We’ve all grown up watching one or more of the characters from Disney movies you’re about to see below. And one way or another, those characters are a form of art, and some scenes resemble perfectly with some famous paintings. But how many of us do actually know about art history? Or better say, how many of us consider it important to know about it in the first place?
You might consider it just some dead character that has been given the illusion of life by coloring it in. But in fact, they have a history within, and knowing history is important because it allows us to understand our past, which in turn allows us to understand our present. Studying history can provide us with insight into our cultures of origin as well as cultures with which we might be less familiar, thereby increasing cross-cultural awareness and understanding.
For those of you who have not paid attention to this, Spanish graphic designer and illustrator Carlos Gromo created a series of Disney characters inspired by famous paintings to help people to memorize these classics better.
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1. Beauty And The Beast
2. Sleeping Beauty
The artist, who is also known as carlosgromodraw to his 31.9k Instagram followers, started this project in 2019 when he finished his Fine Arts studies. He realized that many people don’t know much about art history or famous paintings. So he started this ongoing project with an aim to educate people in an entertaining way. The good news is that the project became a huge success and hopefully, people have learned something about classical art.
3. Beauty And The Beast
4. Hercules
“This project started because when I finished my Fine Arts career at university, as an artist, I realized that many people didn’t know many of the art paintings and I thought that I could present them in a more original way. I have always liked to draw Disney, so I thought of the idea of starting this project by drawing those characters from the movies in those pictures from art history. In this way, I managed to give visibility to many works of art and artists from different periods,” says the artist to Bored Panda.
5. 101 Dalmatians
7. Peter Pan
8. Cinderella
His series features such animated movie classics as 101 Dalmatians, Beauty and the Beast, Hercules, and Sleeping Beauty. The characters from these movies are based on the style and color palette of each painting. For instance, Belle and Beast are depicted as the famous painting “The Kiss” by Gustav Klimt. Just like in the painting, they look like a couple embracing each other in beautifully decorated robes. Meanwhile, Roger and Anita Radcliffe from 101 Dalmatians are shown as a farmer and his daughter in the famous 1930 painting “American Gothic” by Grant Wood.