When storing Renaissance oil paintings, museums conform to standards that call for careful control of the surrounding temperature and humidity, with variations confined within narrow margins. Maintaining this environment is very costly, and recent research shows that even old oil paint is unaffected by wide fluctuations in temperature and humidity. Therefore, museums could relax their standards and save money without endangering their Renaissance oil paintings.

Which of the following is an assumption on which the argument depends?

A. Renaissance paintings were created in conditions involving far greater fluctuations in temperature and humidity than those permitted by current standards.

B. Under the current standards that museums use when storing Renaissance oil paintings, those paintings do not deteriorate at all.

C. Museum collections typically do not contain items that are more likely to be vulnerable to fluctuations in temperature and humidity than Renaissance oil paintings.

D. None of the materials in Renaissance oil paintings other than the paint are vulnerable enough to relatively wide fluctuations in temperature and humidity to cause damage to the paintings.

E. Most Renaissance oil paintings are stored in museums located in regions near the regions where the paintings were created.

Tough I think...

I don't agree with the OA...

I go for D.
The paint may not deteriorate with fluctuating conditions but the canvas may deteriorate endangering the painting. There is only evidence stating the paint doesn't deteriorate.

D.

This is a good example of scope shift.
The evidence is about old oil paint and the conclusion about the the whole of paintings...conclusion doesnt consider materials other than the paint.

D is the answer.

Thanks for your input guys.

The OA is D.

But my reasoning for NOT picking D is this:

What if, the fact that paint is vulnerable enough to relatively wide fluctuations in temperature and humidity IS ENOUGH to cause damage to the oil paintings? Then, museums cannot relax their standards because relaxing it could cause the paint to ruin the oil paintings.

I don't know much about painting, but I'm assuming that there's "paint" in "oil" paitings...

Please prove me wrong...I had to decide between B and D, and picked B because of the above reasoning...