If Famous Art History Stars Were Hipsters

Published 8 years ago

What if the Mona Lisa got tired of her old silk robes and decided to trade them in for a trendy jumpsuit? That’s exactly the kind of scenario Japanese graphic designer Shusaku Takaoka specializes in bringing to life, and he does it with pure wit.

Takaoka is an expert at turning history hipster. His works hilariously transform some of the classical art world’s most iconic faces into modern city slickers, and we actually wouldn’t be surprised if we saw any of these made-over canvas characters chilling on the subway, or strutting the latest trends on Broadway. But Takaoka didn’t stop there – he’s also reimagined them as movie stars, magazine covers, and even baristas.

These photo mashups could be meant to make a statement on the influence of antiquity on modern society – or they might just be totally for fun. We’ll let you decide as you have a scroll through them below.