Museums that house Renaissance oil paintings typically store them in

Start by ignoring the bold face and focusing on the conclusion: "Museums would be rash to relax [the standards for temperature and humidity control]."

Now, let's follow the winding logical path that the author takes to arrive at this conclusion:

• "Museums that house Renaissance oil paintings typically store them in environments that are carefully kept within narrow margins of temperature and humidity to inhibit any deterioration." - Museums with such paintings have certain standards for temperature and humidity to avoid deterioration of those paintings.
• "Laboratory tests have shown that the kind of oil paint used in these paintings actually adjusts to climatic changes quite well." The museums have temp/humidity standards to protect the paintings. However, lab tests show that the paint in those paintings actually adjusts quite well to climatic changes (i.e. changes in temperature and humidity). This implies that the museums don't need to regulate the temp and humidity to protect the paint.
• Some museum directors believe that "paint is the most sensitive substance in these works." If that is indeed the case, then think about how those directors would respond to the lab tests. They would say, "Well, the paint is not sensitive to temp and humidity. Since the paint is the most sensitive substance, then NO substance in the paintings should be sensitive to temp and humidity. In that case, why waste money (energy costs) regulating the temp and humidity?

That sounds reasonable, but the author believes that "museums would be rash (i.e. reckless/imprudent) to relax those standards. How does the author explain this position?

• "Results of preliminary tests indicate that gesso, a compound routinely used by Renaissance artists to help paint adhere to the canvas, is unable to withstand significant variations in humidity."

That last part is evidence that the museum directors (some of them, anyway) are wrong to say that paint is the most sensitive substance. These preliminary tests indicate that gesso is MORE sensitive to humidity than the paint itself. So if we don't regulate the humidity, the gesso might fail, leading to deterioration.

Now that we clearly understand the argument, we can take a look at the BF portions to see how they fit in:

• "paint is the most sensitive substance in these works" - This is the belief (or judgment) of some museum directors. The last part of the passage is evidence suggesting that this belief is incorrect.
• "museums can reduce energy costs without risking damage to these paintings" - Based on the laboratory tests AND their belief (as stated in the 1st BF portion), some museum directors arrive at this conclusion. In other words, this is the "position" of those museum directors.

The 2nd is the position taken by some museum directors, NOT by the argument or the author. So the second half of (A) is definitely wrong. Also, the 1st BF portion is a belief of some museum directors, not an objection to the author's position. Eliminate (A).


The 1st is a belief of the museum directors, not a position taken by the argument/author. The 2nd is indeed a position that the argument calls into question. But since the first half of (B) is inaccurate, we have to eliminate (B).


The first half of (C) looks good. The 1st BF portion is the belief/judgment of the museum directors. This judgment supports their position, and the argument does call that position into question. But the 2nd BF portion IS that position, not a circumstance on which the museum directors' judgment is based.

In other words, the fact that "museums can reduce energy costs without risking damage to these paintings" does not CAUSE the museum directors to believe that paint is the most sensitive part. In fact, it's the other way around. So the second half of (C) is wrong, and we must eliminate this one.


The 1st BF portion is the belief, or judgment, of the museum directors. This belief supports their position, which is stated in the 2nd BF portion. Citing evidence that contradicts the belief of those museum directors, the author questions their position. Choice (D) is spot on!


The first half of (E) is okay. The argument does call this belief into question. But the 2nd BF portion is the position of the museum directors, not the position of the argument/author. Eliminate (E).

(D) is the best answer.