To do well with art content on the MAT, you should familiarize yourself with various art topics, including the major developments, works, and people of art history. Even if you’ve never taken an art class before, you can get familiar with some of the artists, terms, and art movements that may show up on the MAT. The following entries cover famous artists, works of art, and famous museums.
Important figures in the art field and works of art
The following lists important people in the art field and important works of art that you should familiarize yourself with before taking the MAT.
Angelico, Fra: Italian painter known for Deposition of Christ
Bosch, Hieronymus: Dutch painter best known for The Garden of Earthly Delights
Botticelli, Sandro: Italian painter famous for The Birth of Venus
Calder, Alexander: American sculptor known for his mobiles and wire sculptures
Caravaggio: Italian painter known for Calling of Saint Matthew
Cezanne, Paul: French painter known for The Card Players
Chagall, Marc: Russian painter famous for his stained glass work and modernist style
da Vinci, Leonardo: Italian painter and sculptor famous for painting the Mona Lisa
Dali, Salvador: Spanish painter who worked in the surrealist style; One of his best-known works is The Persistence of Memory
Daumier, Honoré: French artist best known for his political caricatures
De Kooning, Willem: Dutch expressionist artist known for Easter Monday
Degas, Edgar: French artist famous for his paintings of dancers
Donatello: Italian sculptor known for his bas-relief sculpture
Gaugin, Paul: French painter known for his paintings of Tahitian subjects
Giacometti, Alberto: Swiss sculptor who worked in bronze
Goya, Francisco: Spanish painter known for Black Paintings
Homer, Winslow: American painter known for his marine paintings and landscapes
Hopper, Edward: American realist painter; one of his famous works is Chop Suey
Johns, Jasper: American pop art painter; one of his famous works is Three Flags
Klee, Paul: Swiss/German painter known for Twittering Machine
Klimt, Gustav: Austrian painter known for The Kiss
Lichtenstein, Roy: American pop artist famous for his art in the style of comic strips
Manet, Edouard: French painter, known for Olympia
Matisse, Henri: French painter famous for his bold use of color; one of his greatest works is La Danse
Michelangelo: Italian painter and sculptor known for his sculpture David and for his paintings in the Sistine Chapel
Miró, Joan: Spanish painter who worked in the surrealist style
Mona Lisa: Famous painting by Leonardo da Vinci; displayed in the Louvre
Mondrian, Piet: Dutch painter famous for his abstract works using primary colors
Monet, Claude: French impressionist painter known for Haystacks
Munch, Edvard: Norweigan painter most famous for The Scream
Nast, Thomas: German-born caricaturist; created the Republican Party elephant
O’Keeffe, Georgia: American artist who lived in the Southwest; most famous for her paintings of flowers
Picasso, Pablo: Spanish painter; one of his famous works is Guernica
Pollock, Jackson: American painter known for his technique of dripping paint onto canvas
Rembrandt: Dutch portrait painter
Renoir, Pierre-Auguste: French impressionist painter
Rodin, Auguste: French sculptor of The Thinker
Rubens, Peter Paul: Flemish painter who worked in the baroque style
Sargent, John Singer: American portrait painter known for Portrait of Madame X
Titian: Italian painter known for his use of color
Van Gogh, Vincent: Dutch painter; one of his famous works is Starry Night
Venus de Milo: Greek statue of the goddess Venus, located in the Louvre
Warhol, Andy: American pop artist known for his Campbell’s soup cans paintings
Wood, Grant: American artist who painted American Gothic
Wyeth, Andrew: American realist painter; one of his famous works is Christina’s World
Art museums that appear on the MAT test
The following lists important art museums that you might be asked about on the MAT.
British Museum: Museum located in London
Guggenheim: Modern art museum located in New York City
Hermitage Museum: A museum of art and culture in Saint Petersburg
Lascaux: Site in France where prehistoric cave paintings were discovered
Louvre: French art museum located in Paris
The Metropolitan Museum of Art: Art museum located in New York City
MOMA: Modern art museum located in New York City
Pergamon: German art museum located in Berlin
Pompidou Centre: A complex in Paris that houses a public library, art museum, and music research facility
Prado: Spanish art museum located in Madrid
Rijksmuseum: Dedicated to arts, crafts, and history — located in Amsterdam
Tate Modern: A modern art gallery in London
Uffizi: Italian art museum located in Florence
Vatican Museums: Located in Vatican City, they display the collection of the Roman Catholic Church
