Europe's masterpieces
Photographer and artist Cheyne Gallarde is putting a new spin on some of Europe's most recognisable faces.
Using Europeana's public domain collection, the founder of Universe of One is now asking Europeana's fans to choose his next challenge.
The artist behind the internet sensation Universe of One, an ever-expanding catalogue of characters all played by the artist himself, has teamed up with Europeana to promote the creative re-use of Europe's cultural treasures. Inspired by the work of Cindy Sherman, Cheyne Gallarde poses as a wide range of people. His work is normally based on photographs that his fans send him of themselves, however for a limited time only, he is turning his efforts to some more familiar faces.
Cheyne accepted the challenge of reinventing a range of classic portraits from Europeana's public domain collection. With only minimal make-up, lighting and props, he has recreated some of Europe's beloved images, including a self-portrait of Vincent van Gogh from the Rijksmuseum and an etching of Napoleon from the National Library of Poland. The resulting side-by-side images have been such a hit with Europeana followers that he is now asking them to choose his next challenge, starting with a vote between French monarch, Marie Antoinette, and English playwright, William Shakespeare.
Neil Bates from Europeana says: 'Europeana has nearly 5 million public domain objects from Europe's galleries, libraries, archives, museums, and audiovisual collections. These works can be used without restriction and this collaboration is a great example of how practising artists can not only be inspired by masterpieces, but actually use them in their work.'
To vote for Cheyne's next challenge, visit Europeana's blog. You can also follow Cheyne's challenges on Facebook.
Images:
'Self Portrait at an Early Age' by Rembrandt - Rijksmuseum (public domain).
‘Portrait of Napoleon I' by Wojciech Eljasz - Biblioteka Narodowa – The National Library of Poland (public domain).
Self-portrait of Vincent van Gogh,1887 – Rijksmuseum (public domain).
'Self Portrait at an Early Age' by Rembrandt - Rijksmuseum (public domain).
‘Portrait of Napoleon I' by Wojciech Eljasz - Biblioteka Narodowa – The National Library of Poland (public domain).
Self-portrait of Vincent van Gogh,1887 – Rijksmuseum (public domain).
Contact
Neil Bates, neil.bates@kb.nl, 0031 (0)70 314 0953
Beth Daley, beth.daley@bl.uk, 0044 (0)1937 546345
Neil Bates, neil.bates@kb.nl, 0031 (0)70 314 0953
Beth Daley, beth.daley@bl.uk, 0044 (0)1937 546345
About Universe of One
Universe of One is an ambitious portrait project by artist and photographer Cheyne Gallarde. It's an ever-expanding catalogue of characters all played by one man. Using only make-up, wardrobe and lighting tricks, Cheyne transforms himself into a rainbow of people, each with their own personalities and presence. Universe of One was inspired by the work of Cindy Sherman. It is an attempt to connect humanity in an artistic and conceptual way, by examining how we are different, yet so similar in many ways. To learn more follow Universe of One on Facebook.
About Europeana
Europeana brings together the digitised content of Europe's galleries, libraries, museums, archives and audiovisual collections. Currently Europeana gives integrated access to nearly 27 million books, films, paintings, museum objects and archival documents from some 2,200 content providers. The content is drawn from every European member state and the interface is in 29 European languages. Europeana receives its main funding from the European Commission. More information can be found at europeana.eu. Follow us on Twitter: @europeanaeu and #AllezCulture.