Which Historical Art Mystery Would You Solve?
Art history is full of tea, drama, and unsolved mysteries. If you had unlimited internet clout (and maybe a time machine), which iconic art enigma would you crack wide open? Take this quiz to find out!
Frequently Asked Questions
Nobody knows if she’s happy, smug, or hiding something. Scientists analyzed it and said she’s 83% happy, but honestly, that’s not satisfying.
A few theories exist, but nothing has been confirmed. Some think Banksy is a group of artists rather than one person.
The official story says he cut it off himself after arguing with his friend, artist Paul Gauguin, but some believe it was actually Gauguin who did it.
Yep! The ‘Salvator Mundi’ was missing for centuries and resurfaced, selling for $450.3 million.
The Isleworth Mona Lisa looks almost identical to the famous one (but younger and with a less intricate landscape). Some say Da Vinci painted it earlier, others call it a knockoff.
No one really knows, but theories say she was Vermeer’s daughter, maid, or just a model.
Yes! In 1911, an Italian decorator and Louvre worker, Vincenzo Peruggia, stole it, thinking he was ‘returning’ it to Italy 'after it was stolen from Italy' by Napoleon, in Peruggia's own words. It was missing for two years.
Authors Steven Naifeh and Gregory White Smith in biography Van Gogh: The Life, say he didn’t die by suicide but was shot by some local kids who played with guns.
