Masterpieces in a modern jacket

From Girl with a Pearl Earring to Mona Lisa, London-based artist Fuat Değirmenci gives Renaissance masterpieces a contemporary twist. His modern reinterpretations bring centuries-old paintings back to life.

From the Girl with a Pearl Earring to the Mona Lisa; artist Fuat Değirmenci from London gives Renaissance masterpieces a modern twist. With his modern reinterpretation, Fuat succeeds in bringing age-old paintings back to life.

The artist recently launched the series as a collection of NFTs in collaboration with Dubai's Art World Creation NFT Gallery. The series of modern 3D paintings is called 'Minimal Renaissance' and reinterprets the paintings through minimal digital brushstrokes. Upon purchase, each artwork comes in a physically framed digital display, allowing owners to physically display their pieces as well.

Challenge

Değirmenci started the process by mapping out the basic shapes of the paintings. He then removed the realistic details from the works to emphasize the expressiveness of Renaissance art. The artist has done this, among other things, through a simplified recreation of shapes, organic colors and dramatic light. He then enhanced the designs in 3D modeling software to produce the minimal, brush strokes while maintaining the identity of the original paintings. This turned out to be the biggest challenge for the artist: “Highlighting the significance of the Renaissance period and recreating these paintings without losing their identity was the most challenging goal of the project.”