Why D

Hi @Meredith, Thanks for the question! We’re told that Watteau provided his age with an influential image of itself that nineteenth-century writers accepted as genuine (lines 4-6). The image he provided painted eighteenth-century French society with an image of itself that was highly acceptable (lines 14-18) and made people think of Watteau as “the personification of the witty and amiable eighteenth century” (lines 21-22). Thus, these biographers thought the eighteenth century was witty and amiable because of the images the Watteau and his imitators conveyed, which is what (D) tells us. (E) is incorrect because we’re not told that these nineteenth-century biographers of Watteau themselves had a political bias in favor of aristocratic regimes and societies anywhere. Instead, they thought the time period was witty and amiable because of Watteau’s works. Hope this helps! Feel free to ask any other questions you might have.

don't lines 10 through 14 provide support for C?

@Shunhe Where does the passage mention Watteaus' imitators?