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Artist Reimagines Disney Characters As Famous Classical Paintings And Pop Culture References (22 New Pics)
Interview With ArtistMany of us know the most popular classical paintings—well, at least what they look like. Sadly, fewer know the names of the paintings and of the painters who created them. With this in mind, this artist decided he would do something to make people more interested in classic art.
Spanish graphic designer and illustrator Carlos Gromo is back with the idea to combine classic artwork with a thing that many people love—Disney. The artist takes well-known characters and places them into classic paintings. That way people can remember them better. Carlos also combines the characters with movies and other pop-culture references. The designer even takes the first concept designs of the Disney characters and redraws them to see how they would look if they were never changed.
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Sleeping Beauty
Based on: Walter Crane "A Masque for the Four Seasons" (1909)
Carlos told us what the main goal of his illustrations is: "With respect to the versions that I like to make on paintings of the history of art, my main objective is to help to make them known. There are many great works of art that are not so well known by society, I think that with this I contribute my grain of sand to all those paintings that are not usually known or are not usually studied in schools. Then, on a personal level, I would like to be able to make a living from my artistic work, so that what since I was a child was a hobby, becomes my livelihood."
Beauty And The Beast
Based on: Pierre Auguste Cot "Ophelia" (1870)
Robin Hood
Based on: Francesco Hayez "The Kiss" (1859)
The artist tells us how he got into art: "From a very early age, I have always liked to draw, I think it is something that has always identified me, all the people who have been in my life since I was a child have described me with that quality. It was more than a hobby, it was a tool with which I felt comfortable and confident in my day-to-day life.
Studying Fine Arts has been one of the clearest decisions I have had in my life. In addition, I also studied graphic design."
Beauty And The Beast
Based on: John Arthur Lomax "A musical interlude" (1857–1923)
Cinderella, Belle And Snow White
Based on: "Princess Diaries" (2001)
"I think the most complicated thing about creating these illustrations is to be able to keep surprising every day. When you have already made so many illustrations, thinking about the next one always becomes a challenge, you always have to try to improve. Also, another very important aspect is that I like to make my illustrations with a lot of details, that's why they need so much time. Sometimes, I have even been able to take several months to finish some of the illustrations," said Carlos when asked what the most difficult part about creating these illustrations is.
Rapunzel
Based on: Maximilian Pirner "Sleepwalker" (1878)
Sleeping Beauty
Based on: John Everett Millais "Ophelia" (1852)
Carlos tells us what topics he covers with his illustrations: "I don't have a specific theme because I like to do all kinds of work. It is true that, lately, my illustrations related to Disney have had a lot of feedback and, above all, the reinterpretations of paintings from the history of art with characters from Disney movies that we all know. I think they like them a lot because I choose very well which painting to do and which character would be the perfect combination. I like art history, children's illustration, and graphic design on posters."
Beauty And The Beast
Based on: the scene from "Pride and Prejudice" (1995)
Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy!!! (and the best Darcy, the only Darcy in my book)
Beauty And The Beast
Based on: The Phantom of the Opera (2004)
We asked Carlos how he would describe his style: "I think describing myself is quite complicated because I'm always trying new things and experimenting with new ideas. I think that in recent years I have evolved a lot and little by little I have found a style in which I am comfortable or with which I am more satisfied. I would highlight how one of the changes that I have noticed the most has been thanks to the digital technique because now it has become one of the techniques that I have used the most in the last year and allows me more variety of possibilities when creating.
In a few words, I think I would describe my style as cheerful, colorful, special, original, and with a lot of detail. These are the adjectives that people who follow my work on a daily basis usually say to me."
Princess And The Frog
Based on: 1st Concept Art
Best Disney movie ever! Best female lead, best music, great humor. Love it. Love how she was not a princess, never wanted to be a princess (she did become one but that was not the goal), worked hard for what she had, harder than most as a minority woman. And achieved her dream.
"I started to take it seriously when I finished my Fine Arts studies. I wanted to bet on what I could do by myself and with a lot of work. Over time, finding a lot of support from the public on social networks and getting small results encouraged me to go ahead and trust in what I could achieve. I would like to be able to work exclusively as an illustrator and with the illusion that little by little, new projects will come," answered Carlos when asked when he started to create his illustrations.
Sleeping Beauty
Tribute to Christina Aguilera on her birthday
Cinderella
Based on: Ever After "A Cinderella Story" (1998)
This looks more like the 1998 film Ever After starring Drew Barrymore.
Carlos shares what inspires him to keep going forward: "I think that achieving small challenges or goals gives you a lot of confidence, but it is indisputable that the main thing to be able to continue is that you really like what you do and, on the other hand, I value having the affection and support of the public every day. The art world is very complicated, it has many ups and downs and requires a lot of perseverance and daily work. The greatest support is knowing that every day I discover someone somewhere in the world who wants to show their affection for my work. That is a very nice feeling.
There are many times when we all have a 'mental block' that prevents us from working normally. When that happens, to be the best thing to do is to disconnect for a while, go for a walk or listen to music; it usually happens a lot because of fatigue. After taking a break, everything usually flows much better."
The Swan Princess
Based on: Edmund Blair Leighton ''The End of The Song'' (1902)
Carlos gives advice to people who want to create art themselves: "Well, to all these people I would say that, although the art world is very complicated, everything can be achieved with effort, nothing is impossible. I encourage them to always keep working, to take out where there is no time to think about different projects, and to keep insisting.
Sometimes it is difficult because it seems that success does not come, but with perseverance and desire, everything comes. Who better than yourselves to know how far you can go? Do not set limits for yourselves."
Cinderella
Based on: Katy Perry "Cozy Little Christmas" (2018)
The artist tells us more about himself and his life: "Well, my day-to-day basically relies on the agenda, I need to have everything organized since I always have many projects in mind. This is essential to be able to divide my time and organize myself well or, at least, as well as possible. The first thing I do when I get up before work is to check my email for any important messages or check my social networks, show some work or answer messages.
Then I start or continue to develop those works that I want to start or that I have pending to finish, but if not I develop my own illustrations. In the life of any artist, the important thing is not to stop. Sure, you can always advance work somewhere, make sketches, think of ideas, or just need to organize some work. I believe that consistency and hard work are what allows one to get results, nothing in this life is achieved overnight and with little effort."
Pocahontas, Belle And Jasmine
Based on: Shakira, Black Eyed Peas "Girl Like Me " (2020)
We asked Carlos if being featured on Bored Panda helped him out: "Of course, right now we live in a society where social networks are a super important pillar to give visibility to any kind of work, profession, or business. Being able to appear in such an important media and with so much publicity as yours helped a lot to reach an audience that surely did not know my work. It has been a pleasure for me and I am very grateful for the interest you showed towards me, I have no words."
Snow White Wedding
Based on: 1st Concept Art
Cinderella
Based on: 1st Concept Art
"I want to send a big hug to all the readers of Bored Panda and I encourage you to take a look at my work, I will be happy to answer any questions you may have. Also, another of my passions is to make personalized portraits with all kinds of themes: movies, fairy tale characters, Disney, etc. It's lovely to see how they use my commissions to give them as gifts on special occasions to their loved ones! It's wonderful when some of them send me pictures or videos with their faces full of happiness."
Cinderella
Katy Perry - Smile
It has been a couple months since the last "re-imagined Disney princess" post... I'm surprised we lasted this long. I guess people were too busy writing the "look how different America is from other countries", or the "why toxic men are a problem" posts... (not that I'm saying that Toxic men aren't a problem. They most definitely are, it is just a recurring theme on this page)
Why are so few people actually choosing to appreciate this? It was cool. You guys are probably ruining this persons day with your hate comments. I loved this post, and even if you didn’t it’s not your place to hate on these. Someone worked very hard and was proud of this. Take your bad attitudes and go sink to the bottom of a lake.
I guess Fair Use laws are ok with Disneyfied Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood twee. But what happens when you run Francis Bacon’s screaming pope or Goya’s Black Paintings through the Disney filter?
Better yet, How about the "Hell" segment of Hieronymus Bosch's "The Garden of Earthly Delights" triptych? 😏 1_q4CfviVE...be411.jpeg
Load More Replies...It has been a couple months since the last "re-imagined Disney princess" post... I'm surprised we lasted this long. I guess people were too busy writing the "look how different America is from other countries", or the "why toxic men are a problem" posts... (not that I'm saying that Toxic men aren't a problem. They most definitely are, it is just a recurring theme on this page)
Why are so few people actually choosing to appreciate this? It was cool. You guys are probably ruining this persons day with your hate comments. I loved this post, and even if you didn’t it’s not your place to hate on these. Someone worked very hard and was proud of this. Take your bad attitudes and go sink to the bottom of a lake.
I guess Fair Use laws are ok with Disneyfied Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood twee. But what happens when you run Francis Bacon’s screaming pope or Goya’s Black Paintings through the Disney filter?
Better yet, How about the "Hell" segment of Hieronymus Bosch's "The Garden of Earthly Delights" triptych? 😏 1_q4CfviVE...be411.jpeg
Load More Replies...