Question 1

True or false: Hans Hartung, originally from Germany, became a French citizen and was a pioneer of abstract art.

Accepted Answer

True. Hartung moved to France, was naturalized, and developed abstract painting in the 1930s, becoming a leading figure in tachisme and lyrical abstraction.

Question 2

True or false: Hartung’s work was banned by the Nazis as 'degenerate art' in the 1930s.

Accepted Answer

True. Nazi regime labeled his abstract works degenerate; he fled Germany in 1935, eventually settling in France and fighting against the Nazis.

Question 3

True or false: Hartung’s signature style involved using a spray gun to apply paint from a distance.

Accepted Answer

False. Hans Hartung is renowned for his gestural abstraction, characterized by scratched, calligraphic lines and vigorous brushstrokes, not spray gun techniques.

Question 4

True or false: Hans Hartung never exhibited in the United States during his lifetime.

Accepted Answer

False. Hartung had major exhibitions in New York and other US cities from the 1950s onward, gaining significant international acclaim.

Question 5

True or false: Hans Hartung continued to paint until his death in 1989 despite using a wheelchair.

Accepted Answer

True. Hartung had his left leg amputated in 1980 after a war injury, but adapted by painting from a wheelchair and remained productive until his death.

Question 6

True or false: Hartung’s art was heavily influenced by East Asian calligraphy.

Accepted Answer

True. He admired the spontaneity and energy of Chinese and Japanese calligraphy, which influenced his gestural, linear abstractions.

Question 7

True or false: Hartung lost his right leg while fighting in the French Foreign Legion during World War II.

Accepted Answer

True. He enlisted in the French Foreign Legion in 1939, was severely wounded in 1944, and his right leg was amputated as a result.

Question 8

True or false: Hans Hartung was awarded the Grand Prix at the 1960 Venice Biennale for painting.

Accepted Answer

False. The Grand Prix for painting at the 1960 Biennale went to Jean Fautrier; Hartung won the International Prize for painting in 1960, not the top Grand Prix.

Hans Hartung Trivia Questions