When you look at art, you see what you want to see. And some people, as Irene Gallo, the art director for Tor Books, points out, see science fiction. BoingBoing pointed us towards the Tor blog, where Gallo has collected a great series of sci-fi-themed artworks inspired by classic paintings. Whether translating modern painting to hyper-modern painting or just swapping out a traditional angel’s wings for something a little more nerdy, these works are playful studies that were probably as much fun to make as they are to look at. Click through to see some of our favorites, and then be sure to check out even more over at Tor!
John Mattos adapted Marcel Duchamp’s famous “Nude Descending a Staircase” to include C3PO, presumably as the nude.
Pablo Picasso’s “Three Musicians” if it were set in Star Wars’ Cantina, also by John Mattos.
Tim O’Brien re-imagines “His Master’s Voice.”
Boris Vallejo’s adaptation of Botticelli’s “Birth of Venus” to depict Robert A. Heinlein’s To Sail Beyond the Sunset.
Michelangelo’s “Pietá” as a Star Wars book cover by Dave Seeley.
N. C. Wyeth’s “The Giant” hears the call of Cthulhu in Cyril van der Haegen’s adaptation.
One of Abbott Handerson Thayer’s angels goes steampunk for Greg Manchess.