Question

on painter william h. johnson’s return to the united states in 1938 after a decade in europe, his style underwent an abrupt transformation. turning away from landscapes, painted in an expressionist style—a style that often involves using fluid, distorted shapes and thick, textured brushstrokes to express the artist’s subjective experience of reality—johnson began painting portraits of black americans in a bold new way. evocative of african sculpture and american and scandinavian folk art, these portraits feature flat, deliberately oversimplified figures in a vibrant but limited color palette.

8
which choice best describes the function of the underlined sentence in the text as a whole?
a it elaborates on the previous sentence’s statement about a transitional moment in johnson’s artistic career.
b it provides information about johnson’s travels in support of a claim about his artistic influences, which is advanced in the following sentence.
c it recounts a moment in johnson’s personal life that enabled the success of his subsequent career, which is summarized in the following sentence.
d it presents evidence that calls into question the previous sentence’s characterization of johnson’s artistic development.

Explanation:

The underlined sentence follows the statement that Johnson's style had an abrupt transformation. It details what this new expressionist style entailed, expanding on the claim of his artistic shift.

Answer:

A. It elaborates on the previous sentence's statement about a transitional moment in Johnson's artistic career.