The author suggests that fifteenth-century Venetian narrative paintings with religious subjects were painted by artis...

Ravi August 11, 2019

@Julie-V,

Happy to help.

(A) says, "were able to draw human figures with more skill after they
were apprenticed to painters in Tuscany"

Fifteenth-century Venetian narrative painters were not good at drawing
human figures and weren't ever mentioned to have apprenticed with
painters in Tuscany. Instead, these skills were obtained much later
on. The passage doesn't mention how they were acquired, though. Thus,
we can get rid of (A).

(B) says, "assumed that their paintings would typically be viewed from
a distance"

The passage states that Tuscan painters working with frescoes, not
Venetian painters, assumed that their paintings would be typically
viewed from a distance, so we can get rid of (B).

(C) says, "were a major influence on the artists who produced the
cycle of historical paintings in the Venetian magistrate’s palace"

Actually, the historical paintings in the Venetian magistrate's palace
were influences in the Venetian narrative paintings, not the other way
around, so we can get rid of (C).

(D) says, "were reluctant to paint frescoes primarily because they
lacked the drawing skill that painting frescoes required"

The author states that frescoes were unsuited to the damp climate of
Venice and cited that as the main reason Venetian painters did not
paint frescoes. Additionally, their lack of drawing skills was
attributed to never having to acquire them through the painting of
frescoes; this answer states the opposite: that Venetian painters
didn't paint frescoes because they couldn't draw, so we can get rid of
(D).

(E) says, "were better at painting architecture in perspective than
they were at drawing human figures"

Yes, the author essentially outlines a causal chain. The damp climate
prevented frescoes from being painted, which prevented Venetian
painters from developing the drawing skills associated with human
figures. However, their paintings often depicted elaborate buildings,
and the skill of painting architecture in perspective became highly
prized in Venice, as described in the final paragraph. Thus, (E) is
the correct answer choice.

Does this make sense? Let us know if you have any other questions!

Julie-V August 12, 2019

thank you so much for the detailed explanations for each answer choice, truly appreciate it!