#2

Image credits: Cart Memes – Classical Art Memes

#3

Image credits: Cart Memes – Classical Art Memes

Some say there is no such thing as original art; maybe even an original thought. With history spanning thousands and thousands of years, so much has been written, painted, and sung about already that it would be difficult to create something that bears no resemblance at all to what has already been presented.

In one of his pieces, a British art critic who has long covered art for the Guardian, Jonathan Jones, expanded on the idea beautifully, saying that, “The story of art is largely a story of homages, remakes, rivalrous borrowings, nuanced imitations.”

#4

Image credits: Cart Memes – Classical Art Memes

#5

Image credits: Cart Memes – Classical Art Memes

According to J. Jones, there truly is nothing new under the sun, or at least, not entirely new. “Originality does not burst from an artist’s head like an alien entity, but is a subtle game of variations and transformations out of which, once in a while, comes the shudder of true artistic surprise,” he wrote.

To prove his point, the art critic provided some examples, such as Rembrandt creating his Self Portrait arguably copying the pose of Titian’s ‘Man with a Quilted Sleeve’ or Picasso’s ‘Guernica’ paying homage to Raphael’s fresco ‘The Fire in the Borgo’.

#6

Image credits: Cart Memes – Classical Art Memes

#7

Image credits: Cart Memes – Classical Art Memes

#8

Image credits: Cart Memes – Classical Art Memes

It’s not only painters that draw inspiration—or ideas—from works of other artists. It is arguably even more common—and evident—in the music industry, where hits of times past are brought back to life, whether by sampling or creating a new version entirely.

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