16Hit1600
Information and IdeasHardEvidence for a claim about a painting's date

Information and Ideas practice question

An art historian argues that a portrait was painted after 1620, later than the 1610 date written on its frame.

Which finding, if true, would most directly support the claim?

  1. A. The sitter wears a style of lace collar that was not made until 1620, and the canvas is of a weave first produced in that decade.Correct
  2. B. The frame is made of oak.
  3. C. The sitter died in 1650.
  4. D. Portraits were popular in the 1610s.

Answer: A. The sitter wears a style of lace collar that was not made until 1620, and the canvas is of a weave first produced in that decade.

Collar and canvas both postdate 1610.

Why the other answers are wrong

B. The frame is made of oak.
Oak does not date the painting.
C. The sitter died in 1650.
A death date after either year does not choose between them.
D. Portraits were popular in the 1610s.
A generality.

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