Artworks that caused riots
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Artworks That Caused Riots — Daily trivia Friday, May 15, 2026: questions and answers
All 10 questions with answers and explanations. Play this daily
Q 01Which regime staged the 'Degenerate Art' exhibition in Munich to ridicule modern art?
- AThe Nazis
- BThe Soviets
- CMussolini's Fascists
- DFranco's Nationalists
Show answer
The Nazis
The Nazis meant their Degenerate Art show to mock modern works, yet over two million visitors came, far more than saw the approved Great German Art Exhibition nearby.
Q 02In which city did the riotous premiere of Stravinsky's 'The Rite of Spring' take place?
- ALondon
- BBerlin
- CVienna
- DParis
Show answer
Paris
The premiere was at Paris's new Théâtre des Champs-Élysées on 29 May 1913, and around forty of the worst offenders were ejected, possibly with police help.
Q 03Which material in Chris Ofili's 'The Holy Virgin Mary' drew the loudest protests in Brooklyn?
- APig's blood
- BElephant dung
- CHuman hair
- DCigarette ash
Show answer
Elephant dung
A varnished lump of elephant dung forms one of the Madonna's breasts and two more prop up the canvas; in December 1999 a 72-year-old man smeared the picture with white paint.
Q 04Which Shakespeare role were rivals Forrest and Macready both playing when the Astor Place Riot erupted?
- AHamlet
- BMacbeth
- COthello
- DKing Lear
Show answer
Macbeth
On 7 May, Forrest's supporters halted Macready's Macbeth with rotten eggs, potatoes and ripped-up seats; when he played it again on 10 May, the militia fired into the crowd.
Q 05Which Manet nude, shown in Paris, provoked such fury the canvas reportedly survived only thanks to precautions?
- AThe Luncheon on the Grass
- BOlympia
- CThe Balcony
- DA Bar at the Folies-Bergère
Show answer
Olympia
Olympia's model, Victorine Meurent, became an accomplished painter herself, and the picture entered the Louvre in 1907 only on the orders of prime minister Georges Clemenceau.
Q 06At which alternative exhibition did Manet's 'Le Déjeuner sur l'herbe' cause a scandal in 1863?
- AThe Salon des Refusés
- BThe Autumn Salon
- CThe Exhibition of the Impressionists
- DThe Salon des Indépendants
Show answer
The Salon des Refusés
Napoleon III ordered the Salon des Refusés after the jury refused two thirds of the paintings submitted, and visitors crowded in to laugh at Manet's picnic scene.
Q 07Which Andres Serrano photograph enraged Senators Helms and D'Amato?
- AThe Morgue
- BThe History of Sex
- CMadonna and Child
- DPiss Christ
Show answer
Piss Christ
Piss Christ drew a friendly reception at a New York gallery in 1987; the uproar came two years later, bringing Serrano death threats, hate mail and lost grants.
Q 08Which British artist's 'My Bed' caused a stir when nominated for the Turner Prize?
- ARachel Whiteread
- BJenny Saville
- CTracey Emin
- DSarah Lucas
Show answer
Tracey Emin
Tracey Emin's My Bed lost the 1999 Turner Prize, but Charles Saatchi bought it for £150,000, and Christie's sold it in 2014 for £2,546,500.
Q 09Duchamp's urinal 'Fountain', signed 'R. Mutt', became an icon of which art movement?
- ADadaism
- BSurrealism
- CFuturism
- DCubism
Show answer
Dadaism
Fountain became an icon of Dadaism, yet the Society of Independent Artists never displayed it: the urinal was hidden behind a partition, and the original has been lost.
Q 10Who painted the 'Sensation' portrait of Myra Hindley made from casts of a child's handprints?
- AMarcus Harvey
- BSarah Lucas
- CChris Ofili
- DDamien Hirst
Show answer
Marcus Harvey
Marcus Harvey built the police mugshot of Myra Hindley out of a mosaic of handprints cast from an infant's hand. It was vandalised twice on 18 September 1997 and rehung behind perspex.
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