Spooky Art History
Monsters, Myths, & Symbols
Tricks of the Trade
Art Gone Wrong
Fact or Fright?
100
The name of this famous painting by Edvard Munch.
What is 'The Scream'.
100
In art, this structure often features grotesque stone faces and creatures on Gothic buildings, sometimes serving as water spouts.
What is a gargoyle?
100
This refers to the empty or unoccupied areas surrounding the main subject in an artwork.
What is Negative Space?
100
Vincent van Gogh famously cut off this body part during a period of mental distress.
What is his ear?
100
The word "Halloween" comes from a phrase meaning "All Hallows' Eve."
True
200
The name of this famous painting by Grant Wood.
What is 'American Gothic'.
200
This ghostly woman from Mexican and Latin American folklore is said to wander near bodies of water, crying for her lost children.
Who is La Llorona?
200
This technique involves cutting or tearing pieces of paper and arranging them to create a new image.
What is collage?
200
A collector at an art fair accidentally shattered a porcelain sculpture of this famous balloon-shaped animal, created by Jeff Koons.
What is a Balloon Dog?
200
Halloween jack-o'-lanterns were originally carved from pumpkins in Ireland.
False — they were traditionally carved from turnips or other root vegetables.
300
The name of this famous painting by Francisco Goya.
What is 'Saturn Devouring his Son'.
300
In Greek mythology, this three-headed dog guards the entrance to the Underworld.
Who is Cerberus?
300
This technique involves pouring liquid plaster, resin, clay, or another material into a mold to create a three-dimensional form.
What is casting/mold-making?
300
This artist's artwork was shredded by a hidden mechanism moments after it sold at auction for over a million dollars.
Who is Banksy?
300
Gothic architecture's pointed arches are mainly decorative.
False — pointed arches help distribute weight and allow for taller structures.
400
The name of this famous painting by Vincent Van Gogh.
What is 'Skull of a Skeleton with Burning Cigarette'.
400
This traditional still-life genre uses symbols such as skulls, decaying fruit, and wilted flowers to remind viewers that life, beauty, and worldly pleasures are temporary and death is inevitable.
What are vanitas/memento mori?
400
This printmaking technique uses acid to bite lines into a metal plate through a protective coating.
What is Etching?
400
This surrealist artist was expelled from art school after declaring that none of his teachers were qualified to examine his work.
Who is Salvador Dalí?
400
The animatronic shark used in Jaws was nicknamed Bruce by the film crew.
True
500
The name of this famous painting by René Magritte.
What is 'Son of Man'.
500
The name of this mythical monster.
Who is the The Headless Horseman/Dullahan?
500
This technique creates the illusion of depth by making distant objects appear lighter, less detailed, and often bluer than objects in the foreground.
What is Atmospheric perspective?
500
In the 18th century, workers altered Rembrandt’s The Night Watch by doing this to make it fit between two doors.
What is trimming it?
500
The original Psycho shower scene was filmed using fake blood.
False — chocolate syrup was used because it showed up well in black-and-white film.