Imagine all human figures vanishing from painting masterpieces

No people, no animals, no movement. Spanish artist José Manuel Ballester (Madrid, 1960) cleared every living creatures from some of the most famous paintings from El Prado Museum. The result, a collection of disturbing desert landscapes, is now exhibited at a little gallery in Madrid.


Imagine, for example, The Garden of Earthly Delights (the famous triptych by Hieronymus Bosch) without any people. Or Fra Angelico's Annunciation with no Virgin and no angel on the scene. These are some of the ‘hacks’ at Ballester’s current exhibition Espacios Ocultos.

Annunciation, Fra Angelico (Before and after)

According to his official site, Ballester's work seeks to "purge all human anecdotes" from historical landscape painting and invert the hierarchy, giving priority to traditionally considered “background”.

Honestly, I don’t mind what the artist is seeking with his work. I just love those frightening landscapes!

Winter landscape, Pieter Brueghel

The story of Nastagio degli Onesti, Sandro Botticelli

All Images © José Manuel Ballester

Current Exhibition: Galería Distrito Cu4tro (Madrid) / [Via: EPS]

See also: Famous painters copied photographs (Fogonazos)

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