50 Art & Culture Quiz Questions and Answers
This page lists 50 real questions from the Quizlino Art & Culture category, each with four options, the correct answer and, where available, a short explanation. They are arranged from easy to hard, so you can start at the level that suits you. The full category contains 260 questions spread across its levels, so what you see here is a sample to study from, not the whole quiz.
- Cover the answer line, read the question and decide on your option first.
- Check the answer, then read the explanation even if you were right.
- Make a note of the questions you missed and come back to them after a few days.
- When you feel ready, play the timed Art & Culture to test yourself properly.
Art & Culture: Easy Questions
Warm-up questions that most players can answer.
Q1. Which artist painted "Café Terrace at Night," "The Potato Eaters," and "Irises"?
Answer: B. Vincent van Gogh
Explanation: Vincent van Gogh, the Dutch Post-Impressionist, painted all three, along with The Starry Night and his Sunflowers series.
Q2. What is the real title of Salvador Dalí's famous "melting clocks" painting?
Answer: B. The Persistence of Memory
Explanation: Salvador Dali painted The Persistence of Memory in 1931. It hangs in the Museum of Modern Art in New York.
Q3. In which city is The Louvre Museum located?
Answer: C. Paris
Explanation: The Louvre in Paris is the most visited museum in the world and is home to the Mona Lisa.
Q4. What is the correct historical order of these art styles?
Answer: B. Romanticism → Expressionism → Photorealism
Explanation: Romanticism belongs to the early nineteenth century, Expressionism to the early twentieth, and Photorealism to the late 1960s and 1970s.
Q5. Who photographed John Lennon and Yoko Ono's famous Rolling Stone cover?
Answer: A. Annie Leibovitz
Explanation: Annie Leibovitz took the photograph on 8 December 1980, only hours before John Lennon was killed.
Q6. What is the name of Grant Wood's famous 1930 painting featuring a farmer and his daughter?
Answer: B. American Gothic
Explanation: American Gothic shows a stern farmer holding a pitchfork beside a woman in front of a wooden farmhouse. It hangs in the Art Institute of Chicago.
Q7. Who painted The Last Supper?
Answer: C. Leonardo da Vinci
Explanation: Leonardo da Vinci painted The Last Supper in the 1490s on the wall of a convent dining hall in Milan.
Q8. Art Deco is mainly associated with which two decades?
Answer: C. 1920s and 1930s
Explanation: Art Deco, with its bold geometric shapes, flourished in the 1920s and 1930s. New York's Chrysler Building is a famous example.
Q9. What type of photographic artwork is Cindy Sherman best known for?
Answer: C. Self-Portraits
Explanation: Cindy Sherman photographs herself in costume and make-up as invented characters, a body of work that began with her Untitled Film Stills.
Q10. Which comic book artist created the Sin City series?
Answer: B. Frank Miller
Explanation: Frank Miller wrote and drew Sin City, which began in 1991, and also created the Batman story The Dark Knight Returns.
Q11. In what type of setting did photographer Ansel Adams mainly work?
Answer: B. Wilderness
Explanation: Ansel Adams is known for black-and-white photographs of the American West, especially Yosemite National Park.
Q12. Which Gustav Klimt painting was considered controversial in the early 1900s?
Answer: B. The Kiss
Explanation: The Kiss, painted in 1907 and 1908 with real gold leaf, is Klimt's best-known work. His art was often criticised in Vienna at the time for its sensuality.
Q13. Frida Kahlo is most commonly classified by art historians as which type of painter?
Answer: C. Surrealist
Explanation: Frida Kahlo is usually grouped with the Surrealists, although she said that she painted her own reality and not dreams.
Q14. Which artist stopped giving titles to his paintings?
Answer: B. Jackson Pollock
Explanation: Jackson Pollock began giving his drip paintings numbers in place of titles so that viewers would look at them without preconceptions.
Q15. What is the name of Edvard Munch's famous 1893 painting featuring a screaming figure?
Answer: C. The Scream
Explanation: Edvard Munch made several versions of The Scream, the earliest painted in 1893. It has become a symbol of modern anxiety.
Q16. Which is the oldest sculpture park in Britain, featuring works by Barbara Hepworth and Henry Moore?
Answer: A. Yorkshire Sculpture Park
Explanation: Yorkshire Sculpture Park, near Wakefield, opened in 1977 and was the first sculpture park in the United Kingdom.
Q17. What printmaking technique was used to create Hokusai's The Great Wave off Kanagawa?
Answer: C. Woodblock Print
Explanation: The Great Wave was made around 1831 as a colour woodblock print, part of Hokusai's series Thirty-Six Views of Mount Fuji.
Q18. Whose sculpture Seated Ballerina was unveiled at Rockefeller Center in 2017?
Answer: B. Jeff Koons
Explanation: Jeff Koons's Seated Ballerina was a giant inflatable sculpture, about fourteen metres tall, shown at Rockefeller Center in New York in 2017.
Q19. Which artist nicknamed his photograms "Rayographs"?
Answer: B. Man Ray
Explanation: Man Ray made photograms by placing objects directly on photographic paper and exposing it to light, and named them after himself.
Art & Culture: Medium Questions
A step up in difficulty, for players who know the basics.
Q20. The Chenchu tribe is mainly found in which Indian state?
Answer: D. Andhra Pradesh
Explanation: The Chenchu are a forest-dwelling community of the Nallamala Hills, living mainly in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.
Q21. The festival of Onam is primarily celebrated in which state?
Answer: D. Kerala
Explanation: Onam is the harvest festival of Kerala, celebrated with flower carpets, boat races and the Onam Sadhya feast.
Q22. Which Indian classical dance form originated in the monasteries of Assam?
Answer: B. Sattriya
Explanation: Sattriya was created in the fifteenth century by the saint Srimanta Sankardev and was preserved in the monasteries of Assam, called sattras.
Q23. Which Indian temple is famous for its stone chariot?
Answer: B. Konark Sun Temple
Explanation: The Konark Sun Temple in Odisha, built in the thirteenth century, is designed as a giant stone chariot with twenty-four carved wheels.
Q24. Which ancient university was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2016?
Answer: B. Nalanda
Explanation: The ruins of Nalanda Mahavihara in Bihar, a great centre of Buddhist learning, were added to the World Heritage list in 2016.
Q25. Which classical dance form is also known as the "Story Play" tradition of Kerala?
Answer: B. Kathakali
Explanation: The name Kathakali combines katha, meaning story, and kali, meaning play. Its performers wear elaborate make-up and costumes.
Q26. Which Indian classical music tradition is associated with South India?
Answer: B. Carnatic Music
Explanation: Carnatic music is the classical tradition of South India, while Hindustani music is that of the north.
Q27. The famous painting style of Mithila is better known by what name?
Answer: C. Madhubani Painting
Explanation: Madhubani painting comes from the Mithila region of Bihar and was traditionally done by women on the walls of their homes.
Q28. Which Indian emperor built the Great Stupa at Sanchi?
Answer: B. Ashoka
Explanation: The Great Stupa at Sanchi, in Madhya Pradesh, was first built by the emperor Ashoka in the third century BC.
Q29. Which musical instrument is traditionally played by Ustad Zakir Hussain?
Answer: C. Tabla
Explanation: Zakir Hussain was one of the world's most celebrated tabla players and the son of the tabla master Alla Rakha.
Q30. The Khajuraho temples were built mainly by which dynasty?
Answer: B. Chandela Dynasty
Explanation: The Chandela rulers built the temples at Khajuraho, in Madhya Pradesh, between about AD 950 and 1050.
Q31. Which Indian folk painting style is traditionally created on mud walls using rice paste?
Answer: A. Warli Painting
Explanation: Warli painting, from the Warli people of Maharashtra, uses simple white figures made with rice paste on a mud-coloured background.
Q32. Which UNESCO World Heritage Site is famous for its rock-cut monolithic temples?
Answer: B. Mahabalipuram
Explanation: Mahabalipuram in Tamil Nadu is known for the Pancha Rathas, temples each carved from a single rock by the Pallava kings.
Q33. Which Indian classical dance form emphasizes graceful facial expressions and feminine movements?
Answer: B. Mohiniyattam
Explanation: Mohiniyattam is a classical dance of Kerala performed by women. Its name means the dance of the enchantress.
Q34. Which Indian state is famous for the traditional Pattachitra paintings?
Answer: B. Odisha
Explanation: Pattachitra is a traditional cloth-scroll painting of Odisha, closely linked to the Jagannath temple at Puri.
Q35. The famous Brihadeeswara Temple was built by which Chola ruler?
Answer: B. Rajaraja Chola I
Explanation: Rajaraja Chola I completed the Brihadeeswara Temple at Thanjavur around AD 1010.
Q36. Which Indian classical instrument has 100 strings and is played with small wooden mallets?
Answer: B. Santoor
Explanation: The santoor is a hammered string instrument associated with Kashmir, and Pandit Shivkumar Sharma made it famous in classical music.
Q37. Which Indian folk dance is performed during the Bihu festival?
Answer: B. Bihu
Explanation: Bihu is both a festival and a lively folk dance of Assam, performed to celebrate the Assamese New Year and the harvest.
Art & Culture: Hard Questions
Challenging questions for confident players.
Q38. Which Indian folk theatre originated in West Bengal?
Answer: A. Jatra
Explanation: Jatra is a travelling folk theatre of Bengal, performed on open stages with music, song and strongly dramatic acting.
Q39. Which Indian temple is famous for its 1,000-pillared hall?
Answer: A. Meenakshi Amman Temple
Explanation: The Meenakshi Amman Temple in Madurai has a Hall of a Thousand Pillars, which actually contains 985 carved pillars.
Q40. Which Indian temple is famous for its 56 musical stone pillars and the iconic Stone Chariot?
Answer: B. Vittala Temple
Explanation: The Vittala Temple at Hampi in Karnataka, built under the Vijayanagara Empire, is known for its stone chariot and its pillars that sound musical notes when tapped.
Q41. Which Indian folk painting style is traditionally created by the Saura tribe?
Answer: B. Saura Painting
Explanation: Saura paintings are wall paintings made by the Saura people of Odisha, and are often compared with Warli art.
Q42. Which Indian state is famous for the traditional embroidery style called Kasuti?
Answer: A. Karnataka
Explanation: Kasuti is a traditional hand embroidery of Karnataka, worked in detailed patterns without knots.
Q43. Which Indian dance form originated in the temples of Manipur and is dedicated to Lord Krishna?
Answer: B. Manipuri
Explanation: Manipuri dance comes from Manipur and is best known for the Ras Lila, which portrays the story of Radha and Krishna.
Q44. Which Indian art form is created by engraving designs on black metal alloy and inlaying them with silver?
Answer: B. Bidriware
Explanation: Bidriware takes its name from the town of Bidar in Karnataka, where the craft developed.
Q45. The famous Gol Gumbaz is located in which Indian state?
Answer: B. Karnataka
Explanation: Gol Gumbaz, in Vijayapura in Karnataka, is the tomb of Sultan Mohammed Adil Shah and has one of the largest domes in the world.
Q46. Which Indian state is famous for the traditional Dhokra metal craft?
Answer: A. Chhattisgarh
Explanation: Dhokra is an ancient lost-wax method of casting metal, practised especially by craftspeople in the Bastar region of Chhattisgarh.
Q47. Which Indian classical instrument is played with a bow and has sympathetic strings?
Answer: B. Sarangi
Explanation: The sarangi is a bowed string instrument of North India whose sound is said to be the closest to the human voice.
Q48. Which traditional Indian painting style is known for using gold foil and vibrant colors?
Answer: A. Tanjore Painting
Explanation: Tanjore paintings usually depict Hindu deities and are decorated with gold foil and inlaid coloured stones.
Q49. Which Indian state is famous for Tanjore (Thanjavur) Paintings?
Answer: B. Tamil Nadu
Explanation: Tanjore painting takes its name from Thanjavur in Tamil Nadu, where it developed under royal patronage.
Q50. Which Indian monument is called the "Temple of Love" because of its intricate carvings?
Answer: B. Khajuraho Temples
Explanation: The Khajuraho temples in Madhya Pradesh are a World Heritage Site, famous for their detailed sculptures of daily life and love.
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