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

About This Article

This article is from the book:

About the book authors:

Vince Kotchian is a full-time standardized test tutor specializing in the MAT, SSAT, ISEE, ACT, GRE, and GMAT. He teaches a GRE prep course at the University of California, San Diego, and has an extensive understanding of analogies and the MAT.

Edwin Kotchian is a MAT tutor and freelance writer who has contributed to a variety of test-prep material.

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