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Art and Design Quiz - The Surrealists (Questions)

This quiz addresses the requirements of the National Curriculum KS3 in Art and Design for children aged 11 to 14 in years 7 to 9. Specifically this quiz is aimed at the section dealing with understanding art movements and their influence on the world, and it focusses in particular on Surrealism and the Surrealist Movement.

In KS3 children will learn how to critically appraise historical works of art, as well as understand the influence ancient movements have had on art today.

Surrealism was possibly the defining art movement to take place between the two world wars. It was started by Andre Breton in around 1920 and came as a direct result of the influence of Dadaism. Dadaism was a form of anti-art that deliberately defied reason. Dadaism was also aimed at negative form and subject, whereas the Surrealist movement had as their main aim to be a more positive expressive art form.

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Initially Surrealism consisted of a series of journals and poetry but went on to include many different art forms including poetry and literature. It attempted to throw off the confinements of contemporary culture and looked to shock and rebuke the conventional notions of reality. The unconscious played a large role in Surrealist works and one of the main and recurring themes was to try to create images of such unconscious worlds and fuel them with the animal desire that lies in each of us.

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1. When did Surrealism begin?
[ ] The 1940s
[ ] The 1850s
[ ] The 1980s
[ ] The 1920s
2. A key artist in the movement, Salvador Dali, is best known for his work showing melting clocks in a surreal landscape. What is it called?
[ ] The Repetition of Time
[ ] The Unwinding of Clocks
[ ] The Occurrence of Thought
[ ] The Persistence of Memory
3. Which aspect of Sigmund Freud's work inspired the Surrealists?
[ ] Dream analysis
[ ] Word games
[ ] Ink blot interpretation
[ ] Grief therapy
4. Chirico's famous work, 'Le Mauvais Génie d’un Roi' is translated as what?
[ ] The Badness of Royalty
[ ] The Wicked Behaviour of a Prince
[ ] The Rudeness of the Queen
[ ] The Evil Genius of a King
5. What happened to Surrealism in the 1930s?
[ ] The infighting within the movement caused its collapse
[ ] The movement moved back towards a more traditional way of working
[ ] Surrealism reached a larger public audience than ever before
[ ] Most artists left the movement to pursue other careers
6. When and how was the term 'Surrealism' first used?
[ ] In 1927, to describe a painting
[ ] In 1903, in the preface to a play
[ ] In 1909, as the name of an exhibition
[ ] In 1901, as the title of a book
7. Another key Surrealist, Joan Miró, famously declared what?
[ ] A destruction of the establishment
[ ] A ruination of the academy
[ ] An overthrowing of the rule makers
[ ] An assassination of painting
8. What key event happened to Surrealism in 1924
[ ] The Surrealists looked to the Romantics for inspiration
[ ] The Surrealists adopted a more regulated style
[ ] The Surrealist movement split into two factions
[ ] The Surrealists held a special exhibition
9. Surrealist René Magritte challenged conceptions of reality. What was the subject of his painting entitled 'This is not a pipe'?
[ ] A cigarette
[ ] A matchstick
[ ] An ashtray
[ ] A pipe
10. A huge exhibition of Surrealism was held in Paris in 1938. What were visitors to the exhibition given?
[ ] A torch
[ ] A raincoat
[ ] A pocket watch
[ ] A paint brush
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Art and Design Quiz - The Surrealists (Answers)
1. When did Surrealism begin?
[ ] The 1940s
[ ] The 1850s
[ ] The 1980s
[x] The 1920s
Artists painted unnerving, illogical scenes with photographic precision, creating strange and unnerving worlds as they attempted to recreate the subconscious
2. A key artist in the movement, Salvador Dali, is best known for his work showing melting clocks in a surreal landscape. What is it called?
[ ] The Repetition of Time
[ ] The Unwinding of Clocks
[ ] The Occurrence of Thought
[x] The Persistence of Memory
The general interpretation of the work is that the soft watches are a rejection of the assumption that time is rigid
3. Which aspect of Sigmund Freud's work inspired the Surrealists?
[x] Dream analysis
[ ] Word games
[ ] Ink blot interpretation
[ ] Grief therapy
Freud's work with free association, dream analysis, and the unconscious was of utmost importance to the Surrealists in developing methods to free imagination
4. Chirico's famous work, 'Le Mauvais Génie d’un Roi' is translated as what?
[ ] The Badness of Royalty
[ ] The Wicked Behaviour of a Prince
[ ] The Rudeness of the Queen
[x] The Evil Genius of a King
Chirico founded the 'scuola metafisica' art movement, which profoundly influenced the Surrealists
5. What happened to Surrealism in the 1930s?
[ ] The infighting within the movement caused its collapse
[ ] The movement moved back towards a more traditional way of working
[x] Surrealism reached a larger public audience than ever before
[ ] Most artists left the movement to pursue other careers
A British Surrealist group emerged in Britain and Surrealist leaders saw this era as the pinnacle of the movement
6. When and how was the term 'Surrealism' first used?
[ ] In 1927, to describe a painting
[x] In 1903, in the preface to a play
[ ] In 1909, as the name of an exhibition
[ ] In 1901, as the title of a book
'The Breasts of Tiresias' (Les mamelles de Tirésias) is a surrealist play by Guillaume Apollinaire. He used the term in his preface to the play
7. Another key Surrealist, Joan Miró, famously declared what?
[ ] A destruction of the establishment
[ ] A ruination of the academy
[ ] An overthrowing of the rule makers
[x] An assassination of painting
He favoured a completely renegade style, which did not adhere to any conventions of the time
8. What key event happened to Surrealism in 1924
[ ] The Surrealists looked to the Romantics for inspiration
[ ] The Surrealists adopted a more regulated style
[x] The Surrealist movement split into two factions
[ ] The Surrealists held a special exhibition
The two leaders of the factions clashed regularly, sometimes physically fighting over their right to be called Surrealists
9. Surrealist René Magritte challenged conceptions of reality. What was the subject of his painting entitled 'This is not a pipe'?
[ ] A cigarette
[ ] A matchstick
[ ] An ashtray
[x] A pipe
He wanted people to look at his work and think, 'What does that mean?'
10. A huge exhibition of Surrealism was held in Paris in 1938. What were visitors to the exhibition given?
[x] A torch
[ ] A raincoat
[ ] A pocket watch
[ ] A paint brush
The Surrealists wanted to create an exhibition which in itself would be a creative act
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