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Quiz about The Art Bible  The New Testament
Quiz about The Art Bible  The New Testament

The Art Bible - The New Testament Quiz


Here are ten paintings inspired by stories from the New Testament. Can you recognise the events depicted? All quotes are from the King James Version.

A multiple-choice quiz by JanIQ. Estimated time: 5 mins.
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Author
JanIQ
Time
5 mins
Type
Multiple Choice
Quiz #
364,072
Updated
Dec 03 21
# Qns
10
Difficulty
Easy
Avg Score
8 / 10
Plays
726
Awards
Top 10% Quiz
Last 3 plays: comark2000 (9/10), mallyb (7/10), Guest 172 (9/10).
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Question 1 of 10
1. In the Prado altarpiece by Fra Angelico, we notice a couple leaving a beautiful garden. But the main interest is not there: we see a young blonde woman in a blue cloak, and a winged person looking at her. What are the first words the winged person said in this setting, according to Luke 1: 28? Hint


Question 2 of 10
2. The next painting, by Sandro Botticelli, looks quite crowded. We see twelve winged women dancing in the clouds, while three winged women sit on the roof of a stable. At the left and the right a winged person convinces three men to look at the central scene, which I'll describe next. On the foreground of the painting three winged women are each kissing a man. But the central scene has given the name to this painting: a naked baby lies on the ground, a mother is watching over him (as well as an ox and a donkey), and an elder man supports the baby. What is this baby's name? Hint


Question 3 of 10
3. The next scene was painted by several artists. I chose the painting by Fra Bartolomeo, which shows us a woman holding an infant upon her lap, an elderly man kneeling at her side, and a donkey resting in the shade of a palm tree. The family here depicted is Joseph, Mary and Jesus, but where are they heading to? Hint


Question 4 of 10
4. Juan de Flandes made a painting in which a man in a pink cloak pours some water over a man who's wearing only a loincloth. To the left, a winged person holds the cloak of the bather. On top of the painting, we see a dove flying right above the bather, and a bearded man surrounded by some youngsters hovering above the dove. In what river is this scene set? Hint


Question 5 of 10
5. Now we move on to a painting by the well-known artist Rafael. In Rafael's painting, we see a multitude of people in the foreground, befuddled by what is happening higher up. On top of a mountain, three apostles wake up from a short nap. But the most intriguing is the air in which three people are seen levitating: a bearded man carrying a slab of stone, a young man dressed all in white and a bearded man carrying a very thick book. Who is the flying man with the stone slab? Hint


Question 6 of 10
6. The painting which you will try to recall for this question, is very crowded. In the centre of the painting a young man in pastel colours (pink robe, lilac overcoat) holds up his right hand, as if summoning attention. His left hand points towards a dark-skinned adult man, swaddled in white strips of linen. I'm aware that this description will not help you to pick the right answer to my question, so I'll add two details: a young girl turns away from the man in white linen, and a bearded man to the very right of the picture uses his sleeve as if it were a handkerchief, in a vain attempt to avoid the stench. Who is the man in white stripss of linen? Hint


Question 7 of 10
7. What's the name of da Vinci's painting in which we see exactly thirteen persons? Please answer in English only.

Answer: (Two Words (or Three Words, including "The")
Question 8 of 10
8. The Isenheim altarpiece by Matthias Grunewald is usually seen with closed wings. In this view, we see a very disturbing crucifixion: a tormented body hangs on a cross. To the left the Christians recognise John the Baptist (who was by the way already dead when this event happened), to the right we see two women and the disciple Jesus loved. One of the women faints, and the disciple holds her in his arms. According to the Gospel of John, who was this disciple? Hint


Question 9 of 10
9. Andrea Mantegna painted a dead man lying on his back, seen from the feet up. Both feet and both hands show distinctive wounds. To the left, an old woman is mourning over him. Who is the deceased (bearing in mind that this is a religious painting)? Hint


Question 10 of 10
10. In a painting by Caravaggio, we see a table set with bread, a carafe of wine, a bowl of fruit and a roasted chicken. A servant stands to the left, and three men sit at the table. The central character, a young person in a red robe and white cloak, makes a blessing gesture over the food. In what biblical place does this scene take place? Hint



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Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts
1. In the Prado altarpiece by Fra Angelico, we notice a couple leaving a beautiful garden. But the main interest is not there: we see a young blonde woman in a blue cloak, and a winged person looking at her. What are the first words the winged person said in this setting, according to Luke 1: 28?

Answer: Hail, thou that art highly favoured

The painting by Fra Angelico is entitled "The Annunciation". The couple leaving the garden are Adam and Eve, but those serve only as a distraction. The main theme in the painting is the archangel Gabriel kneeling down before Mary, and announcing that she will give birth to a son. Luke 1:28 relates the words of Gabriel as follows: "Hail, thou that art highly favoured, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women." This quote is the basis of the prayer "Hail Mary".
The text of the "Our Father" has been taught to us by Jesus himself, according to Matthew 6:9-13. It starts with "Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name." I'm quite convinced those of you with a Christian education can complete the text.
"The voice of one crying in the wilderness" is taken from Mark 1:3 and refers to John the Baptist.
The gospel of John starts with the somewhat enigmatic words "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God."
Fra Angelico was born around 1400. He joined the Dominican Order at a convent in Fiesole. Later this congregation moved to the San Marco convent in Florence, where Fra Angelico's best known works still can be seen. Fra Angelico was born under the name Guido da Pietro and adopted the convent name Giovanni da Fiesole, but he earns his well known nickname from a quote of a contemporary who thought the angels helped Fra Angelico to create his beautiful paintings.
2. The next painting, by Sandro Botticelli, looks quite crowded. We see twelve winged women dancing in the clouds, while three winged women sit on the roof of a stable. At the left and the right a winged person convinces three men to look at the central scene, which I'll describe next. On the foreground of the painting three winged women are each kissing a man. But the central scene has given the name to this painting: a naked baby lies on the ground, a mother is watching over him (as well as an ox and a donkey), and an elder man supports the baby. What is this baby's name?

Answer: Jesus

I've described here Botticelli's "Nativity". All these winged women are angels, and the six men at the left and the right have to be shepherds (although their sheep are nowhere in the painting). In the stable Joseph and Mary take care of the newborn Jesus. By the way: the Bible doesn't mention an ox or a donkey in this scene, these are later embellishments.
Sandro Botticelli (1445-1510) was a Florentine painter, best known for his works on Greco-Roman myth: "The Birth of Venus" and "Primavera". The painting I described here is one of his latest works, entitled "The Mystical Nativity". It's the only painting which Botticelli dated and signed. The religious context is Luke 2: 7-20.
The birth of John the Baptist is also described in the gospel of Luke, but no shepherds came to visit the newborn child.
Moses' birth is mentioned in the book of Exodus, and Samson's birth is in the book of Judges. Both these stories are thus only in the Old Testament.
3. The next scene was painted by several artists. I chose the painting by Fra Bartolomeo, which shows us a woman holding an infant upon her lap, an elderly man kneeling at her side, and a donkey resting in the shade of a palm tree. The family here depicted is Joseph, Mary and Jesus, but where are they heading to?

Answer: Egypt

Fra Bartolomeo made this painting, internationally known as "The Rest on the Flight to Egypt", in 1500. Joseph, Mary and baby Jesus had to flee from Israel because of the harsh edict by Herod, who decided to kill all infants of less than two years. Herod was King of Israel, and the Magi who visited Jesus had told Herod they were looking for "the newborn king".
Saul went to Damascus and was blinded by the light, so he converted and took the name Paul.
Jonah was ordered to go to Nineveh.
The people of Israel were abducted to Babylon. Several years later they returned.
Fra Bartolomeo (1473-1517) was born as Baccio della Porta (literally "the kiss from the gate"), but he adopted a more pious name as he entered the Dominican order in 1500. Arguably his best known work is the portrait of Girolamo Savonarola, which he completed in 1498.
4. Juan de Flandes made a painting in which a man in a pink cloak pours some water over a man who's wearing only a loincloth. To the left, a winged person holds the cloak of the bather. On top of the painting, we see a dove flying right above the bather, and a bearded man surrounded by some youngsters hovering above the dove. In what river is this scene set?

Answer: Jordan

You have correctly identified the scene as the Baptism of Christ. Several passages from the gospels mention this event, and we find the name of the river in Matthew 3:13-17 (and more clearly in Matthew 3:6). The text of Matthew 3:16-17 sounds familiar: "And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the water: and, lo, the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon him:
And lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased."
The Rhine is mentioned nowhere in the Bible. One of the best known religious artworks that depicts the Rhine, is Saint Ursula's shrine (made by Hans Memling).
The Nile is more closely linked to the biblical characters of Moses and Aaron than to Jesus and John the Baptist.
The Euphrates was one of the four rivers surrounding the Garden of Eden, according to Genesis 2:14.
Juan de Flandes (1465-1519) was born somewhere in Flanders, perhaps in Ghent. He travelled to Spain, where he was appointed court painter in 1498, but even thereafter his biography isn't quite clear.
5. Now we move on to a painting by the well-known artist Rafael. In Rafael's painting, we see a multitude of people in the foreground, befuddled by what is happening higher up. On top of a mountain, three apostles wake up from a short nap. But the most intriguing is the air in which three people are seen levitating: a bearded man carrying a slab of stone, a young man dressed all in white and a bearded man carrying a very thick book. Who is the flying man with the stone slab?

Answer: Moses

All these people are present in Rafael's aforesaid painting, the "Transfiguration".
Moses is the one levitating and carrying a stone slab. We can barely see the stone, but it is definitely the same shape as the slab of stone on which the Ten Commandments are engraved according to several previous paintings (by Rafael's predecessors).
Jesus is the youth flying in a white robe.
Elias (Elijah) is the one flying around with a thick book. There are not many clues to ascertain his identity, but the gospels state it is Elias over here.
Peter is one of the disciples waking up (the others are James and John).
Raphael (1483-1520) was a prolific painter. He is most famous for his various portraits of the Madonna and for his decoration of four rooms in the Vatican: the Stanza della Segnatura, the Stanza di Eliodoro, the Stanza dell' Incendio di Borgo and the Sala di Constantino. 
6. The painting which you will try to recall for this question, is very crowded. In the centre of the painting a young man in pastel colours (pink robe, lilac overcoat) holds up his right hand, as if summoning attention. His left hand points towards a dark-skinned adult man, swaddled in white strips of linen. I'm aware that this description will not help you to pick the right answer to my question, so I'll add two details: a young girl turns away from the man in white linen, and a bearded man to the very right of the picture uses his sleeve as if it were a handkerchief, in a vain attempt to avoid the stench. Who is the man in white stripss of linen?

Answer: Lazarus

The stench should have put you on the right track. To quote the KJV: "Martha, the sister of him that was dead, saith unto him, Lord, by this time he stinketh: for he hath been dead four days." (John 11:39)
Indeed: Sebastiano del Piombo's painting depicts the resurrection of Lazarus. The dark-skinned man swaddled in linen cloth is Lazarus, coming forth from the grave still in his burial clothing. The young man in pastel colours I've mentioned is Jesus, and the young woman turning her head is Martha.
The best known painting of Thomas shows us how he poked his finger in the wounds of the risen Christ.
Bartholomew and Andrew, two of the original apostles, can only be recognized in the way they were (according to legend) put to death: Bartholomew was flayed alive, and Andrew was crucified on a cross in the shape of a letter X.
Sebastiano del Piombo (1485-1547) was born and schooled in Venice, but worked most of his life in Rome.
7. What's the name of da Vinci's painting in which we see exactly thirteen persons? Please answer in English only.

Answer: Last Supper

I've always wondered if anyone could identify a painting based solely on the number of persons depicted. There is indeed one painting that may permit such an identification, no matter how scarce the clues are.
Let's describe this painting in more detail. A table is set, and thirteen people sit behind the table. On the table there are several little bread loaves and some dishes, and if you can use a very large loupe on the painting, you may distinguish some glasses of wine. Moreover some dishes may contain a few fruits (I thought I recognised a bunch of blue grapes).
From left to right, we see a young person in a blue cloak, someone dressed in pink, a man in golden attire, three people in various shades of blue, a person in a red robe and blue cloak, the face of a bearded youngster, another bearded youngster dressed in yellow attire, someone in a reddish-orange robe, a person in blue, a man in a reddish-light brown robe, and someone in white. Apart from the central character, all are very upset, gesticulating in every direction.
The fact that exactly thirteen persons are present, refers of course to the last supper: one of the few occasions mentioned in the Bible where Jesus and all of his twelve apostles are together.
Da Vinci (1452-1519) was a man with many talents. Alas, only a few of his paintings remain, and this particular painting is in desperate need of restoration.
By the way: other painters have added a servant and perhaps a self-portrait to their renderings of the Last Supper. So I'm afraid only da Vinci's painting can be identified merely by counting the persons depicted.
8. The Isenheim altarpiece by Matthias Grunewald is usually seen with closed wings. In this view, we see a very disturbing crucifixion: a tormented body hangs on a cross. To the left the Christians recognise John the Baptist (who was by the way already dead when this event happened), to the right we see two women and the disciple Jesus loved. One of the women faints, and the disciple holds her in his arms. According to the Gospel of John, who was this disciple?

Answer: John

John 19:25 mentions the presence of Mary (the mother of Jesus), Mary (the wife of Cleophas) and Mary Magdalene, as well as one of the apostles. To this apostle, Jesus said to take care of Mary (His mother). As stated in John 19:26-27: "When Jesus therefore saw his mother, and the disciple standing by, whom he loved, he saith unto his mother, Woman, behold thy son!
Then saith he to the disciple, Behold thy mother! And from that hour that disciple took her unto his own home."
The identity of this apostle present at the Crucifixion is revealed in John 19:35: "And he that saw it bare record, and his record is true: and he knoweth that he saith true, that ye might believe.". So this sole apostle present is the author of the gospel in which this event is described.
Matthias Grunewald (born between 1470 and 1480, died in 1528) was one of the leading German painters during the Renaissance.
9. Andrea Mantegna painted a dead man lying on his back, seen from the feet up. Both feet and both hands show distinctive wounds. To the left, an old woman is mourning over him. Who is the deceased (bearing in mind that this is a religious painting)?

Answer: Jesus Christ

Mantegna's painting described in the question is the "Lamentation" of Christ. The wounds in hand and feet are caused by nails (but the wounds in the feet are certainly not in the right place).
It is not clear who the elder woman at the left is. One would suppose His mother Mary would come and mourn over Him, but this woman is many years older than any depiction of Mary in western art.
John the Baptist was beheaded at the command of Herod the Great, after his daughter Salome asked for John's head on a platter. All paintings of the deceased John the Baptist I know of, show only his head and a silver platter.
The circumstances in which Job or Jephthah found death, are not mentioned in the Bible. Famous paintings and etches render Job alive sitting on a dunghill, his clothes torn and his body covered with sores.
The few paintings of Jephthah show him as a military commander (dressed as if he were a Roman general), greeted by his daughter Iphis playing the tambourine. Unfortunately he had vowed to sacrifice the first creature that crossed his path...
10. In a painting by Caravaggio, we see a table set with bread, a carafe of wine, a bowl of fruit and a roasted chicken. A servant stands to the left, and three men sit at the table. The central character, a young person in a red robe and white cloak, makes a blessing gesture over the food. In what biblical place does this scene take place?

Answer: Emmaus

The title of this painting is "Supper at Emmaus", which answers perfectly my question. The story is described in Luke 13-35. Two disciples, of whom only one is named (Cleopas), went to Emmaus, a town situated about 12 kilometres from Jerusalem. En route they met a stranger, and they talked with him about the crucifixion and the finding of an empty grave three days later. When they reached Emmaus, the two disciples invited the stranger in for supper. Then "he took bread, and blessed it, and brake, and gave to them" (Luke 24:30). Only at this very moment Cleopas and his companion recognised the risen Christ.
By the way, neither the fruit nor the chicken were mentioned in the Bible.
Cana is the village in which Jesus Christ performed His first miracle, turning water into wine.
Antioch is the city where the followers of Jesus Christ were first named "Christians".
Patmos is the island on which John resided in exile, when he had his vision described in the book of Revelation.
Caravaggio (1571-1610, born Michelangelo Merisi) was a prolific Baroque painter. His is considered one of the best examples of chiaroscuro technique: using the contrast between light and dark areas to give a three-dimensional effect. However, he was not the inventor: some sources state that the ancient Greeks already used some chiaroscuro.
Source: Author JanIQ

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