Tom Hunter is a London based photographer known for his beautiful depictions of the ordinary life of common people. Most of his work is loosely inspired by famous masterpieces and Flavorwire recently posted a great comparison between Tom's work and the masters that they are inspired by.
While they are not intended to be photographic reconstructions of the paintings, side by side you can see that Tom's work draws heavily from these old masterpieces. So have a look below and let us know what you think. Tom's work is above, followed by the painting he took inspiration from below. Have you ever tried to recreate an older work yourself? We'd love to see it, so post it in the comments section!
Woman Reading Possession Order - Tom Hunter
Girl Reading A Letter At An Open Window - Johannes Vermeer
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Death of the Party - Tom Hunter
Death Of The Virgin - Michelangelo Caravaggio
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Death Of Cotelli - Tom Hunter
Death Of Sardanapalis - Eugene Delacroix
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Living In Hell - Tom Hunter
Four Figures At A Table - Le Nain Brothers
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Anchor and Hope - Tom Hunter
Christina's World - Andrew Wyeth
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Ye Olde Ax - Tom Hunter
Venus At Her Mirror - Diego Velazquez
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Murder, Two Men Wanted - Tom Hunter
The Death Of Procris, Satyr Mourning Over A Nymph - Piero di Cosimo
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The Way Home - Tom Hunter
Ophelia - Sir John Everett Millais
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Hide And Seek - Tom Hunter
Roger Delivering Angelica - Auguste-Dominique Ingres
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Reservoir No. 1 - Tom Hunter
Hylas And The Nymphs - John William Waterhouse
Interested in seeing more of Tom Hunter's work? Check out his website HERE.
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Unfortunately...side by side...his photographs don't even begin to inspire the same feelings as the paintings. My opinion only that save for her facial expression in "hide and seek" these photos are quite...average...some are noticeably better than others while some compositions should be left to masters. Only side by side do we see what he was trying to accomplish.
I feel like the adaptation of the paintings in concept is great, but the photos suffer technical flaws.
I don't think posting the two shots side-by-side has done this guy any favours (not saying you were wrong to do so). The complete lack of atmosphere or emotion in all of the shots is only magnified by the presence of the paintings he ripped off.
And let's be fair to the creators of these amazing works. He wasn't "influenced" by them. In most instances, it's plain copying.
Not a fan. If we can say that some similar posing and possibly referential environment is a recreation, then sure. Otherwise, these photographs do nothing to invoke any sort of reaction in me.
I felt the "Living In Hell" image to be very effective. I can almost see the bugs moving around the room. Studying masterful paintings is a rewarding exercise for any photographer. A technically perfect image (a highly subjective term) of a model posed with wind blown hair, by a motorcycle, may look well executed but cliched, whereas a woman ( as in "Hide and Seek") with head raised to an intentionally awkward tilt and eyes fully widened to the sky, gripping a tree more frail than her- is interesting and evokes tension. This is something painters learned long ago and which photographers can all embrace on to make our work different.
I was excited to click on this as I began a similar undertaking last year! Very underwhelmed by these pics though.
I had a go at the Sir Joshua Reynolds - Cupid and Psyche here: http://www.patrickskelly.co.uk/Painting-With-Light
what an amazing website. i'm blown away.
I only just found this and it's a god send since i was trying to find the paintings that inspired Tom Hunter, for the most part I could tell but I wanted to be sure. However I was a bit disappointed with some of the comments made! I don't think he is trying to recreate the atmosphere in the original paintings he is trying to bring something splendid and fantastical into he boring and mundane everyday.Plus most of his photos have more of a back story than just the paintings he has been inspired by. I think his photos are raw and he doesn't use the typically correct lighting but that's because he doesn't want to beautify the photo's, they are stark and that's what makes them amazing. In an interview he said he uses the wrong film, lighting, camera exposure etc on purpose! I love the amazing paintings, they take me somewhere magical yet tragic, but it never hits home, it's in a bubble and you can't really relate to anything in them because they are so fantastical, Tom Hunter's work allows you to have a connection, a belief that it is real and palpable. You just have to view his work with an open mind and a understanding that he ISN'T trying to recreate the Masters painting in the way other might. But everyone has their own opinion this is just mine, i'm not forcing it. I seriously suggest people check out his website. Well, got that off my chest didn't I? I'm now going to go and have another self righteous rant at something else :P Well done if you finished reading this comment by the way -it's way to long :/
Peace out :)
Surprised to read these comments. People actually think Hunter's objective is to recreate the paintings. He's trying to tell you something about TODAY. I find it bizarre people are actually assessing the lighting and composition in relation to the paintings, or the expressiveness - i think if he was trying to do that: reproduce 'expressively' the masters - it would turn into something kitsch and theatrical. Instead he achieves a great feeling of eeriness and melancholy, this is a comment about people and their surroundings, inviting you to think about the narrative in the original masters' painting, definitely, but producing an entirely new narrative which is not devoid of social commentary by the way....I think they're spectacular