Man's Best Friend in Art Trivia Quiz

Answer: Dachshunds

Hockney had two dachshunds, named Boodgie and Stanley, and painted many pictures of the two of them in various poses although quite a few of them show the dogs snoozing. Reproductions of the paintings, and drawings, were gathered together in a book called 'David Hockney's Dog Days'.

Although all the breeds of dog listed would, no doubt, enjoy eating the sausages in the photo, the clue was meant to guide you to the correct answer, as dachshunds are also known as sausage dogs.

Answer: Pompeii

'Cave canem' means 'beware of the dog' in Latin, which may have helped you to choose the correct ancient site as only Pompeii of the listed options is in Italy. Although the Romans did get to many areas, Chichen Itza, in Mexico, wasn't one of them. The Parthenon is in Athens and Knossos on Crete, so Greek would be more likely in either of those.

The picture is of the mosaic located at The House of the Tragic Poet, which was discovered, or uncovered, in 1824.

Answer: Van Eyck

The painting is known variously as 'The Arnolfini Portrait', 'The Arnolfini Wedding' and 'The Arnolfini Marriage', to name but a few of its titles, and was painted in 1434 by Jan van Eyck. You can see the feet of the happy couple behind the dog, which is described as being a Brussels griffon, possibly representing loyalty - or maybe just a wedding gift.

Answer: Lucian Freud

Freud had whippets, one of which is shown in the photo, which look like a smaller version of a greyhound. They both appeared in several of his paintings, many of which would not be suitable to be shown on here. Lucian was the grandson of Sigmund Freud - I hope the hint in the question didn't escape you - and brother to the broadcaster Clement Freud.

His paintings are known for being starkly realistic - no airbrushing for Freud.

Answer: Poker

The paintings were created as an advertising campaign, commissioned by Brown and Bigelow to help sell cigars. Although most of the series involves the dogs playing poker, they also feature baseball, ballroom dancing and an appearance in court, in a breach of promise case.

The paintings have become iconic and are frequently referenced in popular culture.

Answer: Trump

Hogarth painted during the eighteenth century and is particularly remembered for his depictions of life at the time, such as 'Marriage a la Mode' and 'Gin Lane'. Hogarth painted several self portraits and often included his dog, named Trump, in them as well as painting the dog on his own. The pugs of that time looked rather different from those of the twenty-first century.

The statue in the photo is located in Chiswick High Road in London. The wrong answers all have political connections to go with Donald Trump, the US President. Hillary Clinton was the candidate defeated by Trump, while Jeremy Corbyn and Theresa May are the leaders of the Labour and Conservative Parties in the United Kingdom in 2017.

Answer: Pointillism

Although only peripheral to the painting, there are two dogs in the foreground of this work of art, one of them being next to the monkey on its chain while the other, possibly a black labrador, is behind the man lying down on the grass. The work took Seurat over two years to complete, as he was intent on accuracy regarding the park. It is an early example of the once derided pointillism style.

As far as I know, there are no ladybirds in the painting, but they do have spots, as does pointillism.

Answer: Forgiveness for the girl who is in disgrace

You can probably visualise the picture. A tearful looking girl is in the corner, facing the wall, with the collie behind her. One paw is raised, and he is looking back asking for her to be forgiven. Barber was one of the foremost painters of animals of the Victorian era.

He was commissioned by Queen Victoria to produce paintings of her with her grandchildren and dogs, for example. Among his other works are 'Suspense', which does involve a dog (and cat), a girl in bed and food, and 'Off to School', depicting a girl on her way to lessons accompanied by a Saint Bernard almost as big as she is.

Answer: Édouard Manet

Manet created many dog paintings, often of them alone, as in the photo, but also including them in portraits of people. The breeds of dog vary, although he does seem to be fond of King Charles spaniels, which feature quite often. Among the better known works created by Manet are 'Olympia' and 'A Bar at the Folies Bergère'.

Answer: Prodigal son

The painting of 'The Return of the Prodigal Son' shows the son kneeling in front of his father with a small white dog jumping up to greet him. The painting also shows the calf, though not the one in the photo clue, which is being led to slaughter to provide the celebratory feast. Murillo also included a dog in his painting of Jesus, Mary and Joseph, which is called 'The Holy Family with Dog' and in his painting of 'Christ Healing the Paralytic at the Pool of Bethesda', so it seems he was a canine lover.