Q 01/05

Who painted The Birth of Venus?

A) Titian Vecellio

B) Raphael Sanzio

C) Sandro Botticelli

D) Leonardo da Vinci

Answer · why

C) Sandro Botticelli

He probably executed it in the mid-1480s, his most successful decade.

Q 02/05

In which city does The Birth of Venus hang?

A) Rome

B) Florence

C) Paris

D) Venice

Answer · why

B) Florence

It hangs in the Uffizi, having arrived from a Medici country villa in the 19th century.

Q 03/05

What is Venus standing in as she arrives at the shore?

A) A floating lily pad

B) A dolphin's back

C) A wooden rowing boat

D) A giant scallop shell

Answer · why

D) A giant scallop shell

The impossible size of the shell was borrowed from classical depictions of the same subject.

Q 04/05

Which wind god blows Venus toward the shore from the left of the picture?

A) Zephyrus

B) Aeolus

C) Notus

D) Boreas

Answer · why

A) Zephyrus

Lines radiating from his mouth show the wind; he carries a lighter breeze, probably Aura, who blows too.

Q 05/05

The woman holding out a cloak on the right is one of which group of minor goddesses?

A) The Graces

B) The Horae

C) The Fates

D) The Muses

Answer · why

B) The Horae

The flowers on her dress suggest she is the Hour of Spring.