Art might imitate life, but there are some people who absolutely adore doing the opposite and decide to imitate art. In astonishing detail! One of these incredibly creative individuals is Liza Yukhnyova, an artist from Saint Petersburg in Russia, who has recreated famous paintings daily for an entire year.
She takes the high road and does things the hard, old-fashioned way, without any digital mumbo-jumbo. Liza does everything by herself, from the gorgeous and realistic costumes to the makeup and historic hairstyles.
Check out some of the artist’s latest intricate art recreations below, upvote your favorite ones, and be sure to let us know which ones you loved the most and why. If you love Liza’s recreations as much as we do, then be sure to follow her Instagram for her latest updates. And when you’re done with this list, check out Liza’s earlier feature on Bored Panda right here.
Liza told Bored Panda all about her project and how she juggled it with a full-time job and volunteering, so be sure to read on for our in-depth interview with her.
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Frederick Sandys "Cassandra" (1860)
Albert Lynch "A Girl In A White Bonnet" (~1918)
Frederic Bazille "Young Woman With Lowered Eyes" (1869)
Artist Liza revealed to Bored Panda that she was born into a family of history professors and herself studied art, so her fascination with classic paintings seems natural. Because of her background, she saw that humanity has lots and lots of creativity during different time periods and in many cultural traditions.
Liza told Bored Panda that she herself was surprised that she could keep the daily posts up for such a long time. "I think the reason is that I see meaning and value in it. It's a big honor to serve art. At the same time, it's a great possibility to check [the limits of] my own possibilities and discipline. And I am proud that I can do this!"
If that weren't enough, the artist kept the project up while also working full-time and also regularly volunteering for the Red Cross and the Red Crescent, as well as at a hospital charity for the homeless.
William Holman Hunt "The Bride Of Bethlehem" (1884)
Nikolay Bogdanov-Belsky "Portrait Of A Nurse" (1910)
Firs Zhuravlev "After The Marriage" (1874)
Because Liza focuses on the details of each recreation, each photo takes around 3 to 4 hours to get right. And that's not even counting the time taken to find the painting in the first place! According to the artist, the research can take an even longer time to do, though that depends on a case-by-case basis.
Bored Panda wanted to find out which of Liza's recent recreations she's proud of the most. The artist was candid that she loves them all. "Each one of the recreations contains a piece of my soul, energy, and time. In some of the paintings, you can find people whom I love and admire, in some others—my state of mind. In other still—high ideals and patterns. So it's difficult to choose one or even a few," the artist shared.
However, Liza did add that some of the most special recreations for her include the recreations of Turkish artist Osman Hamdi Bey's 'Girl Reciting Quran,' American artist Julius Gari Melchers' 'The Bride of Brabant,' and Virginie Demont-Breton's 'Fisherman Woman Bathing Her Children.' Liza plans to continue her amazing recreations after taking a short rest. It's been a year, after all. "I still have a lot of ideas and pieces of art in my mind," she said, adding that she's thinking about other things besides recreations, too.
Tito Conti "A Demure Beauty" (19th Century)
Ivan Kulikov "Wildflowers" (1913)
Saturnino Herrán "Creole With Shawls" (1915)
For Liza, art is a true, all-encompassing passion. Earlier, she explained that she loves admiring beauty and talent, so she wanted to bring well-known paintings into people’s lives so that they can feel the same way that she does.
What’s more, she hopes that her detailed recreations will inspire people to take a closer peek at paintings and notice all the small but important details hidden throughout. Not to mention the fact that Liza can make art seem like a lot of fun to some people who aren’t big on going to galleries and museums.
Originally, what inspired Liza to post her recreations was the LA-based Getty Museum challenge which we’ve written about before. In short, art lovers from all around the globe had a friendly competition to see who’d be best at recreating art masterpieces with the things they found lying around their homes.
Francisco Laso "Santa Rosa De Lima" (1859)
Virgine Demont-Breton "Fisherman's Wife Coming To Bath Her Children" (1881)
Julio Romero De Torres "Rachel Meller" (1910)
Meanwhile, the Getty challenge itself was inspired by the Dutch Instagram account Tussen Kunst en Quarantaine. So you can see what a long chain of artistic inspiration led Liza to grab the internet’s attention with her own photos.
Two other things that have astonished us a lot are the artist’s incredible discipline and dedication to her project. At first, Liza only intended to do the daily recreations for 30 days.
However, she’s been going strong ever since! Now that’s the kind of sustained passion that any creative would love to have, whether they’re a photographer, painter, or writer. In that time, Liza’s recreated a vast archive of art, from ancient paintings to some of the more exotic art found in regions like the Middle East and India.
Konstantin Makovsky "Tea Drinking" (1914)
Cecilio Guzmán De Rojas "Nusta" (1936)
Ade Styka "Girl With An Apple" (1900)
After hearing about the Getty challenge on the internet, Liza first decided to try and push herself to go for an entire month of doing daily recreations. Back then, she wasn't sure if she'd succeed, she told Bored Panda. However, it turned out that she didn't give herself enough credit. "When the 30 days were done, I couldn't stop myself because I really wanted to show or remind other people about artists and artworks from the different epochs and cultural traditions. And I started to do it as series which reflect the ideas and personalities in art," she said.
The entire project is a one-woman show. Liza does everything by herself, including the costumes and makeup. She styles her hair herself, uses a table lamp for lighting, and takes professional-quality photos using just her phone camera.
She’s also very resourceful in how she uses props. The artist uses everything and anything she finds at home to make the photos come alive. With nearly 6k followers on Instagram at the time of writing and growing, we see great things for the artist in the future.
Vasili Pukirev "The Unequal Marriage" (1862)
Giuseppe Mazza "Suppression Of The Monastery" (1867)
I think this one is my favorite imitation because of the GREAT expression and body positioning:)
Jesus Helguera "Portrait Of A Girl" (1940)
Belmiro De Almeida "The Chatterbox" (1893)
Vasily Surikov "Head Of A Glancing Nun" (~1884)
Anton Ebert "Portrait Of A Young Spanish Woman" (1880)
She must spend a great deal of time putting together these costumes!
Vasily Surikov "The Head Of A Laughing Girl" (1890)
Kristian Zahrtmann "Christina In Palazzo Corsini" (1908)
This one is incredibly well done! I love the use of the plastic spoon for the pipe. I really want to know whether this woman gets all of her costumes. Does she make them by hand?
Most of them I create with peaces of fabric and scarfs with pins
Load More Replies...James Sant "The Artist's Wife Elizabeth With Their Daughter Mary Edith" (1852)
Lilla Kabot Perry "Mrs. Joseph Clark Crew" (1904)
I love Lilla Cabot Perry. Easily my favorite artist. I've had a framed print of her "Lady With a Bowl of Violets" for years.
Robert Henry "Mexican Girl, Maria" (1916)
William Powell Frith "Alexandra, Princess Of Wales" (1867)
Jan Adam Kruseman "The Barted Bride" (1850)
Conrad Kiesel "Spanish Woman" (1920)
Edmund Blair Leighton "Maternity" (1917)
OK, I had to look this one up. A picture of a nun and the name “Maternity” The painting includes a mother and baby sitting to the right of the nun but they’ve been cut out of the frame here : )
Franz Von Lenbach "Lady Mary Victoria Curzon" (1901)
Theodoros Rallis "In The Mosque" (1891)
Frederick Leighton "Sibyl" (1880)
Thomas Francis Dicksee "Kate" (1858)
Yakov Kapkov "The Bride" (1851)
Victor Bobrov "Melancholic Bride" (19th Century)
Firs Zhuravlev "Before The Wedding" (1874)
Gari Melchers "The Bride Of Brabant" (1928)
Henriette Browne "A Nun" (1859)
Juan De Valdés Leal "Head Of A Woman" (1658)
Frederico De Madrazo Y Kuntz "Josefa Del Aguila Ceballos" (1852-1854)
Charles De Steuben "Andalusian" (1834)
Firs Zhuravlev "Boyarishnya" (1896)
Prilidiano Pueyrredo "Trinidad Saravia De Huergo" (1866)
Pedro Lira "At The Balcony" (1910)
Arturo Michelena "Portrait Of Lastenia Tello, His Wife" (1890)
William Powell Frith "The New Earrings" (1875)
Vasily Tropinin "Portrait Of Wife Of The Businessman Kiselev" (1841)
Josef Laurent Dyckmans "The Bride" (1858)
Edmund Blair Leighton "The Wedding Register" (1920)
Silvestro Lega "Maternity" (1882)
Valentin Prinsep "Medea The Sorceress" (1880)
Filipp Malyavin "Maid" (1903)
Klavdiy Lebedev "Reflection" (1903)
Pascual Ortega Portales "La Alsaciana" (1874)
John Lavery "A Fair Spaniard. Mrs Chowne" (1909)
George Romney "Emma Hamilton" (1785)
Pavel Fedotov "Picky Bride" (1847)
Alcide Theophile Robaudi "The Young Bride" (1883)
Jan Matejko "Portrait Of Artist's Wife In A Wedding Dress" (1879)
Domenico Zampieri "Cumaean Sibyl" (1471)
Frederick Sandys "Fairy Morgana" 1864
Frederich Von Amerling "Bust Of A Woman" (1850)
Raimundo Madrazo "Aline Masson With A White Mantilla" (~1875)
Rodolfo Amoedo "Woman By The Window" (1904)
Annie Louisa Swynnerton "The Sense Of Sight" (1895)
Theodoros Rallis "Young Girl" (1900)
Karl Fon Blass "A Girl" (1850)
Philip De Lazslo "Ivy Gordon-Lennox, Duchess Of Portland" (1915)
Nikolai Rachkov "Portrait Of A Young Lady" (1870)
Alexandre Cabanel "Desdemone" (1871)
Gustav Julius Grun "Lady With Roses" (1882)
Karl Ferdinand "Study For Disappointed Love" (1836)
Thomas Edwin Mostyn "A Viennese Memory" (1900)
Wladyslaw Czachorski "The Bouquet" (1900)
Isidor Kaufmann "The Newlywed" (1900)
Léon Perrault " Mother With Child" 1894
Arthur John Elsley "Shugar" (1900)
Mikhail Nesterov "The Great Taking Of The Veil" (1898)
John Bagnold Burgess "Lady With Fan" (1872)
Victor Shtemberg "Portrait Of A Young Nun" (1909)
Diego Rivera "Portrait Of Angelina Beloff" (1909)
Frida Kahlo "Portrait Of Cristina, My Sister" (1928)
Daniel Hernandez Morillo "Girl With A Guitar" (1900)
Valentin Serov "Portrait Of Maria Khrusheva" (1903)
Eugene De Blass "Portrait Of A Girl" (~1898)
Joseph Stieler "Caroline Von Holnstein" (1834)
Franz Xaver Winterhalter "Anne De Muchy, Princess Murat" (1862)
Eduard Magnus "Cecile Mendelssohn" (1845)
Vlaho Bukovac "Portrait Of Marija" (1914)
Eleanor Fortescue-Brickdale "The Little Foot Page" (1905)
Charles Robert Leslie Туалет "The Toilette" (~1849)
George Maillard Kesslere "Portrait Of A Fashionable Woman Holding A Feathered Fan" (1924)
Archibald George Barnes "The Yellow Kimono" (1930)
Gari Melchers "Mother And Child" (~1906)
Dante Gabriel Rossetti "Sibylla Palmifera" (1866-1870)
Nikifor Stepanovich Krylov "Russian Peasant Woman Feeds A Child From A Horn" (1830)
Boris Kustodiev "M.v. Shalyapina" (1919)
Andrey Kocka "Farmer With Book" (1951)
John William Waterhouse "The Soul Of The Rose" (1908)
William Charles Bell "Princess Helena" (1866)
Federico Andreotti "An English Beauty" (1900)
Joseph Stieler "Marie Friederice Of Prussia" (1843)
John Singer Sargent "Mrs. Harold Harmswoth" (1906)
William-Adolphe Bouguereau "Head Of A Young Girl" (1898)
Thomas Cooper Gotch "Queen Clotilde" (1894)
Jean Auguste Dominique Ingres "Portrait Of Madam Duvaucey" (1807)
Nathaniel Sichel "Judith" (1902)
John William "Drusilla" (1906)
Frederic Leighton "Amarilla" (~1879)
Fernando Khnopff "Portrait Of Madeleine Mabille" (1888)
Julia Baltus "Girl In A Russian Costume" (1852)
Gari Melchers "The Bride" (1907)
Vladimir Makovsky "Goodbye, Papa (The Farewell)" (1894)
Frederic Leighton "Syracusan Bride Leading Wild Animals In Procession" 1865-66
Ilya Repin "Choosing A Bride For A Grand Duke" (1884-1897)
James Sant "The Bride Of Abydos" (19th Century)
Grigory Sedov "Tzar Alexei Mikhailovich Choosing A Bride" 1882
Henrik Olrik "The Bride Is Embellished By Her Girl Friend" 1859
Dante Gabriel Rossetti "The Beloved (The Bride)" 1865-1866
William-Adolphe Bouguereau "Maternal Admiration" 1869
Eugene De Blass "God's Creatures" (1913)
Konstantin Makovsky "Boyar's Unmarried Daughter" (1890)
Alexis-Joseph Perignon "Aurora Karamzina"
She must have been really dedicated to doing this, the poses and expressions were so exact! I really enjoyed looking at them all.
So beautifully talented. She nailed each and every one of these. Simply amazing.
Amazing art from incredible Person … I believe on you and your abilities to doing fantastic things… 😇🙏🏻👍🏻🎁🎊🎉
She must have been really dedicated to doing this, the poses and expressions were so exact! I really enjoyed looking at them all.
So beautifully talented. She nailed each and every one of these. Simply amazing.
Amazing art from incredible Person … I believe on you and your abilities to doing fantastic things… 😇🙏🏻👍🏻🎁🎊🎉