Which American painting is often called Whistler's Mother?

Arrangement in Grey and Black No. 1

Musée d'Orsay Quiz: Impressionists in a Former Railway Station

This Musée d'Orsay quiz walks through the grand former railway station on the Seine that now holds Europe's richest Impressionist collection. Play an interactive set of 10 questions on the 1900 station, its giant clocks, Manet, Monet, Renoir, Degas, Van Gogh, Whistler and the years the museum covers.

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🎯 Daily Trivia Challenge • 🧠 10 Questions • ⏱️ 150 Seconds

Question 1 / 10 Time: 150s

Before
What was the Musee d'Orsay building originally?
Opened
When did it open as a museum?
River
Which river does it face?
Period
Which period does the main collection cover?
Clock
Which feature do visitors love to photograph?
Manet
Which Manet picnic painting hangs there?
Renoir
Which Renoir painting shows a Montmartre dance?
Degas
Which subject is Degas famous for?
Whistler
Which American painting is often called Whistler's Mother?
Van Gogh
Which Van Gogh night scene is in the museum?

Explanations: answer key for all 10 questions

Q1: What was the Musee d'Orsay building originally?
Answer: A railway station
It was built for the 1900 World's Fair.
Q2: When did it open as a museum?
Answer: 1986
It was saved from demolition.
Q3: Which river does it face?
Answer: The Seine
The Louvre is across the water.
Q4: Which period does the main collection cover?
Answer: 1848 to 1914
It links the Louvre and modern art.
Q5: Which feature do visitors love to photograph?
Answer: Giant station clocks
You can look through one over Paris.
Q6: Which Manet picnic painting hangs there?
Answer: Le Dejeuner sur l'herbe
It caused a scandal in 1863.
Q7: Which Renoir painting shows a Montmartre dance?
Answer: Bal du moulin de la Galette
It glows with dappled light.
Q8: Which subject is Degas famous for?
Answer: Ballet dancers
The museum has his sculpture of a young dancer.
Q9: Which American painting is often called Whistler's Mother?
Answer: Arrangement in Grey and Black No. 1
It belongs to the museum.
Q10: Which Van Gogh night scene is in the museum?
Answer: Starry Night Over the Rhone
The other famous one is in New York.

Musée D'Orsay Quiz – Impressionists in a Former Railway Station

The Musee d'Orsay stands on the Left Bank of the Seine in a railway station built for the 1900 World's Fair. When trains outgrew its platforms, the building was nearly torn down, but it reopened as a museum in 1986.

Its collection covers art from 1848 to 1914, bridging the Louvre and modern art museums. Highlights include Manet's Le Dejeuner sur l'herbe and Olympia, Renoir's Bal du moulin de la Galette and many works by Monet.

Visitors also see Degas's dancers, Van Gogh's Starry Night Over the Rhone and Whistler's Mother. Giant clocks from the old station remain, and one frames a view across Paris.

What This Quiz Teaches

Art fans will enjoy these questions.

What the building used to be
When the museum opened
Which years it covers
Which paintings hang there
What visitors photograph

Did You Know?

Victor Laloux designed the original station.
Gae Aulenti designed the museum interiors.
It also holds sculpture, photography and furniture.
It sits across the river from the Tuileries.
It is one of the most visited museums in France.