|Question 12Verbal

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In the early 1970s, art historian Michael Baxandall created an approach to viewing art called the "period eye," which explains how to look at art through the lens of its historical period. Baxandall argued that it is critical that art historians understand and communicate the original social and cultural contexts of older works of art so that it is clear what the artists intended and how the pieces would have been understood by their original viewers. Since it was first introduced, Baxandall's period eye has significantly influenced the practice of art history.
Which statement, if true, would most strongly support the claim in the underlined sentence?
Many art historians working before the 1970s produced detailed analyses of the social and cultural contexts of older artworks, though few extended that approach to artworks produced in their own lifetimes
A
Art historians working today have largely rejected the idea, common among Baxandall's predecessors, that artists' intentions should influence how artworks are interpreted.
B
For some historical periods, it is difficult for art historians to reconstruct how the original viewers of artworks understood what artists' intentions for their works were.
C
Numerous art historians of the late twentieth century and twenty-first century have focused their scholarship on how various artworks were interpreted at the time of their creation.
D