Déjà vu in paint
Why paint something that has already been painted? Turns out, there may be plenty of reasons.
1. Because the customer is always right
Once upon a time Manuel Godoy, a prime minister of Spain and a womanizer, ordered Goya something unusual: two pictures of a woman, first with her clothes on, second completely naked. The pictures were placed in a private room, the naked one behind the clothed one, with a special mechanism which allowed to uncover the nude version. In 1808 the naked picture was discovered by the Spanish Inquisition and Godoy and Goya were brought before a tribunal. Luckily, the Inquisition was already at its end so both the painting and the painter escaped the prosecution.
2. Because you adore the ancestors
An awe for the great masters before you is quite usual and often results in a desire to recreate their works in your own style, to add new meanings to something already known and respected. It has nothing to do with a lack of imagination or ideas theft. Here is, for instance, Picasso taking a moment to paraphrase El Greco.
3. Because you live together
In 1888 Gauguin visited Van Gogh in Arles in hope to create a productive artists’ collective. Naturally, it led to common themes in their paintings. Unnaturally, it led Van Gogh to cut his ear and move to the hospital, this time alone.
4. Because the pose is really exquisite
Truth be told, “The Grand Odalisque” pose was not the easiest choice for copying. To achieve perfection Ingres had to add his model 3 vertebrae, reduce her head, elongate her right hand and twist her left leg in a really unhealthy way. While Modigliani worked in much less realistic style, his nude has much more human proportions. However, it’s not that Ingres relied on nothing but his own vision: although the whimsical body configuration was purely his idea, the face was borrowed from “La Fornarina” by Raphael and the pose was inspired by “Portrait of Madame Récamier” by Jacques Louis David.
5. Because you want to show the succession
Ilya Mashkov was one of the most significant figures in Russian Avant-Garde, and Paul Cézanne was one of his greatest inspirations. That’s why for the opening of the first “Jack of Diamonds” exhibition he created a huge artwork where he placed himself and his colleague Konchalovsky in the room created by Cézanne 40 years before. Both the colors and the people became bolder but the piano is still here and ready to be played on, the sofa is in use and the tea is standing on the same flower print fabric. Couple other hints to this idea of succession are the two still life paintings in the background and the titles of the books on the shelve: Bible, Egypt and Greece, Arts, Cézanne.
6. Because the era of consumerism has no mercy
Pop-art didn’t know such concept as uniqueness. It was an offspring of the era of mass-production and mass-consumption, an era where everything from Campbell soup to great paintings could and should have been reproduced and copied as many times as required. Monet created more than 30 versions of Rouen Cathedral, he came at different times of day and in different weather to capture the uniqueness of every moment, to show the light and color which are never the same. Lichtenstein didn’t try to capture a moment because that wasn’t what his time was about. He didn’t even work with the original. Instead, he took a black and white picture of Monet painting and created 8 colored silkscreens of it.
7. Because “Wider perspectives are needed now”
What if the frames were not rectangular?What if the canvas was sectioned? What if we could see things from many points of view simultaneously? David Hockney kept asking these questions and answering them since 80s and he is clearly not intended to stop.
8. Because you know how the story ends
While in most cases Rene Magritte tended to be full of mystery and questions without answers, his “Perspective” series looks surprisingly unambiguous. In his paintings Magritte killed poor madame Récamier twice: first using Louis David work and then François Gérard. Besides, he replaced 4 more people with coffins in “The Balcony” by Manet. A man had no mercy.
9. Because all hell breaks loose when it comes to Mona Lisa
All paintings can be copied and reused but Mona Lisa is more than a painting. It’s a legend and it’s just overloaded with meanings which make it especially attractive for rediscovery. First it was quoted by Raphael, then several nude versions of unknown origin appeared and then it fell into the sight of all the provocative artists of 20th century. Dali, Magritte, Malevich, Warhol, Banksy…This list can (and probably will) go on and on.
