Sign on the Dotted Line Trivia Quiz

Answer: Giotto

The chapel, and its decorations, were commissioned by Enrico Scrovegni, who was a member of a banking family. Money lending was considered to be sinful, particularly if interest was high, and the building of the chapel is often considered to be Scrovegni's penance. Giotto painted a series of scenes from the lives of the Virgin Mary and Jesus Christ, which are truly stunningly beautiful. Giotto di Bondone, to give him his full name, was the pioneer in the change of style from Byzantine art to the more realistic depiction of figures associated with the Renaissance.

The other artists were all rather later - Fra Angelico and Masaccio were fifteenth century and Titian was active in the sixteenth century.

Answer: Florence

The Medici family were renowned as patrons of the arts, and were the political leaders of Florence. Medici had already commissioned a bronze 'David' from Donatello, which was completed in around 1430. This is on display in the Bargello art museum in Florence in the early twenty-first century.

The commission for 'Judith and Holofernes' came in 1460 and the statue was originally on display, with 'David', at the Medici palace. It was later moved to the Piazza della Signoria and is now (2015) on display inside the Palazzo Vecchio.

Answer: National Gallery, London

Julius II was pope from 1503 until 1513, and it was he who commissioned the painting of the Sistine Chapel ceiling by Michelangelo. Raphael's portrait of the pope was different from the previously accepted depictions. He showed Julius deep in thought, not kneeling at his devotions, and this established a precedent which lasted for many years.

The painting dates from around 1511 and Raphael made several copies of it. The one in the Uffizi was accepted as the original until 1970, when closer examination of the version in London seemed to indicate that it was the first version.

This is not universally accepted by all art historians.

Answer: Peter Paul Rubens

Marie de' Medici was married to King Henry IV of France, and the paintings are primarily of her and her journey through life. Under the terms of the contract, Rubens had to complete all the paintings within two years. It seems that he had some leeway, since the contract only tied him to paint the figures, not necessarily the backgrounds. The series covers Marie's birth, through her wedding (by proxy) to the king, her coronation and so on, and can be seen at the Louvre, in Paris, in the twenty-first century.

Of the other artists listed, only Van Dyck was Flemish and he was associated with the English court - King Charles I in particular. Vermeer and Hals were both Dutch.

Answer: A horse

Whistlejacket was a racehorse, and Stubbs's depiction of him shows him against a completely plain background, so the eye has to concentrate on the horse. Stubbs was renowned for this skill in painting horses, and much of his work depicts these animals.

He did also paint more exotic creatures, such as tigers, giraffes and monkeys. Stubbs even painted a kangaroo - not a common sight in the English countryside.

Answer: John Ruskin

Ruskin was a patron of the arts, and the best known art critic of Victorian times. Millais painted Ruskin in Scotland, standing on rocks next to a stream. Ruskin's wife, Effie, fell in love with Millais and the pair eventually married, after she obtained an annulment of her first marriage. Ruskin was involved in a law suit for libel brought by James Whistler in 1877. Although Whistler won, he was awarded only derisory damages and was financially ruined.

The portrait of Ruskin was acquired by the British government in 2013 as a payment in lieu of inheritance tax, and put on display at Oxford's Ashmolean Museum.

Answer: Edgar Degas

You probably won't be surprised to learn that the painting is of ballet dancers, assuming you didn't already know. The topic was a favourite of Degas, although not his only one. The painting was completed in 1874 and shows over twenty figures of dancers, their teacher and their mothers. One version is in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, while the Musée d'Orsay in Paris has a different painting of the same scene.

Answer: Poker

Coolidge painted a series of sixteen pictures, not all of which showed the dogs at the poker table. Since nine of them did, though, the whole collection is known as 'Dogs Playing Poker'. You have probably seen reproductions of them, since they seem to be popular in public houses, although you probably would have no idea of the artist's name. Coolidge himself was from New York, and was not a trained artist.

Answer: Spanish Civil War

The government, known as the Second Spanish Republic, had commissioned Picasso to paint a mural for the World's Fair due to be held in 1937. Picasso had, it is reported, been struggling to find inspiration, but when he heard of the bombing of Guernica, he had found his topic.

The bombing was carried out by German and Italian forces in support of the forces led by General Franco, who would go on to take power in 1939. The painting was put on display at the Museo Reina Sofia in Madrid in 1992.

Answer: Dublin

Gillespie is Irish, and has a foundry in Blackrock, Dublin where he creates his sculptures. 'Famine' is a group of life size, poorly clad and emaciated figures, which has been on display outside the Custom House in Dublin since 1997. A similar set of figures was created for Toronto in 2007, in recognition of the fact that many Irish emigrated to Canada to escape the consequences of the potato blight of the mid nineteenth century.

The original work was commissioned by Norma Smurfit, a member of a prominent Irish manufacturing family, who donated it to the Irish government on completion.