PrepTest 142, Section 4, Question 16
Most commentators on Baroque painting consider Caravaggio an(70 more words not shown)
The conclusion of the argument(12 more words not shown)
- APaintings that belong(13 more words not shown)
- BA painter who(19 more words not shown)
- CRealism was not(9 more words not shown)
- DA realistic painting(11 more words not shown)
- EOpulence, heroic sweep,(8 more words not shown)
Reading the argument
Do Caravaggio's paintings have those features? We haven't been told.
Most commentators consider him an early Baroque painter because of his distinctive realism, use of light and shadow, and influence on later Baroque work. Influence alone wouldn't necessarily establish membership in a style, but that isn't the immediate problem with this argument. The author says the commentators' view conflicts with Mather's definition.
Mather requires opulence, heroic sweep, and extravagance. The passage hasn't established that Caravaggio lacks them. Perhaps a painting could use realistic light and shadow and also be extravagant. If his work satisfies Mather's requirements, the two positions could coexist.
What we’re looking for
To make the conclusion follow, give us the actual conflict: Caravaggio's paintings lack features that Mather requires. Then we can't both classify him as Baroque in the way the commentators do and retain that definition unchanged.
Working the answers
- A
Shared features within a historical period don't settle which features Caravaggio's paintings have. We need a conflict with Mather's particular requirements, not a general observation about paintings from the same period.
- B
Realism and the use of light and shadow can coexist. That doesn't tell us whether the work also displays opulence, heroic sweep, and extravagance. B addresses compatibility between features the passage already attributes to Caravaggio, leaving the supposed conflict with Mather unestablished.
- C
The earlier popularity of realism could help describe Caravaggio's historical context. It doesn't show that his paintings fail Mather's definition. The missing fact concerns the paintings' required features, not when a technique became common.
- D
Caravaggio's realism makes this relevant, but 'usually' isn't enough. A realistic painting could be an exception that does display the required features, and Caravaggio's work could fall among those exceptions. We need a fact that establishes the incompatibility, not a tendency that leaves it open.
- ECorrect
Mather says a Baroque painting must display these qualities; Caravaggio's paintings have none of them. Under that definition, his paintings cannot count as Baroque. The commentators' classification and Mather's rule now conflict, so at least one must be rejected. E connects the exact artist to the exact required features.
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