Name the Artist | 10 Question Humanities Multiple Choice Quiz

Answer: Salvador Dali

The painting is one of Dali's most famous paintings. Dali was only 27 when he created the work, two years after officially joining the Surrealist group. The work's impact was large, but the artifact itself is small: only 9 1/2 by 13 inches. The fleshy blob draped over the middle of the painting supposedly approximates Dali's face in profile.

Answer: Rembrandt

"Night Watch" was originally titled, "The Company of Captain Frans Banning Cocq and Lieutenant Willem van Ruytenburch preparing to march out." It was given its more common name by Sir Joshua Reynolds because it was so dulled by time that it looked like a night scene. After cleaning, it became apparent that the painting was set in broad daylight.

"The Anatomy Lesson" is also a group portrait. In both paintings, Rembrandt demonstrates mastery of chiaroscuro, the contrast of light and shade to create drama, depth, and atmosphere.

Answer: Piet Mondrian

Mondrian coined the term "Neo-Plasticism" to describe his approach. His vertical and horizontal lines represent the opposing forces of positive/negative, male/female, positive/negative. His paintings balance line and color, representing and revealing the balance of forces in the universe.

In his own words: "I wish to approach truth as closely as is possible, and therefore I abstract everything until I arrive at the fundamental quality of objects."

Answer: Pablo Picasso

"Guernica" depicts the horrors of a bombing attack ordered by Franco during the Spanish Civil War, which destroyed 75% of the town and killed or wounded 1,600 civilians.

The painting toured around the world, bringing global attention to the war and becoming a powerful anti-war symbol. The painting was placed in the care of the Museum of Modern Art, honoring Picasso's desire that it not be delivered to Spain until democracy was re-established in that country. The painting arrived in Spain in 1981 and was installed in its own permanent gallery at the Museo Reina Sofía in 1992.

Answer: Lady Gaga

Although Lady Gaga is the type of iconic cultural figure Warhol enjoyed painting, she was born a year before he died. During the 1960s, Warhol began painting iconic American symbols (Campbell's soup cans, Coca-Cola bottles) and celebrities (Elvis Presley, Marilyn Monroe, Muhammad Ali).

Many people were scandalized at how this "pop art" embraced and celebrated commercialization. In his own words: "Making money is art, and working is art and good business is the best art."

Answer: Alexander Calder

Before deciding to become an artist, Calder studied mechanical engineering. He became interested in wire sculpture through designing toys, including a miniature portable circus. He originated the mobile as a kinetic sculpture. Calder's "Bent Propeller" was displayed in front of the World Trade Center before it was destroyed in a terrorist attack on 9/11.

Answer: Georgia O'Keeffe

Although O'Keeffe is associated with New Mexico, she was born in Wisconsin. She studied at the Art Institute of Chicago and the Art Students League in New York and won the League's still-life prize in 1908. She abandoned art for a time but her interest was rekindled when she took a summer course for art teachers.

She created a series of innovative abstract drawings a former classmate shared with photographer Alfred Stieglitz. The two later married, and Stieglitz worked to promote his wife's art.

Answer: Edgar Degas

Degas is considered one of the founders of Impressionism, although he preferred to call himself a Realist. He produced approximately 1,500 works on ballet dancers, which allowed him to experiment with movement and unexpected vantage points. The ballet paintings also sold well...which was important, as his brother's debts had left the family bankrupt.

Answer: Johannes Vermeer

In 2009, Tracy Chevalier published a novel about Vermeer with the same title. Today, Vermeer is considered a master of genre painting. Experts disagree about what works can be definitively attributed to him, but the number is only 34 or 35.

Answer: Michelangelo

Michelangelo was known as "il divino" (the divine) because of his mastery of painting, sculpture, and architecture. The art historian Vasari wrote the following about artist: "the great Ruler of Heaven looked down and...resolved...to send to earth a genius universal in each art...He further endowed him with true moral philosophy and a sweet poetic spirit, so that the world should marvel at the singular eminence of his life and works and all his actions, seeming rather divine than earthy."