The Art of Food Trivia Quiz

Answer: Potatoes

The painting is known in English as "The Potato Eaters". It was completed in 1885 and Van Gogh considered it to be one of his best, if not his best, painting. The painting depicts a group of peasants eating potatoes around a table. They are depicted as dirty, which Van Gogh said was to give the impression they had just returned from toiling in the field. Van Gogh said he wanted to depict peasants as they really were: dirty, hardworking and poor.

Answer: Caravaggio

"Still Life with Fruit on a Stone Ledge" was completed sometime in the early 17th century by Caravaggio. It is one of the most well known still life paintings. It is particularly noted for the way the light shines upon the fruit from above. Caravaggio actually cut holes in his ceiling to produce the lighting effect just right.

Answer: Salt

In "The Last Supper" Judas is holding a salt container, specifically he is spilling. This was a bit of symbolism as salt was very valuable and the phrase "to betray the salt" meant to betray someone who treated you well. It is also from this phrase that the superstition about spilling salt will cause bad lack originates.

In addition, Judas is also the only apostle who has his elbows on the table (a sign of poor manners) and his head is hung lower than anyone else's.

Answer: Salvador Dali

Dali depicted bread in many of his paintings because he claimed he represented the most basic and humble needs of human beings: sustenance. It was also very versatile, and Dali would use bread as sort of a return to normalcy or humble beginnings. Legend has it that he painted "Basket of Bread - Rather Death than Shame" when the atomic bombs were landing on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in Japan in August 1945. According to Dali, the bread represents sacrifice as its basket is near the edge of the table. The subtitle "Rather Death than Shame" refers to the death of the bombing victims as Dali believed it was better to die in the bombings than be the one dropping the bombs.

"The Basket of Bread" is an earlier Dali work. It depicts bread with butter in a more luxurious setting than "Basket of Bread - Rather Death than Shame".

Answer: Old Woman Poaching Eggs

This painting by Velazquez has a controversial name. Some art critics believe the woman is actually poaching the eggs, not frying them as the title suggests. The painting is not entirely clear and the woman could be doing either. The painting is very dark in color except for the whites of the eggs.

Some critics have suggested changing the title to "Old Woman Cooking Eggs" to avoid the controversy.

Answer: Giuseppe Arcimboldo

Giuseppe Arcimboldo was an Italian painter during the 16th century who is best known for his unusual paintings. Among his most famous works of art is a series of paintings called "The Four Seasons" which depict a man's head and torso made entirely out of fruits and vegetables.

The painting pictured here is called "Vertumnus" and depicts Holy Roman Emperor Rudolf II as Vertumnus, the Roman god of seasons and change.

Answer: Oyster shells

"Butcher's Stall With the Flight into Egypt" appears, at first glance, to merely by a painting of a lavish meat stand. However, one can see the Holy Family in the background, specifically Mary handing out coins or food to the poor. The painting represents sacrifice and repentance.

The man picking up the oyster shells is symbolically cleaning the area of sin (specifically lust, which oysters represented in Aertsen's time). The two small fish on the otherwise lavish meat display are a reminder to sacrifice during the Lenten season.

Answer: Grapes

Bacchus was the Roman god of wine and is usually depicted alongside grapes. In many works of art Bacchus is portrayed as a muscular, handsome man but de Vos painted him as a fat sloven man in this painting, to display Bacchus' lustful and gluttonous side. Bacchus is shown here being pulled by tigers and alongside a woman and a number of demonic, supernatural creatures including a satyr which is eating his grapes.

Answer: Still Life with Grapes and Lemons

Paul Cezanne is well known for his still life paintings of fruits in various settings but there is no Cezanne painting called "Still Life with Grapes and Lemons". Although he is most famous for his still life painting, Cezanne also painted many other scenes including landscapes, portraits and his "Card Players" series of portraits.

Pictures is "Still Life with Onions", one of Cezanne's later still life paintings.

Answer: Luncheon of the Boating Party

"Luncheon of the Boating Party" is one of Renoir's most famous paintings. The portrait is of a boating party consisting of Renoir's friends and family enjoying a lavish lunch of wine and fruits. One of the women depicted is Aline Charigot, who would later marry Renoir. She is the woman holding the dog. Many of the other subjects are other artists or actors that Renoir knew personally.