Question 1: It’s World Art Day and Leonardo da Vinci’s birthday. Which painting is by Leonardo?
- The Last Supper
- The Persistence of Memory
- Girl with a Pearl Earring
Answer: The Last Supper
Fact: Leonardo da Vinci, a genius of the High Renaissance, is celebrated for his exceptional contributions to art, science, and engineering. Among his most renowned masterpieces is The Last Supper, a mural that spans an entire wall of the dining hall in the convent of Santa Maria delle Grazie in Milan, Italy. This iconic work was commissioned by Ludovico Sforza, the Duke of Milan and Leonardo’s patron during that period.
Question 2: Which artist was a pioneer of the Cubism art movement?
- Jean-Michel Basquiat
- Andy Warhol
- Pablo Picasso
Answer: Pablo Picasso
Fact: Cubism, an avant-garde art movement that emerged in Paris in the early 20th century, was pioneered by Pablo Picasso and Georges Braque. It revolutionized artistic expression by moving away from realistic depictions and instead representing subjects through geometric shapes and multiple viewpoints simultaneously. Picasso’s Les Demoiselles d’Avignon, regarded as the first Cubist painting, is currently housed at the Museum of Modern Art in New York.
Question 3: The world’s most valuable stolen painting is …
- Van Gogh’s ‘Poppy Flowers’
- Vermeer’s ‘The Concert’
- Manet’s ‘Chez Tortoni’
Answer: Vermeer’s ‘The Concert’
Fact: Johannes Vermeer’s The Concert (circa 1664) depicts a man and two women playing music together in a cozy domestic interior, with Baburen’s The Procuress visible hanging on the back wall. In 1892, American art collector Isabella Stewart Gardner acquired the painting at a Paris auction for $5,000. Almost a hundred years later, in 1990, it was stolen from the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum. Its current location remains unknown, and the painting is now valued at approximately $250 million.