tuscan churches used this narrative style in expectation that the paintings would be viewed at a distance, but that Venetian narrative paintings did not employ such technique. Because this question is asking about Venetian artists, it is definitely not the correct answer.

As a side note, some of these questions really test your ability to focus on the relevant details of the passage. And it can be easy to get caught in the weeds and miss the little four-leaf clover that is the right answer! Here, I think annotating the passage would help to detail the particular concepts, as it's that final paragraph in the passage that contains the correct answer here in the discussion of the distinctions in technique between the Venetian and Tuscan artists.

Let me know if you have further questions.

Thank you for pointing that out!