Please Explain

Following up on behalf of Megan from 2017

@Megan and @BradG, Happy to help. The question asks, "It can be inferred from the passage that the author’s view of Watteau’s works differs most significantly from that of most late-nineteenth-century Watteau admirers in which one of the following ways?" We're looking to figure out how the author's view of the works of Watteau is different from the views that are held by Watteau's admirers. We know from the passage that Watteau's admirers found his works "lyrical and charming" (line 38) and also believed that his presentation of 18th-century France was genuine (lines 1-7). Although we don't know whether or not the passage's author found Watteau's works to be as lyrical and charming as the admirers, we definitely know that the author didn't agree with Watteau's admirers in the sense that he didn't think that Watteau's depiction of France was genuine. The author makes the claim that contrary to Watteau's depiction, France was full of war and was very grim in the 18th century, which is a stark contrast to the witty and amiable portrayal of France that Watteau provides in lines 24-27. Thus, the primary difference between the author and Watteau's admirers is that the author doesn't think that Watteau's works provide an accurate portrayal of social reality. This is precisely what (C) says, so it's the correct answer. Does this make sense? Let us know if you have any more questions!