VMFA collection
Our Lady
1600s
Rome
Disruptors
100
Which saint is depicted in this 15th century alabaster figurine for an altarpiece made in Nottingham, England?
Saint Peter. He can be depicted with one or two keys. The book is either the Book of Life (containing the names of the saved) or a symbol of his apostolic stature.
100
Observe this 1303 fresco that decorates a chapel in Padua, Italy. Who is the Virgin Mary's traditional mother? 
Saint Anne.
100
Which Old Testament figure does Potiphar's wife attempt to seduce, as depicted in this scene by Guido Reni (1630)?
Joseph. Reni also produced this version: 
100
What Italian word is used for paintings depicting Mary's compassion while holding the inert body of Jesus after He was taken from the cross?
Pietà. This 1667 painting by Giovanni Battista Gaulli, also known as "Baciccio", is housed at the Galleria Nazionale d'Arte Antica in Rome. It was commissioned by Cardinal Flavio Chigi.
100
Who paints the Church of Auvers-sur-Oise in 1890? 
Vincent Van Gogh. Notre Dame de l'Assomption was built where King Philippe de France died in 1130. Van Gogh wanted to pursue theology in his younger years but failed a university exam.
200
What style of medieval art is this 15th century oak tabernacle from France? Observe the detailed stylization, delicate tracery, and the thin and elaborate walls that suggest the celestial rather than the terrestrial.
The Gothic style. This tabernacle by an unknown artist is three feet high. We wish it could still be used for the functions of Holy Mother Church!
200
From which Canticle is the phrase, "the dawn from on high shall break upon us" taken? You can see this early morning light in Jacopo Tintoretto's Annunciation (1583): 
The Canticle of Zechariah from the Gospel of Luke.
200
Who describes herself as "Your handmaid is, indeed, a God-fearing woman, serving the God of heaven night and day." This 1624 work by Virginia Vezzi shows the woman with the head of Assyrian general Holofernes. 
Judith. The Italian artist Virginia Vezzi was the wife of French painter Simon Vouet.
200
Who is depicted as preacher in this Italian mannerist masterpiece?
John the Baptist. The fresco is by Jacopino del Conte for the church of San Giovanni Battista Decollato (St. John the Baptist Beheaded) in the Ripa neighborhood of Rome.
200
In which century was Wassilij Dimitriewitsch Polenow's masterpiece "Christ and the woman taken in adultery" painted? Polenow was a realist that traveled to the Holy Land to learn more about the landscape. His contemporaries called him the "Knight of Beauty".
19th century (1888). A mere 6 years later, the last czar (Nicholas II) assumed the throne.
300
Two panels hinged together is called a what?
A diptych. Three panels would be called a triptych. This 14th century piece with extensive gold leaf by an unknown artist shows eight scenes from the life of Christ in the Byzantine style.
300
Which Italian painted this circular "Mary with the Child and singing angels" in 1477?
Sandro Botticelli. It may have belonged to the Brothers of S. Francesco in Florence. It is now in the Gemäldegalerie museum in Berlin.
300
Who paints this "Adoration of the Shepards" in his distinctive style (1612-1614) now at the Prado Museum?
El Greco. He was a Greek painter who lived in Venice, Rome, Madrid, and Toledo. This work was finished in the last year of his life.
300
Who painted the frescoes in a series of rooms "stanze" for Pope Julius II in St. Peter's Basilica in the early 1500s? One area is named the "Hall of Constantine.
Raphael. Pope Leo X continued the program after the death of Pope Julius II in 1513. Assistant painters took over after Raphael's death in 1520. They are currently part of the Vatican Museums.
300
This painting is by Luc-Olivier Merson (1879). It is titled the Rest on the Flight into Egypt. Much of our knowledge of Saint Joseph is based on his holy role in protecting the Holy Family from Herod. On which day is the Feast of Saint Joseph celebrated?
March 19th. Merson also produced the gigantic Christ in Majesty apse of the Sacred Heart Basilica in Montmartre.
400
In this 15th century altarpiece, the Madonna and Child enthroned is flanked by Saints Dominic, Zenobius, Francis, and Miniato. They are the patron saints of which city? 
Florence, Italy. Zenobius was the first bishop of Florence and Minias (Saint Miniato) was an Armenian king who became a hermit near Florence. The artist is Neri di Bicci (tempera on panel).
400
Name either a country or a region that has a special devotion to the Divine Shepherdess as a title for Mary?
Spain or Latin America. This painting is by José Campeche, an artist from Puerto Rico. Miguel Cabrera of Mexico paints similar versions. The devotion, which spread throughout Spain and its colonies, began from a 1703 icon by St. Isidore of Seville. He describes the Virgin under a tree, wearing a red gown and blue mantle, with a shepherd’s hat and crook. She feeds roses to her flock, while a lost sheep is chased by a wolf in the distance. The lost sheep calls out the words “Ave Maria,” and Saint Michael the Archangel strikes down the wolf. Campeche made a few changes to the traditional scene.
400
The following is titled "Saint Didacus in Extasy before the Cross". Saint Diego of Alcalá for whom the city of San Diego, California is named, was a member of which religious order? By Bartolomé Esteban Murillo, 1645
The Franciscan order. Another painting of San Deigo by Murillo.
400
Is the following painting of a penitent Mary-Magdalene painted (now in the Doria Pamphili Gallery of Rome) by:
a) Perugino
b) Caravaggio
c) De La Tour
d) Bramante
Caravaggio. The painting was scene as a departure from traditional iconography into contemporary realism.
400
Which Gospel contains the words, "I have come to comfort those who are brokenhearted and to announce to the prisoners their deliverance; to liberate those who are crushed by their chains", which is the subject of this painting by Ary Scheffer?
The Gospel of Luke, 4:18. This 1851 piece was one of several "Christus Consolator" by this artist. He depicts "the oppressed of the past and present" as a Roman slave, a medieval serf, a Greek independence fighter, and a fettered African slave as the oppressed of the past and present. The dying man is supposed to represent Poland. This painting was rediscovered after many years in a janitor's closet.
500
On which mountain does Moses find the burning bush? This 17th century tapestry was woven by Everaert Leynier of Brussels.
Mount Horeb. Mount Sinai, Mountain of Elohim, or Mountain of YHWH are also accepted. The Leynier family made tapestries for several generations and eventually entered the lace business. In later generations, some members were in the Belgian resistance and even ended in concentration camps.
500
Which Swiss-German painter, known for his Henry VIII, his Erasmus of Rotterdam, and his Sir Thomas More, produced this "Solothurn Madonna" in 1522? A) Albrecht Dürer B) Lucas Cranach the Elder C) Jan Gossaert D) Hans Holbein the Younger
Hans Holbein the Younger. Saint Martin of Tours is the bishop in the image. Unfortunately, Holbein was active during the Reformation, during which he showed some sympathy towards Luther's ideas, while maintaining ties to traditionalists such as Thomas More and Erasmus.
500
Who paints the following "Judgement of Solomon" in 1649?
A) Poussin
B) Da Cortona
C) Le Brun
D) Rubens
The French painter Nicolas Poussin. He spent much of his working life in Rome.
500
This 4th century Basilica is one of the Seven Pilgrim Churches of Rome, houses relics of the Holy Cross, and is extra-territorial. It is considered to be in which city? 
In Jerusalem. Thus, the name of the Basilica is "The Holy Cross of Jerusalem". The relics were brought back from the Holy Land by Saint Helen. She had soil from Calvary dispersed beneath the floors. The painting is from 1848 by Austrian painter Friedrich Loos.
500
Salvador Dali was commending which pope in this mystifying scene titled "Ecumenical Council"? In 1958, this pope had extended communication to the Archbishop of Canterbury. 
Pope John XXIII. The picture contains St. Peter's Basilica, a Trinity, St. Helen, and other symbols. Dali had been able to meet the preceding pope, Pius XII.