Ten Works of Art in the Louvre Quiz

Answer: "The Oath of the Horatii"

Displayed in the Louvre, "The Oath of the Horatii" (1784-1785) was painted by French Neoclassical painter Jacques-Louis David. The painting depicts the three Horatius brothers facing their father and offering their lives to assure victory for Rome. The scene comes from a Roman legend about a seventh-century BC dispute between two warring cities, Rome and Alba Longa.

This famous painting exudes patriotism, masculine strength, civic virtue, and self-sacrifice, aligning very well with its time of creation, around the time of the French Revolution and the subsequent Napoleonic Wars.

The painting became an immediate success with the public and survives as perhaps the best example of Neoclassical painting.

Answer: "Liberty Leading the People"

Associated with the Romantic Era and French national identity, "Liberty Leading the People" or "La Liberté guidant le peuple" (1830) was painted by French artist Eugène Delacroix to commemorate the July Revolution of 1830. The painting is associated with France's nationalism and republican ideals. The lady at the center hoisting the French flag could be identified as Marianne, the female personification of the French Republic. This famous painting at the Louvre also appears on the album cover for Coldplay's "Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends" (2008).

Answer: Pierre-Auguste Renoir

Known as "La Lecture" or "The Reading", this painting at the Louvre is from the French Impressionist artist Pierre-Auguste Renoir. This work was painted around the year 1890 and demonstrates Renoir's mastery in vibrantly portraying his painted subjects. You might be able to notice that the two girls in this painting greatly resemble the two girls in Renior's similar painting, "Young Girls at the Piano" (1892).

Answer: Leonardo da Vinci

This painting known as "La Belle Ferronnière" (c. 1490-1496) is from the renowned Italian Renaissance artist, Leonardo da Vinci. The painting is also known as "Portrait of an Unknown Woman". This painting's title applied as early as the seventeenth century and identified the subject as the wife or daughter of an ironmonger (a "ferronnier").

It was also said to be discreetly alluding to a mistress of Francis I of France, married to a certain Le Ferron. Later, the subject was identified as Lucretia Crivelli, a married lady-in-waiting to Duchess Beatrice of Milan. You might also notice that another of Leonardo da Vinci's works, "Lady with an Ermine", (c. 1489-1491) has also been known by the name "La Belle Ferronnière".

Answer: Jacques-Louis David

French Neoclassical artist Jacques-Louis Davis painted "The Coronation of Napoleon" (c. 1807), depicting the famous historical moment from 1804 when Napoleon Bonaparte crowned himself as emperor. Napoleon's wife Empress Josephine and Pope Pius VII can also be identified when looking closely at the painting.

This famous coronation took place at Notre-Dame de Paris. Jacques-Louis David also painted Emperor Napoleon in the famous work, "Napoleon Crossing the Alps" (c. 1801-1805).

Answer: "The Barque of Dante"

This painting in the Louvre is also known as "Dante and Virgil in the Underworld" or "Dante and Virgil in Hell". This is the first major painting by Eugène Delacroix (1822). This painting is based on "Canto VIII" of the "Inferno", the first part of Dante Alighieri's 14th-century epic poem, "the Divine Comedy".

The blazing City of the Dead (City of Dis) is in the backdrop while the poet Dante crosses the River Styx. Delacroix's painting also marks a turn from Neoclassicism to Romanticism.

Answer: "Louis XIII Crowned by Victory"

"Louis XIII Crowned by Victory" or "Louis XIII couronné par la Victoire" (1635) was painted by French Baroque painter Philippe de Champaigne. This painting depicts the French monarch Louis XIII (1601-1643) alongside the angelic Victoria, the deified personification of Victory, dating back to the tradition of Ancient Rome.

The painting was commissioned by Cardinal Richelieu and was one of the earliest paintings kept in the Louvre, housed there since 1796.

Answer: "Frédéric Chopin"

Found in the Louvre, this 1838 portrait was painted by Eugène Delacroix and depicts famous piano composer Frédéric Chopin (1810-1849). While titled "Frédéric Chopin", the original larger version of this portrait also depicts Chopin's companion George Sand by his side.

While born in Poland, Chopin spent much of his time in Paris along with his companion George Sand (pseudonym), a rebellious female novelist.

Answer: "Pierrot"

"Pierrot" (c. 1719) also known as "Gilles" is one of the best-known paintings by French artist Jean-Antoine Watteau. As a painter, Watteau is known for moving away from the Baroque style of his time and shifting over to the Rococo style which was more naturalistic, less severe, and less formal. Watteau's "Pierrot" depicts a number of actors portraying different character types.

The word "Pierrot" implies the comic character of old French pantomime, usually having a whitened face and wearing loose white clothes. Watteau's "Pierrot" places the comic character in white at the center of the painting.

The painting also draws focus to the subject's facial expression, possibly pensive or sad.

Answer: "Magdalene with the Smoking Flame"

"Magdalene with the Smoking Flame" (c. 1640) by French Baroque painter Georges de La Tour depicts Saint Mary Magdalene. The French titles of the painting include: "La Madeleine à la veilleuse" and "La Madeleine à la flamme filante". The subject of the painting evokes the themes of repenting for sins, the contemplation of death, and quiet mysticism.

In various paintings of that time, Saint Mary Magdalene is depicted holding a skull. An example of this can be found in Guido Reni's "The Penitent Magdalene" (c. 1635).