Answer Explanation

@Julie-V, Happy to help. (A) says, "were able to draw human figures with more skill after they were apprenticed to painters in Tuscany" Fifteenth-century Venetian narrative painters were not good at drawing human figures and weren't ever mentioned to have apprenticed with painters in Tuscany. Instead, these skills were obtained much later on. The passage doesn't mention how they were acquired, though. Thus, we can get rid of (A). (B) says, "assumed that their paintings would typically be viewed from a distance" The passage states that Tuscan painters working with frescoes, not Venetian painters, assumed that their paintings would be typically viewed from a distance, so we can get rid of (B). (C) says, "were a major influence on the artists who produced the cycle of historical paintings in the Venetian magistrate’s palace" Actually, the historical paintings in the Venetian magistrate's palace were influences in the Venetian narrative paintings, not the other way around, so we can get rid of (C). (D) says, "were reluctant to paint frescoes primarily because they lacked the drawing skill that painting frescoes required" The author states that frescoes were unsuited to the damp climate of Venice and cited that as the main reason Venetian painters did not paint frescoes. Additionally, their lack of drawing skills was attributed to never having to acquire them through the painting of frescoes; this answer states the opposite: that Venetian painters didn't paint frescoes because they couldn't draw, so we can get rid of (D). (E) says, "were better at painting architecture in perspective than they were at drawing human figures" Yes, the author essentially outlines a causal chain. The damp climate prevented frescoes from being painted, which prevented Venetian painters from developing the drawing skills associated with human figures. However, their paintings often depicted elaborate buildings, and the skill of painting architecture in perspective became highly prized in Venice, as described in the final paragraph. Thus, (E) is the correct answer choice. Does this make sense? Let us know if you have any other questions!

thank you so much for the detailed explanations for each answer choice, truly appreciate it!