Dressed in garments from centuries long past, figures from classical paintings peer out the windows of metro cars, vend souvenirs, browse comics and otherwise interact with unlikely scenes in modern-day Naples, Italy. Artist Alexey Kondakov is back with another round of ‘Art History in Contemporary Life,’ his mash-up series that gives the world a new perspective on paintings from the distant past.

The Ukrainian artist is known for relocating angels, royals, knights, the Virgin Mary and other subjects from classical works by artists like Hans Holbein and William Bouguereau into modern-day scenes with careful attention to light and shadow for a convincing result.

Though the subjects remain painterly and the backdrops are crisp photographs of everyday city environments, the blended images read less like Photoshopped collages and more like finished works ready to be hung on museum walls.

Given this new context, the figures suddenly seem more real than they ever did before, as if we really could come across them playing harps in subway stations or hanging out in grungy bars.

Naples is a fitting choice for the latest series, simultaneously giving a nod to Italy’s history as birthplace of High Renaissance Art and illustrating how much the city has changed over the past 500 years. Previous iterations of ‘Art History in Contemporary Life’ were set in the artist’s hometown of Kiev, Ukraine. Check out more images from the Napoli Project at Kondakov’s website or Facebook.

Masterpieces from Greek antiquity through the nineteenth century are literally seen through a modern lens, remade into action figures or inserted into contemporary settings, in this collection of remixed classic art.From auto mechanics styled and posed like Caravaggio subjects to storm troopers as Flemish upperclassmen, these projects bring centuries-old aesthetics into the 21st century.

Auto Mechanics in Renaissance-Style Portraits by Freddy Fabris

Inspiration struck when photographer Freddy Fabris accompanied a friend into a cluttered auto shop, the mechanics and their tools seeming like the perfect subjects for Rembrandt and Renaissance-style portraits. The award-winning series mimics such masterpieces as Leonardo da Vinci’s Last Supper and Michelangelo’s The Creation of Adam.

Classic Statue Action Figures

David, The Thinker and Venus de Milo come to life in the form of posable action figures so you can see these classic statues like you’ve never seen them before. The pre-sale for most of these figures has already ended, but ‘David’ is still available for roughly $40.

Classic Art Figures in Contemporary Settings

Angels and other subjects from classic paintings hang out in dive bars, subways and alleys in Alexey Kondakov’s series ‘Art History in Contemporary Life,’ including Hans Holbein’s ‘The Ambassadors’ and the otherworldly female figures of Bougereau.

Lego Tribute to Classic Art

Iconic works by Magritte, Vermeer and Van Eyck get the Lego treatment in a fun photographic series by Marco Pece.

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Classic Art In A Modern World 35 Masterpieces Reimagined

Renaissance angels cling to each other in front of a graffitied wall, hellish medieval imagery is splashed across a pair of Doc Marten boots and God has met Facebook’s friend request limit in this collection of works re-contextualizing classical art for the modern world. The original imagery is removed from its cultural and historical context and inserted into urban settings or mixed with contemporary elements to breathe new life into it and bring it to new audiences. See 26 more modern takes on historical paintings.

Modern Media Graphics X Classical Paintings

In a series called Emoji Nation, artist Nastya Nudnik inserts graphics from modern gadgets and media on top of classic paintings, like warning messages from the Windows operating system, Facebook buttons, emoticons and sad little indications that the user has zero followers on Instagram. One even visualizes Bosch’s ever-popular Garden of Earthly Delights as an explorable location on Google Maps. If only.

Street Art Mixed with Classical Paintings by Marco Battaglini

Artist Marco Battaglini mixes street art with classical paintings from the Renaissance in his own work, contrasting classicist figures with heavily graffitied walls. The artist aims to highlight the “intrinsic contradictions of the human condition” through the juxtaposition of traditional art with its connotation of elitism and the popular culture of the masses. The new aesthetic, according to the artist, reflects “the eclecticism and fragmentation that are hallmarks of post-modernism.”

3D Sidewalk Chalk Masterpieces by Kurt Wenner

Master of 3D sidewalk chalk illusions, Kurt Wenner, makes classic imagery spring to life in the streets of cities around the world. Initially employed by NASA as an illustrator to create conceptual paintings of future space projects, Wenner moved to Italy to study classic Renaissance art and spent the rest of his career up to this point exploring how that style can be preserved in contemporary society.

European Paintings on Surfboard & Skateboard Triptychs

Skateboard company Boom-Art teamed up with UWL Surfboard to create a series of limited-edition surfboards referencing European art history. Two triptychs with classic designs include ‘The Lady and the Unicorn’ and ‘The Garden of Earthly Delight’ by Heironymous Bosch. Each is handmade and individually numbered in an edition of just ten per design. The same designs are available as skateboards, as well.

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Classical Art In Modern Contexts 25 Clever Art Remixes