Flavorwire

It’s a pretty well established fact that artists steal from each other — and it’s even more common for artists to take stylistic and technical cues from their predecessors, those established masters whose work still sets the standard for excellence today. But recently we’ve been noticing several artists adopting a more direct, decidedly more irreverent way of incorporating the lessons of classical portraiture — by mashing up contemporary and classic images and styles, dropping modern items into 18th century paintings, and otherwise augmenting and re-imagining the greats. Click through to check out our mini collection of classic/contemporary mash up portraiture and painting, and feel free to add to our collection in the comments.

Girl with a Pearl Earring updated by Dorothee Golz