a little birdie told me so: The Five W's

Friday, June 27, 2008

The Five W's

Who, What, When, Where and Why are the five W's of observation. If you add How to the mix you are ready to delve into any mystery. I was challenged by Lavinia to play along. So here is a little puzzle to solve.

Who painted this unusual self-portrait?

What is this?

When did the event depicted in this painting take place?

Where was this originally found and where can it be found today?

Why is this considered art?

And for 50 bonus points can you tell me How these were built?

This little quiz will probably be a no-brainer for all of you art historians out there so consider yourself challenged to play along and stump us with some really hard W's.

5 comments:

LaviniaJune 27, 2008 at 8:52 AM
Wow, Steviewren, this is fantastic...your knowledge is truly impressive….and I'm challenged..and somewhat stumped!

Here goes:

1. Looks dali-esque but isn't. This is 19th century artist Courbet.

2. Ancient (North African?) fertility statue

3. This is a Goya, but memory blanking out on all the rest!

4. Mesopotamian Processional Gate. Stumped as to where it is now.

5. Hmmmmmm....Is it because it's so-called "Modern art" (which can be anything, even a pile of styrofoam chips or what looks like it belongs in the men's room?

6. I thought the mystery of pyramid building was still a mystery. Somehow thousands of slaves did it.

This was a lot of fun. Thanks, Stevie..you should do this again...
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Tess KincaidJune 27, 2008 at 10:27 AM
1. I've never seen this one! Fascinating. Looks like Bernini or Courbet.

2. Fertility amulet.

3. Goya's work, Spanish Revolution, May something or other.

4. Ishtar Gate

5. Because it's an artist's creation

6. I don't know....it's a mystery! ;)
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Kat MortensenJune 27, 2008 at 1:27 PM
I'm never going to get these.

It's not Van Gogh

Fertility Goddess

Shooting of Benedict Arnold?

no idea

It was peed in by a great artist?

Wheeled carts and scaffolding? Lots of little Egyptians? The God Ra?

Wow, at least Lavinia gave us a shot. You're merciless!

Kat
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BethJune 27, 2008 at 5:23 PM
This comment has been removed by the author.
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steviewrenJune 28, 2008 at 12:52 AM
Nice guesses everyone! Thanks for playing.
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Add comment

I'm glad you stopped by and I look forward to your comments. As Dr. Fraser Crane would say, "Hello, I'm listening."

...."We were Birds Without Wings. You were a robin and I was a blackbird. And there were some who were eagles or vultures or pretty gold finches, but none of us had wings. For birds with wings nothing changes. They fly where they will and they know nothing about borders and their quarrels are very small. But we are always confined to earth, no matter how much we climb to the high places and flap our arms. Because we cannot fly we are condemned to do things that do not agree with us. Because we have no wings we are pushed into struggles and abominations that we did not seek and then after all that, the years go by. The mountains are leveled. The valleys rise. The rivers are blocked by sand and the cliffs fall into the sea." -Louis De Berniere

Who Said It First?

The phrase "little birdie told me so" may find it's origins in this Bible verse. "Do not revile the king even in your thoughts, or curse the rich in your bedroom, because a bird of the air may carry your words, and a bird on the wing may report what you say" (Ecclesiastes 10:20). The earliest form of the saying was included in John Heywood's collection of proverbs (1546). In 1583, Brian Melbancke wrote in 'Philotimus'" 'I had a little bird, that brought me newes of it.' In 1711, in 'Letter to Stella,' Jonathan Swift came close to the current version: 'I heard a little bird say so.'