Famous Artists Meet Their Museum “Matches”…and Sometimes Face Themselves
Over 1,200 art museums have collaborated with Google for the latest update of their Arts and Culture app, which now matches selfies to famed (as well as little-known) portraits.
Creep factor of normalizing facial-recognition software aside, playing with the app gave us plenty of great artistic pairings for ourselves and our staff, but we also thought it would be tons of fun to see what would come up if we gamed the system a little bit and put “selfies” of famous artists up.
Whose face would we see if we plugged in Georgia O’Keeffe’s mugshot? What would pop up when we snapped a “selfie” of Claude Monet or Jean-Michel Basquiat? We used painted self-portraits of the artists as well as photographs and here are the results.
Georgia O’Keeffe Pairings
Modish, brooding, stylish, powerful, austere, stark and cerebral. Those are the words to describe both Georgia O’Keeffe and her work. But what does Google say?
Twinning with Jean-Michel Basquiat
Whose paintings pair best with the young, vibrant king of the New York 80’s art scene? There’s definitely no 100% match, but several contenders.
Mirroring an Artist and a Lover
A leading French realist, Gustav Courbet’s work was notorious in its day and the artist’s repuation was as well. Who pairs best with this scamp’s self-portrait? Apparently Google doesn’t see him quite like he saw himself.
Frida Kahlo’s Face Says
Frida Kahlo was one of the most prolific self-portraitists and exposed her innermost self through them. What does Google’s app have to say about that?
The Godfather of Cubism
An artist so prolific and with so much iconic work that it is studied according to separate “periods”? Who belongs with you, Picasso? A certifiable genius, for starters.
Michelangelo’s Matches Are All About the Beard
A portrait of Michelangelo (not done by the artist himself) provoked a series of pairings that show the power of the beard.
Who Does Renoir Match with as Days Go By?
Two portraits of Renoir — one as a young man and one as an older gentleman. What will the Google app say to this Dutch master’s mien in youth and old age?
Does Andy Warhol Have a Doppleganger?
The Pop Art darling lived to hype his work and himself. Here are this powerhouse’s artistic matches.
Who Does Claude Monet Look Like?
Not an Impressionist portrayal among them so apparently brushstrokes and the burgeoning art movement that Claude sparked wasn’t written on his face.
When You Are Vincent Van Gogh, No One Else Will Do
Yes, the results are likely skewed because we used Van Gogh’s portraits of himself but it’s truly telling how this iconic artist only gets himself when we put forth his painted selfie. But weirdly, no 100% match…
Which matchup is your favorite? Tell us in the comments!
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