eisen bernard bernardo pairs pop culture album covers with classical paintings

eisen bernard bernardo pairs pop culture album covers with classical paintings
(above) the sweet escape by gwen stefani + alcibiade kneeling before his mistress by louis-jean-françois lagrenée
all images courtesy of eisen bernard bernardo

for more than a year, eisen bernard bernardo has been working on his ‘mag+art‘ project -– a collection of magazine cover and classical painting mash-ups. now, the filipino graphic artist is working on an offshoot of the series called ‘album+art’, which sees the record sleeves of some of the most recognized musicians and performance artists in the world applied to painted fine artworks. ‘I took the chance to make a series of digital collages featuring the studio album covers of some popular singers today,’ he says. ‘I used these album covers because they are simple and straightforward. I think the principles of photography are the same as classical painting. portraiture using cameras adopted the same set of rules and techniques in painting.’

circus by britney spears + la soiree by vittorio reggianini

each of the album covers are carefully matched up to compositions by famed painters, including grant wood and vincent van gogh. the body parts and portraits of david bowie, lady gaga, britney spears and gwen stefani — to name just a few — are meticulously and digitally placed on the paintings in order to seamlessly mesh with their new context. while the overall style is maintained, the mash-ups create a quirky and unexpected union of contemporary and classical imagery; drake becomes part of john bagnold burgess’ ‘irritable appeal’, while taylor swift is transformed into ‘louisa, marchioness of waterford’.

pin ups by david bowie + scene in spain, near seville by john bagnold burgess

take care by drake + an irritable appeal by john bagnold burgess

b’day by beyoncé + girl in green by lord frederick leighton

the 20/20 experience by justin timberlake + pierre et valentine by andré devambez

bad blood by taylor swift + louisa, marchioness of waterford by sir francis grant

homogenic by björk + the love letter by auguste toulmouche

david bowie + the arnolfini portrait by jan van eyck

the element of freedom by alicia keys + la infanta isabel de bourbon e bourbon by vicente palmaroli

born to die by lana del rey + the lord of burleigh by edmund blair leighton

chief by eric church + american gothic by grant wood

xscape by michael jackson + the zouave by vincent van gogh

laundry service by shakira + le rythme by tamara de lempicka