Great Galleries of the World: Uffizi, Florence Quiz

Answer: Botticelli

Born Alessandro di Mariano di Vanni Filipepi in 1445 in Florence, the work of Sandro Botticelli epitomizes the grace of Early Renaissance painting. His most famous works are "The Birth of Venus", "Primavera" and his two versions of "Adoration of the Magi" (all of which can also be seen at the Uffizi).

Painted in the 1480s, "The Birth of Venus" is a large painting, 68" x 108", that shows the goddess Venus after she has apparently emerged from the sea as an adult. That this is a pure fantasy image is clear from the pose of Venus (with her weight so far to her left it would be impossible to actually stand like this). The scallop shell also remains flat, whereas in reality it would tip over with the weight so unevenly distributed. Still a wonderful piece of art, though.

Answer: Fra Angelico

Guido di Pietro was born in 1395 in the commune of Rupecanina (now called Vicchio), some 15 miles northeast of Florence. He spent his teenage years at the Dominican friary of Cortona, where he painted frescoes (now destroyed). In 1436, he moved to the newly-built Friary of San Marco in Florence, and it is there that you can still see one of his most famous works, "The San Marco Altarpiece", completed in 1439.

In 1982, Pope John Paul II beatified Fra Angelico, and two years later designated him as the patron of Catholic artists. His feast day is February 18, the anniversary of his death in 1455.

Answer: Leonardo da Vinci

Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci was born in 1452 in the Florence suburb of Vinci. Surprisingly little is known about his life, although his work in so many fields is legendary: inventor, scientist, mathematician, botanist, astronomer, geologist, he is also considered the father of architecture and paleontology. Oh, and he also painted and sculpted a bit too in his spare time!

Painted sometime between 1472 and 1475, "Annunciation" is thought to be da Vinci's first completed painting. Numerous artists have depicted the story, taken from the Gospel according to Saint Luke, where the angel Gabriel tells Mary that she has been chosen to give birth to the "Son of God".

Other major works by Leonardo da Vinci that can be seen in the Uffizi Gallery include "Adoration of the Magi" and his 1475 collaboration with Andrea del Verrocchio, "The Baptism of Christ".

Answer: Piero di Cosimo

Piero di Cosimo, also sometimes called Piero di Lorenzo, was born in Florence in 1462. His other famous works include "Tritons and Nereids", which is part of the Altomani collection in Milan, and "Adoration of the Shepherds", which hangs in the Berlin State Museum.

"Perseus Freeing Andromeda" is a mythological work showing the hero Perseus battling against the monster who has trapped Andromeda, the daughter of the Aethiopian king Cepheus and his wife Cassiopeia. The detail shown in the subsidiary features (such as the two characters in turbans to the left, the musical instruments and the water) are typical of Cosimo's style. (The paintings of the same name by Peter Paul Rubens can be seen at the 'Gemäldegalerie' in Berlin.)

Answer: Raphael

He was born Raffaello Sanzio da Urbino in 1483 in the walled city of Urbino in the Marche region of northern Italy, and is today known simply as Raphael. Along with Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo, he is considered one of the trinity of great masters of the High Renaissance. His best-known work is the "The School of Athens", a fresco which adorns the wall of the 'Stanza della Segnatura' ("Room of the Signature") in Vatican Palace.

Although perhaps most famous for his expansive religious themes, Raphael was also the foremost portrait artist of his time. As well as his portrait of Leo X (whose papacy lasted from 1513 until 1521), Raphael also painted a famous portrait of his predecessor, Julius II, which is part of the collection at the National Gallery in London.

Answer: Albrecht Durer

Albrecht Durer was born in 1471 in the Bavarian city of Nuremberg, at that time within the territory of the Holy Roman Empire. A versatile artist, he left a huge body of work ranging from engravings and woodcuts to some stunning watercolours that mark him as one of the earliest European landscapists. Perhaps his most famous work is a Christ-like self portrait painted in 1500 that can be seen at the 'Alte Pinakothek' in Munich.

"Adoration of the Magi" (or the Nativity scene) is perhaps the most common scene depicted by artists. There are at least 20 versions painted by the world's greatest artists of all time, and Durer's certainly ranks up there amongst them. The collection at the Uffizi alone includes at least six other paintings of the same name, by Andrea Mantegna, Lorenzo Monaco, Leonardo da Vinci, Gentile da Fabriano and two by Botticelli.

The Durer version was originally commissioned for the altar of 'Schlosskirche' (Palatial Church), a Lutheran church in the eastern German city of Wittenberg. The painting was given to Holy Roman Emperor Rudolf II (reigned 1576-1612) in the early 17th century. Almost a century later, it became the property of the Uffizi (where it remains today) in exchange for "Presentation in the Temple", a painting on wood by the Italian Renaissance artist Fra Bartolomeo.

Answer: Francisco Goya

Francisco José de Goya y Lucientes was born in 1746 in the village of Fuendetodos in the Aragon region in northeastern Spain. One of the greatest Spanish artists of all time, he is considered the last of the 'Old Masters' and the first of the moderns.

As court painter for best part of 40 years, at least intermittently, Goya painted a large number of portraits of both members of the Spanish royal family and of other members of the aristocracy. It was only towards the end of his life that he concentrated mostly on other types of painting, notably his "Disasters of War" series painted in the 1810s and his "Black Paintings", a series of fourteen scenes that he painted directly onto the walls of his house, most likely never intending for them to be seen.

Answer: Hugo van der Goes

Hugo van der Goes was born sometime in the 1430s in or near to the city of Ghent in the Flanders region of Belgium. He was commissioned to paint an altarpiece for the church at the 'Hospital of Santa Maria Nuova', now the oldest still-active hospital in Florence.

The man who commissioned him, Tommaso Portinari (hence the name of the altarpiece) was a descendant of the hospital's founder. The two outer panels depict the Pontinari family (with their patron saints), Tommaso and his sons on the left, his wife and their daughter on the right. The centre panel depicts Mary and the baby Jesus (lying on the ground surrounded by golden light), surrounded by an angel and the shepherds.

Answer: Caravaggio

He was born Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio in 1571 in Milan. He became famous at a young age thanks to three paintings that adorn the chapel at the church of San Luigi dei Francesi in Rome. Forgotten for most of the next 300 years, his massive contribution to the Baroque period was fully recognized only in the 20th century.

Caravaggio's painting of the young Roman god Bacchus (Dionysus in Greek mythology) reclining in classic style was discovered un-catalogued and unframed in a storeroom at the Uffizi in 1913.

Answer: Sir Peter Paul Rubens

Sir Peter Paul Rubens was born in 1577 in the university town of Siegen, at the time in the Nassau-Dillenburg region of the Holy Roman Empire and now in western Germany. Knighted by both King Philip IV of Spain and King Charles I of England, he was a prolific artist, with more than 1,400 catalogued pieces attributed to him.

He is, perhaps, best-remembered today for his habit of depicting full-figured women, hence the term 'Rubenesque'.