Painting is a timeless and universal art form that has captivated artists and audiences for centuries. From classical masterpieces to modern and contemporary works, painting encompasses a wide range of styles, techniques, and perspectives that are essential to the development of art and culture. Trivia questions about painting can provide a fun and engaging way to test your knowledge and deepen your appreciation for this dynamic and diverse art form.
Whether you're a seasoned art historian or just starting to explore the world of painting, painting trivia questions offer a glimpse into the rich history and culture of this exciting field. From the basics of color theory and composition to the major movements and artists that have shaped the genre, these questions can challenge you on your knowledge of painting history, theory, and practice.
83 Painting Trivia Questions Ranked From Easiest to Hardest (Updated for 2024)
- Also known as "La Gioconda," probably Leonardo da Vinci's most famous painting is a portrait of an Italian noblewoman best known by what two-word name?
Answer: Mona Lisa
- Depicting a man on a ladder examining books in a library, the 19th-century Carl Spitzweg painting "Der Bücherwurm" has a title that translates to what in English?
Answer: The Bookworm
- According to an NPR interview with San Franciscan landmark’s paint superintendent Rocky Dellarocca, what branch of the U.S. Armed Forces, whose official march song is “Anchors Aweigh”, originally requested for the Golden Gate Bridge to be painted black and yellow stripes for visibility purposes?
Answer: U.S. Navy
- A 1908 painting by Gustav Klimt and an 1882 marble sculpture by Auguste Rodin both depict what physical action, also a candy sold by Hershey?
Answer: Kiss
- At a price of more than $400 million, the most expensive painting ever sold at auction was "Salvator Mundi" which was painted around 1500 and purchased at auction in 2019. What artist painted this masterpiece?
Answer: Leonardo da Vinci
- Named after the artist of a painting that his pregnant mother was looking at when she first felt him kick, which actor has been nominated for Best Actor Oscars for playing the real-life characters of Howard Hughes, Jordan Belfort, and Hugh Glass?
Answer: Leonardo DiCaprio
- Now at the Museum of Modern Art in NYC, what famous painting featuring a deep blue evening sky depicts Vincent Van Gogh's view from a window in a mental health asylum?
Answer: Starry Night
- Which artist, known for his '"Joy of Painting," afro, and happy little clouds, drew inspiration from his time in Alaska while serving in the U.S. Air Force? We're looking for first and last name.
Answer: Bob Ross
- In Barbie’s living room, there’s a replica of the 1986 pop art painting “Barbie, Portrait of BillyBoy” that was originally created by what white-haired American painter who got a lot of mileage out of Marilyn Monroe and Campbell’s soup cans?
Answer: Andy Warhol
- Sporting abundant hair and a love of happy trees, what was the first and last name of the guy who hosted the PBS television program "The Joy of Painting?"
Answer: Bob Ross
- Completed in 1863, what famous Edouard Manet painting known as “Le Déjeuner sur l'herbe” in French was rejected by the Paris Salon due to its “obscene” depiction of nudity?
Answer: The Luncheon on the Grass
- “American Gothic”, with its farmer couple standing in front a house, is the most famous painting of what “W” American painter of the early 20th century American midwest? His last name happens to be the same as a tree product.
Answer: Grant Wood
- Do you like scary paintings (apologies Wes Craven): Edvard Munch's most famous work is what painting with a gape-mouthed dude on a pier?
Answer: The Scream
- In 1994, Bill Gates paid over $30 million for The Codex Leicester—a very, very, very old collection of scientific writings by what artist who was more well-known for a painting of a woman he did, but was actually quite a skilled anatomical sketch artist?
Answer: Leonardo da Vinci
- Italian Vincenzo Peruggia is a famous name in the history of art for stealing which iconic painting in 1911? One theory regarding his motivation for stealing the painting was that he wanted to return the painting from France to its country of origin.
Answer: Mona Lisa
- Orphism is an early 20th century art movement that focused on colorful abstract paintings. Orphism is considered a derivative of which other art movement associated with Georges Braque and Pablo Picasso.
Answer: Cubism
- The name "Phillies" is painted on a sign over the window of the diner in what famous American painting?
Answer: Nighthawks
- A hazy-looking Claude Monet painting of a sunset spawned the name of what blurry 19th-century art movement that anagrams to PROMISES MINIS?
Answer: Impressionism
- Often known by its inscription, "Ceci n'est pas un pipe," "The Treachery of Images" is a 1929 painting by what Belgian artist?
Answer: Rene Magritte
- In a famous painting by Johannes Vermeer, the subject is a young woman wearing a particular piece of jewelry, after which the painting is named. What specific gemstone features both in the jewelry and the name of the painting?
Answer: Pearl
- In Renaissance and Baroque art, a particular shade of blue paint made from lapis lazuli was so expensive it was primarily used for painting the robes of which religious figure? (Hint: The shade takes its name from this figure.)
Answer: The Virgin Mary
- What 11-letter art term, a combination of the Italian words for "light" and "dark," means the interplay and contrast of light and dark areas in a painting or drawing?
Answer: Chiaroscuro
- Perhaps one of the most famous European paintings of an animal, the 1502 watercolor “Young Hare” by Albrecht Dürer hangs in the Albertina Museum in what Austrian capital city?
Answer: Vienna
- Opened in 1864, Heineken's first brewery was named for what needle-hiding things that Van Gogh and Monet were fond of painting?
Answer: Haystacks
- Packaging and advertising for Nestle's global food brand, La Laitière, features a woman from an iconic Johannes Vermeer painting. At the time of the painting, the woman would have been known as a kitchen-maid. What beverage is she holding?
Answer: Milk
- Featuring 36 silk-screen paintings and 13 drawings in the artist's signature colorful pop style, "Cars" is a series of artworks commissioned by Mercedes-Benz in the 1980s from what artist?
Answer: Andy Warhol
- What is the one-word name of the 1942 oil painting by American artist Edward Hopper that depicts four people in a downtown diner late at night?
Answer: Nighthawks
- Although the movement's leader explicitly considered it a revolutionary rather than strictly artistic movement, what word signifies a style of visual artwork featuring unnerving, illogical scenes with photographic precision? Famous painters in the movement include Max Ernst, Rene Magritte, Joan Miro, and Salvador Dali.
Answer: Surrealism
- "Viva la Vida, Watermelons” is the last painting of which artist who died in 1954?
Answer: Frida Kahlo
- From the French for "sweep," what eight-letter term means the freehand painting of highlights onto hair to create a natural, graduated look?
Answer: Balayage
- "The Creation of Adam" is a famous painting that can be found where in Europe? We're looking for a very specific institution or building, not just the city or country the painting calls home.
Answer: The Sistine Chapel
- Known for his large-scale paintings of Black Americans, artist Kehinde Wiley is probably most famous for a 2018 portrait that hangs in the National Portrait Gallery of what former president?
Answer: Barack Obama
- What 15th Dutch painter from Brabant is known for his individualistic paintings, such as “The Garden Of Earthly Delights?” He shares a last name with an Amazon Prime TV detective played by Titus Welliver who solves crimes in Hollywood.
Answer: Hieronymous Bosch
- What 15th century mural painting by Leonardo Da Vinci, housed in Milan, Italy, features Jesus and his 12 apostles having a moment of commiseration before Jesus’ death?
Answer: The Last Supper
- The Topiary Garden at Old Deaf School Park in Columbus, OH features manicured bushes that are designed to look like characters from what French painter’s 1884 painting “A Sunday Afternoon On The Island Of La Grand Jatte?”
Answer: Georges Seurat
- American impressionist paintings can be found in the Old Lyme, CT museum known as the Florence ______ Museum. Fill in the last name blank, which is coincidentally the same as the last name of the family from the National Lampoon Family movies.
Answer: Florence Griswold Museum
- At more than 21 feet wide, the massive painting "Washington Crossing the Delaware," which is held by NYC's Metropolitan Museum of Art, was made in 1851 by what German American artist?
Answer: Emanuel Leutze
- What 17th century Flemish Baroque artist created such paintings as “Self-Portrait with a Sunflower” and “Charles I At The Hunt?” Although spelled differently, his last name is pronounced the same as the actor who played a chimney sweep in “Mary Poppins”, and starred in his own 1960s sitcom.
Answer: Anthony Van Dyck
- This miraculous monumental work by Paolo Veronese is hung across from the Mona Lisa in the Louvre and displays the story of Jesus first turning water into wine. The painting depicts a feast in Cana, Galilee, to celebrate what kind of event?
Answer: Wedding
- Which painting of 1533 by Hans Holbein the Younger depicts French diplomats Jean de Dinteville and Georges de Selve?
Answer: The Ambassadors
- Venetian artist Giovanni Antonio Canal, who is known for his paintings of Venice, Rome and London, is better known by which mononym?
Answer: Canaletto
- Surgeons crowd around an anesthetized patient in "The Gross Clinic," an 1875 painting by what American artist?
Answer: Thomas Eakins
- In 1969, which artist took a break from painting melting clocks to design the Chupa Chups lollipop logo?
Answer: Dali
- In 2008, a post-impressionist oil painting, “The Boy in the Red Vest,” was stolen from a museum in Zurich, only to be found in Serbia in 2012. Which artist painted it?
Answer: Paul Cézanne
- When you’re describing the composition of a photo or painting, what term describes the area around a figure (usually either “back” or “fore”)?
Answer: Ground
- Thomas Cole and Asher Durand are two landscape painters who are part of what 19th century art "school," named for the river that often provided a subject for their paintings?
Answer: Hudson River School
- A 1955 encaustic painting by Jasper Johns, painted after his release from the U.S. army, was the first of dozens the modern artist has created over his career of what familiar subject?
Answer: The American Flag
- Van Gogh painted sunflowers and irises. What plant did Claude Monet do a series of paintings of from his garden at Giverny?
Answer: Water lilies
- The Aboriginal Australian art cooperative Papunya Tula does innovative work in the "Western Desert Art Movement," popularly known in English by what two-word term?
Answer: Dot Painting
- The renowned artists Rousseau and Matisse share what first name?
Answer: Henri
- Only one of Leonardo da Vinci’s paintings, “Ginevra de' Benci,” can be seen by the public in the Western Hemisphere. Which Washington D.C. cultural hub houses the portrait?
Answer: National Gallery of Art
- What “P” American painter and abstract expressionist caused sensations in the 1940s and 1950s with his elaborate drip paintings?
Answer: Jackson Pollock
- What's the name of the woman whose "world" is depicted in Andrew Wyeth's famous 1948 painting of the Olson House in Cushing, Maine?
Answer: Christina
- Among the most expensive paintings sold at auction, "Portrait of Adele Block-Bauer" was the final work in the gold phase of what Vienna Secession artist?
Answer: Gustav Klimt
- In one of the world's most famous cases of insurance fraud, the Beverly Hills ophthalmologist Steve Cooperman faked the 1999 theft of two paintings worth millions of dollars (they were being stored in a Cleveland storage locker) to claim a $12.5 million insurance payout. With one guess, name either of the two artists behind the "stolen" works.
Answer: Monet and Picasso
- Held by the Cincinnati Art Museum, "Rocks at Bell-Ile, Port-Domois" is a painting by what French Impressionist known for his water lilies?
Answer: Claude Monet
- In many paintings of Saint Peter, including ones by Peter Paul Rubens and Pietro Perugino, he is depicted holding what objects? Typically, one is gold, and the other is silver.
Answer: Keys
- Known for his impressionist paintings of water lilies and haystacks, among other things, which French artist had cataracts that some believe affected his art?
Answer: Claude Monet
Answer: Newfoundland and Labrador
- The 1999 novel "Girl with a Pearl Earring" by Tracy Chevalier was inspired by a painting with the same title by what Dutch artist?
Answer: Johannes Vermeer
- Referring to his 1992 painting "Bedroom at Arles," what American pop artist remarked that Van Gogh would enjoy his rendition, saying: "I've cleaned his room up a little bit for him; and he'll be very happy...I've straightened his shirts and bought some new furniture."
Answer: Roy Lichtenstein
- What was the name of the painting that featured a mongrel dog named Nipper listening to a gramophone? This three-word title, sometimes abbreviated "HMV," later became a slogan associated with the Gramophone company and RCA.
Answer: His Master's Voice
- According to a 2019 ranking by CNN, the two most famous paintings in the world were both painted by Leonardo da Vinci. Don’t overcomplicate it, and just tell us what Italian “V” city he hailed from.
Answer: Vinci
- Considered one of the first painters in Canada to adopt a Modernist painting style, what woman described as a "Canadian icon" by The Canadian Encyclopedia was also a seasoned writer and one of the first to chronicle life in British Columbia?
Answer: Emily Carr
- "Where Do We Come From? What Are We? Where Are We Going?" is probably the most famous of the Tahitian paintings by what French Post-Impressionist?
Answer: Paul Gauguin
- The owl is a recurring motif in the sketches, paintings, and sculptures of which 20th century avant-garde Spanish artist?
Answer: Pablo Picasso
- What “N” painting by Archibald Motley portrays a swinging scene at a bar frequented by African Americans? It portrays a big party scene, not taking place during the day.
Answer: Nightlife
- In Michelangelo's famous painting "The Last Judgement," who is depicted ferrying human souls across the river Styx?
Answer: Charon
- A Dutch painting of the titular bird is saved from an art museum bombing by a 13-year-old boy in what 2013 Donna Tartt novel, which won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction?
Answer: The Goldfinch
- What American painter of Russian descent is known for painting symmetrical rectangular blocks of color?
Answer: Mark Rothko
- What museum in Paris, the home many impressionist and post-impressionist paintings, was once a railway station on the Left Bank of the Seine River?
Answer: Musée d’Orsay
- In 1934 the U.S. Postal Service issued a 3c stamp to honor the Mothers of America, but the mother of which American-born painter appeared on the stamp itself? She features in a painting often called "(this painter's surname)'s Mother", though is actually titled "Arrangement in Grey and Black No. 1."
Answer: James McNeill Whistler
- The portrait of George Washington that appears on $1 bills is based on an unfinished painting begun in 1796 by what American artist?
Answer: Gilbert Stuart
- What vegetable is referenced in the title of an 1885 oil painting by Vincent van Gogh?
Answer: Potato
- Fitting for her famous nickname, what American artist took up painting after she had turned 70? In part, her passion for art was delayed due to her time-intensive work on a farm for much of her life. "Sugaring Off" and "Fourth of July" are two of her most famous works.
Answer: Grandma Moses
- "Militia Company of District II under the Command of Captain Frans Banninck Cocq" is the official name of a 1642 painting by Rembrandt van Rijn, but the Amsterdam-located painting is more often known by what shortened name?
Answer: The Night Watch
- What 20th century abstract Dutch artist created such structural paintings as “Broadway Boogie-Woogie” and “Grey Tree?” This man with an “M” last name resided in New York.
Answer: Piet Mondrian
- Currently in Florence's Uffizi Gallery, what 15th-century painting by Sandro Botticelli depicts the Roman goddess of love emerging from the sea on a giant shell?
Answer: The Birth of Venus
- What “T” 20th century American West Coast painter created such surreal and dynamic images such as “The Innocent Eye Test” and “Action Painting II?”
Answer: Mark Tansey
- Rene Magritte's fantastical painting "Time Transfixed" features what object improbably emerging from a fireplace?
Answer: A train
- A woman stands behind a well-stocked bar at Paris's Folies-Bergère nightclub in an 1882 painting by what French Impressionist?
Answer: Edouard Manet
- Jane Stuart, the daughter of portraitist Gilbert Stuart, created a painting found in the California Senate chamber of what early U.S. president?
Answer: George Washington
- What cubist's work, featuring outlines of birds, was the first piece by a living artist to adorn the Louvre? It covered the ceiling of what was once King Henri II's antechamber and caused an uproar in Paris.
Answer: Georges Braque
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About the Author
Eli Robinson is the Chief Trivia Officer at Water Cooler Trivia. He was once in a Bruce Springsteen cover band called F Street Band.
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