A Study in Blue Trivia Quiz

Executed between 1303 and 1305, the monumental fresco cycle painted by Giotto on the walls of the Scrovegni Chapel in Padua is widely held as his masterpiece - so revolutionary as to be often mentioned as the forerunner of Renaissance painting. The cycle depicts episodes from the life of the Virgin Mary and Jesus Christ, as well as the Last Judgment. Along with other significant 14th-century fresco cycles located in Padua, it forms a site added to the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2021.

Anyone entering the small, rather nondescript Gothic chapel will be immediately struck by the vivid blue colour of the ceiling, repeated in the background and numerous details of most scenes. Giotto achieved this brilliant hue by using azurite, a copper mineral widely employed as a blue pigment in the Middle Ages and Early Renaissance as an alternative to the much more expensive ultramarine (ground lapis lazuli). However, since azurite is somewhat unstable, and has a tendency to turn green with time, the frescoes have often needed to be restored.

Probably the most famous episode of the whole cycle, "The Mourning of Christ" shown in the photo exemplifies the ground-breaking nature of Giotto's art: its naturalistic depiction of human figures and intense pathos stand in sharp contrast with the Byzantine tradition that dominated in the Middle Ages. Blue appears not only as the colour of the sky, but also in the robe of the mourning Virgin Mary and the tunic of Nicodemus, the saint on the extreme right of the scene.

There are two versions of the hauntingly beautiful, mysterious sacred scene known as the "Virgin of the Rocks", painted by Leonardo da Vinci between 1483 and 1508. The first, and earlier, of the two is held by the Louvre Museum in Paris; the second - the one appearing in the photo - by London's National Gallery. Though the two paintings are almost identical in terms of composition, they differ in a number of significant details - such as the colour palette employed by the artist.

Both works are painted on wooden panels - very likely meant to be placed within a sculpted altarpiece - with oil paints, which at the time had been recently introduced in Italy. The paintings are highly unusual for a number of reasons, such as their dark, almost claustrophobic setting, whose misty atmosphere is masterfully rendered by Leonardo's trademark "sfumato" technique. The figures of the Virgin, the Christ Child, St John the Baptist and an angel are arranged in a pyramidal shape; one of the paintings' most arresting details is the Virgin's boldly foreshortened left hand, hovering in a protective gesture over Christ's head.

The London painting (which was likely completed by one or more of Leonardo's assistants) is characterized by a prevalence of cool shades of blue - paler and green-tinged in the mountains, water and sky in the background, more intense in the Virgin's mantle and the angel's robe. Leonardo used azurite, ultramarine and lead white to create these shades, which are stunningly contrasted with the warm browns of the surrounding rocks.

One of Diego Velázquez's final works, created in 1659, a year before the artist's death, this portrait is known as "Infanta Margarita Teresa in a Blue Dress". The sitter - who also appears in the painter's best-known work, "Las Meninas" (The Ladies-in-Waiting) - was the daughter of King Philip IV of Spain, Velázquez's patron. This and another two portraits of her at different ages, also painted by Velázquez, were sent to Leopold I of Habsburg, Holy Roman Emperor, to whom she was betrothed in 1663. For this reason, the paintings are part of the collection of the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna, the former capital of the Holy Roman Empire.

The eight-year-old princess is depicted with a solemn expression, the steady gaze of her blue eyes matching the colour of her sumptuous, silver-trimmed dress. The wide surface of the crinoline-enhanced garment is rendered with loose brushstrokes of shimmering colour that coalesce together when viewed from a distance - a technique that would be employed to full effect over two centuries later by the Impressionists. The dark brown fur muff the princess holds in her left hand echoes the dark, vaguely defined background, in which a high console table with a mirror can be discerned.

Vivid patches of ultramarine blue are amongst the hallmarks of Johannes Vermeer's relatively small output (only 34 paintings have been definitely attributed to him). This beautiful blue pigment - often coupled with yellow - brightens the artist's otherwise subdued interior scenes. The painting in the photo, titled "Young Woman with a Water Pitcher" - probably executed between 1660 and 1662 - is typical of Vermeer's style, which captures ordinary people doing simple, ordinary tasks, making them memorable through his skillful use of colour and light. The painting is held by the Metropolitan Museum of Modern Art in New York.

The scene depicted is also remarkable for its high level of attention to detail, another distinguishing feature of Northern European Renaissance and Baroque painting. The blue flower pattern on the rug covering the table and the pale, opalescent blue of the windowpane echo the intense shade of blue of the woman's dress and the blue drapery lying on the chair. Even the woman's white headdress - a symbol of purity, like the water pitcher she holds in one hand - bears a faint blue tinge.

Vermeer's hometown of Delft in the Netherlands is renowned for its distinctive blue-and-white pottery, also known as Delftware, whose blue decoration is obtained through the use of cobalt oxide. Both Vermeer's painting and the production of Delftware flourished during the Dutch Golden Age (1588-1672).

Thomas Gainsborough's "The Blue Boy" is likely to be one of the first paintings that will come to mind when notable examples of the colour blue in art are mentioned. The influential 18th-century English painter, however, produced a number of other works in which blue plays a major role - such as the ethereal "Lady in Blue" (1780) and the portrait of "Mr and Mrs Andrews" (1750). Part of the permanent collection of the Huntington Library in San Marino, California, the painting is displayed opposite another famous late 18th-century portrait, "Pinkie" (a depiction of the 11-year-old Sarah Moulton) by Thomas Lawrence.

Painted in 1770, "The Blue Boy" (originally named "Portrait of a Young Gentleman") is a life-size portrait of a boy who has long been identified with Jonathan Buttall, the son of a wealthy merchant. The sitter wears a rich blue outfit in the style of the 17th century, inspired by the works of Anthony van Dyck. Gainsborough used at least four different blue pigments to create the lustrous fabric of the boy's costume: one of them was Prussian blue, the first modern synthetic pigment, which had been created at the beginning of the century.

Interestingly, Gainsborough's love of blue became the object of a dispute between him and Sir Joshua Reynolds (at the time president of the Royal Academy of Arts), who favoured the use of warm shades in painting, relegating cool colours like green and blue to a mere supporting role.

One of the leading figures of Aestheticism, the literary and artistic movement that flourished in Britain during the late 19th century, American-born James McNeill Whistler is known for his paintings based on subtle harmonies of colour - many of them titled after musical compositions. Among his most significant works there are a number of scenes that bear the name "nocturne" - a word that is usually applied to musical compositions inspired by night. These scenes are characterized by soft light, hazy outlines, and muted colours, evoking a dreamy, meditative feeling.

The painting in the photo, titled "Nocturne in Blue and Silver - Chelsea" (housed at London's Tate Britain), was painted by Whistler in the summer of 1871. The dim Chelsea shoreline - with the square tower of the historic Chelsea Old Church clearly visible on the right - is viewed from Battersea, on the opposite side of the Thames. The lights of Chelsea are faintly reflected in the dark blue water, while in the foreground a low barge and the lonely, barely sketched figure of a fisherman appear bathed in the silvery light of the moon. In order to create his distinctive effects of light and shade, Whistler applied thin layers of pigment on a panel primed with dark grey paint. The painting's minimalistic approach reflects the influence of Japanese art - especially woodblock printing - on Whistler's work.

Pierre-Auguste Renoir began painting "The Umbrellas" in 1880, when he was still attached to the Impressionist movement. The following year, he travelled to Italy, where he came into contact with classical and Renaissance art - which convinced him to adopt a more formal style, with solid, almost three-dimensional figures. This shift in perspective led him to rework part of the painting in a more linear style - in particular, the woman in a blue-grey dress to the left of the frame, who originally wore a more elaborate dress.

"The Umbrellas" depicts a crowded Paris street scene on a rainy day. The work's realistic approach and unconventional composition are reminiscent of a photograph - although the geometric shapes of the umbrellas are carefully arranged. Renoir used cobalt blue mixed with other pigments for the woman on the left, and artificial ultramarine for the dress of the woman on the right - which reflects Renoir's earlier preference for softer, less defined shapes. The painting is part of the large collection of London's National Gallery.

Originally named simply "Starry Night" (La nuit étoilée), this painting created by Vincent van Gogh in 1888 as part of a series depicting the city of Arles at night is generally referred to as "Starry Night Over the Rhône" (now at the Musée d'Orsay in Paris). The similarly-titled and -themed "The Starry Night" was painted in 1889, shortly before the artist's death, depicting the night view from his asylum room at Saint-Rémy. The banks of the Rhône where van Gogh painted this scene are located very close to the "Yellow House", the artist's residence in Arles.

Compared to the tormented, expressionistic "The Starry Night", this Arles night scene is serene, almost soothing. The painting depicts the point where the river bends to the right, surrounding the rocks where the city was built. The stars of the Great Bear (Ursa Major) are shining in the night sky, while the yellow gaslights of the city are reflected in the darker blue of the water. In the foreground, a couple are strolling on the riverbank. Though yellow and blue appear to be the dominant colours, van Gogh employed a much more varied palette in his creation - as detailed in a letter he wrote to his brother Theo. Much of Van Gogh's fascination with the night sky stemmed from the effects of artificial lighting, which had been recently introduced. His celebrated blues were mainly obtained by using Prussian blue, cobalt blue, and synthetic ultramarine.

There are two works by Edgar Degas that are known as "Blue Dancers" or "Dancers in Blue" ("Danseuses bleues" in French). One is a pastel drawing dating from 1897, held by the Pushkin Museum in Moscow. The other (shown in the photo) is an oil painting, produced around 1890, part of the collection of the Musée d'Orsay in Paris. At the time "Blue Dancers" was painted, Degas had already started losing his eyesight, and his personal relationships and financial condition were also slowly deteriorating.

The painting portrays a group of four dancers wearing blue costumes, captured in various poses. Two of them occupy the foreground: the central figure is shown while bending with one foot on pointe, her arms behind her back. Some other figures in yellow are vaguely outlined in the background: the scene seems to be taking place in an outdoor setting, as suggested by the outline of a tree trunk and patches of greenery. The stunning blue-green hue of the dancers' costumes enhances the gracefulness of their movements in an intimate, light-filled scene.

A very similar scene - possibly involving the same dancers, though with a different colour palette - appears in "Dancers, Pink and Green" (now at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York), created around the same time

Housed in London's Courtauld Institute Galleries, "The Lac d'Annecy" (also known as "Le lac bleu") was painted by Paul Cézanne in 1896, during the final stage of his life - often referred to as the "lyrical period". At the time, the artist was living in his native Provence, the subject of many of his paintings, where he had moved back from Paris because of personal issues. He visited the beautiful lake located in the French Alps, on the border with Switzerland, while on holiday with his family.

With its stunning, cool shades of green and blue, the work is an outstanding example of Cézanne's landscape painting. In his writings, the artist described the lake in rather disparaging terms - as something one would expect to find in "the albums of young lady travellers". His own rendition of the landscape, however, is far from being a traditionally picturesque scene, but rather one depicted through Cézanne's trademark geometric shapes and masterful use of colour patterns. The tree in the foreground - a patch of warm brown in the shimmering blue-green of the lake's waters - gives a sense of distance to the castle on the opposite side of the lake. The looming mass of the mountains in the background closes the scene, evoking an almost claustrophobic feeling.

Cézanne's work is famous for its unique shades of blue, which the artist believed to be essential to "give other colours their vibration". According to German poet Rainer Maria Rilke, who had visited an exhibition dedicated to Cézanne shortly after the artist's death, Cézanne used no less than 16 different shades of blue in his work.

Claude Monet's vast artistic output has almost become synonymous with waterlilies - such was the fascination that the artist had for these lovely flowers in the last two decades of his life. In 1901, the expansion of the lily pond in the gardens of his house in Giverny had a transformative effect on Monet's inspiration. From then on, he concentrated mainly on creating paintings of the flowers in a variety of sizes, styles, and colour schemes, in spite of his failing eyesight. 48 of those works were exhibited in 1909; the series, however, comprises over 250 oil paintings.

The painting in the photo, titled "Blue Waterlilies" (at the Musée d'Orsay in Paris), was executed between 1916 and 1919, a few years before the artist's death. Though the painting focuses on a small corner of Monet's gardens, eliminating any reference to the sky or the horizon, the large square canvas makes the image look boundless - as do the trailing roots and weeds, rendered with loose brushstrokes that lend an almost abstract quality to the painting. The lavender tint of the water complements the pale blue of the waterlilies, with their deep yellow centres adding a touch of warmth to this hauntingly beautiful symphony in blue and green.

The colour blue had a particular significance in the work of Russian artist Wassily Kandinsky - both in his earlier, more descriptive paintings and in his later, abstract masterpieces. Part of the collection of the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York, "Blue Mountain" was produced in 1908, when the artist was living and working in Munich. It features one of the most distinctive motifs of the artist's early work - the horse and rider, symbolizing his quest for a more authentic mode of artistic expression. Another of his early paintings, "The Blue Rider" (1903), gave its name to a journal founded by Kandisky himself and German painter Franz Marc in 1912.

In Kandinsky's view of art, colour held a preeminent place: he believed that each colour had the power to evoke different moods in the viewer. In his 1911 book "On the Spiritual in Art", Kandinsky wrote that blue was the colour of spirituality and infinity, awakening human desire for the eternal. In "Blue Mountain", a group of riders on horseback are heading for the titular mountain, whose vividly blue, almost pyramidal shape catches the eye. Various shades of blue also play a major role in many of Kandinsky's ground-breaking abstract paintings - such as "Blue Painting" (1924, also at the Guggenheim) or the whimsical "Sky Blue" (1940).