Some people think that learning about art history is only for artists, art critics, and those working in the art sphere. However, one artist thinks that it’s important for everyone to learn about it. To prove that, Spanish graphic designer and illustrator Carlos Gromo created a series of Disney characters inspired by famous paintings to help people to memorize these classics better. Scroll down for Bored Panda’s interview with the artist!
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Beauty And The Beast
Based on: Gustav Klimt "The Kiss" (1907)
101 Dalmatians
Based on: Grant Wood "American Gothic" (1930)
The artist, who is also known as carlosgromodraw to his 31k Instagram followers, started this project in 2019 when he finished his Fine Arts studies. He realized that many people don’t know much about art history or famous paintings. So he started this ongoing project with an aim to educate people in an entertaining way. The good news is that the project became a huge success and hopefully, people have learned something about classical art.
Beauty And The Beast
Based on: John William Waterhouse "The Soul of the Rose" (1908)
Sleeping Beauty
Based on: Edmund Blair Leighton "The Accolade" (1901)
"This project started because when I finished my Fine Arts career at university, as an artist, I realized that many people didn't know many of the art paintings and I thought that I could present them in a more original way. I have always liked to draw Disney, so I thought of the idea of starting this project by drawing those characters from the movies in those pictures from art history. In this way, I managed to give visibility to many works of art and artists from different periods,” says the artist to Bored Panda.
Beauty And The Beast
Based on: Lawrence Alma Tadema "Ask me no more" (1906)
Hercules
Based on: John Simmons "A Midsummer Night's Dream" (1870)
When asked how long it takes for him to make one illustration, he says: “It depends on the complexity of the illustration that I'm going to do. There are illustrations that I can do in three days or, on the contrary, some illustrations take me several weeks or even a month because they were very complex and I had to do it calmly to get the best result.” The artist says that his creative process takes a lot of time, especially deciding on the subject for his next illustration. “I take quite some time to decide since I do a lot of research in books or on the Internet to have a variety of proposals and later, I choose the one that seems most interesting to me. Then, I decide this either because of the resemblance of the character to the painting or by its theme.”
Peter Pan
Based on: Pierre Auguste Cot "The Storm" (1880)
Cinderella
Based on: Fausto Carrying "Young Girl Carrying a Pumpkin" (1889)
“I spent a lot of time doing different composition sketches in order to have a first contact with what it could be once it was finished. I work on the lights, shadows, and lines in a very schematic way and without details, to see if the idea is good or if, on the contrary, I have to modify something before starting the final work. I think the best thing is when I have already done the final line art and I start to color the illustration because that is when you already start to feel that the illustration changes completely.”
The Princess And The Frog
Based on: Lawrence Alma Tadema "The Favourite Poet" (1888)
The Little Mermaid
Based on: John William Waterhouse "The Siren" (1900)
His series features such animated movie classics as 101 Dalmatians, Beauty and the Beast, Hercules, and Sleeping Beauty. The characters from these movies are based on the style and color palette of each painting. For instance, Belle and Beast are depicted as the famous painting “The Kiss” by Gustav Klimt. Just like in the painting, they look like a couple embracing each other in beautifully decorated robes. Meanwhile, Roger and Anita Radcliffe from 101 Dalmatians are shown as a farmer and his daughter in the famous 1930 painting “American Gothic” by Grant Wood.
Snow White
Based on: Henry Meynell Rheam "The Fairy Wood" (1903)
The Little Mermaid
Based on: Michael and Inessa Garmash "Precious Moments"
Snow White
Based on: William Adolphe Bouguereau "At the Edge of the Brook" (1875)
The artist's renderings of Snow White are absolutely luminous. She's so beautiful.
Cinderella
Based on: William Adolphe Bouguereau "Rest in Harvest" (1865)
Cinderella
Based on: Auguste Toulmouche "Vanity" (1870)
Should have been Snow White's evil stepmother having a "mirror, mirror on the wall" moment...
Peter Pan
Based on: Henrietta Rae "Hylas and the Water Nymphs" (1910)
Sleeping Beauty
Based on: Walter Crane "Hermes and Venus Gazing into a Mirror" (1885)
Tarzan
Based on: John William Waterhouse "The Sorceress" (1911)
The Little Mermaid
Based on: John William Waterhouse "Hylas and the Nymphs" (1896)
The only difference is that in the disney version the sisters are happy to see him, in the realone they are, "GET AWAY FROM MY MAN!"
Really captured the spirit of both the painting and the characters. Beautifully done
Groundbreaking. Simply groundbreaking. I mean.. Disney characters! How do you come up with that!!?
Aww, don't be mean :) art education is lacking in the US and it's good to try to bring more attention to the classics. :)
Load More Replies...Some of these aren't, but agreed, this is atrocious.
Load More Replies...At least these are done by a capable artist. Anyone who disagrees with that is just an art snob.
I enjoyed these flights of fancy. I hope we'll see Alice in Wonderland. There have to be some Degas paintings to fit the dancing hippos and ostriches from Fantasia.
I do not like the Disney things, at all. Disney ruina everything with a sticky sugar coat, and "art"like this is just meh.
I'm still wondering who painted them. And why this Carlos Gromo person graffitied all over these lovely illustrations.
Thank you for not putting religious pieces like creation of Adam!
BP loves Disney and hates vegans. Thats how it is.
Load More Replies...Looks more like he looked for some painting that was easily modified with Disney characters. Very American actually. Who knows, maybe they will develop some culture??
The paintings aren't that famous. If he would have wanted that, well, less pre raffaelites and more Da Vinci, Van Gogh and such. Goya and Picasso for a spaniard. But well, its disney ( slowly puking in my mouth)
Load More Replies...Translation: "I think people are too stupid to look at paintings and understand what they see, so I'm going to dumb it down for them by making them look cheap and ugly, since I have no respect for other artists.
Really captured the spirit of both the painting and the characters. Beautifully done
Groundbreaking. Simply groundbreaking. I mean.. Disney characters! How do you come up with that!!?
Aww, don't be mean :) art education is lacking in the US and it's good to try to bring more attention to the classics. :)
Load More Replies...Some of these aren't, but agreed, this is atrocious.
Load More Replies...At least these are done by a capable artist. Anyone who disagrees with that is just an art snob.
I enjoyed these flights of fancy. I hope we'll see Alice in Wonderland. There have to be some Degas paintings to fit the dancing hippos and ostriches from Fantasia.
I do not like the Disney things, at all. Disney ruina everything with a sticky sugar coat, and "art"like this is just meh.
I'm still wondering who painted them. And why this Carlos Gromo person graffitied all over these lovely illustrations.
Thank you for not putting religious pieces like creation of Adam!
BP loves Disney and hates vegans. Thats how it is.
Load More Replies...Looks more like he looked for some painting that was easily modified with Disney characters. Very American actually. Who knows, maybe they will develop some culture??
The paintings aren't that famous. If he would have wanted that, well, less pre raffaelites and more Da Vinci, Van Gogh and such. Goya and Picasso for a spaniard. But well, its disney ( slowly puking in my mouth)
Load More Replies...Translation: "I think people are too stupid to look at paintings and understand what they see, so I'm going to dumb it down for them by making them look cheap and ugly, since I have no respect for other artists.