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Art Quiz - Galleries - Louvre and Guggenheim (Questions)

The Louvre is probably the most famous of all art galleries in the world - whilst the Guggenheim is the most widespread. Between them they house some of the finest art from Ancient Egypt to the present day.

The Louvre, in Paris, was originally a fortress, built in the 12th century. It was converted into a royal residence 400 years later and was decorated with many great artworks such as The Mona Lisa.

Following the French Revolution the Louvre became a museum, opening its doors in 1793. Over the following centuries its collection has grown, helped in part by the conquests of Napoleon.

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It has many collections devoted to antiquities from different areas (for example Islamic Art) and others to differing arenas, such as sculpture, decorative arts, painting, prints and drawings.

The Solomon R Guggenheim Foundation was set up in 1937 by the philanthropist with whom it shares its name. Its mission is to "promote the understanding and appreciation of art, architecture, and other manifestations of visual culture, primarily of the modern and contemporary periods".

The oldest museum established by the foundation is the Solomon R Guggenheim Museum in New York, which opened in 1939. Others followed in Venice, Manhattan, Bilbao, Las Vegas, Mexico, Berlin and Lithuania. Sadly, only three of these remain open today (New York, Venice and Bilbao) though others are planned for Abu Dhabi and Helsinki.

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For a closer look at the pictures, please click on them to expand.
1. On display in the Louvre and dating from Greece around 550 BC, the Rampin Rider is of an unknown figure. Which of the 3 answers below has not been suggested by scholars as its possible identity?
[ ] The Greek hero Castor
[ ] The winner of a race
[ ] The Greek hero Polydeuces
[ ] King Aegeus of Athens
2. This is an example of a Fayum portrait, dating back to the first century AD in Roman occupied Egypt. What was the purpose of Fayum portraits?
[ ] To mark the birth of a child
[ ] As a gift for a bride
[ ] To cover the face of a mummy
[ ] As a curtain for windows
3. Painted by Anthony van Dyck circa 1635, Le Roi à la chasse shows which English king at the hunt?
[ ] James II
[ ] Charles II
[ ] James I
[ ] Charles I
4. The Lacemaker was painted around 1670 by which Dutch artist?
[ ] Johannes Vermeer
[ ] Rembrandt
[ ] Jansz Vermin
[ ] Salomon Rombouts
5. Rightly housed in the Louvre in Paris, this painting commemorates the revolution of 1830 which overthrew King Charles X of France. What is its name?
[ ] Liberty Leading the People
[ ] The July Revolution
[ ] Liberty, Equality, Fraternity
[ ] The Second Revolution
6. The Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, Spain, is a work of modern art in itself. It was designed by which Canadian architect?
[ ] William Shatner
[ ] Étienne Gaboury
[ ] Albert Schultz
[ ] Frank Gehry
7. Painted by German artist Franz Marc in 1911, what is the name of this expressionist painting?
[ ] Joy of Nature
[ ] Bucking Bull
[ ] The Yellow Cow
[ ] Happy Heifer
8. This painting in the Guggenheim New York is by the Dutch artist Theo van Doesburg. Van Doesburg is perhaps most famous for founding the artistic movement De Stijl. What does De Stijl mean in English?
[ ] Fence
[ ] Style
[ ] Gate
[ ] Door
9. In 1998 the surfaces inside the rotunda of the New York Guggenheim Museum were covered with polished stainless steel as a backdrop for which exhibition?
[ ] The Art of the Kitchen
[ ] The Art of the Motorcycle
[ ] The Art of the Mirror
[ ] The Art of the Future
10. This 1867 painting The Hermitage at Pontoise is on display at the New York Guggenheim Museum. It was created by which Danish-French Neo-impressionist?
[ ] Camille Pissarro
[ ] Pablo Picasso
[ ] Paul Cézanne
[ ] Hercule Poirot

 

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Art Quiz - Galleries - Louvre and Guggenheim (Answers)
1. On display in the Louvre and dating from Greece around 550 BC, the Rampin Rider is of an unknown figure. Which of the 3 answers below has not been suggested by scholars as its possible identity?
[ ] The Greek hero Castor
[ ] The winner of a race
[ ] The Greek hero Polydeuces
[x] King Aegeus of Athens
It has been suggested that the statue was one of a pair depicting the twin brothers Castor and Polydeuces. The crown of lovage on the statue's head however, supports the theory that it represents the victor in a race. No scholar has (thus far) suggested that it is an image of King Aegeus.
This statue, and many others, were smashed by the Persian army when it sacked Athens in 480 BC. It was not put back together until 1936
2. This is an example of a Fayum portrait, dating back to the first century AD in Roman occupied Egypt. What was the purpose of Fayum portraits?
[ ] To mark the birth of a child
[ ] As a gift for a bride
[x] To cover the face of a mummy
[ ] As a curtain for windows
The portraits, depictions of the newly deceased, were used to cover the faces of mummies after burial. Approximately 900 Fayum portraits are known, most discovered at the necropoleis of Faiyum after which they are named. The dry Egyptian climate has helped to preserve these ancient paintings and the bright colours on some of them can still be seen
3. Painted by Anthony van Dyck circa 1635, Le Roi à la chasse shows which English king at the hunt?
[ ] James II
[ ] Charles II
[ ] James I
[x] Charles I
Van Dyck spent three years as Charles' 'Principal Painter in Ordinary', and he painted two more portraits of the king during that time.
Charles paid van Dyck £100 for the painting in 1638 but it is not mentioned amongst his belongings after his execution following the English Civil War in 1649. In 1775 the painting was bought by Louis XVI of France who was, ironically, also executed 16 years later after the French Revolution. Two kings who were killed by their own people - perhaps the painting is unlucky!
4. The Lacemaker was painted around 1670 by which Dutch artist?
[x] Johannes Vermeer
[ ] Rembrandt
[ ] Jansz Vermin
[ ] Salomon Rombouts
Vermeer specialised in homely scenes of middle class life. He was not very successful during his life time and his family were left in debt after he died. Since then however, he has become recognised as one of the best Dutch painters of his time
5. Rightly housed in the Louvre in Paris, this painting commemorates the revolution of 1830 which overthrew King Charles X of France. What is its name?
[x] Liberty Leading the People
[ ] The July Revolution
[ ] Liberty, Equality, Fraternity
[ ] The Second Revolution
The French monarchy, abolished in the 18th century revolution, had been reinstalled following Napoleon's defeat. A second revolution took place in 1830 and it is depicted in this painting by Eugène Delacroix in which Liberty, bearing the Tricolour of the French Revolution in one hand and a gun in the other, leads the people over the bodies of the dead
6. The Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, Spain, is a work of modern art in itself. It was designed by which Canadian architect?
[ ] William Shatner
[ ] Étienne Gaboury
[ ] Albert Schultz
[x] Frank Gehry
The museum was established in 1997 and has around 1 million visitors a year. It was voted in a 2010 survey on world architecture as one of the most important buildings to be erected since 1980.
Because of their outstanding design, many of Gehry's buildings have become tourist attractions, including his own home!
7. Painted by German artist Franz Marc in 1911, what is the name of this expressionist painting?
[ ] Joy of Nature
[ ] Bucking Bull
[x] The Yellow Cow
[ ] Happy Heifer
A founding member of the German art movement Der Blaue Reiter, Marc had a love of nature - and animals in particular, saying: "“People with their lack of piety, especially men, never touched my true feelings, but animals with their virginal sense of life awakened all that was good in me”.
Marc enlisted in the German army at the outbreak of the First World War and he was killed in action in 1916, aged only 36
8. This painting in the Guggenheim New York is by the Dutch artist Theo van Doesburg. Van Doesburg is perhaps most famous for founding the artistic movement De Stijl. What does De Stijl mean in English?
[ ] Fence
[x] Style
[ ] Gate
[ ] Door
The De Stijl was made up of artists and architects from the Netherlands and is also known as Neoplasticism.
The movement promoted an abstract and simplified style. Works were created using only the vertical and horizontal directions, and using only black, white and the primary colours
9. In 1998 the surfaces inside the rotunda of the New York Guggenheim Museum were covered with polished stainless steel as a backdrop for which exhibition?
[ ] The Art of the Kitchen
[x] The Art of the Motorcycle
[ ] The Art of the Mirror
[ ] The Art of the Future
The 3 month exhibition presented 114 motorcycles chosen for either their artistic design or their historic importance.
Large crowds were attracted to the museum by the exhibition but critics gave mixed reviews, with some saying that it was excessively populist and that the Guggenheim's reputation had suffered
10. This 1867 painting The Hermitage at Pontoise is on display at the New York Guggenheim Museum. It was created by which Danish-French Neo-impressionist?
[x] Camille Pissarro
[ ] Pablo Picasso
[ ] Paul Cézanne
[ ] Hercule Poirot
Pissarro, whose own work is influenced by pioneers such as Courbet, was the pivotal figure in a group of younger artists. Renoir said his work was revolutionary, Gauguin studied under him and Cézanne likened him to a father