The passage begins with: "A fake can be defined as an artwork intended to deceive. The motives of its creator are decisive, and THE MERIT OF THE OBJECT ITSELF IS A SEPARATE ISSUE. (1-3)." So, this tells us that the artistic merit of the object itself is not dependent on the motives of the creator or the creator herself.
So, regardless of the circumstances of its production, a fake may or may not have artistic merit, i.e. answer choice (C).
Answer choice (D) states: "whether a fake has artistic merit depends on whether its creator is accomplished as an artist."
Nowhere in the passage is this conveyed. In fact, the first few lines of the passage (lines 1-3) say exactly the opposite of this: that the merit of the object is completely separate from the artist and her motives.
Hope that clears things up! Please let us know if you have any other questions.
