Which one of the following best states the main idea of the passage?
Sarahon June 17, 2019
Why B and not C?
I was confused with this one because the entire passage involved a comparison of Venetian artists to artists from Tuscany. I felt that not including the Tuscan comparison only really addressed half of the passage's scope. I do see where the authentic detail bit may be too specific/narrow, but the lack of Tuscany in the correct choice really threw me off.
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C is incorrect because it fails to address the entirety of the passage. The comparison with Tuscan paintings is used mainly to emphasize the characteristics of Venetian paintings by contrasting them with a style that was employed in the same time period and in a nearby region. In addition to this, the passage does not claim that the details included in Venetian narrative paintings were "authentic." They are described as "anecdotal," "inconsequential," and "circumstantial" and the author suggests that they underline the authenticity of the historical events depicted by the paintings.
The main focus of the passage is the analysis of Venetian narrative paintings. While the comparison with Tuscan paintings helps to support this analysis (and can be considered to be a facet of the "other factors" discussed in answer choice B), the author is focused on analyzing the characteristics of Venetian narrative paintings throughout the passage.
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