Art on an Empty Stomach Trivia Quiz

"The Basket of Apples," painted by Paul Cézanne in 1893, is a still-life oil painting that became significant for its use of mismatched angles and multiple viewpoints. In this work, the tabletop, basket, and bottle do not align in a conventional way, creating a sense that the objects are slightly off-balance or viewed from different perspectives at once.

This approach was a departure from the single-point perspective that had dominated earlier European painting. Cézanne's technique attracted the attention of later artists, including Pablo Picasso and Georges Braque, who adapted these ideas as they developed the style known as Cubism.

Johannes Vermeer's painting "The Milkmaid," created around 1657-1658, depicts a domestic servant pouring milk in a modest kitchen setting. In 17th-century Dutch art, kitchen maids like the one in this painting were frequently chosen as subjects because they carried a range of cultural associations.

At the time, maids were often depicted in suggestive ways, reflecting social attitudes that linked domestic workers with sensuality and moral ambiguity. This was partly due to their low social status and the perception that they had more opportunities for unsupervised behavior in middle-class homes.

Édouard Manet's painting, "A Bar at the Folies-Bergčre," completed in 1882, shows a barmaid standing behind a counter at a busy Parisian nightclub. Behind her, a large mirror reflects both her image and the man she is serving, along with the lively crowd and details of the bar.

The placement of the figures and objects in the mirror has led to ongoing debate about the painting's perspective. Some viewers notice that the reflection does not align perfectly with the physical positions of the barmaid and the patron, which has led art historians to discuss whether Manet intentionally shifted the viewpoint or made a technical error.

Caravaggio's "Supper at Emmaus," painted around 1606 and now in the Pinacoteca di Brera in Milan, is known for its much darker appearance compared to his earlier 1601 version of the same scene, which is displayed at the National Gallery in London. The painting shows the moment from the New Testament when the resurrected Jesus reveals his identity to two disciples during a meal in the village of Emmaus.

In the Milan painting, the overall lighting is dim, and the figures are set against a deep, shadowy background.

Francisco de Zurbarán's "Still Life with Lemons, Oranges and a Rose," painted in 1633, features three simple arrangements: a plate of lemons, a basket of oranges with blossoms, and a cup holding a single rose. Some art historians have pointed out that these objects may have symbolic connections to the Virgin Mary.

The lemons, oranges, and rose are sometimes associated with purity, the Immaculate Conception, and Marian devotion in Catholic tradition.

Paul Gauguin's "Vahine no te vi," painted in 1892, shows a Tahitian woman seated with a mango in her hand. Mangoes appear in many of Gauguin's paintings from his time in Tahiti, where they were common in everyday life and often featured in his scenes of island life.

The woman in the painting is believed to be Pahura, who was one of Gauguin's young companions in Tahiti and is thought to have been the mother of one of his children. The choice to paint Pahura and other local women has become the focus of ongoing discussion about Gauguin's relationships with his subjects, especially given the age differences and the colonial context in which he lived and worked.

Giuseppe Arcimboldo's "Vertumnus," painted around 1590, is a portrait of Holy Roman Emperor Rudolf II made entirely from the realistic depiction of fruits, vegetables, and flowers arranged to form the emperor's face and clothing. Rudolf II, known for his interest in art and science, commissioned works from artists across Europe and supported creative experimentation at his court.

When "Vertumnus" was first displayed, some of Rudolf's subjects found the painting humorous, though Arcimboldo's food themes were generally well-received in other works.

Vincent van Gogh's "The Potato Eaters," completed in 1885, shows a family of Dutch peasants gathered around a table eating a meal of potatoes. Van Gogh devoted significant effort to painting peasant life, making many studies and sketches of rural workers in preparation for this and other works.

He considered "The Potato Eaters" to be one of his best achievements, feeling that it captured the reality and dignity of working people. However, when the painting was first shown, it received harsh criticism from several sources, including his brother Theo van Gogh and his friend Anthon van Rappard. Both felt the painting's colors and technique were unrefined and expressed disappointment in their letters to van Gogh.

Diego Velázquez's "Old Woman Frying Eggs," painted in 1618 when he was still a teenager, is an example of the Spanish "bodegón" genre. "Bodegones" were paintings that depicted everyday life, especially scenes set in kitchens or taverns, often with a strong focus on food, utensils, and common people.

In "Old Woman Frying Eggs," Velázquez shows a woman cooking in a simple kitchen, surrounded by ordinary objects like pots and bowls. Paintings like this, which focused on the honest work of servants and the simple food found in Spanish homes, became a recognizable part of seventeenth-century Spanish art.

Juan Gris's "Pears and Grapes on a Table," painted in 1913, is an example of his work in the Cubist style. Gris created many Cubist paintings featuring everyday objects, such as fruit, bottles, glasses, and musical instruments, breaking them down into geometric shapes and overlapping planes.

In "Pears and Grapes on a Table," Juan Gris arranged specific items including several pears, a small bunch of grapes, a white plate, a rectangular table, and a knife.

Pierre-Auguste Renoir's "Luncheon of the Boating Party," painted in 1880-1881, depicts a group of friends dining on the balcony of the Maison Fournaise, a restaurant along the Seine in Chatou, France. The painting features several of Renoir's close associates as models, including the artist Gustave Caillebotte, who is shown seated at the lower right, leaning back in a straw hat. Renoir's future wife, Aline Charigot, appears in the foreground playing with a small dog.

She was added to the composition after Renoir decided to replace another female model whose behavior had frustrated him during the painting process.

Winslow Homer's painting "The Veteran in a New Field," completed in 1865, shows a former soldier harvesting wheat alone in a wide field. The work was created shortly after the end of the U.S. Civil War and is directly connected to the period's aftermath, as it depicts a veteran returning to civilian life.

Many of Homer's paintings from this era deal with themes related to the consequences of war, such as soldiers' experiences after battle and the changes faced by individuals and families.