Who knew that recreating artworks in lockdown would become the hottest social media trend of 2020?
Since we first reported on the Getty challenge—in which people are using household objects to reimagine some of the masterpieces of art history—it has become the little meme that could, racking up thousands of hashtags and spawning countless iterations.
Some of the various Frida Kahlo recreations, courtesy of Instagram.
The best part of the challenge is that it’s truly democratic: you don’t need to be an art historian to appreciate the pictures people have taken of themselves at home. (You don’t even need to have ever been inside a museum.)
Based on an informal survey, the most popular images recreate Dutch genre scenes (which is unsurprising considering that most of them are made by people trapped in their interiors). Vermeer’s Girl with a Pearl Earring is a perennial favorite, and recreated self-portraits by Frida Kahlo are also popular.
But enough chatter. You came here to see pictures. Below, see our favorites from the challenge, arranged according to category.