20th Century Paintings

Question 1

This painting was a Basque town bombed by the Germans during the Spanish Civil War in April 1937. It was a mural painted by Picasso in 1937 in a black and white color scheme. it was in Museum of Modern Art in New York until 1981, when it was returned to the Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofia in Spain.

Answer 1

Guernica

Question 2

Which artist painted “Guernica”?

Answer 2

Pablo Picasso

Question 3

This painting was painted in 1912 and created a sensation when shown at the 1913 Armory Show in New York, where one critic referred to it as “an explosion in a shingle factory.” Painted in various shades of brown, it portrays a nude person in a series of broken planes, capturing motion down several steps in a single image.

Answer 3

Nude Descending a Staircase, No. 2

Question 4

Who painted “Nude Descending a Staircase, no. 2”?

Answer 4

Marcel Duchamp

Question 5

First shown in 1931, this painting is probably the most famous surrealist painting. The landscape of the scene echoes the area around Portlligat, Dalí’s home. The ants, flies, clocks, and the Portlligat landscape are motifs in many other Dalí paintings, and the trompe l’oeil depiction of figures is typical of his works. For 10 points, which painting by Dali shows melting clocks?

Answer 5

The Persistence of Memory

Question 6

Who painted “The Persistence of Memory”?

Answer 6

Salvador Dali

Question 7

This painting depicts five women in a brothel. However, the images of the women are partly broken into disjointed, angular facets. The degree of broken-ness is rather mild compared to later Cubist works, but it was revolutionary in 1907. The rather phallic fruit arrangement in the foreground reflects the influence of Paul Cézanne’s “flattening of the canvas.” It is currently housed at the MOMA.

Answer 7

Les Demoiselles d’Avignon

Question 8

Who painted Les Demoiselles d’Avignon?

Answer 8

Pablo Picasso

Question 9

The painting simultaneously echoes the bright lights of a marquee, resembles a pattern of streets as seen from above, and creates a feeling of vitality and vibrancy, not unlike the music itself. This work can also be found at the MOMA.

Answer 9

Broadway Boogie Woogie

Question 10

Who painted Broadway Boogie Woogie?

Answer 10

Piet Mondrian