Sporcle Dad Talks Art ¶ The Knipplies

If you’re here, it’s likely because you didn’t get some (or any) of the Sporcle Dad jokes. Well here is a guide to just what the heck was going on in that tiny little dad brain when it comes to art. If you haven’t yet played the “Sporcle Dad Talks Art” quiz, head over to Sporcle first to see how you do.

Sports
Have you seen Nighthawks?
No, but I’ve seen the Hartwick Hawks.

Edward Hopper‘s painting Nighthawks

Edward Hopper, Nighthawks

The Hartwick College Hawks, Oneonta, New York

Hartwick College Hawks

Geography
Have you seen Washington Crossing the Delaware?
No, but I’ve seen it resting alongside the Potomac.
For the record, this is the joke that started it all.

Emanuel Leutze‘s painting of Washington Crossing the Delaware

Emanuel Leutze, Washington Crossing the Delaware

Washington, D.C., capital of the United States, lies on the east bank of the Potomac River.

Washington, D.C.

Music
Have you seen The Birth of Venus?
No, but I’ve heard Bananarama on the radio a lot.

Sandro Boticelli‘s masterpiece The Birth of Venus

Sandro Botticelli, The Birth of Venus

London girl group Bananarama had a big hit in the US in 1986 with their cover of “Venus” as seen on YouTube.

“Cruel Summer,” another huge Bananarama hit

Movies
Have you seen At the Moulin Rouge?
Yes, Nicole Kidman was great in that movie.

Post-impressionist painter and printmaker Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec was commissioned to do a series of posters for the opening of the Moulin Rouge cabaret. Many of his most famous works feature the performers and clientele of it and other Paris nightclubs.

Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, At the Moulin Rouge: Two Women Waltzing

In Baz Luhrmann‘s Moulin Rouge!, Nicole Kidman played Satine. The magnificent John Leguizamo played Lautrec.

The cast of Moulin Rouge! (Jim Broadbent!)

Television
Have you seen The Night Watch?
No, but I love Knight Rider.

Rembrandt‘s painting The Night Watch

Rembrandt, The Night Watch

Knight Rider was a 1980s American television show staring David Hasselhoff and his sentient car, KITT. While it may seem that the joke here is the Night / Knight connection, the actual point is the cruel irony that neither Rembrandt nor the Hoff were invited to join TMNT.

Knight Rider

Just For Fun
Have you seen The Persistence of Memory?
If I have, I forgot.

Salvador Dalí‘s painting The Persistence of Memory — Memory… I forgot…

Salvador Dalí, The Persistence of Memory

Science
Have you seen Water Lilies?
Yes, but they’re actually a member of the Nymphaeaceae family.

The Water Lilies painted by Claude Monet are a member of the Nymphaeaceae family. True lilies are members of the Lilium genus of the Liliaceae family.

Claude Monet, Water Lilies

We won’t even discuss Vincent Van Gogh‘s Irises.

Vincent Van Gogh, Irises

Entertainment
Have you seen The Sleeping Gypsy?
No, but I know all the words.

Freench Post-Impressionist Henri Rousseau‘s painting The Sleeping Gypsy

Henri Rousseau, The Sleeping Gypsy

The smash Broadway hit musical Gypsy: A Musical Fable opened in 1959. Considered to be one of America’s finest, the musical is based upon the memoir of famous burlesque performer and striptease artist Gypsy Rose Lee. In particularly cool news, Sporcle Mom’s great aunt danced with Gypsy Rose Lee. And with all due respect to Ethel Merman, the finest performance of “Everything’s Coming Up Roses” was done by Michael Jeter in The Fisher King as seen on YouTube.

Gypsy the Album

Miscellaneous
Have you seen An Old Woman Frying Eggs?
Not lately. Mom kicked me out.

Old Woman Frying Eggs is a lesser known work by Spanish painter Diego Velázquez. The painting’s title is an invitation to a combined Sporcle Dad / Yo (My) Mama! joke.

Diego Velázquez, Old Woman Frying Eggs

History
Have you seen The King Drinks?
No, but if he’s offering, I’ll have one.

The King Drinks is a painting by the Flemish Baroque artist Jacob Jordaens. The painting’s title cries for another round and to be made into a Sporcle Dad joke.

Jacob Jordaens, The King Drinks

Language
Have you seen A Young Man Being Introduced to the Seven Liberal Arts?
Is that the prequel to A Young Man is Hired by a Fast Food Joint?

A Young Man Being Introduced to the Seven Liberal Arts is a lesser known painting by the Italian Renaissance artist Sandro Boticelli. The painting’s title is obviously in need of a Sporcle Dad joke makeover. At least to a liberal arts major it is.

Sandro Botticelli, A Young Man Being Introduced to the Seven Liberal Arts

Literature
Have you seen The Death of Chatterton?
No. Did it not go well with her lover?

The Death of Chatterton by the English Pre-Raphaelite painter Henry Wallis is one of Sporcle Mom’s favorite paintings.

Henry Wallis, The Death of Chatterton

D.H. Lawrence‘s 1928 novel Lady Chatterly’s Lover was unavailable in its unexpurgated form in the United Kingdom until 1960 due to censorship and obscenity laws.

D.H. Lawrence, Lady Chatterley’s Lover

Gaming
Have you seen The Potato Eaters?
Isn’t that just Dogs Playing Poker but with Dutch people?

The Potato Eaters was among Vincent van Gogh‘s favorties of his own works.

Vincent van Gogh, The Potato Eaters

Dogs Playing Poker is a series of paintings of, yes, dogs playing poker and in other gaming situations by American artist C.M. Coolidge. Some of the paintings in the series are based on paintings of human card players by other artists. Trade the potatoes for cards and the Potato Eaters is an ideal card playing composition, at least according to Sporcle Dad.