Ever look at a work of art and think, “I could recreate that exact image if only I had three very specific objects and the camera on my phone”?
You’re not alone.
A viral new Instagram account run by an intrepid (and bored) Dutch woman is featuring do-it-at-home photographic recreations of some of the greatest works of art in history.
The account (named @tussenkunstenquarantaine, which means “between art and quarantine” in Dutch) started when Anneloes Officier and her roommates, stuck at home due to social-distancing measures, decided to recreate Vermeer’s Girl with a Pearl Earring using a towel, a placemat, and a clove of garlic.
The reactions came fast and furious, first on a private WhatsApp chat, and later through the dedicated Instagram account, which is now flooded with images of people recreating their own favorite pictures.
The rules are simple: imitate a famous artwork using three items lying around your home, take a picture, and share it with the world.
Courtesy of Instagram.
The project got a big boost when the Rijksmuseum promoted it on its Facebook page, and @tussenkunstenquarantaine now has 102,000 followers, including the likes of the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Louvre.
And the account was only set up on March 14.
Officier says that more than 6,500 contributors have sent submissions from as far away as Iran, Norway, Canada, Argentina, and the US. And last week, the Getty Museum in Los Angeles adapted the challenge to ask its followers to recreate artworks from its own collection.
Below, see some of our favorite images from @tussenkunstenquarantaine—plus a very special contribution from my own mom, Ann Goldstein, who was inspired after a day spent sewing face masks.
