Art history meets pop culture! With a keen eye to detail and a nose for nerd culture, Lothlenan recreates every single painting painstakingly by hand. The contemporary subjects are weighed carefully for relevance, and tiny details are hidden in the artworks that only true fans would find. If you are looking for subtle nerd art, or really clever parodies — this is the collection for you. A modern homage to the Masters of our past: classical paintings with a twist!
Based on Gustav Klimt’s ‘The Kiss’ (1907-1908), but in homage to one of my favourite films. The gold in Klimt’s work made a lot of sense to me, as well as the field of flowers and romantic overtones… which is why I chose this parody combination. I hope you enjoy this piece as much as I do.
The original piece, as well as other examples of Klimt’s work, can be seen in The Belvedere Gallery located in Vienna, Austria.
Based on Leonardo da Vinci’s ‘Mona Lisa’ (1503-1519). This painting is the oldest piece I have thus far parodied. As it is such an iconic piece, I felt this piece needed the cracks of age and time… and you can see very small crackling texture throughout.
The Scream was originally painted by Edvard Munch around 1983. Its full name is "The Scream of Nature", and it supposedly depicts a point in Edvard's life where he was walking along a fjord with companions of his, and just felt a chasm of terror surround him. The painting is, to many, a very real depiction of an anxiety attack.
The original painting by Munch can be found in the National Gallery of Oslo, Norway.
This recreation is thanks to an experience I had while traversing the English countryside of Northumberland. Castle Alnwick is used as the set for films, and as such enjoys regular visits. I was on one such visit when I saw this painting hung in a hallway. It was a landscape painting of Castle Alnwick captured by one of my favorite and most prolific English painters — Joseph William Turner — circa 1839.
Another painting based on the work of Edmund Leighton, this time 'Godspeed' (1901).
This is one of my personal favorites (not surprisingly, it was his most popular piece). I hid a number of Easter Eggs in my parodied version and I wonder if you can find them all!
While I am a fan of many artists, I am especially fond of Edmund Leighton's work. Here I've taken his painting 'The Accolade' (1901).
Leighton's work is a bit romanticist, a bit modern, and a bit pre-Raphaelite... but also academic. For being one of the most iconic painters in so far as medieval imagery goes, he is still relatively unrecognized and achieved only modest success in his lifetime.
Johannes Vermeer is one of the most recognized painters from the Dutch Golden Age. Possibly one of his most famous works, ‘Girl With a Pearl Earring’, was painted around 1665. It is also the work with which I chose to marry the concept of a certain princess with a certain pearl earring.
In the background of this painting, you can actually see a form looming behind her in the darkness. A claw. A set of teeth. And a big belly.
The original painting of Girl with a Pearl Earring by Vermeer is currently housed in the Mauritshuis, in Den Haag.
Ripe with hidden meaning, the original painting is called "The Swing" (1767) by Jean-Honore Fragonard. In the original, the man to the right of the woman (her husband and a man of the church) obliviously pushes her on the swing towards her lover hiding in the bushes.
I knew this piece would be extremely challenging, but I underestimated exactly how much so. The amount of detail in the foliage alone took many days of work, and the flounces of dress were also a puzzle to be solved. In the end I hid a couple secrets in the image and am quite proud of the end result :)
The original by Fraggonard can be found in the Wallace Collection, London.
Claude Monet is most famous for his paintings of waterlillies, but his depiction of wife and child, or "Woman with a Parasol", on a bright summer day is just as beautiful.
This piece was a particular struggle because the feel of the brushstrokes is such an integral part of the painting. Since I work digitally, it was a challenge figuring out how best to achieve this. In the end, and through a series of trial and error, I believe I found a solution and the end result is quite successful!
Based on a work titled ‘The Storm’ by Pierre-Auguste Cot, which was a painting originally commissioned by Catharine Lorillard Wolfe and exhibited at the Salon of 1880. The original story of the painting is speculated, but some say it depicts Paul and Virginie, while others say it must be Daphnis and Chloe.
The original painting of ‘The Storm’ by Cot is on display at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City.
The original painting of these lovers on a swing, known as "Springtime", is by Pierre August Cot (1873). Cot was an academic painter who excelled at depicting romanticism in his works.
Carrying on with my theme and series, the princess and the vampire queen seemed like a natural choice for this piece. The background was extremely challenging, but I daresay trying to achieve the delicacy of Cot's work in the drapery was even harder.
The original painting is by the extremely talented painter, Thomas Gainsborough. Another personal favorite of mine. As an expression of their wealth, "Mr and Mrs Andrews" (1750) commissioned a painting that would display the great landscape of their property and the ripe harvest that awaited them. The original is actually left unfinished, with the lap of the woman kept empty. It is currently on display at the National Gallery of London.
This parody painting was the one that started my entire series. It began as an exercise, a desire to study the masters. I quickly began turning my rendition in to something a little bit different.
This particular painting originally depicts the Sun King, King Louis XIV, in a portrait piece. It is originally painted by Hyacinthe Rigaud using oil on canvas. Rigaud was notably popular amongst the high class denizens of Versailles; as such, this painting was extremely well received.
THE RETURN
Based on a painting by the acclaimed J.M.W Turner, you might see similarities between this and ‘San Georgio, A View of Venice’ (circa 1840). The original painting depicts the scene during one of Turner’s visits to Italy, near the Grand Canal in Venice, and was not a finished painting so much as it was a sketch.
The original work of Turner is currently on display at the Tate.
For my interpretation, I felt the scene (punctuated by some deer and birds and a foggy sun) were well suited to a heartfelt reunion.
This painting is based off of Madame Le Brun's exceptional work titled "Self Portrait with her Daughter" (1789).
Madame Le Brun was an excellent figure in history because she was a successful and strong woman in an era and field of work dominated by men. Because of that I wanted to show a strong female character -- one who also happened to be a strong mother. It was inevitable that Sailor Moon would be the final realization for this piece. :)
The original painting can be seen at the Louvre in Paris.
Joan of Arc. Referencing Lenoir’s similar painting from the early 1900’s.
Charles-Amable Lenoir was mentored by Bouguereau, and both were accomplished academic painters.
The original painting is in a private collection.
Inspired by the thought provoking painting ‘The Son of Man’ by René Magritte. Magritte was a Belgian painter known for his surrealism and his wit. This particular painting was a self portrait of the artist, but a self portrait where the face is obscured. It was part of a series of face obscuring self portraits, but Magritte also used apples in some of his other works as well.
The ‘Son of Man’ by René Magritte is in a private collection.
Judith and Holofernes is the story of a woman who saves her city by seducing and killing the leader of an invading attack. Gustav Klimt made his version depict a very intelligent, and sultry looking woman. The emphasis was not on the head of the man she slew, but of her triumphant splendour and success. He created his piece during his gold period, where he used actual gold foil to embellish his works.
My piece also features a sultry, intelligent hero. A man, however, very fluid in his sexuality. And in his hands, a blue flame with incredible power. The gold surrounding him helps to tell a story of his past, present, and future.
The original piece by Gustav Klimt was painted in 1901, and can be found in the Belvedere Gallery in Vienna.