During the height of the Renaissance, workshops in Florence developed a novel business model: a master artist would design a composition, apprentice painters would execute much of the underpainting, and the master would return to add the final flourishes. The arrangement proved so effective that although _____ coordinated effort resembling a modern assembly line.
Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?
For boundary questions with several punctuation decisions, first label each unit as dependent, independent, or a phrase. Use a comma after an introductory dependent clause, avoid separating a subject from its verb, and use a colon only after a complete clause when the following material explains or specifies that clause.
Hints
Track the subordinating word
A clause introduced by “although” cannot stand alone. Find where that dependent clause ends and the main clause begins.
Check the subject and verb
Do not place punctuation between the subject “painting itself” and its verb phrase.
Examine the explanatory phrase
Determine which punctuation can follow a complete clause when the next noun phrase specifies what the clause means.
Step-by-step Explanation
Identify the dependent clause
The words “although individual paintings still bore the master's name” form a dependent clause. Because this clause cannot stand alone, it cannot be separated from the following main clause by a semicolon or colon.
Connect the dependent and main clauses
The dependent clause introduces the complete main clause “painting itself had become something fundamentally different.” A comma correctly marks the boundary between these clauses.
Evaluate the final phrase
The words “a coordinated effort resembling a modern assembly line” form a noun phrase that explains what “something fundamentally different” means. A colon can follow the complete clause to introduce that specification.
Complete the sentence
The correctly punctuated text reads: “The arrangement proved so effective that although individual paintings still bore the master's name, painting itself had become something fundamentally different: a coordinated effort resembling a modern assembly line.”