Zachary: The term fresco refers to paint that has been applied to we

Question

Zachary: The term “fresco” refers to paint that has been applied to wet plaster. Once dried, a fresco indelibly preserves the paint that a painter has applied in this way. Unfortunately, additions known to have been made by later painters have obscured the original fresco work done by Michelangelo in the Sistine Chapel. Therefore, in order to restore Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel paintings to the appearance that Michelangelo intended them to have, everything except the original fresco work must be stripped away.

Stephen’s response to Zachary, if true, most strongly supports which one of the following?

Stephen:  But it was extremely common for painters of Michelangelo’s era to add painted details to their own fresco work after the frescos had dried.

Stephen’s response to Zachary, if true, most strongly supports which one of the following?

(A) It is impossible to distinguish the later painted additions made to Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel paintings from the original fresco work.

(B) Stripping away everything except Michelangelo’s original fresco work from the Sistine Chapel paintings would be unlikely to restore them to the appearance Michelangelo intended them to have.

(C) The painted details that painters of Michelangelo’s era added to their own fresco work were not an integral part of the completed paintings’ overall design.

(D) None of the painters of Michelangelo’s era who made additions to the Sistine Chapel paintings was important artist in his or her own right.

(E) Michelangelo was rarely satisfied with the appearance of his finished works.

Link to Part 1

saicharan1191 · Answer

Option E seems to be correct. Its is saying that because painters tend to modify their own works after completion, It is difficult to know which is the original intended work.

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Mick1005 · Answer

I would go with B. E seems too generic and B is to the point.

saicharan1191 · Answer

B says that Michelangelo's original intended work has been separated from others' additions, but if that is the case then it must reflect his original work right? But option E goes one step ahead says, due to multiple reworks by the artist himself, it is not possible to separate out his original intended work, even after stripping out other people's additions. So in the first place Stephen's argument is saying that the method suggested by the first argument may not be possible to implement. 
I am still skeptical.

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zflodeen · Answer

Since the question asks "Stephen’s response to Zachary, if true, most strongly supports which one of the following?" and Stephen is pointing out how Michelangelo added painted details to their own fresco work after the original fresco has dried. Since the question assumes Stephen's statement to be true, I believe B is most supported by Stephen's specific statement. If you strip everything away except the original fresco, you will have removed the painting which Michelangelo did after the original, and therefore, it would still not be as he intended. I believe that E is too general and not related to Stephen's statement.

dumbodingo · Answer

Can somebody explain why A is not correct?

broall · Answer

Hi,

Stephen said that painters of Michelangelo’s era often added painted details to their own fresco work after the frescos had dried.

Choice A indicated that the original and the modified are really similar. Thus this choice slightly weakens the Stephen's argument since Stephen implied that those paintings are different.

dumbodingo · Answer

Thank you so much for explaining. I see what you mean now, and the difference seems really subtle. I get stuck the close calls...then think, think, think, and pick the wrong one

Any advice, word of caution?

abhimahna · Answer

Hey dumbodingo , Here is the catch: When you get stuck at 2 options, it means you have done the easier part of the job. You need to slow down further, be very careful and reread everything again. Good Luck

Jayant9090 · Answer

I have one doubt here in argument, i might have misunderstood something!
Zach: Unfortunately, additions known to have been made by   LATER PAINTERS   have obscured the original fresco work done by Michelangelo in the Sistine Chapel.
Steph: it was extremely common for painters of Michelangelo’s era to add painted details to   their own fresco work   after the frescos had dried.
so my confusion is Steph's logic will work if Michelangelo did the later addition to painting as well, not if some later painters did that.
hence, i eliminated 'B'.
What am i missing here?

unraveled · Answer

Zachary:  The term “ fresco” refers to paint that has been applied to wet plaster . Once dried, a  fresco indelibly preserves the paint  that a painter has applied in this way. Unfortunately, additions known to have been made by later painters have obscured the original fresco work done by Michelangelo in the Sistine Chapel. Therefore, in order to restore Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel paintings to the appearance that Michelangelo intended them to have, everything except the original fresco work must be stripped away.

Stephen:   But  it was  extremely common for painters of Michelangelo’s era to add painted details  to their own fresco work  after the frescos had dried .

Stephen’s response to Zachary, if true, most strongly supports which one of the following?

(A) It is  impossible to distinguish the later painted additions  made to Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel paintings from the original fresco work. - WRONG. Not that Stephen suggests that it can be possible.

(B) Stripping away everything except Michelangelo’s original fresco work from the Sistine Chapel paintings would be  unlikely to restore them  to the appearance Michelangelo intended them to have. - CORRECT. The blue text in Z's claim and S's counter offer an opposing pov. While Z says the fresco is applied to wet plaster S says that the common practice in that era was that painters used to add details to their work after frescos had dried. One dried and one wet, seems trouble if two works are tried to be separated.

(C) The painted details that painters of Michelangelo’s era added to their own fresco work  were not an integral part of the completed paintings’ overall design . - WRONG. Not a sure thing to go for.

(D) None of the painters of Michelangelo’s era who made additions to the Sistine Chapel paintings  was important artist in his or her own right . - WRONG. Irrelevant altogether.

(E) Michelangelo was  rarely satisfied  with the appearance of his finished works. - WRONG. Like D again this too is irrelevant.

Answer B.

guddo · Answer

Zachary: The term “fresco” refers to paint that has been applied to wet plaster. Once dried, a fresco indelibly preserves the paint that a painter has applied in this way. Unfortunately, additions known to have been made by later painters have obscured the original fresco work done by Michelangelo in the Sistine Chapel. Therefore, in order to restore Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel paintings to the appearance that Michelangelo intended them to have, everything except the original fresco work must be stripped away.

Stephen’s response to Zachary, if true, most strongly supports which one of the following?

Stephen’s response to Zachary, if true, most strongly supports which one of the following?

Zachary assumes that everything except the original fresco layer should be removed in order to recover the appearance Michelangelo intended. Stephen’s point weakens that idea by saying that painters in Michelangelo’s time often added details  after the fresco had dried , even to their own work.  So the key idea  is that some non-fresco paint might still have been part of Michelangelo’s intended final appearance.

(A) It is impossible to distinguish the later painted additions made to Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel paintings from the original fresco work.

Stephen does not say this. He says dried-on additions were common, not that they are impossible to identify.

(B) Stripping away everything except Michelangelo’s original fresco work from the Sistine Chapel paintings would be unlikely to restore them to the appearance Michelangelo intended them to have.

This is correct. If Michelangelo may himself have added painted details after the fresco dried, then removing everything except the original fresco layer could also remove details he intended to remain.

(C) The painted details that painters of Michelangelo’s era added to their own fresco work were not an integral part of the completed paintings’ overall design.

This goes the wrong way. Stephen’s point suggests those added details may well have been part of the intended final design.

(D) None of the painters of Michelangelo’s era who made additions to the Sistine Chapel paintings was important artist in his or her own right.

Stephen says nothing about the artistic importance of later painters.

(E) Michelangelo was rarely satisfied with the appearance of his finished works.

Stephen gives no information about Michelangelo’s level of satisfaction.

Answer: (B)

guddo · Answer

This was explained couple of times above but let me try again:

A is incorrect because Stephen’s point is  not about identification . It is about  whether all non-fresco paint is necessarily unwanted later addition .

He says painters of Michelangelo’s era often added painted details to their own work after the fresco dried. So some paint that is not part of the original wet-plaster fresco could still be part of Michelangelo’s intended final result.

That does not imply it is impossible to distinguish later additions from original work. It only shows that Zachary’s rule “remove everything except the original fresco work” is too extreme.

Zachary: The term fresco refers to paint that has been applied to we

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Zachary: The term fresco refers to paint that has been applied to we

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