Little Mermaid

This ad for Hermès was done by the Italian fashion photographer Paolo Roversi. Without any doubt it’s quoting the statue of The Little Mermaid sitting on a rock in the harbor of the Copenhagen.

Madame X

This photo of Nicole Kidman appeared in June 1999 in Vogue.

Steven Meisel presented her as a modern version of the famous Madame X by the American painter John Singer Sargent (1856–1925).

Call of the Wild

Naomi Campbell by the famous photographer David LaChapelle.

To me it looks like a quotation of the paintings by the French Post-Impressionist painter Henri Julien Félix Rousseau (1844–1910).

Nighthawks

This photo is part of the 2007 Lavazza Calendar and shot by the Spanish photographer Eugenio Recuenco. It shows a kind of super heroine but it’s also a quotation of the famous painting Nighthawks (1942) by Edward Hopper.

Venus and Cupid

This photo by the Italian artist Gian Paolo Tomasi integrates typical elements of classical paintings.

First there is Cupid how he could be seen on many paintings from the baroque onwards till late 19th century art.

And there is the women looking like one of that odalisques on the popular 19th century harem paintings like this by the French painter Jean-Léon Gérôme (1824–1904).

Hommage a Frida Kahlo

These nice photos by Chris Nicholls (an advertising for wedding gowns) are dedicated to Frida Kahlo.

Hommage a Rousseau

These photos by These photos by Max Cardelli are for the Etro collection Fall Winter 2008.
are for the Etro collection Fall Winter 2008.


The whole campaign seems like a pure hommage to the French painter Henri Julien Félix Rousseau, (1844-1910).

La Belle Epoque

The Italian Giovanni Boldini (1842-1931) was one of the and most successful portraitist of the Belle Epoque and one of his best known paintings is the "Marchesa Luisa Casati, with a Greyhound" (1908).

And because John Galliano is a great admirer of Boldini and especially of this painting he ordered that the campaign for his new perfume should be a reference to the Marchesa Casati and the spirit of the Belle Epoque.

Bond Girl

In the US Vogue appeared in May 1999 the editorial "License to Thrill" with Carmen Kass and done by Ellen von Unwerth.

In her typical ironic manner Unwerth is quoting the Bond heroines, here especially the first of all Bond girls Ursula Andress as Honey Rider, in Dr. No (1962).

Nighthawks

This nice photo by the Spanish pohotographer Eugenio Recuenco and published in the Lavazza calendar 2007 is quoting one of the most famous paintings in American art history: "Nighthawks" (1942) by Edward Hopper (1882-1967).

Christina’s World

This photo by Carter Smith appeared in Vogue 1997 as a quotation of the famous painting "Christina’s World" (1948) by Andrew Wyeth (1917–2009).

Spiderman

This picture by the Italian photographer Gian Paolo Tomasi is an obvious quotation of Spiderman coming up a skyscraper.

Pure American

On the occasion of the presidential elections in 2008 Harper's Bazaar published this photo of John McCain and his wife Cindy by the photographer John Huba.

The McCains are posing as pure Americans like the couple on the famous painting "American Gothic" (1930) by Grant Wood.

Mondrian once more

Chinese actress and pop singer Fan Bingbing featured on Harper’s Bazaar China for the month of January 2008.


Maybe it’s not necessary to say that this is also a Mondrian quotation.

Egyptian Goddess

This photo is from Vogue Russia, January 2009.

Maybe I’m going to far, but it reminds me of the statue of the Egyptian goddess Selket, found in the tomb of King Tutankhamun. It’s not only the pose, but also the gold and the eyes.

Crucifixion

This photo was published by Harper's Bazaar China September 2008 in celebration of the Olympic Games.

It’s a quotation of the painting by Salvador Dalí Christ of Saint John of the Cross (1951).

Coppertone Girl

The Italian fashion photographer Gian Paolo Tomasi has an inclination for new interpretations of artwork. That he isn’t only interested in the "big" art represented in the museums shows this example:


It’s a nice quotation of the "Coppertone Girl" from 1959, which was invented and done by Joyce Ballantyne (1918–2006) a well known painter of pin-up art.

Meisel - Tissot

In the May 2007 issue of American Vogue appeared a series by the fphotographer Steven Meisel called "Fashioning the Century".

This is one of the very well composed pictures (how Meisel used to do).


It reminds me of the painting "Lilacs" (c. 1875) by the French painter James Jacques Tissot (1836-1902). Maybe this wasn’t intended by Meisel. But anyway, it’s not only the similar pose and the flowers, it’s the same cool arrangement of luxury, the perfection of both pictures.

Tribute to Magritte

In Genlux magazine appeared on January 29th, 2009 a formidable editorial by the photographer Andrew Matusik. It’s called "Sir Realist" and gives a new interpretation of the well known paintings by the Belgian surrealist René Magritte (1898–1967).

René Magritte: La Magie Noire (1933/34)

and the new tribute by Andrew Matusik:


René Magritte: La Chateau des Pyrenees (1959)


and the interpretation by Andrew Matusik:

Patriotic Pin-Ups

On the cover of Vanity Fair in January 2009 was a very patriotic photo by Annie Leibovitz (so it may be more ironical).

But this photo is a quotation of a pin-up by the painter Rolf Armstrong (1889-1960). It dates from 1945 and was called "The Winning Combination". So it was a celebration of the end of the Second World War.

Maybe Leibovitz was just celebrating the end of the Bush era.