LSAT 154 – Section 2 – Question 24

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Curve Question
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PT154 S2 Q24
+LR
Weaken +Weak
Causal Reasoning +CausR
A
4%
155
B
16%
161
C
24%
162
D
40%
164
E
17%
157
151
170
180
+Hardest 144.659 +SubsectionEasier

Until recently, experts have been unable to identify the artist who created a Renaissance painting depicting aristocrats in a historic battle. But the mystery has been solved by the discovery of a self-portrait of a well-known artist from very early in his career, dated to the same year that the painting of the battle scene was created. One of the figures in the battle scene closely resembles the young man in the self-portrait. It is likely, therefore, that the artist who painted the self-portrait also painted the battle scene.

Summarize Argument
The author concludes that it’s likely the artist who painted a particular self-portrait was also the artist who painted a particular Renaissance painting depicing aristocrats in a historic battle. This conclusion is based on the fact that the self-portrait is dated to the same year that the other painting was dated, and that one of the figures depicted in the battle scene looks very similar to the person in the self-portrait.

Notable Assumptions
The argument assumes that if a self-portrait is dated to the same year that another painting was dated, and one of the figures in the other painting closely resembles the person in the self-portrait, then the same artist painted both paintings. The argument also assumes that the figure that closely resembles the artist in the battle scene painting is supposed to represent the artist.

A
The painting of the battle scene depicts several other people who appear to be roughly the same age as the man depicted in the self-portrait.
This has no clear impact on the argument. Other figures of similar ages doesn’t suggest that the same artist who painted the self-portrait would or would not have painted the battle scene.
B
Most of the figures depicted in the painting of the battle scene resemble real people from history.
So, most figures in the battle scene painting look like real people. But the artist who painted the self portrait was also a real person, so there’s nothing in (B) suggesting that artist wouldn’t have included a representation of himself in the battle scene.
C
It was not uncommon in the Renaissance for painters to use live models in depicting people in their paintings.
This tells us painters commonly used live models for depicting people in their paintings. These models could have been used to help painters draw body shapes or positions accurately. This doesn’t suggest the figure in the battle scene represents someone besides the painter.
D
It would have been a violation of etiquette for so young an artist to include himself among aristocrats in a painting of a historic battle.
This provides a reason to think the painter would not have included himself in the battle scene painting. This suggests that even though the figure looks like the person in the self-portrait, it was not a representation of the same person.
E
The historic battle that is the subject of the painting took place a number of years before the birth of the artist who painted the self-portrait.
Painters can paint scenes of battles that occurred many years ago. We have no reason to think the year the historic battle occurred has to be the same year the painting of that battle was made.

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