Wednesday, May 7, 2008

Decathlon Event #4 / The Thursday Quiz XXXVI

Event #4: Art History, Knowledge and Reasoning

Note: As a Decathlon Event, the Thursday Quiz will remain at twelve questions, but with some tweaks to its format.

The paintings shown below are all fairly typical of their painters. Some are correctly labeled, and some are badly mislabeled in every respect. For each, indicate whether the painting IS or ISN'T correctly identified. If it ISN'T correctly identified, and you know or have a guess as to its true title or artist, add this to your answer.


Judging: The scoring will be somewhat different for Quiz and Decathlon purposes. As the Thursday Quiz, you will be scored as always, with one point for each correct "is" or "isn't" identification and ties broken by the order in which answers were submitted.

For Decathlon scoring, you will still get one point for each correct "is" or "isn't" identification, but ties will be broken by the most correct identifications of the mislabeled paintings. The order in which answers are submitted will not be considered.

Deadline: Answers must be submitted no later than 10 p.m. Thursday, May 8th (Pacific Daylight Time).

1. Avercamp, 17th Century, Netherlands, “Winter Landscape with Ice Skaters.”

2. Bosch, 18th Century, German, “The Parable of the Women in the Fields”

3. Caravaggio, 16th Century, Italy, “The Incredulity of Saint Thomas.”

4. Cezanne, 1810s, Eastern European, “The Village Elders.”

5. Gauguin, 1890s, France, “Tahitian Women (On the Beach).”

6. Grandma Moses, 1920s, American, “The Angels Mourn the Death of Jesus.”

7. Hals, 17th Century, Netherlands, “Pieter van den Broecke.”

8. Monet, 1870s, French, “Impression: soleil levant.”

9. Picasso, 1890s, French, “Portrait: Pope Pius VII.”

10. Raphael, 16th Century, Italian, “St. Michael Vanquishing Satan.”

11. Vermeer, 16th Century, Spanish, “The Overturned Basket.”

12. Wyeth, 1960s, American, “Christina’s World”


Deadlines: 10 p.m. Thursday (PDT) for this event and Event #3.
10 p.m. Friday (PDT) for Event #2.


Anonymous said...

I recommend the accounting firm of Ernst and Ernst and Ernst and Ernst an Ernst and Ernst to compile the decathlon results and present the findings. No 1.3 people could keep track of all this.

Hey! DecathAlon lost a syllable! When did that happen?

fingerstothebone said...

Well, I'm starting with a bang on #1...

1. I have no idea. I would've guessed Bruegel, except there's already a Bruegel in the lineup below...I wish I could see a bigger image, not that it would help. I'll guess yes.
2. No. Millet, "The Gleaners."
3. Yes. I'm kinda tentative about this though.
4. No. Bruegel, um, I'll go with "The Village Elders" (in other words, I don't know).
5. Yes.
6. No. 15th century-ish, but no name or title.
7. Yes, why not.
8. No. Hey, there's a signature on there! If only I could read it!
9. No...dang, I should know this one.
10. Yes, again, why not.
11. No. Cesanne (spelling?), oh I don't know, "Apples and Oranges."
12. No. Chagall (spelling?), I don't about "Elopement"...sounds good to me.

Michael5000 said...

@Karma: Fear not. I have the strength of ten accountants.

d said...

1. is
2. pretty sure isn't
3. that looks like carravagio, but i'm not sure about the title. is this an all or nothing type thing? i'll say is.
4. sure seems plausible. is.
5. definitely gaughin, but it wouldn't have been in france, unless you're just saying that's where he was from? i'll say is.
6. ok. that one made me laugh out loud. definitely NOT grandma moses.
7. never heard of him, but sure. is.
8. is
9. isn't
10. is?
11. isn't vermeer was dutch
12. most definitely isn't.

Cartophiliac said...

Name Presidents, good.
Name artists, bad.
If I think they're false, I have no idea what the correct answer is... but no matter, as I won't need a tie breaker...

1. True
2. False
3. True
4. True
5. True
6. False
7. False
8. True
9. True
10. True
11. True
12. False

Anonymous said...

Boy I'm going to look dumb.

7.Isn't Rembrandt?
11.Isn't I wish I could read that signature.

Dan Nolan said...

I know some of the isn'ts, but don't know who is'ed them.

1. Is
2. Isn't. Bosch was a little creepier than this.
3. Is.
4. Isn't
5. Is
6. Isn't
7. Is
8. Is
9. Isn't
10. Is
11. Isn't. Cezanne. Apples.
12. Is

Elizabeth said...

1. Is.
2. Isn't.
3. Is.
4. Isn't.
5. Is.
6. Isn't.
7. Is.
8. Isn't.
9. Isn't.
10. Is.
11. Isn't.
12. Isn't.

That seemed suspiciously is/isn't symmetrical but there you go.

Nichim said...

1. Isn't
2. Isn't (isn't this called "The Gleaners"?)
3. Is
4. Isn't
5. Isn't
6. Is
7. Is
9. Isn't
10. Is
11. Is
12. Isn't (I know this due to previous quizzes, which means that I have now officially learned something about art. Thanks, Michael5000!)

Anonymous said...

Damn, I wish I had remembered the Dead White Male excuse.

DrSchnell said...

1. Definitely Dutch. I'll say "yes"
2. No. Not f%^$&ed up or obscurely allegorical enough to be Bosch. I'll say, um.... oh, who am I kidding, I don't even have a guess here.
3. Ewwww, grody! I'll say no. But I don't have a correct guess.
4. Not Cezanne. Don't know who.
5. Yes
6. Definitely not. Not Cartoony enough. Too religious. No correct guess
7. yes
8. yes
9. no. No correct guess, though. I need to go to more art museums.
10. yes
11. No. I'll say Renoir for my alternate guess
12. No. This is definitely Marc Chagall, no idea of painting name.

Anonymous said...

Art history? I love art history! The favorite subject I never studied!
1 Avercamp? It's Dutch to me. Look, they're even playing "golph," or whatever they called it back then. So, yes.
2 No. I'm going to say Millet, 19th century French, "The Gleaners".
3 Caravaggio. Yes.
4 Ha! No. This one could be a Breughel, but I'm thinking it's a Bosch. So, what's that--15th century Flemish? "The Blind Leading the Blind."
5 Gaugin, yes.
6 No! Giotto, um, 13th century Florentine. Don't know the name of this one--it's your basic Pieta, plus crowd and angels. "Lamentation" from San Somethingorother.
7 Hals, sure. Just look at that lace.
8 Why, yes. I believe Monet painted this one in 1872.
10 Don't think Picasso went through a fruit phrase, no. I know the Dutch did some of these, neatly combining their loves of still life and portraiture. But I think this one is by Arcimboldo himself. Um, 17th century Italian master of this wacky genre. It looks like one in the series he did of the four seasons. Hmmm, now I know there are lots of nice ripe fruits and veggies there, but the lack of autumnal looking foliage makes me think this is "Summer."
10 Did St. Michael really vanquish Satan? I had no idea. But I'll say yes.
11 Dude, Vermeer the Spaniard, that's just blowing my mind. No, gracias! This is a Cezanne, 19th Century French. Check out what happens to the plane of the tabletop, man. . . whoa, I'm back now. Cezanne wasn't into titles, so this is probably called something like "Still Life." I'll call it "Still Life with 4-Story Twinkie Tower."
12 No, this ain't Christina's world. This is Marc Chagall, 20th century European Jew--Russian, I think. Title, uh, "Flight Over the Village."

McGuff said...

1. Yes
2. No
3. Yes
4. No
5. Yes
6. No
7. No
8. Yes
9. No. Pablo's wasn't very French, now was he?
10. Yes
11. Dear god no. Spanish?
12. No

Just removed the “correct” guesses in order to reduce embarrassment.

Getting winded and it’s only event 4. Hydrate. Breathe. Focus.

Anonymous said...

I am having trouble getting them all to load. Will keep trying.

1. Yes
2. No
3. Yes
4. No
5. Yes
6. No
7. Yes
8. Yes
9. No
10. Yes
11. No
12. No

The were gorgeous to look at even if I botched them.

Anonymous said...

1 / Is ( but kinda looks like Breughel's Hunters in the Snow)
2 / Isn't (unless there's some Bosch who didn't take the weird pill)
3 / Is (but a guess)
4 / Isn't (Breughel's Blind Leading the Blind?)
5 / Is (I think, but the "France" part (rather than say "Tahiti") makes me wonder)
6 / Isn't (actually have no idea what Grandma did)
7 / Is (Pieter stand-in model -- Geoffrey Rush)
8 / Is (but the lower case letters have me wondering)
9 / Isn't (I think it was done by Vegan, 1880's)
10 / Is (no idea, really)
11 / Is (but the basket isn't really overturned)
12 / Isn't (weren't we tested on the real deal lately?)

Thanks for not doing Modern Art. Oh, maybe I shouldn't have said that....

Fool for paper said...

1) Isn’t
2) Isn’t: It’s Jean Millet’s Gleaners
3) It is Caravaggio, and the title is close (correct for the situation) but somehow doesn’t sound quite right to me.
4) Isn’t the correct artist or title: I think it’ Pieter Breughel but I can’t remember the title
5) Is Paul Gauguin and the title sounds OK.
6) Isn’t – you are funny! This is Giotto and it’s a Pieta but the title escapes me.
7) Is Frans Hals, title sounds good
8) Is
9) Isn’t: it’s Archimboldo but I don’t know the title
10) Is
11) Isn’t: Looks like a Cezanne
12) Isn’t: Maybe an early Chagall? Who else does those floating people?

Karin said...

Oh, yay, you haven't judged yet. Oh, boo, I have no right answers.

1. yes
2. no
3. yes
4. no
5. yes
6. no
7. yes
8. yes
9. no

Michael5000 said...

OK, here goes:

1. Avercamp, "Winter Landscape..." YES. I've had the pleasure of seeing this one in person. It's stunning.

2. Bosch, “The Parable of the Women in the Fields.” NO. That's Millet's "The Gleaners," which used to be more famous than it is now, I think.

3. Caravaggio, “The Incredulity of Saint Thomas.” YES.

4. Cezanne, “The Village Elders.” NAH, that's Breughal's "Parable of the Blind Leading the Blind."

5. Gauguin, “Tahitian Women.” YEP.

6. Grandma Moses, “The Angels Mourn the Death of Jesus.” NO. I am saddened that so few of you fell for this one.

7. Hals, “Pieter van den Broecke.” YES. Hals is the bomb dot com.

8. Monet, “Impression: soleil levant.” YES. Am told that this is the painting that gave "impressionism" its name.

9. Picasso, “Portrait: Pope Pius VII.” Lamentably, NO. It's the equally trippy but much earlier Arcimboldo, "Summer."

10. Raphael, “St. Michael Vanquishing Satan.” YES.

11. Vermeer, “The Overturned Basket.” NOPE, that's a Cezanne still life.

12. Wyeth, “Christina’s World.” NO, that a Chagall called "Above the Town."

Michael5000 said...

We had four perfect scores today, which makes Thurday Quiz scoring pretty darn simple.

The TQXXXVI Gold Star goes to a longtime quiz competitor, the person who won the Gold Star way back at TQI! She's won plenty of bling in the interim, but never another Gold Star... until now. It's Rebel!

The Silver Star goes to Mrs.5000, her fifth time in second place.

Boo claims the Blue Star for the Great State of Ohio, and...

Quiz stalwart Karin sneaks in under the wire to grab a Green Star at the last possible moment. It's her ninth Star.

Michael5000 said...

However, Decathlon scoring works a little differently. With ties broken by identification of the "isn'ts," Mrs.5000 comes out on top of the pile for First Place and 1200 points.

Boo and Rebel tie for second and 1000 points.

Looking at the deadline language in the original post, I fear that Karin's entry must be disqualified for Decathlon purposes, lest I end up with an angry mob. She will still get participation points, however.

Fourth Place and 600 points goes to La Gringissima, with the most supplementary identifications of the 11/12 answers.

Fifth Place and 400 points goes to Fool for Paper, a first-timer who apparently created their account in order to play. Welcome to the games, FfP!

Special props to the other 11/12ers, Fingers, Elizabeth, dan, d, drschnell, Karma, & Phineas. There was some serious art history knowledge aimed at this sucker.

Michael5000 said...

This put la gringissima back in the yellow jersey; she's in the lead with three events tabulated, with Cartophiliac and Mrs.5000 snapping at her heels.

But remember, a decathlon is not just about strength. It is also about endurance. Those three have to be getting awfully tired after their explosive starts. Consider them vulnerable.

Rebel said...

Yay! *Finally* a gold star!