Classic paintings inserted into modern life are wonderfully stark

Caravaggio meets caravans

(Alexey Kondakov)

In his ongoing project The Daily Life of Gods, Ukrainian artist Alexey Kondakov interpolates the dramatic figures of classic portraiture into often dreary environments from the modern world, and the results are very striking.

He has so far brought Cesar van Everdingen’s Bacchus, Caravaggio’s David and Goliath and William-Adolphe Bouguereau’s Nymphs and Satyr into the 21st century, on metro trains, outside liquor stores and under subways.

Some might call it sacrilege, but Kondakov believes there’s a commonality between the two eras.

"I realized that the heroes of these masterpieces were simply looking to spend quality time [together], like us,” he told 20 Minutes.

You can view more of his work here.


 All images: Alexey Kondakov