Sunday, February 17, 2008

The Monday Quiz XV

More Great Paintings



The Monday Quiz leans toward the visual arts, for obvious reasons. But, we at Quiz Central are also aware that after of a handful of Mona Lisas and Last Suppers, the drop-off in how generally well-known paintings are is pretty damn steep.

With that in mind, there is an sixth image this week; your best five go towards the Exclamation Point. The question for each image is: What is the name of the painting and who painted it?, but if you don't know those feel free to throw in whatever you've got -- time period, country, significance, whatever.


1.



2.



3.




4.




5.




6.



Answers in the comments, please!

22 comments:

zane said...

I recognize Christina's World by Wyeth. Personally I like 'The Blue Boy', Gainesborough I think. Nice blog.

fingerstothebone said...

1. "Christina's World", by one of the Wyatts...Andrew?

2. Van Gogh, title? Something about the wheat field by where he was staying...I don't know.

3. One of the Bruegels, don't know title.

4. Dang, I should know the name of the painter, it might come to me later, but title is something like "Princess Margarita."

5. At first, I want to say Fragonard. Then I thought it might be Goya, he painted cartoons for tapestries early in his career. But now I think it's Constable, even though it has no cows or sheep. But it's probably none of the above. I guess I'll say Constable. Don't know title.

6. No clue.

fingerstothebone said...

Argh, of course it's 'Wyeth' and not Wyatt. And it's Velazquez (Princess Margarita). And argh again, Gainsborough sounds much better. Argh.

Unknown said...

1. Andrew Wyeth, Christina's World
2. Vincent van Gogh, Landscape with a Cypress
3. Pieter Brueghel the Elder, Fight between Carnival and Lent
4. Diego Velazquez, Las Meninas (The Maids of Honor)
5. Thomas Gainsborough, Mr. and Mrs. Andrews
6. Michelangelo Merisi (Caravaggio), The Calling of St. Matthew

d said...

1. christina's world by andrew wyeth (one of my favorite painters, btw)

2. that's van gogh, but i don't know the title.

3. one of the dutch painters?

4. oh shit. i know i recognize this one. totally can't remember anything about it though. i believe it's italian. and i think there's a 'princess' in the title. that's as close as i can get.

5. american. hardy?

6. that looks like a carravagio.

i sucked today.

Nichim said...

Visual art is my worst subject, so I'm trying to practice.

1. I read a magazine article about this painter once. I hear the grass in it is really nice when you see it big. I really like this painting, but it's painful.

2. Van Gogh, looks like.

3. Hironymous Bosch?

4. LAS MENINAS!! I don't know the painter, but there he is in the picture with his paintbrush! And see the mirror in the back? It's super self-referential. I read an essay about this painting in a Spanish class in college. Who's a Spanish painter? Velazquez?

5 and 6. I've never seen these before.

Rebel said...

1. I don't know... but that's a really cool painting!
2. Van-Gogh.. I don't think I've seen this one.
3. Ok... I've seen this one, but I can't remember anything about it.. I want to say Bosch, but I know it's not.
4. Another one I've seen, a ground breaking work - a painting from the perspective of the couple being painted.
5. Gainsbourough? The lady in Blue?
6. Look at that light! Oh, I'm pretty sure I've seen this one too but alas... no idea what the name is.

Chance said...

Oh boy, more art. again, the last art appreciation class i had was about 20 years ago, but i've tried to maintain a passing knowledge over the years. well, i bought sister wendy's book. it's a start.

1. christina's world, wyeth.
2. yellow wheat field, van gogh.
3. it's surely Breughel, but I don't know the name. The Marketplace?
4. looks like rembrandt, but that's a poor guess. don't know it.
5. no clue
6. from the use of dark and light, it's clear to me this is caravaggio, but the name is vague to me. something about a saint?

whew! tough one!

Anonymous said...

I'm not so artsy. As you will soon see.

1. I have no idea who painted it -- is it called something like "The Prairie"?

2. Van Gogh, called "My Holiday in Provence"

3. My GOODNESS these people are drunk.

4. Some royal family's children being painted -- Queen Victoria's? It looks like the painter on the left side of the picture. The child on the right side stepping on the dog belongs to me...

5. This painting is entitled "My woman, yes; my dog, maybe; my gun, never."

6. It's Drunken Jerry's turn to pay the bill.

Anonymous said...

1 Christina's World, by Wyatt. Hey, where's the dog?
2 Well, this is a Van Gogh. Title? I have no idea. It's called Swirly Swirly Day. Or just Wheatfields.
3 OK, this is Breughel, and celebrates the earthy vice-ridden peasantry, and it's named for some sort of holiday or celebration, I can't remember which. Let's say Carnival in the Village.
4 Ah, Las Meninas, by Velazquez. I knew an architecture professor who gave the assignment of building a scale model of this space, showing how it was lit and where the different people were positioned so the perspective would come out right. And it was a master's degree program, so you know it was tricky.
5 OK, this looks French to me, but I think it might have been Gainsborough. So English, but of the smug foofy school. Say, late eighteenth century, what with the tricorn hat. It's the aristocrats out claiming their sweeping vistas. Title? Lord and Lady d'Coventry.
6 Methinks Caravaggio. Nice lighting, dude. I think it's called The Cardsharp, or something.

Anonymous said...

Damn, I did the Wyatt/Wyeth thing, too. At least I'm in good company.

Elizabeth said...

1. Andrew Wyeth's "I've Fallen and I Can't Get Up"

2. Van Gogh's "Look at That Cloud - Doesn't It Look Like an Ear?"

3. Bocaccio's "Decameron"

4. Vermeer's "Kinderen van de maïs"

5. Romney's "She Likes My Big Gun"

6. Rembrandt's "Apprentice Bankers"

Anonymous said...

1 - Pretty in Pink/ Andrew Wyeth
2 - Cypresses / Vincent Van Gogh
3 - It Takes a Village / Pieter Breughel the Elder
4 - Maid of Honor / Velazquez
5 - Unhappy Couple about to Change Their Luck when Interrupted by Famous Painter and Forced to Pose for Eight Days Instead / DK
6 - DK/Spanish?

Cartophiliac said...

1. Hopper. Don't recall the title.

2. Van Gogh?

3. "A Day in the Life of Lilliput"

4. Vermeer?

5. n/a

6. dunno

Anonymous said...

1.Wyeth? "Susan in the Field" maybe Grant Wood--he was from Iowa.
2. This is definately Van Gogh, and if I were him I'd call it "Clouds, mountains, and meadows."
3. I'm gunna say Breugel. I don't know why--but that's what I'm going with. Let's call it "Amsterdam marketplace."
4. Degas. Obviously Degas. Call it "Me, Degas, with the Royals and their pet dog, Shasta."
5. "George and Martha a-hunting." by the early american painter, Grandma Moses. This was painted when she was much younger.
6. Rembrandt, in alittle number called "It's getting late, turn on that lamp, then we can get back to planning the Coup." very political was Rembrandt, and a fine purveor of toothpaste.

Anonymous said...

No... more... art history!!!

mhwitt said...

1. Christina's World
2. It's A Van Gogh Kind of Sky
3. Village Shoppers Search For the Perfect Monkey Puppet
4. Dolls are People Too
5. "Watch Me Shoot the Polish Off my Shoe Buckle."
6. Pantsless Dutch Lad Sits Astride Top Quality Saw Horse

Michael5000 said...

Awright, starting with the answers:

1. Andrew Wyeth, "Christina's World", 1948.
2. Vincent van Gogh, "Wheat Field and Cypress Trees", 1889.
3. Pieter Brueghel the Elder, "The Fight between Carnival and Lent", 1559.
4. Diego Velazquez, "Las Meninas" ("The Maids of Honor") (or, the way old-school book I used to choose the paintings calls it "Ladies in Waiting," but I believe that name is out of favor.), 1656.
5. Thomas Gainsborough, "Mr. and Mrs. Andrews" (Or "Robert Andrews and His Wife" in the old book.), 1750.
6. Caravaggio, "The Calling of St. Matthew, 1590s."

Michael5000 said...


When this topic came up in the rotation, I wondered if our resident art historians would happen to catch the Quiz this week. It looks as though L&TM5K Dork Gray/G was engrossed in her studies, but Becky took time out from entertaining visitors to knock this one out of the damn park. She's even got some kind of crazy alternative name for Caravaggio. I'll take her word for it.

I had decided in advance that at least one non-specialist should get an exclamation point too, and when the smoke cleared it was Mrs.5000 holding the prize.

Kudos to all of you for strong entries and for being willing to do your thinking out loud on a fairly brutal quiz.

Michael5000 said...

@Zane: Thanks for stopping by.

@fingers: Constable does paint a good cow....

@Becky: w00t!

@d: Did not suck.

@Nichim: "Trying to practice"! That's the spirit!!

@Rebel: You can't see the original "Christina's World" here in the Rose City, but you can -- and probably ought to -- go to the Lucky Lab at 11th-ish and Hawthorne and see the Christina's World mural. It really captures the mood and feeling of the painting, and is a pretty good likeness except for the added dog and pint of beer.

@Kate: I like the title "My GOODNESS those people are drunk" for the Brueghel. Hey, life in the 16C was tough, they knew how to live it up when the opportunity came. The new title does downplay the allegorical aspects of the painting, though....

The child on the right side stepping on the dog belongs to me... = heh, heh....

@Elizabeth: "She Likes My Big Gun" = funny.

@karma: "Pretty in Pink" = funny.

@MDIC: Aww... It's a learning opportunity!

@mhwitt: Glad you could sneak in a Monkey Puppet reference.

Anonymous said...

I missed it! I am sorry I did even though I only knew the Van Gogh.

They were great to see. There is something very appealing about great art right now. I think I will search all of these for a while.

Bridget said...

Sigh - I recognized almost all of these paintings (except for the one with the poor lady's feet all out of wack - I believe she's Mrs. Andrews) but couldn't get all the facts out . . . I knew Christina's World/One of the Wyeth Gang, and the Van Gogh, guessed Breughel (sp?) and Goya (missed Velasquez entirely), but forgot the names of the paintings and totally missed the artist on the last one. All of my art history teachers are rolling their collective eyes . . .