Michelangelo's sixteenth–century Sistine Chapel paintings are currently being restored. A goal of the restorers is to...

Christopher on July 27, 2018

@smilde11, the question states that the goal of the restoration was specifically to restore Michelangelo's paintings. So the goal was not to make the Sistine Chapel prettier but to restore all of the paintings that Michelangelo did to their original state. The question is asking why the restorers decided to leave da Volterra's work in tact when the goal was to restore all of Michelangelo's work.

(A) provides a possible explanation because even if da Volterra's work were to be removed, there would be no Michelangelo painting below it to restore. Therefore, it's the correct answer.

(B) doesn't work because it depends on an aesthetically driven argument, which the question doesn't reference.

(C) doesn't work because it's possible that many other artists that made additions to Michelangelo's work could be similar in style but were removed anyway.

(D) Whether da Volterra's painting was superior to Michelangelo's is irrelevant. The goal of the restorers was to restore Michelangelo's work regardless of the merits of what was painted over it.

(E) Again, this doesn't explain why da Volterra's work was left and everyone else's was removed.

Does that help?