One of the worlds most celebrated paintings, The Man with the Golden Helmet, long attributed to Rembrandt, is not a Rembrandt after all. So say several art experts, who base their conclusion on an analysis of stylistic features, especially details both of shading and of brushwork. In order to ascertain who really painted the well-known masterpiece, the experts have begun a series of sophisticated new tests, including one that involves the activation of neutrons. These tests yield patterns for any painter that are as distinctive as a good set of fingerprints. Which of the following is an assumption on which the conclusion of the art experts depends?
A.
The Man with the Golden Helmet was not painted during Rembrandt's lifetime.
B.
If even The Man with the Golden Helmet is of questionable attribution, then any supposedly authentic Rembrandt has now become suspect.
C.
The painting known as The Man with the Golden Helmet is a copy of a Rembrandt original.
D.
The original ascription of The Man with the Golden Helmet to Rembrandt was a deliberate fraud.
E.
There are significant consistencies among authentic Rem-brandts in certain matters of style.