Famous Paintings in Other Words Quiz

Answer: Vermeer

"Girl with a Pearl Earring" was painted in 1665 by Dutch painter Johannes Vermeer. It's located at the Mauritshuis Museum in The Hague. The expression of the girl painted with a headscarf and a large pearl earring in her ear is somewhat enigmatic. That might be what Vermeer intended. Vermeer was a master of lighting and it's on full display in this painting.

Answer: Botticelli

"Birth of Venus" was painted around 1486 by Florentine Sandro Botticelli, also known as Alessandro di Mariano Filipepi. Botticelli was commissioned to paint it by a member of the Medici family, Lorenzo the Magnificent.

Venus, Roman counterpart to Greek goddess Aphrodite, is the goddess of beauty, love and fertility. In the painting she is depicted as emerging from a scalloped shell, naked with wind-blown hair. A nearby nymph carries a cloak to cover her up.

The painting is located in the Uffizi Gallery in Florence, Italy.

Answer: Da Vinci

Few can argue that Leonardo da Vinci is one of the greatest painters of all time. His painting "The Last Supper" is a mural, painted between 1495 and 1498. The painting depicts Jesus Christ surrounded by his disciples, enjoying a final meal before his betrayal and ultimate death. It's located in the refectory of the Convent of Santa Maria delle Grazie in Milan, Italy.

What makes this painting stand out is the fact that da Vinci painted real expressions on the faces of the disciples. Author Dan Brown, who wrote the popular novel "The Da Vinci Code", suggested the figure on the right of Jesus is Mary Magdalene, not the Apostle John. Brown is not the first to suggest that possibility.

Answer: Rembrandt

"The Night Watch", painted in 1492, is frormally known as "The Shooting Company of Frans Banning Cocq and Willem van Ruytenburch" or "Militia Company of District II under the Command of Captain Frans Banninck Cocq". The name was shortened sometime during the late eighteenth century.

Rembrandt van Rijn was a Dutch visual artist. In viewing "The Night Watch", the grouping of militia ready for action was not a usual configuration for painters at that time. The men seem in the moment, ready for battle. This painting comes alive, even though accumulation of dirt over the years has darkened the canvas, giving it an appearance of taking place at night as opposed to daytime, the painter's original intention.

This masterpiece is housed in the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam.

Answer: Klimt

Most people are familiar with Gustav Klimt's famous oil painting "The Kiss". Painted in 1908 in Vienna, Austria, Klimt's odd juxtaposition of a kissing couple amidst geometric shapes and wildflowers is unusual because the artist used gold leaf on his canvas, not a common practice at that time.

Klimt was fond of depicting love, in its various forms, and geometric shapes. His paintings "Love" and "The Family" are good examples. One can find "The Kiss" at its home in the Österreichische Galerie Belvedere in Vienna.

Answer: Van Gogh

"Starry Night" might be the best known painting of Dutch Post-Impressionist Vincent van Gogh. The painter had already committed himself to an asylum at Saint-Rémy in Provence, France when he painted "Starry Night" in 1889. He remained there for a year, coping with mental health issues. Van Gogh interprets what he can see of the outside world through the bars of his bedroom window. Glowing yellow orbs and blue and yellow brushstrokes swirl above the town.

If you have an urge to view this famous work of art, you will find it at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City where it has been since 1941.

Answer: Dalí

Salvador Dalí painted "The Persistence of Memory" in 1931, the height of the Surrealist movement. Some refer to the oil painting as "Melting Clocks". Interestingly, Surrealist painters like Dalí are closely associated with the founding father of psychoanalysis, Sigmund Freud.

One might wonder why the clocks are melting. What is happening to time itself? Why are ants crawling over a closed pocket watch? What is the meaning of that formless shape with a melting clock draped over it? According to Dalí, the shape is his own profile.

"Persistence of Memory" is located at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City. It was anonymously donated in 1934.

Answer: Picasso

Spanish painter and sculptor Pablo Picasso, painted "The Altarboy" in 1896 when he was just fifteen years old. Amazingly, he started oil painting at the age of eight. Well known for his artistic "periods", this painting is considered part of Picasso's early years, or Realist style.

As he got older, Picasso's paintings became less realistic. He began taking a more avant-garde approach to painting. Perhaps he felt that his art wasn't properly appreciated since he once famously said "The world today doesn't make sense so why should I paint pictures that do?"

If you decide to view this painting in person, you will find it at Santa Maria de Montserrat Abbey, Monistrol de Montserrat, Spain.

Answer: Monet

"Water Lilies" is a series of oil paintings created by well-known French Impressionist Claude Monet. He began painting this series in 1897 while living in Giverny, France. The beautiful flowers growing in a pond near his home reflect that. Although he lived and painted in other European cities, Monet's Giverny home and gardens are still a major tourist attraction.

Monet's paintings can be found in a number of museums including the Museum of Modern Art in New York, Musée d'Orsay in Paris and the National Gallery in London.

Answer: Kahlo

"The Bus" is a 1929 painting by Frida Kahlo, a prominent Mexican painter. Well-known for her self-portraits, Kahlo was only 47 when she died from health-related issues. She had contracted polio when she was six years old which led to feelings of isolation during a long healing process.

"The Bus" is significant for two reasons. The passengers aboard the bus each represent various social classes of Mexican society. Kahlo was very involved politically and this painting definitely makes a social statement.

The second reason is perhaps the most significant. While still a teen, a bus in which she was a passenger was hit broadside by another bus, killing several passengers and injuring others, including Kahlo herself. Her horrific injuries resulted in numerous surgeries and many months of bed rest. Many of her self-portraits reflect the horrors of the accident, albeit not always directly.

"The Bus" can be viewed at the Dolores Olmedo Patiño Museum, Mexico City, Mexico.