All of the paintings below may seem familiar to you, but they lack a certain something… In his “Hidden spaces“ (Espacios occultos) image series, Spanish artist José Manuel Ballester removes the people from classical paintings, revealing unnoticed hidden spaces (hence the name) and objects.
Combining modern technologies with classical art, he invites viewers to look at these masterpieces from a new angle and reinterpret the stories we think we already know. The removal of people creates a different effect in each painting – in some, you can see the traces of a tragedy or the aftermath of a drama in the objects left behind, while others simply leave you wondering where everybody’s gone. Each new-found empty space is open for interpretations and discoveries.
More info: josemanuelballester.com | guggenheim-bilbao.es (via: BoredPanda.es)
The Birth of Venus (Sandro Botticelli, c.1486)
The Raft of Medusa (Théodore Géricault, 1819)
The Third of May 1808 (Francisco Goya, 1814)
The Last Supper (Leonardo da Vinci, 1498)
Christ Crucified (Diego Velázquez,1632)
Las Meninas (Diego Velázquez,1656)
The Allegory of Painting (Jan Vermeer, 1668)
Guernica (Pablo Picasso, 1937)
