Faking Verisimilitude Trivia Quiz

Answer: Pompeii

The eruption of Mt Vesuvius in 79 CE was vividly described by Pliny the Younger, whose uncle died trying to rescue the citizens whose homes were buried. The ruins of Pompeii were rediscovered over 1500 years later, with the city amazingly well-preserved by the ash that had engulfed it.

Much of what we know about daily life at the time when Pompeii was destroyed comes from these remains. The House of Julia Felix, a large villa that had been converted to apartments sometime between a major earthquake in 62 CE and the destruction of the city, has been especially valuable in this regard, as the lives of several different families are reflected.

There are a number of paintings showing daily life, including the markets and activities in the Forum.

Answer: Portrait of a Carthusian

The inclusion of flies on the frames of paintings was a bit of a fad in the middle of the 15th century, when this painting was produced. The reasons for this are not clear. Some art historians believe it may have had religious reference (e.g., as to Beelzebub), while others feel it acted more as a mark of the artist's professional skill, since it often appears near the painter's signature.

The Carthusian Order, also called the Order of Saint Bruno, are enclosed monastics of the Catholic Church. This means they live their lives, as much as possible, inside their monasteries, and minimise contact with the outside world. The subject's lack of comfort with having his image captured is conveyed by Christus in the pose, which has him in the act of turning around, with his head turned as if to see what has caught his attention. The order started in the Chartreuse Mountains, and that name is given to the liqueur the monks have produced since the early 18th century.

Answer: Jacopo de' Barbari

This painting, also sometimes called 'Partridge, gauntlets, and crossbow bolt', is an oil-on-wood painting, and the various elements certainly do seem to project from the surface. Little of de' Barbari's work survives: this is one of twelve paintings, and there are also about 30 engravings and three influential woodcuts, including the massive (1.4 x 2.8 metres) 'Aerial View of Venice'.

While he resided in Germany, he formed a working relationship Albrecht Dürer, and a number of the works of the two show how they influenced each other.

Answer: Gerrit Dou

The signature actually reads GDou, which identifies it as the work of the only one of these to have lived in the Netherlands, and the only one working at the time. Gerrit Dou (also sometimes given a first name of Gerard, and with a surname alternatively spelled Douw or Dow) was a student of Rembrandt, and well known for his trompe-l'oeil work.

He produced a number of self-portraits, and the conceit of the window frame features in a number of them, as well as his other works. He worked at a time when there was heated debate as to what medium could best represent nature realistically - painting, drawing or sculpture. To assert the supremacy of painting, he often included drawings and sculptures as part of the subject matter of his paintings.

Answer: Church

Many Jesuit churches, including the one in Vienna shown here, were completed with very little decoration, as they were built after the heyday of church ornamentation. Andrea Pozzo made a career of decorating them, and providing an illusion of space that was not there in the actual building.

His most famous work was done in the Sant'Ignazio Church in Rome; for several generations the frescoes he painted there were considered to set the standard that other Late Baroque artists strove to emulate.

Answer: Supernatural aspects of dreams

Fuseli's reputation was established with his work called 'Nightmare', showing a woman sleeping on her back with an incubus crouching on her chest, and a horse's head looming over them both. It excited so much attention when it was first displayed at the 1782 Royal Academy in London that Fuseli painted at least three more versions.

As far as is known, Fuseli never painted any landscapes, rural or urban, and only two portraits are attributed to him.

Answer: Stained glass

Henry G Marquand was one of the founders of New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art, and was largely responsible for the involvement of his friend Richard Morris Hunt as the chief architect of that project. His mansion on Madison Avenue was opulent, but could not have an actual garden.

The window created the illusion that it stood between the room and a spacious conservatory, with gardens "outside" that room. When the house was demolished, the window was moved to the Museum of the City of New York, where it can still be seen.

Answer: Bust

A bust may be created in any one of a number of media, including marble, bronze, clay and wood. They always include the head and shoulders of the subject, and varying amounts of their shoulders and chest. Many pieces of classical architecture are displayed as busts, but often these are actually fragments from a full-body piece that did not survive intact. Busts are usually displayed mounted on a base (called a plinth) for stability.

Answer: Mural

Murals can be more precisely described according to the technique used to apply the paint. A fresco mural has the paint applied to wet plaster, so that the paint is actually absorbed into it rather than sitting on the surface. A secco mural is painted onto a dry surface.

Another variation is marouflage, a technique that involves painting on a paper or canvas surface, which is then glued to the wall. In all of these techniques, the painting is designed to cover all or most of the wall/ceiling, not just as a small decoration.

Answer: Mosaic work

Because Nureyev had been an avid collector of oriental rugs, it was felt that this mosaic, much more durable and weather-resistant than an actual carpet, would be a suitable adornment for his tomb in the Russian Orthodox cemetery in Sainte-Geneviève-des-Bois, a suburb of Paris.

The mosaic was designed and constructed by Ezio Frigerio, a well-known European theatrical designer and close friend of Nureyev. He was the set designer for Nureyev's 1980 production of 'Romeo and Juliet', and for both 'Swan Lake' and 'La Bayadère'.