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Secret Lives of Great Artists - Quiz

Secret Lives of Great Artists

Please answer the following questions.

  1. For one of his works, Michelangelo Merisi Da Caravaggio held workman at dagger-point, forcing them to continue to pose:

    • holding a recently buried corpse
    • holding a crucifix
    • in the same position for over 48 hours
    • nude, in the rain

  2. After a bad review, Edouard Manet challenged critic Edmond Duranty to a duel. How did the duel end?

    • Duranty publicly recanted his harsh review.
    • Both men accidentally bent their swords; neither had any fencing experience.
    • Manet never showed.
    • Manet injured Duranty, but he survived - and never apologized for his review.

  3. Paul Cezanne:

    • Detested physical contact and was nearly phobic of the opposite sex.
    • Was a notorious womanizer.
    • Never married or had children.
    • Had multiple wives simultaneously.

  4. Claude Monet’s described his taste in women as such:

    • He only slept with married women of a higher social class.
    • He preferred the company of women half his age.
    • He was always attracted to women who reminded him of his mother.
    • He only slept with noble women or lower-class women – nothing in between.

  5. One of the theories behind Van Gogh’s deteriorating neurological condition was his artwork itself. Why?

    • Van Gogh suffered from bipolar disorder, with heightened manic periods and deep depressions enhanced by his devotion to his art.
    • Some of the new paints created in the 19th century were highly toxic and contained arsenic. Van Gogh would eat paint straight from the tube.
    • Van Gogh's emotional instability and passion for his artwork led him to binge drinking and malnutrition.
    • all of the above

  6. Georges Seurat’s amiable, tame demeanor was upstaged by his father, who:

    • Would attach knives to his prosthetic arm and use it to carve meat at the dinner table.
    • Was a notorious drunk who would attempt to seduce every woman Georges dated.
    • Was a well-known comedian and magician who would perform impromptu shows at home whenever they had guests.

  7. Pablo Picasso’s living conditions were unusual in what way:

    • He lived in a small apartment with 6 other painters, all sharing the same studio space and sleeping on the floor.
    • He lived in squalor with several dogs, cats, mice and a small ape.
    • He was homeless for 2 years, sleeping in alleys or staying with friends.
    • Picasso lived next to a brothel for many years.

  8. Edward Hopper’s relationship with his wife, Jo, was unusual in that:

    • They were swingers who openly had relationships with other people – usually with their married friends.
    • They never separated but lived in different parts of the country out of choice, not out of necessity.
    • They frequently got into physical fights with each other, with Jo often doing physical damage to Edward.
    • They were both against the idea of marriage, but lived together for decades and had children together.

  9. Upon immigrating to the United States, Marc Chagall wanted desperately to know, “Do they have _____ in America?”

    • Cows
    • Vodka
    • Mountains
    • Trains

  10. How did Frida Kahlo have to encourage her 300-pound husband, artist Diego Rivera, to bathe?

    • She would bathe him in a tub full of rubber ducks and other toys.
    • She had to feed him his favorite desert while he sat in the bathtub.
    • She would provide him a bottle of liquor in exchange for his weekly bath.
    • None of the above - he would bathe 3 or more times a day

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