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Art: 40 trivia questions with sources

The material spans painters and signature works, sculpture, ceramics, mosaics, printmaking, pigments, perspective, modern movements, architecture, museums, and visual techniques.

40 questions · 15 easy, 12 medium, 13 hard · 40 with a source link

All 15 categoriesDraw them one at a time

Suggested round splits

5 ways to break this category into rounds. The printed sheet keeps the whole list in one run, so split it while you plan rather than while you host.

  • Artists and signature works

    Painters, sculptors, printmakers, architects, and the works closely associated with them.

  • Materials and making

    Clay, plaster, egg tempera, watercolor, pigments, mosaic, print, and textile methods.

  • Seeing space and form

    Perspective, negative space, light and shade, relief, stance, and optical illusion.

  • Movements and periods

    The Renaissance, Impressionism, Cubism, modern art, Pop Art, and the Bauhaus.

  • Museums, buildings, and display

    Collections, public buildings, multi-panel formats, and the settings in which art is seen.

All 40 questions with answers

40 carry a pinned source revision

  1. Who painted the Mona Lisa?

    Leonardo da VinciChecked against: The Mona Lisa is a half-length portrait painting by the Italian artist Leonardo da Vinci.Source: Wikipedia, pinned revisionPrint source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mona_Lisa?oldid=1364364951

  2. What did Van Gogh do after a confrontation with a razor?

    He severed part of his own left earChecked against: His friendship with Gauguin ended after a confrontation with a razor, when in a rage, he severed part of his own left ear.Source: Wikipedia, pinned revisionPrint source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vincent_van_Gogh?oldid=1365516977

  3. What material is traditionally shaped by a potter on a wheel?

    ClayChecked against: The techniques of jiggering and jolleying can be seen as extensions of the potter's wheel: in jiggering, a shaped tool is slowly brought down onto the plastic clay body that has been placed on top of the rotating plaster mould.Source: Wikipedia, pinned revisionPrint source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Potter's_wheel?oldid=1365184248

  4. Which primary colors mix to make green in traditional painting?

    Blue and yellowChecked against: In some combinations, a mix of blue and yellow paint produces green.Source: Wikipedia, pinned revisionPrint source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Color_mixing?oldid=1350477109#Pigment_mixing

  5. What is a painting made on wet plaster called?

    FrescoChecked against: Fresco (pl. frescos or frescoes) is a technique of mural painting executed upon freshly laid ("wet") lime plaster.Source: Wikipedia, pinned revisionPrint source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fresco?oldid=1362206690

  6. Which Mexican artist was born on 6 July 1907 in Coyoacán?

    Frida KahloChecked against: Magdalena Carmen Frida Kahlo y Calderón was born on 6 July 1907 in Coyoacán, a village on the outskirts of Mexico City.Source: Wikipedia, pinned revisionPrint source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frida_Kahlo?oldid=1365718605#1907%E2%80%931924%3A_Family_and_childhood

  7. What tool holds and mixes an artist’s paint colors?

    A paletteChecked against: A palette (/ ˈ p æ l ɪ t /) is a surface on which a painter arranges and mixes paints.Source: Wikipedia, pinned revisionPrint source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palette_(painting)?oldid=1328070225

  8. Which 19th-century movement originated with a group of Paris-based artists?

    ImpressionismChecked against: Impressionism originated with a group of Paris -based artists whose independent exhibitions brought them to prominence during the 1870s and 1880s.Source: Wikipedia, pinned revisionPrint source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Impressionism?oldid=1363845951

  9. Who painted the Sistine Chapel ceiling between 1508 and 1512?

    MichelangeloChecked against: The Sistine Chapel ceiling (Italian: Soffitto della Cappella Sistina), painted in fresco by Michelangelo between 1508 and 1512, is a cornerstone work of High Renaissance art.Source: Wikipedia, pinned revisionPrint source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sistine_Chapel_ceiling?oldid=1361379409

  10. What is a three-dimensional artwork made by carving or modeling called?

    SculptureChecked against: Sculpture is the three-dimensional artwork which is physically presented in the dimensions of height, width and depth.Source: Wikipedia, pinned revisionPrint source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sculpture?oldid=1364853577

  11. Which artist painted The Starry Night?

    Vincent van GoghChecked against: The Starry Night is an oil-on-canvas painting by the Dutch Post-Impressionist painter Vincent van Gogh.Source: Wikipedia, pinned revisionPrint source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Starry_Night?oldid=1364457162

  12. What does a portrait primarily depict?

    Artistic representation of a personChecked against: A portrait is a painting, photograph, sculpture, or other artistic representation of a person, in which the face is always predominant.Source: Wikipedia, pinned revisionPrint source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portrait?oldid=1359415562

  13. Which museum in Paris houses the Mona Lisa?

    The LouvreChecked against: Five of them are owned by the Louvre, but the Mona Lisa was not included because it is in such great demand among visitors to the Louvre museum; the work remained on display in its gallery.Source: Wikipedia, pinned revisionPrint source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louvre?oldid=1362298616#Management%2C_administration%2C_partnerships

  14. What is the name for art made by assembling small pieces of glass or tile?

    MosaicChecked against: Mosaic is an art form which uses small pieces of materials placed together to create a unified whole.Source: Wikipedia, pinned revisionPrint source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mosaic?oldid=1365269224#Terminology

  15. Which Spanish artist co-founded Cubism with Georges Braque?

    Pablo PicassoChecked against: He was among the first champions of Pablo Picasso, Georges Braque and the Cubism that they jointly developed.Source: Wikipedia, pinned revisionPrint source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pablo_Picasso?oldid=1365390373#Rose_Period%3A_1904%E2%80%931906

  16. When were the arts of ancient Greece rediscovered?

    The early RenaissanceChecked against: Rediscovered during the early Renaissance, the arts of ancient Greece, transmitted through the Roman Empire, have served as the foundation of Western art until the 19th century.Source: Wikipedia, pinned revisionPrint source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_art?oldid=1365246973#Greek

  17. How are Warhol’s Campbell’s Soup Cans widely regarded?

    A canonical symbol of Pop artChecked against: Warhol's Campbell's Soup Cans are widely regarded as a canonical symbol of Pop art and one of the most influential bodies of art of the 20th century.Source: Wikipedia, pinned revisionPrint source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Campbell's_Soup_Cans?oldid=1364150627

  18. Why do artists use perspective in a flat image?

    The illusion of depthChecked against: This was detailed within Aristotle 's Poetics as skenographia: using flat panels on a stage to give the illusion of depth.Source: Wikipedia, pinned revisionPrint source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perspective_(graphical)?oldid=1361340774#Early_history

  19. Which sculptor created The Thinker?

    Auguste RodinChecked against: The Thinker (French: Le Penseur), by Auguste Rodin, is a bronze sculpture depicting a nude male figure of heroic size, seated on a large rock, leaning forward, his right elbow placed upon his left thigh, with the back of his right hand supporting his chin in a posture evocative of deep thought and contemplation.Source: Wikipedia, pinned revisionPrint source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Thinker?oldid=1362396931

  20. What type of paint uses egg yolk as a traditional binder?

    Egg temperaChecked against: There are several types of tempera paint, but the type containing egg yolk is called egg tempera.Source: Wikipedia, pinned revisionPrint source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tempera?oldid=1360385238

  21. Which Japanese printmaker created The Great Wave off Kanagawa?

    HokusaiChecked against: (Japanese: 神奈川沖浪裏, Hepburn: Kanagawa-oki Nami Ura; lit. ' Under the Wave off Kanagawa ') is a woodblock print by the Japanese ukiyo-e artist Hokusai (1760–1849), created in late 1831 during the Edo period of Japanese history.Source: Wikipedia, pinned revisionPrint source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Great_Wave_off_Kanagawa?oldid=1364555480

  22. How is a triptych arranged?

    Divided into three sectionsChecked against: A triptych (/ ˈ t r ɪ p t ɪ k / TRIP -tik) is a work of art (usually a panel painting) that is divided into three sections, or three carved panels that are hinged together and can be folded shut or displayed open.Source: Wikipedia, pinned revisionPrint source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Triptych?oldid=1365785600

  23. What is negative space in art?

    The space around and between objectsChecked against: Negative space in art, also referred to as "air space", is the space around and between objects.Source: Wikipedia, pinned revisionPrint source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Negative_space?oldid=1364543582#Use

  24. Which artist designed the melting clocks in The Persistence of Memory?

    Salvador DalíChecked against: The Persistence of Memory (Catalan: La persistència de la memòria, Spanish: La persistencia de la memoria) is a 1931 painting by artist Salvador Dalí and one of the most recognizable works of Surrealism.Source: Wikipedia, pinned revisionPrint source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Persistence_of_Memory?oldid=1365591625

  25. What does chiaroscuro emphasize?

    Strong contrasts between light and darkChecked against: (English: / k i ˌ ɑːr ə ˈ s k (j) ʊər oʊ / kee- AR -ə- SKOOR -oh, - ⁠ SKURE -, Italian: [ˌkjaroˈskuːro]; lit. ' light-dark ') is the use of strong contrasts between light and dark, usually bold contrasts affecting a whole composition.Source: Wikipedia, pinned revisionPrint source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chiaroscuro?oldid=1357000630

  26. Which ancient sculpture was discovered without its arms on the island of Milos?

    The Venus de MiloChecked against: The Venus de Milo was discovered on 8 April 1820 by a Greek farmer on the island of Milos, then still part of the Ottoman Empire.Source: Wikipedia, pinned revisionPrint source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Venus_de_Milo?oldid=1362156819#Discovery

  27. What is a readymade in modern art?

    Ordinary manufactured objects that the artist selected and modifiedChecked against: The readymades of Marcel Duchamp are ordinary manufactured objects that the artist selected and modified, as an antidote to what he called "retinal art".Source: Wikipedia, pinned revisionPrint source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Readymades_of_Marcel_Duchamp?oldid=1348192631

  28. Who painted Girl with a Pearl Earring?

    Johannes VermeerChecked against: Girl with a Pearl Earring (Dutch: Meisje met de parel) is an oil painting by Dutch Golden Age painter Johannes Vermeer, dated c. 1665.Source: Wikipedia, pinned revisionPrint source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Girl_with_a_Pearl_Earring?oldid=1361287529

  29. Why can watercolor paint appear transparent, according to the article?

    The paper being visible between the particlesChecked against: Watercolor paints typically do not form a cohesive paint layer, as do acrylic or oil paints, but simply scatter pigment particles randomly across the paper surface; the transparency is caused by the paper being visible between the particles.Source: Wikipedia, pinned revisionPrint source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Watercolor_painting?oldid=1362548745#Transparency

  30. Which 60-panel work brought Lawrence national recognition?

    The Migration SeriesChecked against: At age 23, Lawrence gained national recognition with his 60-panel The Migration Series, which depicted the Great Migration of African Americans from the rural South to the urban North.Source: Wikipedia, pinned revisionPrint source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jacob_Lawrence?oldid=1364546214

  31. How is trompe-l’oeil intended to affect the viewer?

    Tricks the viewer into perceiving painted objects or spaces as realChecked against: Trompe-l'œil, which is most often associated with painting, tricks the viewer into perceiving painted objects or spaces as real.Source: Wikipedia, pinned revisionPrint source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trompe-l'%C5%93il?oldid=1364275896

  32. Which architect designed the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao?

    Frank GehryChecked against: The Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation selected Frank Gehry as the architect, and its director, Thomas Krens, encouraged him to design something daring and innovative.Source: Wikipedia, pinned revisionPrint source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guggenheim_Museum_Bilbao?oldid=1363487739#Architecture

  33. How did pointillists build images?

    Small, distinct dots of colorChecked against: Pointillism (/ ˈ p w æ̃ t ɪ l ɪ z əm /, also US: / ˈ p w ɑː n - ˌ ˈ p ɔɪ n -/) is a technique of painting in which small, distinct dots of color are applied in patterns to form an image.Source: Wikipedia, pinned revisionPrint source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pointillism?oldid=1331243871

  34. How does bas-relief differ from freestanding sculpture?

    A projecting image with a shallow overall depthChecked against: A low relief is a projecting image with a shallow overall depth, for example used on coins, on which all images are in low relief.Source: Wikipedia, pinned revisionPrint source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Relief?oldid=1363347696#Low_relief_or_bas-relief

  35. What period followed Picasso’s Blue Period?

    His Rose PeriodChecked against: Picasso's Blue Period was followed by his Rose Period.Source: Wikipedia, pinned revisionPrint source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Picasso's_Blue_Period?oldid=1356786285

  36. Which art movement emerged in the United Kingdom and United States in the mid-to-late 1950s?

    Pop artChecked against: Pop art is an art movement that emerged in the United Kingdom and the United States during the mid-to late 1950s.Source: Wikipedia, pinned revisionPrint source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pop_art?oldid=1363328593

  37. Which lapis-lazuli pigment was at times valued as highly as gold in Europe?

    UltramarineChecked against: Ultramarine was among the finest and most expensive blue pigments used by Renaissance painters, at times valued as highly as gold in Europe.Source: Wikipedia, pinned revisionPrint source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ultramarine?oldid=1363907550

  38. How is a figure’s weight distributed in contrapposto?

    Most of its weight on one footChecked against: Contrapposto (Italian pronunciation: [kontrapˈposto] 'counterpoise'), in the visual arts, is a human figure standing with most of its weight on one foot, so that its shoulders and arms twist off-axis from the hips and legs in the axial plane.Source: Wikipedia, pinned revisionPrint source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Contrapposto?oldid=1365307695

  39. Which Bauhaus teacher wrote Concerning the Spiritual in Art?

    KandinskyChecked against: Kandinsky's book Concerning the Spiritual in Art (1910) and Point and Line to Plane (1926) echoed this theosophical tenet.Source: Wikipedia, pinned revisionPrint source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wassily_Kandinsky?oldid=1362559902#Artistic_periods

  40. Why is the Bayeux Tapestry technically not a tapestry?

    Embroidered rather than in a tapestry weaveChecked against: The designs on the Bayeux Tapestry are embroidered rather than in a tapestry weave, so it does not meet narrower definitions of a tapestry.Source: Wikipedia, pinned revisionPrint source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bayeux_Tapestry?oldid=1365769038