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Art History Trivia
Uncover fascinating art history secrets that will blow your mind! From Renaissance masterpieces to modern provocations - discover the shocking stories behind the world's most iconic artworks.
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Questions (150 of 150)
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What 1936 photograph by Dorothea Lange became the iconic image of the Great Depression?
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Which color theory primary colors are used in painting (as opposed to light)?
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Which artist is famous for painting melting clocks in 'The Persistence of Memory'?
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What painting by Jan van Eyck, completed in 1434, shows a couple in a domestic interior and is famous for its convex mirror?
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Which British artist is known for preserving animals in formaldehyde, including a shark titled 'The Physical Impossibility of Death in the Mind of Someone Living'?
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Which Renaissance artist painted 'The School of Athens' in the Vatican?
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Which artist painted the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel's 'The Last Judgment' on the altar wall?
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Which Chinese dissident artist created the installation 'Sunflower Seeds' (2010), filling the Tate Modern's Turbine Hall with 100 million porcelain seeds?
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Which 19th-century English art group sought to return to the detail and color of pre-Raphael Italian art?
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What is the name of the 11th-century embroidered cloth, nearly 70 meters long, that depicts the Norman Conquest of England?
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What art movement was launched by Filippo Tommaso Marinetti's 1909 manifesto celebrating speed and modernity?
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Which 15th-century invention revolutionized art by allowing the mass production of prints?
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What is the art of beautiful handwriting called?
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What nationality was the painter Frida Kahlo?
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Which French sculptor created the Statue of Liberty?
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Which painter created the iconic image of a soup can as fine art?
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In which city is the Louvre Museum located?
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Which artist created the bronze sculpture 'The Thinker'?
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What type of paint uses egg yolk as a binder, common in early Renaissance art?
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What term describes art that does not attempt to represent external reality?
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Which Renaissance sculptor created the bronze doors of the Florence Baptistery, called the 'Gates of Paradise'?
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Which ancient Greek sculptor created the original bronze statue of Zeus or Poseidon at Artemision, circa 460 BC?
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Which art movement, meaning 'wild beasts' in French, was led by Henri Matisse around 1905?
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What 1863 painting by รdouard Manet caused a scandal for depicting a nude woman picnicking with clothed men?
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What painting by Piet Mondrian, with its grid of black lines and primary colors, exemplifies De Stijl principles?
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What was the name of the 1913 New York exhibition that introduced Americans to European modern art?
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What was the original medium of Vermeer's 'Girl with a Pearl Earring', measuring roughly 44.5 ร 39 cm?
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What term describes the Japanese art of repairing broken pottery with gold, celebrating imperfection?
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Which 20th-century artist wrapped buildings and landscapes in fabric as large-scale installations?
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What 1923 readymade by Man Ray consists of an iron with brass tacks glued to its flat surface?
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What painting technique did Leonardo da Vinci use to create soft, hazy transitions between colors?
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What is the name of the German art school founded by Walter Gropius in 1919 that merged fine art and design?
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Which Chinese dynasty (960โ1279) is considered the golden age of landscape painting?
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Which Mexican artist was married to Diego Rivera and known for her self-portraits?
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What painting by Leonardo da Vinci depicts the final meal of Jesus with his apostles?
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What massive earthwork sculpture, built in 1970 on the Great Salt Lake, is by Robert Smithson?
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What art movement did Andy Warhol help pioneer in the 1960s?
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What technique involves scratching through a layer of wet plaster or slip to reveal a contrasting color beneath?
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Which Italian Mannerist painter created the elongated figures in 'Madonna with the Long Neck' (1534โ1540)?
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Which ornate art style flourished in 17th-century Europe with dramatic emotion and grandeur?
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Which Renaissance treatise, written by Leon Battista Alberti in 1435, codified the rules of linear perspective?
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What 1917 readymade by Marcel Duchamp, a urinal signed 'R. Mutt', challenged the definition of art?
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What is the largest museum in the world by gallery space?
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What is the name of the medieval Irish manuscript, created around 800 AD, considered a masterpiece of Western calligraphy?
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What is the painting technique where small dots of color are applied to form an image?
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What term refers to the revival of classical Greek and Roman styles in 18th-century European art?
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What is the term for a self-portrait in art?
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What is the term for a painting of inanimate objects such as fruit, flowers, or household items?
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What 19th-century realist painter depicted rural French laborers in works like 'The Gleaners' (1857)?
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What Pablo Picasso painting, created in response to the bombing of a Spanish town in 1937, is an anti-war icon?
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Which post-Impressionist painter is known for vibrant depictions of Tahiti?
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What museum in New York City is known by the abbreviation MoMA?
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Which 15th-century Netherlandish painter created the 'Portinari Altarpiece', which profoundly influenced Florentine art when it arrived in 1483?
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What is the name of the huge ancient Roman amphitheater used for gladiatorial contests?
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What type of art involves cutting and pasting various materials onto a surface?
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What technique did Georges de La Tour use extensively, featuring a single candle as the only light source?
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Which famous London museum houses an extensive collection of art and antiquities, including the Rosetta Stone?
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What 1863 Salon des Refusรฉs painting by James McNeill Whistler is better known by its subtitle 'The White Girl'?
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What name is given to the ornate, playful 18th-century art style that originated in France?
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What is the name of Kazimir Malevich's art movement, based on pure geometric forms and 'the supremacy of pure feeling'?
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What famous armless and headless Greek sculpture stands in the Louvre and depicts Nike?
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In what year did Leonardo da Vinci begin painting the Mona Lisa?
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What is the term for a painting done directly on wet plaster?
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What is the name of the technique where thin layers of transparent paint are applied over dried layers to create luminous depth?
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What early 20th-century movement, born in Zurich during World War I, embraced absurdity and anti-art?
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Which Dutch Golden Age artist painted 'The Night Watch' in 1642?
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Which Russian artist painted 'Black Square' in 1915, considered a landmark of geometric abstraction?
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Which movement in 1960s America featured simple geometric forms and rejected emotional expression?
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Which ancient civilization built the Great Sphinx of Giza?
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Which wealthy Italian family were the most famous patrons of Renaissance art in Florence?
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Which Impressionist artist is famous for painting ballet dancers?
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What controversial 1999 artwork by Tracey Emin, displayed at the Tate Gallery, was her actual unmade bed?
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What controversial painting by Chris Ofili, using elephant dung, sparked outrage at the 1999 Brooklyn Museum 'Sensation' exhibition?
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What movement is characterized by geometric shapes and multiple perspectives, pioneered by Picasso and Braque?
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In what year was the Mona Lisa stolen from the Louvre by Vincenzo Peruggia?
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What material is the sculpture David by Michelangelo carved from?
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Which female Baroque painter became famous for her powerful depictions of biblical heroines like Judith?
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Which art movement, active in 1940sโ1950s New York, featured large-scale canvases and gestural brushwork?
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Which famous sculpture depicts a woman with no arms and is displayed in the Louvre?
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Which ceiling did Michelangelo famously paint between 1508 and 1512?
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Which Florentine architect designed the dome of the Florence Cathedral, completed in 1436, the largest brick dome ever built?
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Which 16th-century artist wrote 'Lives of the Most Excellent Painters, Sculptors, and Architects', the first major art history text?
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What process, invented in France in 1798, allows printing from a flat stone surface using the repulsion of oil and water?
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Which 16th-century Venetian painter created the massive 'Paradise' (1588โ1594), one of the largest canvas paintings ever made?
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Which American artist created 'Erased de Kooning Drawing' in 1953 by literally erasing a Willem de Kooning work?
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What pigment, accidentally created in a Berlin laboratory around 1706, was the first modern synthetic blue?
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Which 14th-century painter is often called the 'father of Western painting' for breaking from Byzantine flatness?
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What record-breaking price did Leonardo da Vinci's 'Salvator Mundi' fetch at Christie's in November 2017?
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Which Dutch master painted 'Girl with a Pearl Earring'?
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Which artist created mobile sculptures โ hanging kinetic works that move with air currents?
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What is the name of the prehistoric cave paintings discovered in southern France in 1940?
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Which Russian artist is credited with creating the first purely abstract painting around 1910?
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Which French Romantic painter created 'Liberty Leading the People' in 1830?
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What Gothic architectural feature uses flying supports to allow taller walls with larger windows?
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Which early Renaissance painter is credited with pioneering linear perspective in his 1427 fresco 'The Holy Trinity'?
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Which Spanish artist painted 'Las Meninas' in 1656?
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Which art movement of the 1920s and 1930s explored dreams and the unconscious mind?
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Which Flemish artist painted elaborate garden scenes of earthly temptation in 'The Garden of Earthly Delights'?
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Which Pop artist created the comic-strip-inspired painting 'Whaam!' in 1963?
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What 1893 painting by Edvard Munch depicts a figure on a bridge with an agonized expression?
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What painting by Thรฉodore Gรฉricault, depicting a maritime disaster, shocked the 1819 Paris Salon?
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What 1961 painting by Henri Matisse hung upside down at MoMA for 47 days before anyone noticed?
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Which Impressionist painter is known for his series of water lily paintings at Giverny?
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Which artist's 'Blue Period' (1901โ1904) featured somber paintings of poverty and isolation?
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Which Abstract Expressionist's painting 'Woman I' (1950โ1952) shocked audiences with its aggressive brushwork and distorted female figure?
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Which artist painted 'The Birth of Venus', showing a goddess emerging from the sea?
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Which artist is famous for drip painting and is a key figure in Abstract Expressionism?
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Which French painter's 1866 work 'The Origin of the World' was considered too explicit for public display for over a century?
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Which Japanese art form involves the arranging of flowers?
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Which early 20th-century photographer co-founded Gallery 291 in New York and championed photography as fine art?
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What was the name of the first major public art museum, opened in the Luxembourg Palace in Paris in 1750?
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Which architect designed the spiraling titanium-clad Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, Spain, opened in 1997?
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Which Post-Impressionist painter worked in isolation in Aix-en-Provence and is often called the 'father of modern art'?
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Which ancient city in modern-day Jordan features elaborate rock-cut architecture and is called the 'Rose City'?
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What is the name of the oldest known cave paintings, found in Sulawesi, Indonesia, dated to at least 45,500 years ago?
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Which Byzantine mosaic technique uses tiny pieces of glass set at varying angles to catch light?
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Which 20th-century art movement, associated with Sol LeWitt and Joseph Kosuth, prioritized the idea over the physical artwork?
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Which sculptor created 'Bird in Space', a sleek bronze abstraction that caused a 1928 customs dispute?
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What 1907 painting by Picasso is considered a proto-Cubist masterpiece depicting five women?
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Which Mughal emperor commissioned the construction of the Taj Mahal, completed around 1653?
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What pigment, made from ground lapis lazuli, was more expensive than gold during the Renaissance and reserved for painting the Virgin Mary's robes?
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What is the name of the famous painting by Grant Wood showing a farmer and woman with a pitchfork?
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Which Mexican muralist painted epic scenes of workers and revolution on public walls throughout Mexico?
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Which Venetian painter was known as Titian and was the greatest colorist of the Renaissance?
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What is the Italian word for the technique of using strong contrasts between light and dark in painting?
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Which German Expressionist group, founded in Dresden in 1905, included Ernst Ludwig Kirchner and Karl Schmidt-Rottluff?
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Which architect designed the Guggenheim Museum in New York City, opened in 1959?
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Which Tang dynasty Chinese painter is considered the 'Sage of Painting' and was known for his Buddhist murals?
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What ancient Egyptian bust, discovered in 1912, is one of the most iconic works of ancient art?
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Which Italian Baroque painter was known for his dramatic use of tenebrism and was convicted of murder in 1606?
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What is the term for a triptych โ a work of art divided into how many panels?
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Which Abstract Expressionist painter is known for large canvases of luminous, hovering rectangles of color?
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What 2018 Banksy artwork partially shredded itself moments after selling at Sotheby's for ยฃ1.04 million?
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Which American painter created 'Nighthawks', depicting patrons in a late-night diner?
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What style of Japanese woodblock printing flourished during the Edo period and means 'pictures of the floating world'?
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What name is given to the elaborate, gilded style of manuscript illustration in the Middle Ages?
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What is the approximate date of the oldest known figurative sculpture, the 'Lion-Man' of Hohlenstein-Stadel?
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Which installation artist is known for her 'Infinity Mirror Rooms' featuring endless reflections of lights?
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Which sculptor carved the 13-foot marble statue 'Apollo and Daphne' in Rome between 1622 and 1625?
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Which country is home to the Prado Museum?
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What is the name of the ancient Roman city buried by the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD, preserving stunning frescoes?
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Which American artist is known for large paintings of flowers and New Mexico landscapes?
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What art movement is Claude Monet most associated with?
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Which painter created 'A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte' using the Pointillist technique?
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What is the name of the decorative art style that flourished from roughly 1890 to 1910, featuring organic, flowing lines?
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What artistic period followed the Medieval era in Europe, beginning in 14th-century Italy?
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Which Italian city is considered the birthplace of the Renaissance?
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Which ancient Greek structure on the Athenian Acropolis is considered a masterpiece of classical architecture?
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Which Flemish painter perfected the use of oil paint in the early 15th century and painted the Ghent Altarpiece?
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Which Baroque artist's real name was Domรฉnikos Theotokรณpoulos, and he worked primarily in Toledo, Spain?
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