Art History: Famous Paintings and Artists

The Mona Lisa is one of the most famous portraits in the world. Who painted the Mona Lisa?

Vincent van Gogh painted The Starry Night. Name one detail you might see in this painting.

Grant Wood painted American Gothic, which shows two people standing in front of a farmhouse. What object is the man holding?

Claude Monet is known for painting water lilies and gardens. What art style is Monet most connected with?

The Great Wave off Kanagawa was created by the Japanese artist Katsushika Hokusai. What natural feature is the main focus of this artwork?

Frida Kahlo often painted self-portraits. What is a self-portrait?

Salvador Dali painted The Persistence of Memory, which includes melting clocks. This painting is an example of Surrealism. What does Surrealism often show?

Pablo Picasso helped develop Cubism. In Cubist art, objects and people may be shown from many angles at once. How might a Cubist face look different from a realistic face?

Michelangelo painted scenes on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel in Italy. Why would painting a ceiling be difficult?

Johannes Vermeer painted Girl with a Pearl Earring. The painting is famous for the girl's face and a shiny pearl earring. What detail in the title helps you remember the painting?

Georgia O'Keeffe is famous for large paintings of flowers. Why might an artist paint a flower much larger than it is in real life?

Edgar Degas often painted dancers. What can paintings of dancers show besides what the dancers look like?

Georges Seurat used a technique called Pointillism, which builds an image from many tiny dots of color. How does Pointillism create a picture?

Van Gogh painted a famous series of sunflower paintings. What mood might bright yellow sunflowers create in a painting?