Answer choice C

@shafieiava, Let's take a look at the argument and (C). The conclusion of the argument is right in the middle of the stimulus, saying, "But this superiority must be measured in light of the artist's purposes." The premise of the argument comes immediately after the conclusion, saying, "since the high merits, for example, of Jose Rey Toledo's work and his extraordinary artistic skills are not in doubt, despite the fact that his paintings do not literally resemble what they represent." We know this is the premise because it starts with "since" and is supporting the conclusion of the argument. The rest of the stimulus, including the claim in question, is part of the background information of the prompt. The author's main conclusion qualifies the claim in question, and the keyword that tells us that the author is modifying the claim in the background information is from the keyword "but," which is a word that often introduces conclusions as well as qualifies whatever was written before it. (C) says, "It is a claim that, according to the argument, is to be understood in a manner specified by the conclusion." (C) does a great job in describing what the claim in question does. "Understood in a manner specified by the conclusion" is just a fancy way of telling us that the author is attempting to qualify this claim. The background claim states that some painters are simply superior to others, and the author qualifies this by stating that one has to take into account the purpose of the artist. Thus, (C) is the correct answer choice. Does this make sense? Let us know if you have any other questions!

Yes this makes a lot more since! Can you explain a bit about how you would eliminate E as an answer choice? Thank you.

I think E doesn't work because it does not justify anything, but only provides information.

Can someone explain why B is not correct? I did process of elimination and narrowed down to B and C and ended up choosing C! I think I am just confused on what B actually means.