Monday, June 8, 2009

The Monday Quiz LXXVI

Art of the Eighteenth Century

Once more into the brutal reaches of Art History! As is the custom, you've got seven images this time -- more to work with, and more pretty pictures to look at. (Although, man, the European tradition really took a vacation during the 1700s -- ever noticed that?)

It is freely admitted that this is an almost impossibly difficult quiz.

For full marks, identify the painter (e.g. "Leonardo da Vinci"), or the title and the country ("It's the Mona Lisa, by one of those Italian guys.") Half marks for the right title without the right painter ("The Mona Lisa"). Half marks for the country and genre (It's a portrait by one of those Italian guys").

1.



2.

3.


4.


5.


6.


7.

Paint your answers in the comments.

20 comments:

Christine M. said...

!. Hmm, Gainsborough or Reynolds? Gainsborough, I think.
2. Canaletto
3. Jacques-Louis David
4. Benjamin West
5. Fragonard
6. Hmmm. Goya?
7. Hmmm. John Singleton Copley?

d said...

i only vaguely recognize one of these. my sub par education has failed me yet again.

1. american i'm gonna say
2. italian
3. italian - this is the one i vaguely recognize, but i can't remember anything specific about it.
4. american
5. french
6. dutch?
7. dutch

that's the best i can do.

Elaine said...

1. Watteau? English...?Hunter? and Shepherdess? god only knows.
2. La Giudecca. Italian? Venetian scene...Gondolas and all that colorful @#$%^&*
3. Hmmm. A Roman call to arms? Weeping women...someone being ordered to fall on his sword? this image is 2" on this laptop, but I doubt a bigger picture would help me.
Let's say the painter is French. Or British.
4. This looks like a scene in the New World--The Death of Someone...French and Indian War...Tsk. Geo Wash was a British officer in this conflict ..so I am guessing a British painter, or even a Colonial artist.
5. This is so fluffy that I am thinking Fragonard (French)..a Frolic in the Forest. It's too msall to be sure, but is someone looking up her skirt?
6. Hmmm Colonists erect a novel Homage to Something. Is it a flagpole? A Landmark of some kind? Claiming the site for King George? Can't make out any details, but I can't wait to find out.
7. Portrait of a young b oy with ?pet squirrel? Maybe by the Quaker artist Benjamin...oh, shoot...can't get the last name. Is this the young Audubon, planning how he will shoot all manner of American b irds in order to save them (at least on canvas)?

I think I'll get 0/7 on this one. And it's my birthday! Phooey.
Have some cake for me, guys. We will be home at the big computer tomorrow, I hope!

mrs.5000 said...

1 Ugh! You've had this one before, I'm sure. And of course I still have no idea. Lord and Lady Houndley on their Vast Estate. English portrait.
2 Canaletto! You can't say "canal" without Canaletto.
3 Yeah, yeah. One of them French painters of sweeping historical scenes.
4 Oh, this is, like, "The Death of General Cornwall" or something like that. By one of them American painters of sweeping current events. Let's say, um, Stuart.
5 "The Swing," by one of them frou-frou Frenchies. Watteau.
6 "The Coconuts," by some rummy French painter of quaint colonial scenes.
7 Copley! American, "Boy with Squirrel."

Nichim said...

I have never seen any of these paintings before. I like the one of the floating lady, and the one where the village all gets together to try to hold up the palm tree in a storm.

Rex Parker said...

"It's a Lovely Day I Think I'll Shoot My Wife" by Some English guy

"The Arno" by The Italian Stallion

The cover of a Corneille play I had to read in high school by some French guy

"The Swooning of George Washington (with Indian)" by some American guy

Girl on a Swing by French guy

"Shimmy" by some Dutchman

"My Pet Chipmunk" by Freakmaster Flash

rp

Elizabeth said...

1. "Practical Outfits for Hunting of ye Snark"

2. "The Convocation of the Gondoliers"

3. "No, stupid -you don't hold swords by the SHARP PARTS!"

4. "But ... but ... it's a WOMAN!"

5. "I see London, I see France ..."

6. "The Origin of Pointless Junior High PE Exercises"

7. "PT Barnum - The Early Years"

Dr. Kenneth Noisewater said...

The only one I know is #5: Horny guy points at girl's vagina while she enjoys herself on a swing.

Ben said...

There was once a time when, right after my Art History survey course in college, I could have actually ventured a guess on these. Those days are gone.

MulchMaid said...

2) Canaletto, Florence?
5) Fragonard, fluffy French countryside.

That's all I know these days.

boo said...

I'm going for partial credit at best.

1. American
2. Italian
3. Italian
4. British
5. French
6. French
7. English


Oy. I tell you my brain goes soft in spots when I do not come here enough.

Hey! That's a cute mouse.


See?

Unknown said...

1. American and the genre is well.. Genre
2. Italian landscape!
3. Titian
4. American, Historical
5. Fragonard
6. NO idea
7. American portrait

Fool for paper said...

1 ) no clue, but they do look as clueless as Goya’s royal family. I suspect this is a portrait by some English guy.
2) Canaletto? An Italian landscape – that looks like maybe San Marco on the left, something to do with Venice?
3) Oath of the Horati – David (some French Guy)
4) Mmm, Death of Somebody, set in the US by the look of the Native American gentleman on the left. Probably an English Historical painting
5) Maybe this is actually called The Swing, by Fragonard (some French guy)
6) Wow, I have never seen this before. Maybe French or Italian, but I can’t really tell.
7) French enlightenment portrait, don’t know the artist.

Thanks for this enjoyable survey – I’m looking forward to the answers!

balaywho said...

art history, yeah, that expensive college degree is going to pay off now for sure, or maybe not, where did you find some of these?

1. some priggish british couple by Thomas Gainsborough
2. someone trying to be Italian
3. some heroic epic painted by David
4. something about Lafayette, painted by some French dude
5. man looking up woman's skirt in the subtley tasteless manner of the Rococo painted by Fragonard
6. no idea, maybe someone dutch, and what is going on here anyway?
7. boy feeding mouse jewelery by Sir Joshua Reynolds

too many years have passed since art history class....

MJ said...

1. Gainsborough
2. Canaletto
3. ? Italian
4. ? French
5. ? English
6. ? German
7. ? English

Michael5000 said...

OK, I'm back! And here are the answers to MQLXXVI, "(Mostly) Good Paintings from Painting's Worst Century":

1. Gainsborough, Mr and Mrs Andrews
2. Canaletto, Grand Canal
3. David, The Oath of the Horatii
4. Benjamin West, The Death of General Wolfe
5. Fragonard, The Swing
6. Goya, The Greasy Pole
7. John Singleton Copley, The Boy with a Squirrel

Michael5000 said...


So, first of all, everyone must now bow down in homage to la gringissima, who can only be said to have thoroughly pwned this Quiz. One extra-shiney MQ Exclamation Point for her.

General kudos to everyone else who gave it a shot, and to Elaine and Mrs.5000 for showing their work. The other two EPs, though, are going to go to the two contestants who each identified three of the artists: Fool for Paper and Decathlon prowess competition winner Balaywho, who shows us this week that she's got brawn AND brain.

And, happy birthday Elaine.

And, I promise each and every one of you that we will never do 18th Century Art History again.

balaywho said...

How about 17th century next time??? or maybe some Gothic architecture? I'm still hoping that art history degree will pay off. I guess 4th runner up here is not too terrible shabby, but I'm hoping for maybe just one more big win. Greedy.

fingerstothebone said...

Didn't you already use that Gainsborough once before? Are you repeating yourself? There's been a lot of that going on around these parts...

Michael5000 said...

@balaywho: We already did the 17the Century, here. And you were actually first runner up, if that means "second," except there's really only one MQ prize so in that sense you were in a three-way tie for first.

@fingers: What parts would those be?