characters from famous paintings come together in 'the impossible dialogues'

imagine finding a klimtian woman carrying piero della francesca’s child, or botticelli’s venus flanked by salvador dalí’s surrealist tigers. well, imagine no more thanks to italian architect claudia storelli who has created this series called ‘the impossible dialogues’. storelli uses digital tools to create unexpected pairings, bringing together characters from different paintings and artistic movements through time.

‘the storm is coming’

vincent van gogh ‘landscape from saint-rémy’ (1889) and tiziano ‘bacco e arianna’ (1520)

images by claudia storelli

storelli tells designboom that her main goal is ‘to move people’s hearts, go beyond limits of any kind, creating connections that we wouldn’t normally expect.’  the manipulated images offer fresh perspectives of paintings that are centuries old, inviting new audiences to appreciate them.

‘ehy momma..’

gustav klimt ‘three ages of woman’ (1905) and sandro botticelli ‘madonna del libro’ (1480)

as well as enlivening famous works of art, the series also seeks to highlight human relationships and other contemporary issues. for example, ‘woman I’ frames botticelli’s 15th century venus with snarling tigers painted by salvador dalí in 1944 in a bid to convey the dangers women often face when walking home alone at night. to see more impossible dialogues, you can check out the dedicated instagram page here.

‘spotted!’

dante gabriel rossetti ‘the lady of pity’ (1879) and johannes vermeer ‘girl with a pearl earring’ (1665)

‘goodbye’

sandro botticelli ‘giuliano de’ medici’ (1478) bergognone ‘compianto di cristo con le tre marie’ (1523)

video by claudia storelli

‘drusilla and the moderns’

john william godward ‘drusilla’ (1906) and rene magritte ‘attempting the impossible’ (1928)

‘listen to me’

gauguin ‘I raro te oviri’ (1891) and jean august dominique ingres ‘oedipus and the sphinx’ (1808)

‘dear cecilia, hope you will like my flowers. with love, vincent.’

leonardo da vinci ‘lady with an ermine’ (1489) and vincent van gogh ‘three sunflowers in a vase’ (1888)

‘desire of a woman’

giotto ‘noli me tangere’ (1303) and gustav klimt ‘hope II’ (1907)

project info:

name: impossible dialogues
by: claudia storelli

designboom has received this project from our ‘DIY submissions‘ feature, where we welcome our readers to submit their own work for publication. see more project submissions from our readers here.

edited by: lynne myers | designboom