Title: Art History — LearnCoachAssist

Q: What is the oldest known form of art?
A: Prehistoric cave paintings, such as those found in Lascaux, France (c. 17,000 BCE) and Altamira, Spain. These early artworks depict animals, hunting scenes, and hand stencils using natural pigments like ochre and charcoal.

Q: What is the Venus of Willendorf?
A: A small limestone figurine dating to approximately 25,000 BCE, found in Austria. It is one of the earliest known examples of prehistoric sculpture, featuring exaggerated female features likely associated with fertility.

Q: What are megaliths and how do they relate to prehistoric art?
A: Megaliths are large stone structures such as Stonehenge (c. 3000–2000 BCE) in England. They are considered monumental art and architecture, likely serving ceremonial, astronomical, or religious purposes.

Q: What characterized ancient Egyptian art?
A: Egyptian art was highly stylized and symbolic, following strict conventions for thousands of years. Figures were depicted in composite view (head in profile, torso frontal), and art served primarily religious and funerary purposes.

Q: What is the significance of the Rosetta Stone in art history?
A: While primarily a linguistic artifact, the Rosetta Stone (196 BCE) demonstrates the Egyptian tradition of combining carved relief art with hieroglyphic text. It enabled the decipherment of Egyptian hieroglyphs, unlocking our understanding of Egyptian visual culture.

Q: What are canopic jars?
A: Canopic jars were containers used in ancient Egypt to store the internal organs of the deceased during mummification. They are notable art objects with lids sculpted as the four sons of Horus.

Q: What is the Book of the Dead?
A: An ancient Egyptian funerary text containing spells and illustrations on papyrus scrolls placed in tombs. The vivid painted scenes depict the journey of the soul through the afterlife and the weighing of the heart ceremony.

Q: What was the primary purpose of ancient Greek sculpture?
A: Greek sculpture aimed to represent the idealized human form, celebrating beauty, athleticism, and the gods. It evolved from rigid Archaic kouros figures to the naturalistic and dynamic forms of the Classical and Hellenistic periods.

Q: What are the three main periods of ancient Greek art?
A: The three periods are Archaic (c. 600–480 BCE) with stiff, formal figures; Classical (c. 480–323 BCE) with idealized naturalism; and Hellenistic (c. 323–31 BCE) with dramatic emotion and movement.

Q: What is contrapposto in Greek sculpture?
A: Contrapposto is a pose in which a figure stands with most of its weight on one foot, creating a natural S-curve in the body. It was pioneered in Classical Greek sculpture to convey a sense of lifelike movement and relaxation.

Q: What is the Parthenon and why is it significant?
A: The Parthenon is a temple on the Acropolis in Athens, built between 447–432 BCE and dedicated to Athena. It is considered the pinnacle of Classical Greek architecture, featuring Doric columns and elaborate sculptural friezes.

Q: What characterized Roman art and architecture?
A: Roman art was heavily influenced by Greek art but was more focused on realism and practicality. Romans excelled in portrait busts with realistic features, monumental architecture (the Colosseum, Pantheon), and engineering feats like aqueducts.

Q: What is a Roman fresco?
A: A fresco is a wall painting technique where pigment is applied to wet plaster. Roman frescoes, such as those preserved at Pompeii, depicted landscapes, mythological scenes, and trompe-l'oeil architectural illusions.

Q: What are Roman mosaics?
A: Roman mosaics are decorative artworks made from small pieces of colored stone, glass, or ceramic called tesserae. They adorned floors and walls of villas and public buildings, depicting scenes from mythology, daily life, and nature.

Q: What is Byzantine art?
A: Byzantine art developed in the Eastern Roman Empire (4th–15th centuries) and is characterized by gold backgrounds, flat figures, and religious iconography. It emphasized spiritual symbolism over naturalistic representation, with icons and mosaics as primary forms.

Q: What is an icon in Byzantine art?
A: An icon is a sacred religious image, typically a panel painting of Christ, the Virgin Mary, or saints. Icons were venerated in the Eastern Orthodox tradition and followed strict compositional conventions.

Q: What is Romanesque art?
A: Romanesque art (c. 1000–1200 CE) is characterized by rounded arches, thick walls, and sturdy pillars in architecture. Sculptural decoration on church portals and capitals depicted biblical narratives and fantastical creatures.

Q: What defines Gothic art and architecture?
A: Gothic art (c. 1140–1500) features pointed arches, ribbed vaults, flying buttresses, and large stained-glass windows. Gothic cathedrals like Notre-Dame de Paris soared to great heights, filling interiors with colored light.

Q: What is an illuminated manuscript?
A: An illuminated manuscript is a handwritten book decorated with gold leaf, elaborate borders, and miniature paintings. Created primarily in medieval monasteries, famous examples include the Book of Kells and Les Très Riches Heures.

Q: What was the Renaissance?
A: The Renaissance (c. 1400–1600) was a cultural rebirth originating in Italy that revived interest in Classical Greek and Roman art, science, and philosophy. It emphasized humanism, naturalism, perspective, and anatomical accuracy in art.

Q: Who was Leonardo da Vinci?
A: Leonardo da Vinci (1452–1519) was an Italian Renaissance polymath and painter renowned for the Mona Lisa and The Last Supper. He pioneered sfumato technique and made groundbreaking studies in anatomy, engineering, and science.

Q: What is sfumato?
A: Sfumato is a painting technique developed by Leonardo da Vinci that creates soft, gradual transitions between colors and tones. The term means "smoky" in Italian, and it eliminates harsh outlines to achieve a lifelike, atmospheric effect.

Q: What is the Mona Lisa known for?
A: The Mona Lisa (c. 1503–1519) by Leonardo da Vinci is famous for its subject's enigmatic smile, masterful use of sfumato, and atmospheric perspective. It is the most recognized painting in the world, housed in the Louvre, Paris.

Q: Who was Michelangelo?
A: Michelangelo Buonarroti (1475–1564) was an Italian Renaissance sculptor, painter, and architect. He is best known for the Sistine Chapel ceiling, the sculpture of David, and the design of St. Peter's Basilica dome in Rome.

Q: Describe Michelangelo's David.
A: David (1501–1504) is a 17-foot marble sculpture depicting the biblical hero before his battle with Goliath. It exemplifies Renaissance ideals of human beauty, anatomical precision, and Classical contrapposto pose.

Q: What did Michelangelo paint on the Sistine Chapel ceiling?
A: Michelangelo painted nine scenes from the Book of Genesis (1508–1512), including the iconic Creation of Adam. The ceiling contains over 300 figures and is considered one of the greatest achievements in Western art.

Q: Who was Raphael?
A: Raffaello Sanzio (1483–1520), known as Raphael, was an Italian Renaissance painter celebrated for his clarity of form and visual harmony. His masterworks include The School of Athens and the Sistine Madonna.

Q: What does The School of Athens depict?
A: The School of Athens (1509–1511) by Raphael depicts the great philosophers of antiquity gathered in a grand Classical architectural setting. Plato and Aristotle stand at center, representing the pursuit of truth through philosophy and reason.

Q: What is linear perspective in Renaissance art?
A: Linear perspective is a mathematical system for creating the illusion of depth on a flat surface, developed by Filippo Brunelleschi. Parallel lines converge at a single vanishing point on the horizon line, revolutionizing spatial representation.

Q: Who was Sandro Botticelli?
A: Sandro Botticelli (1445–1510) was an Early Renaissance painter known for his graceful, linear style. His most famous works are The Birth of Venus and Primavera, both celebrating Classical mythology and idealized beauty.

Q: What is chiaroscuro?
A: Chiaroscuro is the use of strong contrasts between light and dark to model three-dimensional forms and create dramatic effect. It was used extensively in Renaissance and Baroque painting, notably by Leonardo and Caravaggio.

Q: What defines Baroque art?
A: Baroque art (c. 1600–1750) is characterized by dramatic lighting, rich color, intense emotion, and dynamic composition. It was closely tied to the Counter-Reformation Catholic Church and sought to evoke awe and spiritual engagement.

Q: Who was Caravaggio?
A: Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio (1571–1610) was an Italian Baroque painter known for his revolutionary use of tenebrism — extreme contrasts of light and shadow. His realistic, emotionally charged works include The Calling of Saint Matthew and Judith Beheading Holofernes.

Q: What is tenebrism?
A: Tenebrism is a dramatic form of chiaroscuro where most of the composition is in deep shadow, with a few areas intensely illuminated. Caravaggio was its most famous practitioner, creating theatrical spotlighting effects.

Q: Who was Rembrandt van Rijn?
A: Rembrandt (1606–1669) was a Dutch Golden Age painter and printmaker, widely regarded as one of history's greatest artists. He is celebrated for his mastery of light and shadow, psychological depth in portraits, and works like The Night Watch and his many self-portraits.

Q: What is The Night Watch?
A: The Night Watch (1642) by Rembrandt is a large group portrait of a Dutch civic militia company. It is revolutionary for its dynamic composition, dramatic use of light, and sense of movement, departing from the static group portrait tradition.

Q: Who was Peter Paul Rubens?
A: Peter Paul Rubens (1577–1640) was a Flemish Baroque painter known for his exuberant, sensuous style, dynamic compositions, and vibrant color. His works include The Descent from the Cross and numerous mythological scenes.

Q: What is Rococo art?
A: Rococo (c. 1720–1780) was an 18th-century style originating in France, characterized by ornate decoration, pastel colors, playful themes, and elegant curves. It celebrated aristocratic leisure, romance, and the pleasures of life.

Q: Who was Jean-Antoine Watteau?
A: Watteau (1684–1721) was a French Rococo painter who created the fête galante genre — scenes of elegant outdoor parties. His masterpiece Pilgrimage to Cythera epitomizes Rococo charm and delicacy.

Q: Who was François Boucher?
A: François Boucher (1703–1770) was a leading French Rococo painter known for his sensual mythological scenes, pastoral landscapes, and decorative works. He served as court painter to Louis XV and was a favorite of Madame de Pompadour.

Q: What is Neoclassicism?
A: Neoclassicism (c. 1760–1850) was an art movement that drew inspiration from Classical Greek and Roman art, emphasizing order, symmetry, and moral virtue. It arose as a reaction against Rococo excess, influenced by Enlightenment ideals.

Q: Who was Jacques-Louis David?
A: Jacques-Louis David (1748–1825) was the leading French Neoclassical painter. His works like Oath of the Horatii and The Death of Marat exemplify Neoclassical ideals of civic duty, heroism, and austere beauty.

Q: What is Romanticism in art?
A: Romanticism (c. 1800–1850) emphasized emotion, imagination, individualism, and the sublime power of nature. It was a reaction against Neoclassical rationalism, celebrating passion, mystery, and the exotic.

Q: Who was Eugène Delacroix?
A: Eugène Delacroix (1798–1863) was a leading French Romantic painter known for his vivid color, expressive brushwork, and dramatic subjects. His masterpiece Liberty Leading the People (1830) became an iconic symbol of revolutionary freedom.

Q: Who was Caspar David Friedrich?
A: Caspar David Friedrich (1774–1840) was a German Romantic landscape painter. His works like Wanderer above the Sea of Fog explore themes of human insignificance before the sublime grandeur of nature.

Q: Who was J.M.W. Turner?
A: Joseph Mallord William Turner (1775–1851) was a British Romantic landscape painter known for his luminous, atmospheric seascapes and use of light. His increasingly abstract later works anticipated Impressionism.

Q: What was the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood?
A: The Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood (founded 1848) was a group of English painters including Dante Gabriel Rossetti, John Everett Millais, and William Holman Hunt. They rejected industrialization and sought to return to the detail and color of art before Raphael.

Q: What was the Realism movement in art?
A: Realism (c. 1840–1880) rejected idealized subjects in favor of truthful depictions of everyday life and ordinary people. Gustave Courbet, its champion, declared that art should only depict things the artist could see and touch.

Q: Who was Gustave Courbet?
A: Gustave Courbet (1819–1877) was the founder of the Realism movement in French painting. His works like The Stone Breakers and A Burial at Ornans depicted working-class subjects with unflinching honesty, shocking the art establishment.

Q: What is Impressionism?
A: Impressionism (c. 1860s–1880s) was a French art movement that sought to capture the fleeting effects of light and color in outdoor scenes. Artists used visible brushstrokes, pure color, and open composition, breaking from academic traditions.

Q: Who was Claude Monet?
A: Claude Monet (1840–1926) was the founding figure of Impressionism, named after his painting Impression, Sunrise (1872). He is famous for his series paintings of haystacks, Rouen Cathedral, and the Water Lilies at his garden in Giverny.

Q: What is plein air painting?
A: Plein air painting means painting outdoors directly from nature rather than in a studio. It was central to Impressionism, enabled by portable paint tubes, and aimed to capture natural light and atmospheric conditions.

Q: Who was Pierre-Auguste Renoir?
A: Renoir (1841–1919) was a French Impressionist known for his vibrant light, saturated color, and joyful depictions of Parisian social life. His masterworks include Bal du moulin de la Galette and Luncheon of the Boating Party.

Q: Who was Edgar Degas?
A: Edgar Degas (1834–1917) was a French artist associated with Impressionism, though he preferred the term "Realist." He is best known for his paintings and pastels of ballet dancers, horse races, and modern urban life, with innovative compositions influenced by photography.

Q: Who was Berthe Morisot?
A: Berthe Morisot (1841–1895) was a leading female Impressionist painter and a founding member of the movement. Her intimate domestic scenes and portraits are characterized by loose brushwork, luminous color, and a delicate, atmospheric quality.

Q: What is Post-Impressionism?
A: Post-Impressionism (c. 1886–1905) encompasses diverse styles that extended Impressionism while rejecting its limitations. Artists like Cézanne, Van Gogh, Gauguin, and Seurat each developed highly individual approaches to color, form, and expression.

Q: Who was Vincent van Gogh?
A: Vincent van Gogh (1853–1890) was a Dutch Post-Impressionist painter known for his bold colors, expressive brushwork, and emotional intensity. Despite selling few paintings in his lifetime, works like The Starry Night and Sunflowers are now among the most famous in history.

Q: What is The Starry Night?
A: The Starry Night (1889) by Vincent van Gogh depicts a swirling night sky over a village, painted from his asylum room in Saint-Rémy-de-Provence. Its dynamic, expressive brushwork and vivid blues and yellows convey intense emotional turbulence.

Q: Who was Paul Cézanne?
A: Paul Cézanne (1839–1906) was a French Post-Impressionist often called the "Father of Modern Art." He sought to reveal the underlying geometric structure of nature, paving the way for Cubism with his analysis of form in landscapes, still lifes, and bathers.

Q: Who was Paul Gauguin?
A: Paul Gauguin (1848–1903) was a French Post-Impressionist who sought artistic inspiration in Tahiti and the South Pacific. He used bold, flat areas of color and Symbolist imagery, as seen in Where Do We Come From? What Are We? Where Are We Going?

Q: What is Pointillism?
A: Pointillism is a technique developed by Georges Seurat in which small, distinct dots of pure color are applied in patterns to form an image. When viewed from a distance, the dots optically blend to create luminous, shimmering effects.

Q: Who was Georges Seurat?
A: Georges Seurat (1859–1891) was a French Post-Impressionist who developed Pointillism (Neo-Impressionism). His monumental painting A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte (1886) is the quintessential example of this technique.

Q: What is Art Nouveau?
A: Art Nouveau (c. 1890–1910) was a decorative art style featuring sinuous, organic lines inspired by natural forms — flowers, vines, and insects. It influenced architecture, furniture, jewelry, and graphic design, with artists like Alphonse Mucha and Gustav Klimt.

Q: Who was Gustav Klimt?
A: Gustav Klimt (1862–1918) was an Austrian Symbolist painter and leading figure of the Vienna Secession. His lavishly decorative works, such as The Kiss and Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer I, feature gold leaf, intricate patterns, and sensual figures.

Q: What is Fauvism?
A: Fauvism (c. 1905–1908) was a short-lived but influential movement led by Henri Matisse. It is characterized by wild, non-naturalistic color, bold brushwork, and simplified forms. Critics called the artists les fauves ("the wild beasts").

Q: Who was Henri Matisse?
A: Henri Matisse (1869–1954) was a French artist and leader of Fauvism. Known for his vibrant use of color, fluid draftsmanship, and decorative compositions, his notable works include The Dance, Woman with a Hat, and his late paper cut-outs.

Q: What is Expressionism?
A: Expressionism (early 20th century) was a movement in which artists distorted reality to express emotional experience and inner feelings. Characterized by intense color, agitated brushwork, and unsettling imagery, it includes groups like Die Brücke and Der Blaue Reiter.

Q: Who was Edvard Munch?
A: Edvard Munch (1863–1944) was a Norwegian artist and a precursor to Expressionism. His iconic painting The Scream (1893) — depicting a figure on a bridge with an agonized expression against a turbulent sky — symbolizes modern existential anxiety.

Q: Who was Wassily Kandinsky?
A: Wassily Kandinsky (1866–1944) was a Russian-born artist widely credited as one of the pioneers of abstract art. A member of Der Blaue Reiter, he believed color and form could express spiritual and emotional truths independent of recognizable subjects.

Q: What is Cubism?
A: Cubism (c. 1907–1920s) was a revolutionary movement pioneered by Pablo Picasso and Georges Braque. It broke objects into geometric fragments and showed multiple viewpoints simultaneously, fundamentally challenging traditional perspective and representation.

Q: Who was Pablo Picasso?
A: Pablo Picasso (1881–1973) was a Spanish artist and co-founder of Cubism, widely regarded as the most influential artist of the 20th century. His vast output spans multiple styles, with masterworks including Les Demoiselles d'Avignon and Guernica.

Q: What is Guernica?
A: Guernica (1937) by Picasso is a monumental anti-war painting responding to the Nazi bombing of the Basque town of Guernica during the Spanish Civil War. Rendered in stark black, white, and grey, it depicts the horrors of war with fragmented, anguished figures.

Q: Who was Georges Braque?
A: Georges Braque (1882–1963) was a French painter who, alongside Picasso, co-founded Cubism. He pioneered the use of collage (papier collé) in fine art and developed Analytic and Synthetic Cubism, analyzing form through muted tones and geometric planes.

Q: What is the difference between Analytic and Synthetic Cubism?
A: Analytic Cubism (1909–1912) broke objects into small, overlapping geometric planes in muted colors. Synthetic Cubism (1912–1920s) was bolder, using brighter colors, simpler shapes, and incorporating collage elements like newspaper and fabric.

Q: What is Futurism?
A: Futurism (founded 1909 in Italy) celebrated speed, technology, modernity, and dynamic movement. Led by Filippo Tommaso Marinetti and artists like Umberto Boccioni, it sought to capture the energy and sensation of the modern mechanical age.

Q: What is Dadaism?
A: Dada (c. 1916–1924) was an avant-garde movement born in Zurich that rejected logic, reason, and conventional aesthetics in response to World War I. Artists like Marcel Duchamp, Hannah Höch, and Tristan Tzara embraced absurdity, chance, and anti-art provocations.

Q: What is a readymade in art?
A: A readymade is an ordinary manufactured object designated as art by the artist, a concept pioneered by Marcel Duchamp. His most famous readymade, Fountain (1917) — a urinal signed "R. Mutt" — challenged the very definition of art.

Q: What is Surrealism?
A: Surrealism (founded 1924) explored the unconscious mind, dreams, and irrational imagery, influenced by Freudian psychoanalysis. Led by André Breton, artists like Dalí, Magritte, and Ernst created bizarre, dreamlike compositions.

Q: Who was Salvador Dalí?
A: Salvador Dalí (1904–1989) was a Spanish Surrealist artist known for his bizarre, dreamlike imagery and meticulous draftsmanship. His most iconic work, The Persistence of Memory (1931), features melting clocks in a barren landscape, exploring the fluidity of time.

Q: Who was René Magritte?
A: René Magritte (1898–1967) was a Belgian Surrealist painter known for his witty, thought-provoking images that challenge perception. His works like The Treachery of Images ("This is not a pipe") and The Son of Man explore the gap between objects and their representation.

Q: What is De Stijl?
A: De Stijl (1917–1931) was a Dutch art movement advocating pure abstraction through geometric forms and primary colors. Led by Piet Mondrian and Theo van Doesburg, it reduced art to essentials: horizontal and vertical lines, and red, yellow, blue, black, and white.

Q: Who was Piet Mondrian?
A: Piet Mondrian (1872–1944) was a Dutch painter and leading member of De Stijl. His signature style of grid-based compositions with primary colors and black lines, as in Composition with Red, Blue, and Yellow, profoundly influenced modern design and architecture.

Q: What is the Bauhaus?
A: The Bauhaus (1919–1933) was a German art school founded by Walter Gropius that sought to unify art, craft, and technology. It profoundly influenced modern architecture, industrial design, graphic design, and typography with its emphasis on function and simplicity.

Q: What is Abstract Expressionism?
A: Abstract Expressionism (1940s–1950s) was the first major American avant-garde movement, centered in New York. It emphasized spontaneous, gestural, or color-field abstraction, with artists like Jackson Pollock, Willem de Kooning, and Mark Rothko.

Q: Who was Jackson Pollock?
A: Jackson Pollock (1912–1956) was an American Abstract Expressionist known for his drip painting technique. By laying canvases on the floor and pouring or flinging paint, he created complex, energetic all-over compositions like Number 1A, 1948.

Q: Who was Mark Rothko?
A: Mark Rothko (1903–1970) was an American Abstract Expressionist associated with Color Field painting. His large canvases of luminous, floating rectangular color fields, such as No. 61 (Rust and Blue), were intended to evoke deep emotional and spiritual responses.

Q: What is Color Field painting?
A: Color Field painting is a style of abstract art featuring large areas of flat, solid color spread across the canvas. Pioneered by artists like Mark Rothko, Barnett Newman, and Helen Frankenthaler, it emphasizes the optical and emotional impact of color itself.

Q: What is Pop Art?
A: Pop Art (1950s–1960s) drew imagery from mass media, advertising, comic books, and consumer culture. Originating in Britain and flourishing in America, it blurred the boundary between "high" art and popular culture.

Q: Who was Andy Warhol?
A: Andy Warhol (1928–1987) was an American Pop Art icon known for his silkscreen prints of consumer products and celebrities. Works like Campbell's Soup Cans and Marilyn Diptych explored mass production, fame, and the commodification of culture.

Q: Who was Roy Lichtenstein?
A: Roy Lichtenstein (1923–1997) was an American Pop Artist known for paintings inspired by comic strips and Ben-Day dots. Works like Whaam! and Drowning Girl appropriated mass media imagery with ironic detachment and bold graphic style.

Q: What is Minimalism in art?
A: Minimalism (1960s–1970s) stripped art to its essential geometric forms, using industrial materials and serial repetition. Artists like Donald Judd, Dan Flavin, and Agnes Martin rejected personal expression in favor of objectivity and pure form.

Q: What is Conceptual Art?
A: Conceptual Art (1960s onward) prioritizes the idea or concept behind the work over its physical form. Artists like Sol LeWitt, Joseph Kosuth, and Yoko Ono argued that the intellectual engagement is more important than visual aesthetics.

Q: What is performance art?
A: Performance art is a form where the artist's body and actions constitute the artwork, often performed live before an audience. Pioneers include Marina Abramović, Yoko Ono, and Joseph Beuys, challenging boundaries between art and life.

Q: What is installation art?
A: Installation art creates immersive, three-dimensional environments that transform a gallery space. The viewer enters and experiences the work, which may incorporate sculpture, video, sound, and light. Notable practitioners include Yayoi Kusama and Olafur Eliasson.

Q: What is Land Art (Earth Art)?
A: Land Art (late 1960s) creates artworks directly in and from the natural landscape, often on a monumental scale. Robert Smithson's Spiral Jetty (1970) and Christo and Jeanne-Claude's wrapped landscapes are iconic examples.

Q: What is Photorealism?
A: Photorealism (late 1960s–1970s) is a movement in which artists create paintings so detailed they resemble high-resolution photographs. Chuck Close and Richard Estes are leading practitioners, often working from photographic references with meticulous precision.

Q: Who was Jean-Michel Basquiat?
A: Jean-Michel Basquiat (1960–1988) was an American Neo-Expressionist artist who rose from New York City graffiti to international acclaim. His raw, energetic paintings combine text, symbols, and figures addressing themes of race, class, and power.

Q: Who was Frida Kahlo?
A: Frida Kahlo (1907–1954) was a Mexican painter known for her intensely personal self-portraits that explore identity, pain, and the body. Influenced by Mexican folk art and Surrealism, works like The Two Fridas and Self-Portrait with Thorn Necklace are iconic.

Q: What is street art?
A: Street art is visual art created in public spaces, including murals, stencils, wheat-paste posters, and installations. Artists like Banksy, Shepard Fairey, and Keith Haring have brought it from counterculture to mainstream recognition.

Q: Who is Banksy?
A: Banksy is an anonymous British street artist known for satirical, politically charged stencil works that appear on walls worldwide. Works like Girl with Balloon and the documentary Exit Through the Gift Shop have made him one of the most famous contemporary artists.