I’ve been playing Artle almost as long as I’ve been playing Wordle and Worldle and there are probably at least a dozen other -dle games out there I could get hooked but I’ve decided to limit myself to those three.
Artle is the hardest of the three. For one thing it’s usually pretty easy to figure out a word if you guess enough letters correctly, and while Worldle throws in the occasional obscure island most countries and territories have recognizable boundaries. But Artle requires a pretty good knowledge of art history—and so far artists have ranged from the Renaissance almost to the present—and you only get four tries.
I lose about half the time. It’s a game where you either know the answer or you don’t. And recently I knew it.
Miro is one of those idiosyncratic artists who’s instantly recognizable—he doesn’t fit into any specific movement. He was a member of the Surrealists but he really did his own thing.
Looking at the other three clues really showed something I think about a lot when playing Artle. Even the most recognizable, distinctive artists go through different phases, trying different styles. Here was the second picture:
That’s another one I would have recognized as a Miro right away, which is lucky because the third clue would have completely stumped me if it had been the first one:
Sure, it’s a Miro—the caption says so—but I wouldn’t have guessed it was one of his. In fact I can think of at least three other artists I would have guessed first.
And the last one, well, I might have said Miro but it also reminded me of a couple of other artists. It’s funny because Artle usually seems to start with more obscure, early works, and then finish with something famous. This time it seemed to go in no real order so if I hadn’t gotten it first I wouldn’t get it at all.
Chris,
Artless sounds fun and satisfying! Now I’ve got to go and check it out. Thanks! Mona
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Mona,
I hope you have fun with it. I like to think I know a fair amount about art history but Artle often stumps me, especially when it gets into photography. However it is nice for introducing me to artists I don’t know.
Thanks, Chris, for your always readable, reasonable, and quotable artle.
I forgot to include a quote from the art critic David Sylvester about a conversation he had with Miro, but I’m glad you’ll be around if I ever get a chance to use it.