Visiting a museum is one of the best ways to catch a glimpse of different art styles. By looking at some of the most famous paintings, you can understand the aesthetics that dominated different periods of history. While classical paintings normally evoke art ideas from centuries ago, Alexey Kondakov has a way of merging them with the present. He superimposes figures from masterpieces onto scenes of contemporary life, making the old new again.
This ongoing project was originally started as an experiment. However, since its beginnings in Kiev, it has evolved into something much more. Kondakov, an art director, continually searches out new settings that he can pair with traditionally rendered figures. In addition to calling upon the works of famous painters like William-Adolphe Bouguereau, he also searches out less recognizable names from the Renaissance, Baroque, and Neoclassical periods.
While assigning new backdrops to these figures may not sound challenging, it actually requires significant planning. That’s because Kondakov has to find the perfect scenarios to place the painted subjects so they seem most natural in their poses. A group of women in arms, for instance, are superimposed at a metro station, so it seems like they’re happily trotting to the door. In another image, Kondakov adds a coquettishly rendered woman to the inside of a car, while her suitor looks at her through the window.
You can purchase prints of Kondakov’s art via his online shop, and keep up to date with his latest projects by following him on Instagram.
Art director Alexey Kondakov superimposes classical painting figures onto modern-day scenes.
He seamlessly merges old masterpieces into contemporary daily situations.
These oil-rendered figures seem to naturally fit into the new environments.
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My Modern Met granted permission to feature photos by Alexey Kondakov.
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