(1) the mona lisa was painted by the famed artist leonardo da vinci in the early 1500s. (2) it is one of the world's most famous pieces of art. (3) the painting shows a woman wearing a smile and dressed in black. (4) although no one is exactly certain of the painting's subject, some historians believe it is lisa gherardini. (5) gherardini was the wife of an italian cloth merchant. (6) the painting is currently housed at the louvre museum in france, where thousands of people visit it every year.

claire decided to revise the paragraph by combining sentences 1 and 2 in this way:

the mona lisa, one of the world's most famous pieces of art, was painted by famed artist leonardo da vinci in the early 1500s.

did claire combine the sentences appropriately for this paragraph?

a. yes, because the new sentence shows the connection between the two ideas
b. no, because shorter sentences improve the quality of the paragraph
c. yes, because longer sentences make the author seem intelligent
d. no, because the information in the sentences is not related