Art Quizzes on Galleries like the British Museum and Tate Modern

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Art Quiz - Galleries - British Museum and Tate Modern (Questions)

Discover two iconic London venues, the British Museum and Tate Modern. Explore what each one collects, how exhibitions work, and why these spaces shape how we experience art.

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Fascinating Fact

The British Museum collection totals at least 8 million objects. Roughly 80,000 objects are on public display at any one time.

The British Museum and Tate Modern are both major cultural institutions, but they focus on different kinds of collections. The British Museum is known for historical objects from many cultures, while Tate Modern focuses on modern and contemporary art, often through themed exhibitions.

Key Terms

Artefact: An object made or used by people in the past, often studied to learn about history and culture.
Exhibition: A planned display of objects or artworks, usually organised around a theme, time period, or artist.
Contemporary art: Art made in recent times, which may use new materials, ideas, or unusual ways of working.

Frequently Asked Questions (Click to see answers)

What is the British Museum famous for?

The British Museum is famous for its wide-ranging collection of historical objects from many parts of the world, including artefacts that help explain ancient civilisations and human history.

What is Tate Modern and what kind of art is there?

Tate Modern is a London gallery known for modern and contemporary art, including paintings, sculptures, photography, and installations that explore new styles and ideas.

Why don’t museums display everything they own at once?

Museums can only display a small proportion of their collections because space is limited, some objects need careful protection, and exhibitions change so visitors can see different items over time.

Try These Related Quizzes

For a closer look at the pictures, please click on them to expand.

On display in the British Museum, this sculpture in red granite is thought to date back to 1370 BC. Which country is it from?

[ ]	Egypt
[ ]	Mexico
[ ]	Greece
[ ]	China

This panel which is made from glazed bricks was made in Babylon circa 580 BC during the reign of which biblical king?

[ ]	Xerxes
[ ]	David
[ ]	Nebuchadnezzar II
[ ]	Solomon

Housed in the Department of Prints and Drawings at the British Museum, Portrait of a Young Woman is one of the few surviving drawings by which 15th century Flemish painter?

[ ]	Percy van der Lecht
[ ]	David van Day
[ ]	Hugo van der Bilt
[ ]	Rogier van der Weyden

This mosaic was created in Roman occupied Britain in the early part of the 4th century AD. Who is the character in the centre of the picture?

[ ]	Hercules
[ ]	Jesus Christ
[ ]	Apollo
[ ]	Jupiter

This statue of a Lama was created in Tibet in the 19th century. Of what material is it made?

[ ]	Cedar wood
[ ]	Bronze
[ ]	Oak
[ ]	Papier-mâché

This is one of a series of nudes laid on an iron bedstead which Walter Richard Sickert painted between 1903 - 1910. This particular painting, La Hollandaise, is called what in English?

[ ]	The Netherlands
[ ]	Prawn Cocktail
[ ]	The Dutch Girl
[ ]	Some Sauce

Painted in 1935 by Paul Klee, Walpurgis Night depicts the night on which witches were said to gather to ward off evil spirits. On what day of the year was Walpurgis Night?

[ ]	On the 31st of December
[ ]	On the 30th of April
[ ]	On the 21st of June
[ ]	On the 30th of October

A Favourite Custom painted in 1909 by Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadema, is set in the baths of which ancient city?

[ ]	Pompeii
[ ]	Athens
[ ]	Rome
[ ]	Sparta

This 1970 sculpture, Oval with Points, is by which artist who has two permanent galleries in the Tate Britain dedicated to his work?

[ ]	J S Lowry
[ ]	Donatello
[ ]	Henry Moore
[ ]	Rodin

10.

In this 1934 piece by Robert Delaunay, discs are shown - each of which joins on to the next. What is the title of the piece?

[ ]	Endless Rhythm
[ ]	On and on and on
[ ]	Circles of Time
[ ]	Round and Round and Round

Art Quiz - Galleries - British Museum and Tate Modern (Answers)

On display in the British Museum, this sculpture in red granite is thought to date back to 1370 BC. Which country is it from?

[x]	Egypt
[ ]	Mexico
[ ]	Greece
[ ]	China

The statue is just one of a number erected by the pharaoh Amenhotep III. The quality of the sculpture is amazing given its age - although only this head and one arm remain. The rest was long since lost

This panel which is made from glazed bricks was made in Babylon circa 580 BC during the reign of which biblical king?

[ ]	Xerxes
[ ]	David
[x]	Nebuchadnezzar II
[ ]	Solomon

Nebuchadnezzar, who conquered Jerusalem, had a penchant for great artistic designs. It was he who had the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, constructed.

Housed in the Department of Prints and Drawings at the British Museum, Portrait of a Young Woman is one of the few surviving drawings by which 15th century Flemish painter?

[ ]	Percy van der Lecht
[ ]	David van Day
[ ]	Hugo van der Bilt
[x]	Rogier van der Weyden

Sadly, little is known about Rogier van der Weyden, although he was a respected artist in his life time. Many of his paintings survive, but very few drawings. This drawing was, presumably, a preliminary study for a later painting

This mosaic was created in Roman occupied Britain in the early part of the 4th century AD. Who is the character in the centre of the picture?

[ ]	Hercules
[x]	Jesus Christ
[ ]	Apollo
[ ]	Jupiter

This mosaic was made at the time when the pagan Roman Empire was converting to Christianity. It was a period when the two faiths mingled, and this is seen in the art of the time. A second mosaic built in the same building shows the pagan Greco-Roman hero Bellerophon, killing the mythological monster Chimera

This statue of a Lama was created in Tibet in the 19th century. Of what material is it made?

[ ]	Cedar wood
[ ]	Bronze
[ ]	Oak
[x]	Papier-mâché

The figure is shaped from Papier-mâché which has then been painted and varnished. Papier-mâché has been used as a cheaper alternative to plaster for a long time, and there are many artworks created from it

This is one of a series of nudes laid on an iron bedstead which Walter Richard Sickert painted between 1903 - 1910. This particular painting, La Hollandaise, is called what in English?

[ ]	The Netherlands
[ ]	Prawn Cocktail
[x]	The Dutch Girl
[ ]	Some Sauce

This is just one of many which Sickert painted on a similar theme. All are of working class women and the iron bed stead is symbolic of his subjects; functional and hard-wearing, but unrefined

Painted in 1935 by Paul Klee, Walpurgis Night depicts the night on which witches were said to gather to ward off evil spirits. On what day of the year was Walpurgis Night?

[ ]	On the 31st of December
[x]	On the 30th of April
[ ]	On the 21st of June
[ ]	On the 30th of October

Walpurgis Night marks the end of winter and the beginning of spring. It falls on the eve of May Day.
Klee's works took on a dark element towards the end of his life. He was forced to flee Nazi Germany in 1933 and many of his works were taken from German museums.
He died in Switzerland in 1940

A Favourite Custom painted in 1909 by Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadema, is set in the baths of which ancient city?

[x]	Pompeii
[ ]	Athens
[ ]	Rome
[ ]	Sparta

The Dutch artist Alma-Tadema became successful in Britain with scenes like this of the ancient Roman world. His works were properly researched for accuracy. This picture is based on photographs of the remains of the baths which had been uncovered by archaeologists in 1824.
It is currently on display at Tate Britain