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The Delightful d'Orsay Museum Trivia Quiz

The Musée d'Orsay is one of the "must see" museums of Paris. Unlike the more somber Louvre, the museum is filled with light and its 80 galleries are easy to negotiate. Can you tell I love this museum?

A multiple-choice quiz by kathyr_1. Estimated time: 4 mins.

Author
kathyr_1

Time
4 mins

Type
Multiple Choice

Quiz #
236,108

Updated
Jul 23 22

# Qns
10

Difficulty
Average

Avg Score
7 / 10

Plays
522

One at a Time - Single Page - Timed Game

Question 1 of 10

1. The building now housing the Musée d'Orsay was originally: Hint

A hotel

A royal residence

A municipal building

A train station

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Question 2 of 10

2. The original building was designed by the architectural team of: Hint

Magne Benard & Laloux

Corot Boudin & Cabanel

Bardon Colboc & Philippon

Tom, Dick & Harry

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Question 3 of 10

3. The Musée d'Orsay was inaugurated on this date. Which? Hint

October 20, 1977

September 7, 1964

December 9, 1991

December 1, 1986

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Question 4 of 10

4. Which French president inaugurated the museum? Hint

Francois Mitterrand

Valéry Giscard d'Estaing

Charles de Gaulle

Edouard Détaille

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Question 5 of 10

5. This 1863 painting by Edouard Manet once scandalized polite society. Its subjects were two fully-clothed men and one unclothed woman. Hint

Olympia

The Luncheon on the Grass

The Balcony

Spring

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Question 6 of 10

6. Before being converted to a museum, the original building was the setting for what 1963 movie? Hint

Irma La Douce

The Cardinal

The Trial

Tom Jones

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Question 7 of 10

7. What American-born artist's painting hangs in the d'Orsay? Hint

Sunlight and Shadow by William Merrit Chase

Portrait of a Woman by Mary Cassatt

Arrangement in Grey and Black - The Artist's Mother by James Whistler

The Black Brook by John Singer Sargent

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Question 8 of 10

8. What prominent detail(s) of the building of the d'Orsay Museum can be seen from the Seine? Hint

Clock

Gilded roof

Gargoyles

Italian balustrade

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Question 9 of 10

9. What art movement is represented in the d'Orsay? Hint

Cubism

Impressionism

Romanticism

All of these

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Question 10 of 10

10. Many of Vincent Van Gogh's paintings hang in the d'Orsay. This painting is one of them. Which? Hint

Apples and Oranges

Sunflowers

The Church in Auvers

Self-Portrait with Bandaged Ear

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Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. The building now housing the Musée d'Orsay was originally:

Answer: A train station

Built in 1900, use of the station was discontinued when the trains became too long for the non-extendable platforms. The Louvre museum (also in Paris) was originally a royal palace.

2. The original building was designed by the architectural team of:

Answer: Magne Benard & Laloux

Bardon, Colboc and Philippon did the structural design when the building was converted to a museum. Corot, Boudin and Cabanel are some of the artists whose works are on display in the d'Orsay. Tom, Dick and Harry -- No way. I just wanted to narrow your choices.

3. The Musée d'Orsay was inaugurated on this date. Which?

Answer: December 1, 1986

The proposal to build the museum was approved on October 20, 1977. The d'Orsay officially opened to the public on December 9, 1986.

4. Which French president inaugurated the museum?

Answer: Francois Mitterrand

President Charles de Gaulle died in 1970. President Valéry Giscard d'Estaing initiated the decision to build the d'Orsay but was no longer president when it opened. Edouard Detaille was an artist known for his military-themed paintings. A side note: When the d'Orsay train station opened in 1900, Edouard Détaille said it was too beautiful to be a train station and should be a museum. One of his paintings, 'The Dream', now hangs in the d'Orsay.

5. This 1863 painting by Edouard Manet once scandalized polite society. Its subjects were two fully-clothed men and one unclothed woman.

Answer: The Luncheon on the Grass

Manet must have liked scandalizing people, because only two years later he unveiled Olympia, which depicted a lady clad only in high heels with a flower behind her ear. Manet died of syphilis in 1883.

6. Before being converted to a museum, the original building was the setting for what 1963 movie?

Answer: The Trial

When director Orson Welles adapted this grim film from an unfinished novel by Franz Kafka, the abandoned d'Orsay train station was deemed to be sufficiently depressing to be used as a setting.

7. What American-born artist's painting hangs in the d'Orsay?

Answer: Arrangement in Grey and Black - The Artist's Mother by James Whistler

Mary Cassatt's Portrait of a Woman hangs in the Dayton Art Institute. The Black Brook is in London's Tate Gallery. Sunlight and Shadow is in the Joslyn Art Museum in Omaha. More trivia: one of James Whistler's assistants was Walter Richard Sickert, the man Patricia Cornwell accuses of being Jack the Ripper in her book "Portrait of a Killer".

8. What prominent detail(s) of the building of the d'Orsay Museum can be seen from the Seine?

Answer: Clock

Gargoyles reside on Notre Dame Cathedral. There are many gilded roofs in Paris, but not on the d'Orsay. The east wing of the Louvre has an Italian balustrade.

9. What art movement is represented in the d'Orsay?

Answer: All of these

The initial purpose of the d'Orsay was to house art from the Impressionist period (1848-1914), but it now displays art from many different schools, including Cubism and Romanticism.

10. Many of Vincent Van Gogh's paintings hang in the d'Orsay. This painting is one of them. Which?

Answer: The Church in Auvers

Van Gogh, one of the great Post-Impressionist artists, wanted to join the church in Auvers but wasn't allowed to because he was considered insane. Then, because he committed suicide, he wasn't allowed to be buried there. "Sunflowers" hangs in the Neue Pinakothek, Munich. 'Self-Portrait with Bandaged Ear' is in the Courtauld Institute Galleries in London. 'Apples and Oranges' is in the d'Orsay, but it was painted by Paul Cézanne.

Source: Author kathyr_1

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor bloomsby before going online.
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