Thursday Salute to Originals: Classical Art Re-imagined Into Modern-Day Scenarios
What comes to mind when you hear “Classical Italian?” Probably the greats like Sandro Botticelli and Titian. We’ve admired the classical paintings, many depicting full-figured women with soft, round faces placed in a landscape, a furnished room, or even in heavenly scenery. But what would these figures look like today? In our modern society at our coffee shops, apartments, or working our jobs? We’re thankful for artist Alexey Kondakov, who brought these images to life!
Kondakov, born in Ukraine, produces digital collages that manipulate an original painting or photograph’s surroundings and landscapes. His goal is to bring his own imagination and interpretations regarding a subject’s surroundings to life – without being distracted by the thought of their historical realities. That’s exactly what he has done by reimagining the people in classical works of art into their new, modern day surroundings… And it’s as great as we thought it would be!
He calls his ongoing series, appropriately, Art History in Contemporary Life. The new backdrops mostly stem from Naples, Italy (where Kondakov currently resides) and Kiev, Ukraine. His subjects really look like they are a part of our monotonous commutes, just grabbing a soda, or out for a late-night slice of pizza.
In the video below, we find out where Kondakov first gained his inspiration to combine graphic design and photography with art. He shares with us how he feels the people in his paintings and their stories can connect with viewers based on their own personal life experiences.
This week, we salute Alexey Kondakov for bringing our beloved classical paintings into a new context as modern-day subjects. We appreciate the connection he allows us to make with the old world and the new, a collision that provokes thoughts on society as a whole.
Sources: Alexey Kondakov, This is Colossal