Arts Quiz – Printable Version
20 multiple-choice questions with an explained answer key, ready to print.
Print the sheet (or save it as a PDF from the print window), hand it out, then mark it together using the answer page: every answer is explained. Perfect for a party, a birthday, a classroom, a care home or a team activity.
Name: ………………………………Score: ……… / 20
- In which city is the Prado Museum located?
- A. Barcelona
- B. Lisbon
- C. Seville
- D. Madrid
- Who sculpted the marble David displayed in Florence?
- A. Michelangelo
- B. Donatello
- C. Bernini
- D. Cellini
- Who painted the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel?
- A. Raphael
- B. Michelangelo
- C. Leonardo da Vinci
- D. Botticelli
- Which Mexican artist is known for her colourful self-portraits?
- A. Remedios Varo
- B. Frida Kahlo
- C. María Izquierdo
- D. Leonora Carrington
- Which artistic technique uses melted coloured wax?
- A. Silkscreen
- B. Lithography
- C. Tempera
- D. Encaustic
- Which Dutch painter is known for his depictions of indoor light?
- A. Jan Steen
- B. Johannes Vermeer
- C. Frans Hals
- D. Pieter de Hooch
- Which architectural style is characterised by pointed arches and stained glass windows?
- A. Romanesque
- B. Gothic
- C. Renaissance
- D. Baroque
- Which British artist is known for his shark preserved in formaldehyde?
- A. Gilbert & George
- B. Damien Hirst
- C. Tracey Emin
- D. Banksy
- Which movement is associated with Kandinsky, Klee, and Mondrian?
- A. Expressionism
- B. Surrealism
- C. Constructivism
- D. Abstract art
- Who painted the fresco 'The School of Athens'?
- A. Michelangelo
- B. Botticelli
- C. Raphael
- D. Leonardo da Vinci
- Which artistic movement uses salvaged materials?
- A. Fluxus
- B. Arte Povera
- C. Happening
- D. Land Art
- Which Dutch artist is known for his optical illusions and impossible figures?
- A. Karel Appel
- B. Theo van Doesburg
- C. M.C. Escher
- D. Piet Mondrian
- Which painting technique uses pigments bound with egg yolk?
- A. Egg encaustic
- B. Egg tempera
- C. Egg fresco
- D. Egg gouache
- Who painted 'The Raft of the Medusa'?
- A. Théodore Géricault
- B. Gustave Courbet
- C. Eugène Delacroix
- D. Jacques-Louis David
- What is the term for the representation of the male nude in Greek art?
- A. Apollo
- B. Kouros
- C. Hermes
- D. Ephebe
- What term refers to the art of embroidery on silk practised in China?
- A. Batik
- B. Silk embroidery
- C. Origami
- D. Sumi-e
- Which artist is known for his giant spider sculptures?
- A. Annette Messager
- B. Jean Tinguely
- C. Louise Bourgeois
- D. Niki de Saint Phalle
- Which artistic movement developed in Weimar, Germany, in the early 1920s?
- A. De Stijl
- B. Constructivism
- C. Suprematism
- D. Bauhaus
- Which artist is known for her illuminated texts displayed on LED panels and buildings?
- A. Jenny Holzer
- B. Cindy Sherman
- C. Marina Abramović
- D. Barbara Kruger
- Which Dutch painter is celebrated for his ice-skating scenes?
- A. Jan Steen
- B. Pieter Bruegel the Elder
- C. Hendrick Avercamp
- D. Hieronymus Bosch
Answer key — Arts Quiz
- D. MadridThe Prado Museum, founded in 1819, is located in Madrid. It houses one of the greatest collections of European painting, with works by Velázquez, Goya, and Rubens.
- A. MichelangeloMichelangelo's David, a masterpiece of the Renaissance, was sculpted between 1501 and 1504.
- B. MichelangeloMichelangelo painted the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel between 1508 and 1512, at the request of Pope Julius II.
- B. Frida KahloFrida Kahlo (1907–1954) produced 55 self-portraits out of 143 paintings.
- D. EncausticEncaustic is a painting technique using pigments mixed with heated beeswax.
- B. Johannes VermeerJohannes Vermeer (1632–1675) is celebrated for his interior scenes bathed in soft, diffused light.
- B. GothicGothic architecture, born in France in the 12th century, is characterised by the pointed arch, ribbed vaulting, flying buttresses, and large stained glass windows.
- B. Damien Hirst'The Physical Impossibility of Death in the Mind of Someone Living' (1991) by Damien Hirst features a large tiger shark preserved in a tank of formaldehyde.
- D. Abstract artWassily Kandinsky, Paul Klee, and Piet Mondrian are pioneers of abstract art, which abandons figurative representation of the real world.
- C. RaphaelThe School of Athens is a fresco by Raphael painted between 1508 and 1512 in the Raphael Rooms at the Vatican.
- B. Arte PoveraArte Povera (poor art) is an Italian artistic movement born in the 1960s, characterised by the use of raw or reclaimed materials: wood, stones, plants, sand.
- C. M.C. EscherMaurits Cornelis Escher (1898–1972) is celebrated for his lithographs featuring optical illusions, impossible spaces, and tessellations.
- B. Egg temperaEgg tempera, used before oil painting became widespread, uses egg yolk as a binder.
- A. Théodore Géricault'The Raft of the Medusa' (1819) by Théodore Géricault depicts the wreck of the frigate Méduse in 1816.
- B. KourosA kouros (plural: kouroi) is an Archaic Greek statue of a standing nude young man, arms at his sides and left foot slightly forward.
- B. Silk embroiderySilk embroidery is a centuries-old Chinese textile art, with techniques such as Suzhou, Hunan, Sichuan, and Guangdong embroidery, all inscribed on UNESCO's Intangible Cultural Heritage list.
- C. Louise BourgeoisLouise Bourgeois (1911–2010) is celebrated for her 'Maman' sculptures, gigantic bronze and stainless steel spiders symbolising her mother.
- D. BauhausThe Bauhaus (1919–1933) was a school of art and design founded in Weimar by Walter Gropius.
- A. Jenny HolzerJenny Holzer is an American artist known for her 'Truisms', striking phrases displayed on LED panels, buildings, and in public spaces.
- C. Hendrick AvercampHendrick Avercamp (1585–1634) was a Dutch painter who specialised in lively winter scenes, depicting skaters and horse-drawn sledges on frozen canals.