Logical Reasoning

PT106 · S2 · Q10 The art critic’s response to the

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Curator: The decision to restore the cloak of the central figure in Veronese’s painting from its present red to the green found underneath is fully justified.

Background

There's a little Curious Fact / Explanation feel to this one.

Curious Fact: Why is the cape on this painting red on top, but green underneath? (the red paint was added after the painting was completed, and the paint did not come from the artist's workshop.)

Author's Explanation: Someone tampered with Veronese's painting. Veronese wanted it to be green, but this mischief maker added red paint on top.

Art Critic's Response

She impugns the plausibility of the Author's Explanation.

There's a copy of this painting from right after Veronese died. That soon after an artist's death, a copyist wouldn't dream of tinkering with major features of the work, such as the color of this cape.

Evaluate

The critic is supporting the idea that when Veronese died, the cape in the painting was already red. If it had been green, reflecting Veronese's intended color, a copyist working right after Veronese's death would have kept the cape green.

So, if we think that the cape in the painting was read when Veronese died, does that mean that Veronese wanted it to be red? Did he mix some paint at another studio some time after the painting was initially completed, and add that red cape he'd realized he wanted?

Maybe. Could be that some vandal tampered with the painting during Veronese's lifetime, and Veronese was either uninterested in fixing it or unable to fix it.

Goal

Since searching for alternate explanations is inherently speculative, we're probably going to see a correct answer that reinforces the idea that either Veronese added the pigment later in life, or the vandalism happened within his lifetime.

10.

The art critic's response to the curator would provide the strongest support for which one of the following conclusions?

The copy of Veronese’s painting
Too Strong: indistinguishable
The critic is allowing for the possibility that the copyist may have made minor changes, so soon after Veronese's death.
17% picked this
No painting should be restored
Too Strong
Too Strong: none shall be until X Out of Scope: sophisticated equipment The critic doesn't bring up sophisticated equipment at all. And this is an incredibly broad, maximalist position, that NOT ONE painting shall be restored until we test it with very costly hi-fi gear.
0% picked this
Correct
The proposed restoration will fail
Why this is right
Wow, that's a clever answer. You have to hand it to them sometimes. It dodges the issue of who painted the red, and just reinforces the idea that it was red when Veronese died. Copyists won't make a major change like changing the main character's cloak color if it's right after an artist's death. (they'll copy it, as is) + This copy was made right after Veronese's death. + The cloak in this was red. = The version of Veronese's painting the world had when Veronese died was one with a red cloak.
Skill tested: Most Supported · how this choice captures the argument's function is the move to repeat next time.
54% picked this
The value of an artist’s
Out of Scope
Out of Scope: value of the work This answer is loveably weak in strength, but we don't have any discussion about whether the value of the painting changed at all, from green to red cloak. Also, the critic doesn't even necessarily believe that anyone tampered with this, since she's pointing out that it was a red cloak during Veronese's lifetime.
2% picked this
Veronese did not originally intend
Out of Scope: original intent
This critic is suggesting that it's highly plausible Veronese started with a green cloak in this painting, but at some point after it had already left his workshop, he had a change of heart and added red. This would explain why copyists right after Veronese's death would make a version with the red cloak, not the green. If the red cloak were a tamperer's graffiti, the copyist would have just made the proper green of the original design. At any rate, no one is debating whether or not the original intent was green. We are only debating whether the ultimate intent was green, but it was vandalized into being red, or green but then later Veronese decided he wanted it red.
27% picked this

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