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Art History Trivia

Total questions: 26

Worksheet time: 22mins

Name
Class
Date
1.

Why is Mona Lisa smiling?

a)

Watch the 2003 movie “Mona Lisa Smile” starring Julia Roberts to find out 

b)

To be honest we don’t really know but we suggest you watch Dr. Wallace’s segment in the new documentary "Why is Mona Lisa Smiling?" 

c)

Leonardo said a particularly funny joke when he was creating reference sketches of the sitter 

d)

Mona Lisa’s sitter thought she was having a particularly good hair day and was quite smitten with herself 

2.

What natural material allowed China, Korea, and Japan to produce particularly fine porcelain?

a)

Kaolin

b)

Silica

c)

Flint

d)

Clay

3.

Dr. Aravecchia is the archeological field director of the Amheida Project. What exactly is the Amheida Project?

a)

An archeological dig studying the interaction between human settlement and the environment over the long span from the earliest human presence in the oasis to modern times

b)

A dig site with the goal of finding Roman antiquities to help further our understanding of the vastness and material culture of the Roman Empire

c)

Dr. Aravecchia keeps it largely hidden from us, but does say it’s a really cool project that we should all get involved in because Egyptian art is by far the coolest art 

d)

A dig site with the goal of understanding the complexities of Egyptian-Roman interaction, emphasis on early Christianity  

4.

What painting is this?

4 lines
5.

All of the following singers have wrote a song based on an artist except

a)

Don McLean 

b)

Paul McCartney 

c)

Josh Groban 

d)

David Bowie 

6.

Dr. Wallace almost got arrested in East Germany, why?

a)

He publicly suggested American figure skater Rosalynn Sumners should’ve won the Olympic Gold medal in women’s figure skating over Katerina Witt in 1984

b)

He smuggled a Coca Cola in 

c)

He tried to buy steroids, just to see if he could jump as high as those East German athletes (I believe I can fly!)

d)

He had a crooked license plate 

7.

What is Beckett water?

a)

Water blessed by Thomas Beckett 

b)

Water that is combined with the brain matter and blood of Thomas Beckett 

c)

The tears of Thomas Beckett 

d)

Water Thomas Beckett personally purified 

8.

In 2019 Dr. Jones moved back to the United States from Rome. Why did he move back?

a)

To focus on writing a manuscript (tenure was on the line!!)

b)

The call for teaching was a siren song he could not resist 

c)

Italian visa expired 

d)

WashU summoned him to come back 

9.

What painting is this?

4 lines
10.

What is the most famous painting at the MoMA?

a)

Picasso, Les Demoiselles d'Avignon

b)

Van Gogh, Starry Night

c)

Wyeth, Christina's World

d)

Magritte, The Lovers

11.

When Dr. Gabel’s son came down with COVID, what did she make him do to his siblings?

a)

Stay away from them

b)

Continue to be kind despite the sickness 

c)

Breathe on them so the entire household would be infected with COVID

d)

It’s a free for all — in the word’s of Charles Darwin, “survival of the fittest” 

12.

Which two artists shared the same first name? 

a)

Munch and Hopper 

b)

Seurat and O'Keeffe 

c)

Rubens and Cezanne 

d)

Michelangelo and Caravaggio 

13.

What painting is this?

4 lines
14.

Where was Hunt of the Unicorn likely woven?

a)

France

b)

The Netherlands 

c)

Germany

d)

Switzerland 

15.

Which artist believed he was a reincarnation of his dead brother?

a)

Vincent van Gogh

b)

Salvador Dali

c)

August Natterer

d)

Francisco de Goya

16.

What city convinced Dr. Childs to become an art history major?

a)

Venice

b)

Florence

c)

Paris

d)

Avignon

17.

What painting is this?

4 lines
18.

During spring break what does Dr. Kleutghen and her husband typically do? 

a)

Visit their alma maters 

b)

Go to Colorado for snowshoeing and hiking 

c)

Spend the week relaxing 

d)

Go to Paris and explore the city 

19.

Which of the following is NOT true of Caravaggio?

a)

Caravaggio was obsessed with receiving an artist's chain, and his rival — whom he viewed to be the lesser artist — Baglione, had one. So Caravaggio spread around a poem making a mockery of Baglione, for which he was sued for libel

b)

Caravaggio planned the murder of his tennis opponent, who he had a longstanding dislike for 

c)

While on the run for the murder of his tennis opponent, Caravaggio sent a self-portrait of himself as a Goliath executed by David to the papal court in hopes of a pardon. The pardon, however, was not granted

d)

He was friends with Artemisia Gentileschi's father

20.

What painting is this?

4 lines
21.

Dr. Sheren once stayed in an ice hotel in -25 degree weather, in a room carved with the story of Jonah and the Whale. Where was this ice hotel?

a)

Quebec 

b)

Sweden

c)

Finland

d)

Norway

22.

Dr. Aravecchia has a driver’s license in all the following countries except: 

a)

Australia

b)

Egypt

c)

United States

d)

Italy

23.

What part of Italy is Dr. Miller’s family from? 

a)

Venice

b)

Naples

c)

Palermo

d)

Bologna

24.

Dr. Swan loves 17th-century Dutch art and she loves to cook and bake, too. Which one of the following HAS Dr. Swan made? 

a)

Bread pudding according to a recipe taken from a Vermeer painting (The Milkmaid, Rijksmuseum)

b)

Pancakes in the manner of Rembrandt’s etching, The Pancake Maker

c)

A gingerbread cookie in the shape of a 17th-century Dutch statesman

d)

A pheasant pie as featured in the still life paintings of Pieter Claesz

25.

What painting is this?

4 lines
26.

What was the name of the student who found a Michelangelo document in the Special Collections of WashU's library?

a)

Francesca Anderson

b)

Isla Jones

c)

Anne Williams

d)

Larysa Beyer