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Russians decorate isolation by re-creating artworks

By Associated Press
Published: April 11, 2020, 4:01pm
10 Photos
In this two photo combo, an undated copy of Marc Chagall&#039;s &#039;Green Fiddle Player&#039; artwork, right and Galina Vishnevskaya&#039;s recreation for the Izoizolyacia Facebook page, left, taken in Moscow, on Tuesday, April 7, 2020. In the coronavirus lockdown, Russians can&#039;t go to their beloved and renowned museums.
In this two photo combo, an undated copy of Marc Chagall's 'Green Fiddle Player' artwork, right and Galina Vishnevskaya's recreation for the Izoizolyacia Facebook page, left, taken in Moscow, on Tuesday, April 7, 2020. In the coronavirus lockdown, Russians can't go to their beloved and renowned museums. So they're filling the holes in their souls by recreating artworks while stuck at home and posting them on social media.(Galina Vishnevskaya via AP)' (Vitaly Fonarev) Photo Gallery

MOSCOW — In the coronavirus lockdown, Russians can’t go to their beloved and renowned museums. So they’re filling the holes in their souls by re-creating artworks while stuck at home and posting them on social media.

The Facebook group where the works are posted has become a huge hit. The art ranges from studious and reverent to flippant and goofy. They’re done both by Russians and Russian-speakers abroad.

Some 350,000 people are following the group, where thousands of photos are posted, each showing the original work and the mockup made at home. The rules say it must only use items on hand and can’t be digitally manipulated.

There are some impressive surprises in the collection. Vitaly Fonarev carefully re-created the clothes and headdress of Johannes Vermeer’s “Girl With a Pearl Earring” and captured the Dutch artist’s famous glowing light. The work is so convincing that it takes a few moments to notice that the “girl” actually is a man with a few days’ worth of beard stubble.

Irina Kazatsker found the project perfect for her skills. The Canadian photographer had the lights and the backdrops to do a loving recreation of Picasso’s “The Frugal Meal”– with the sly twist of putting a roll of toilet paper on the table.

“I decided to add a provocative detail that corresponds to the spirit of the time,” she said.

Unlike the hours of work that went into elaborate re-creations, some appear to have been knocked off in a matter of minutes but are no less appealing.

Natalia Rubina’s rendition of Edvard Munch’s “The Scream” involved simply making a hole in a poster of the painting at the spot showing an anguished man’s head, then getting a dog to stick its head through. The dog appears nonplussed.

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