How did he get that mark on his cheek? The great British art quiz

Pietro Paolo Sapri (1552-1623) by an unknown artist. Photograph: Bodleian Libraries

This quiz is brought to you in collaboration with Art UK, the online home of the UK’s public art collections, showing art from more than 3,000 venues and by 45,000 artists. Each day, a different collection on Art UK will set the questions.

Today, our questions are set by Bodleian Libraries. They are research libraries of the University of Oxford, which also hold a historic collection of portraits in all media.

You can see art from Bodleian Libraries on Art UK. Find out more on the Bodleian Libraries website here.

1. 

   Which UK university library had England’s first public picture gallery?

   1. The University of Cambridge

   2. The University of Edinburgh

   3. University of Oxford (Bodleian Library)

   4. University of St Andrews

2. 

   In the portrait of William Cecil, Lord Burghley (1520-98), riding on his mule, why might he feel about to fall over?

   1. His George medal is so heavy

   2. His robe is so heavy

   3. His mule doesn’t know where he’s going

   4. Both of the mule’s left hooves are in the air

3. 

   In the portrait of Alexander Nowell (c1516/17–1602), what objects connect him with fishing?

   1. He wears a traditional fisherman’s hat

   2. The fishing rod (hanging above) and fishing hooks (on table)

   3. The book on the table is Izaak Walton’s Compleat Angler.

   4. The Latin inscription top left records the largest fish he ever caught.

4. 

   The portrait of Pietro Paolo Sarpi (1552–1623) shows him with a distinctive mark on his right cheek. What is it?

   1. A beauty mark (also worn by men at this period).

   2. The scar from an assassination attempt.

   3. An ink stain, left when he put his hand to his face.

   4. A blob of paint the artist forgot to remove.

5. 

   Queen Anne (1665–1714) ruled Britain at the start of the 18th century. What chronic illness did she suffer from?

   1. Smallpox

   2. Gout

   3. Eye condition

   4. All of the above

6. 

   The Bodleian has five portraits of famous astronomers – one Danish, one Polish, and three English Astronomers Royal. Which astronomer below is not among them?

   1. Tycho Brahe (1546–1601)

   2. Jan Hevelius (1611–87)

   3. Edmond Halley (1656–1742)

   4. Sir Martin Ryle (1918–84)

7. 

   Among the Bodleian’s portraits of Oxford college founders, those of two colleges were founded by married couples. Who is this portrait of and what college did she and her husband found?

   1. Lord and Lady Nuffield (Nuffield College)

   2. Nicholas and Dorothy Wadham (Wadham College)

   3. Abraham and Mary Lincoln (Lincoln College)

   4. Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn (Christ Church)

8. 

   Richard Rothwell's portrait features which famous writer?

   1. Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley

   2. Mary Wollstonecraft

   3. George Eliot

   4. Charlotte Brontë

Solutions

1:C - The Bodleian Picture Gallery was open to readers and to visitors from the mid-17th century. Most of the paintings and all the sculptures are portraits of historic figures from the 16th to the 21st centuries., 2:D - Burghley, Elizabeth I’s chief minister, loved to ride his mule around his garden at Theobalds. This unique portrait, by an unknown artist, is thought to date to around 1587.

‘ IMAGE: William Cecil (1520-1598), Baron Burghley, 1587, Marcus Gheeraerts the younger (1561/1562-1635/1636) (attributed to), Bodleian Libraries, 3:B - Serving as the Dean of St Paul’s for 42 years, Nowell was said to spend a 10th of his time fishing.

 IMAGE: Alexander Nowell (1507?-1602), unknown artist, Bodleian Libraries , 4:B - Sarpi, a Servite monk and historian, was violently attacked in 1607 for criticising the Catholic Church. IMAGE: Pietro Paolo Sapri (1552-1623), unknown artist, Bodleian Libraries, 5:D - Throughout her life, Queen Anne was plagued with illness – smallpox, eye conditions, gout, and possibly a rare kind of immune disorder. Gout was known as "the disease of kings" because it was thought that it was caused by overindulgence in rich food and drink only affordable by the very wealthy. The disease eventually spread to all of Anne’s limbs, leaving her wheelchair-bound. In 2019, Olivia Colman won an Oscar for her portrayal of Queen Anne in Yorgos Lanthimos’ The Favourite. IMAGE: ‘Queen Anne (1665–1714), the studio of Godfrey Kneller (1646–1723), Bodleian Libraries , 6:D - Many men of science are represented in the Bodleian collection, but not Sir Martin Ryle, though he studied at Oxford University.

 IMAGE: Johannes Hevelius (1611-1687), 1677, Andrzej Stech (1635-1697), Bodleian Libraries, 7:B - Dorothy Wadham (1534/5–1618) carried out the intention of her husband Nicholas (d. 1609) to found a college in Oxford; Wadham College was opened formally in 1613.

 IMAGE: ‘Dorothy Wadham (1534-1618)’, c.1670 (?), Wilhelm Sonmans (d.1708), Bodleian Libraries , 8:A - Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley (1797–1851) was the author of the Gothic novel Frankenstein published in 1818. She was married to the Romantic poet Percy Bysshe Shelley and was the daughter of the feminist Mary Wollstonecraft and political philosopher William Godwin. This work was created in the early 1840s by Rothwell. Another portrait of Wollstonecraft Shelley by the same artist is housed in the National Portrait Gallery. IMAGE: ‘Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley (1797–1851)’ c.1840–1843, Richard Rothwell (1800–1868), Bodleian Libraries

Scores

1. 6 and above.

   First class honours

2. 3 and above.

   Upper second

3. 0 and above.

   Third class degree