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Information and IdeasEasy–MediumSupporting a claim about a painter's method

Information and Ideas practice question

Critics have argued that the painter Joaquín Serra repeated the same harbor view not from lack of imagination but as a discipline — each repetition taught him to see the scene anew. Serra's own words support the view: ____

Which quotation from the work most effectively illustrates the claim?

  1. A. "I paint the harbor forty times," he told an interviewer, "because the fortieth harbor is the first one I have actually seen."Correct
  2. B. "My dealer insists the London collectors prefer marine subjects."
  3. C. "The pigments from the new supplier dry a full day faster."
  4. D. "I have moved my studio twice this year to escape the rent."

Answer: A. "I paint the harbor forty times," he told an interviewer, "because the fortieth harbor is the first one I have actually seen."

The claim is that repetition was a method of learning to see; his remark says the fortieth attempt produces true seeing.

Why the other answers are wrong

B. "My dealer insists the London collectors prefer marine subjects."
Market preference explains sales, not a method of perception.
C. "The pigments from the new supplier dry a full day faster."
Drying times are logistics, not his reason for repetition.
D. "I have moved my studio twice this year to escape the rent."
Studio rent has nothing to do with repeated subjects.

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