Art history buffs will find plenty of Easter eggs in Cuban-American painter Cesar Santos’ Syncretism series. Combining references to periods as diverse as the Renaissance, Impressionism, and Abstract Expressionism with his own contemporary additions, Santos creates mash-ups that are ultimately all his own. A typical painting might show Mona Lisa with tattoos and a beanie or an angelic girl framed by an Alexander Calder mobile as well as a halo, throwing in a McDonald’s bag or an American flag bikini for good measure. On his website, Santos says he aims “to show images that transmit the impression of paintings of the past, but are imbued with contemporary, fresh concepts.” Since his modern take on Monet’s Luncheon on the Grass seems ripped straight from Central Park, it seems he’s succeeded.
Image Credit: Cesar Santos
Image Credit: Cesar Santos
Image Credit: Cesar Santos
Image Credit: Cesar Santos
Image Credit: Cesar Santos
Image Credit: Cesar Santos
Image Credit: Cesar Santos
Image Credit: Cesar Santos
Image Credit: Cesar Santos
Image Credit: Cesar Santos
Image Credit: Cesar Santos
Image Credit: Cesar Santos