Which of the following, if true, provides the strongest

Question

Which of the following, if true, provides the strongest support for the argument's conclusion?

A. Most people do not believe that the Mona Lisa has any evident flaws
B. The creator of the Mona Lisa, Leonardo da Vinci, did not regard the painting as his finest work
C. It is possible for most people to understand the scope of 15th and 16th century European painting
D. Other European paintings of the 15th and 16th century were once better known than the Mona Lisa
E. Most art scholars feel that the Last Supper is a superior painting to the Mona Lisa.

gmatmba · Answer

I'm a bit confused, but I'll go with B. If the painter himself feels this was not his best work, this strengthens the conclusion that people do not see how the painting is not perfect

thearch · Answer

Also if you want, please rate the quality of this question

pesquadero · Answer

I also go for B. The only way for the Mona Lisa to be considered flawed is if the creator did not consider it his finest work.

jaynayak · Answer

Will go with B too.

The painter himself doesnot consider it to be his best hence to give it such importance is not justified.

Professor · Answer

go with C. we donot know about B.

ywilfred · Answer

Premises:

1) Mona Lisa -> arguably world's most famous painting
2) Mona Lisa is neither flawless nor incomparable
3) Hands are badly matched, background is dull and other portraits from the same period evince equally enigmatic expressions

Conclusion:
4) Undue focus on Mona Lisa + Popularity of a few other pieces prevents most people from seeing the painting for what it really is and also from understanding the true scope of 15th and 16th Century Eurpoean painting.

We need a statement that supports this conclusion.

A. Most people do not believe that the Mona Lisa has any evident flaws

C. It is possible for most people to understand the scope of 15th and 16th century European painting

We can immediately discard B, D and E as they are unsupported by the passage and do nothign to support the conclusion.

A can be taken out as well, as the conclusion is not about criticizing the Mona Lisa, or about people's ability to discern flaws in the Mona Lisa. Rather, it's lamenting that unfair focus on a few masterpieces of the 15th and 16th century prevents people from really understanding the true scope of paintings during those two periods. 

C is the best choice. It says people are able to understand the scope of 15th and 16th centruy European painting. This choice alone supports the conclusion made by the passage.

biggamejames · Answer

I'll go with C as well.

thearch · Answer

I chose (C) but OA says (A)...

I've been finding a lot of Kaplan's questions whose answers are rather questionable....

itishaj · Answer

I feel C is more of an assumption rather than anything that supports the conclusion

Professor · Answer

true. the OA is questionable. how can we conclude A, which is a prediction, so forcefully?

ps_dahiya · Answer

Certainly A is questionable but I think this should be B. C seems to an assumption on which argument is based.

haas_mba07 · Answer

I would go with A on this.

The authors point is that the Mona Lisa is not all that it is cut out to be... it has flaws which people don't realize. So if most people believe that there are no flaws in the Mona Lisa, the author could prove that it has flaws and there are better paintings from the same period.

thearch · Answer

Yes agree that (C) is an assumption, but still (A) doesnt make much sense

hisharma · Answer

yup rightly said .. c is an assumption and since we need to strengthen the conclusion ... c is the answer... error in OA..

Which of the following, if true, provides the strongest

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