Vincent van Gogh quiz

What country is van Gogh from?

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Answer explanation

Vincent van Gogh was born in the Brabant village of Zundert on 30 March 1853. He was not the first child of the Protestant minister Theodorus van Gogh and Anna Carbentus: another son (also named Vincent) had been stillborn on the same date, precisely one year earlier.

Which art movement/period does van Gogh belong to?

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Answer explanation

Post-Impressionism is a term used to describe the reaction in the 1880s against Impressionism. It was led by Paul Cézanne, Paul Gauguin, Vincent van Gogh and Georges Seurat. The Post-Impressionists rejected Impressionism’s concern with the spontaneous and naturalistic rendering of light and color. Instead they favored an emphasis on more symbolic content, formal order and structure.

Colour was the main symbol of van Gogh's expression, the most used ones being ____ and ______

Answer explanation

One popular theory behind the shift in Van Gogh’s color choices is that he might have suffered from xanthopsia, or “yellow vision.” Xanthopsia is a “color vision deficiency in which there is a predominance of yellow in vision due to a yellowing of the optical media of the eye.” When caused by glaucoma, this can also include halos and flickering, which many think explains why Van Gogh depicts light as radiating outward, as in The Night Cafe (1888) and The Starry Night (1889).

Which painting did Van Gogh sell while he was alive?

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Answer explanation

In a later letter to his brother Theo discussing the sale, Van Gogh admitted with some embarrassment that the Bochs (Anna-Rosalie) paid the 1890 Exhibition sticker price, when in fact they probably should have gotten a "friend's price".

What are some reoccurring motifs in van Gogh's painting?

• Sunflowers and shoes

• Rocks and orchids

• Tulips and baskets

• Mariogold and fences

Answer explanation

In fact, in many ways, shoes represent his lifelong struggle to be free. Shoes (including clogs and boots) appear in many of Van Gogh's sketches and paintings, but towards the end of his life, he painted dirty, heavily used shoes all by themselves – many of them his own

Vincent van Gogh cut off his left ear when tempers flared with _____

Answer explanation

On December 23, 1888, Dutch painter Vincent van Gogh, suffering from severe depression, cuts off the lower part of his left ear with a razor while staying in Arles, France.  He later documented the event in a painting titled Self-Portrait with Bandaged Ear.

Vincent van Gogh would paint and dip his paintbrush in his mouth, which lead to ______ _____

Answer explanation

the excessive and continuous use by Van Gogh of pigments which were highly toxic due to their high lead content, such as white lead (lead carbonate) and yellow chrome (lead chromium), could have penetrated his organism by digestive system (primarily) in minimal daily amounts, giving rise to a clinical condition of chronic lead poisoning.

Where was van Gogh when he created his famous painting Starry Night

• Visiting his brother Theo

• At home in the Netherlands

• In an asylum

• At his home in France

Answer explanation

Vincent van Gogh spent one year in the mental hospital in Saint-Rémy-de-Provence. Despite his unstable mental health, he was very productive: he made about 150 paintings in a year, including Almond Blossom.

Vincent van Gogh was in love with Kee Stricker who was his ______

Answer explanation

From 25 to 27 November 1881, Vincent van Gogh came to Amsterdam to visit his cousin Cornelia “Kee” Adriana Vos-Stricker (1846–1918). The previous summer, he had fallen secretly in love with Kee – who had lost her husband, Christoffel Martinus Vos, in 1878 – when she spent a few weeks with the Van Goghs in Etten. Vincent finally confessed his feelings to Kee and asked her to marry him. She replied: "No, nay, never." Vincent remained undeterred, convinced that she might yet soften and come to love him. Both families, however, opposed a relationship and implored Vincent to restrain himself and to look for someone else.

Theo's son was which child named Vincent in their family?

• 1st

• 2nd

• 3rd

• 4th

Answer explanation

Vincent was the only child of Theo van Gogh and Jo Bonger. He was born in Paris on 31 January 1890 and named after his artist uncle. To avoid confusion with his uncle’s name, he was often referred to as ‘the engineer’.