16Hit1600
Information and IdeasVery hardEvidence that a portrait was painted from life

Information and Ideas practice question

A historian argues that a famous portrait was painted from life rather than copied from an earlier picture, as some scholars claim.

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

  1. A. X-ray images show that the sitter's pose was changed twice during painting, and the underdrawing records a scar on the sitter's hand that no earlier picture shows.Correct
  2. B. The portrait is signed by the artist.
  3. C. The artist and the sitter lived in the same city.
  4. D. The portrait is larger than the earlier pictures.

Answer: A. X-ray images show that the sitter's pose was changed twice during painting, and the underdrawing records a scar on the sitter's hand that no earlier picture shows.

Revisions and a detail no copy could supply.

Why the other answers are wrong

B. The portrait is signed by the artist.
A signature fits either account.
C. The artist and the sitter lived in the same city.
Proximity does not show a sitting.
D. The portrait is larger than the earlier pictures.
Size does not show a sitting.

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