LSAT 141 | Section 1 | Reading Comprehension: Q10

RC Question 10 Explanation

DISCUSSION: You should reread around lines 34-36. The passage says that when you see a painting that tells a story, you can pretend the story is real. But you cannot pretend a photograph is real.

There’s no obvious prephrase for this question. Instead, think about what it’s like to look at paintings vs. photographs and keep your mind open.

___________

1. When we suspend our disbelief in front of a painting, we’re looking at the finished product. It doesn’t matter to us how long it took to paint the subjects in the painting.
2. This is something true about paintings, but it doesn’t explain anything. If a situation in a painting is obviously impossible, then why do we suspend our disbelief and pretend it’s real?
3. This is similar to A. When we look at a painting, we have no idea how long it took to paint. The conditions under which a painting was created don’t impact our impressions of the painting.
4. CORRECT. This shows that a painter can reduce contradictory details in a painting. A photographer, on the other hand, has to take their subject as they find them.
   I’ll give an example: Suppose a sitter playing Hercules has weak legs. The painter can reproduce their strong upper body, but “fix” their legs so they’re stronger than in real life. Whereas a photographer has to photograph the legs.
5. A stylistic imprint doesn’t explain our reaction to paintings.