Zhirinovsky in the painting of Hieronymus Bosch and other doubles of modern stars found on the canvases of the old masters

2024 Author: Richard Flannagan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 23:55

It's no secret that the famous people of our time have a whole mass of doubles and imitators who do their best to be like them. But that's not all, because many stars, as it turned out, existed long before their birth, and painting and sculpture from different countries of the world are a vivid evidence of this. To your attention - dozens of celebrities, whose doubles existed in different historical periods.

1. Robert De Niro

Bartholomew is an artist who was born in Silesia and who worked at the court of several famous rulers of Austria at once - Charles I, Sigismund III and Ferdinand II. In addition to his work in the palace, he also liked to earn money, taking orders on the side. And his painting depicting John Vogt, a landowner from Wroclaw, is a prime example of this.

Historians say that when it came time to pay, Vogt greatly disappointed the artist and, with a mocking intonation, asked if he knew who he was talking to. Obviously, Bartholomew never received funds for this painting.

But the similarity of the landowner with Robert De Niro, not only in terms of facial features, but even the actor's famous birthmark, is being discussed to this day. Historians say that Vogt was of Italian blood. In addition, Robert was invited to the National Museum of Wroclaw so that he could see the portrait live. But, obviously, the star actor had better things to do, and he did not come.

2. Eminem

Many visitors to the Louvre were quite surprised when they discovered, among other sculptures and objects of art, the most real portrait of Animene, presented as a masterpiece of ancient culture. However, in fact, he does not depict a talented singer: this work is a reflection of the Roman emperor Alexander Sever, which was found in the collection of Pope Pius VI.

The similarity of these people is not only in appearance. Once the rapper confessed that he is a believer and often prays, which is quite unusual for a representative of his profession. And the reign of this emperor is considered almost the only one in the entire history of Rome, when Christianity was practically not oppressed.

Just like his contemporary, the North participated in the so-called "battles". One day a scribe named Afrikanus dedicated his texts to a ruler. In response, the North responded to him with quotations from early Christian texts.

The main opponents of the ruler were the Persians, who gave him the nickname "snowy". In 235, the North was killed by his own legionnaires, who declared a loss of confidence in him. However, a few years later, the emperor was considered almost a deity, on a par with Eminem and his stellar popularity.

3. Vladimir Zhirinovsky

Hieronymus Bosch is known not only as the most outstanding and talented artist, but also as a master of amazing predictions. So, in one of his paintings entitled "Carrying the Cross" there is a very colorful character. Contemporaries noted that Bosch managed to thoroughly and frighteningly accurately reflect the Russian politician Zhirinovsky almost five hundred years before his birth.

Bosch's prediction consisted not only in the fact that his hero is remarkably similar to his contemporary, but also in the fact that the artist portrayed this character in the role of the so-called Pharisee. And, as you know, they were eternal oppositionists. However, in the picture, this character is surprisingly silent, which is the only discrepancy with his real protégé.

4. Keanu Reeves

Many fans of the film "The Matrix" joke that it was probably invented back in the 19th century, because there is no other explanation for how Keanu Reeves could appear on this canvas to this day. The painting was painted by the famous illustrator and artist Louis-Maurice Boutet de Montvel in 1875, and depicted the talented and genius Paul Monet, in whom contemporaries saw the features of an actor.

Their similarity did not end in appearance. Monet played Shakespeare in Macbeth, while the actor starred in Much Ado About Nothing, where he played Don Juan. Reeves is also known for his bass guitar skills, and Monet, in turn, was a teacher at the Conservatory in Paris. The artist received the Legion of Honor, and Reeves is a famous star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

In addition, on the Jimmy Fallon show, where Keanu was shown this portrait, he admitted that there really is some similarity between them.

5. Peter Dinklage

In his painting, Diego Velazquez depicted a man named Sebastian de Morra, who worked as a jester at the court of Ferdinand of Austria, Philip IV and the Prince of Habsburg Balthasar Carlos.

Dwarf jesters at that time were an obligatory attribute of the rulers of Spain, for example, Philip IV had more than a hundred of them. However, Sebastian was exceptional. He possessed a sharp, hanging tongue, loved irony and sarcasm, was not deprived of intelligence, and also, despite his tiny stature and strange physique, could boast of incredible sexual adventures. At court he was considered a real Casanova, and many girls found him handsome. Therefore, it is not surprising that contemporaries compare Sebastian to Peter in the role of Tyrion Lannister from Game of Thrones.

6. Sylvester Stallone

On the fresco "Virtues and the Law", which was created by the famous Raphael Santi in the Apostolic Palace in the Vatican City, and which was in fact his last fresco, you can see how Pope Gregory IX approves the so-called Gratian Decree. If you look closely, you can see on it a very colorful character - a man in red, who is strikingly similar to Sylvester Stallone.

It is not known exactly what decrees the Pope adopted at this moment, but he was known as the main leader and founder of the Inquisition. In addition, he terribly disliked black cats, and was even able to declare them the offspring of Satan, which is why they were mass exterminated, due to which an epidemic of plague, which was carried by rats, appeared.

The emotions of the man in the fresco are similar to disapproval of the Pope's actions, and it is no secret to anyone that such a correct and persistent person like Sylvester would clearly not approve of such actions, in particular.

7. Arnold Schwarzenegger

Looking at the portrait of Lorenzo Medici, he willingly introduces himself as he demands clothes, boots and his motorcycle from any passer-by, as Arnie did in The Terminator. In addition to the external similarity, the type of activity of this person is very close to his contemporary. Lorenzo was also fond of art, in particular, he wrote good poetry, acted as a republican, and was, in fact, the "governor" of Florence and a favorite of the public. He lived a vibrant, high life, loved to borrow a lot of money, which he spent on women, delicious drinks and expensive houses.

However, this behavior did not affect the people's love for the Medici. Lorenzo was not only a jouir, but also was involved in the patronage of art and science, and also represented a wise and intelligent ruler who makes exceptional decisions for the good of society. And he also loved to arrange pompous, noisy knightly tournaments. And, probably, if he had not been caught by gout, he, like Arnie, would have become the local "Mr. Olympia".

8. Mark Zuckenberg

Sometimes photos of modern people on Facebook look as if they could pass for kings right now, but in life, outside the network, they are, as they say, neither fish nor meat. In the case of Philip IV, it was exactly the same. In the paintings, he really appeared as the king of Spain, but in fact he did not correspond to this image. Philip was often called the prodigal son, reckless and stupid, who had neither sufficient intelligence nor the skills of government.

He ascended the throne at the age of sixteen, but did not even intend to rule. He transferred all power to his favorite and favorite, the first minister Gaspard de Guzman y Pimentel, after which he went to have fun. The reign of Count Gaspar Olivares did not cause much enthusiasm among his compatriots. For example, he was an ardent adherent of morality, and therefore organized the so-called moral police and sought to prohibit prostitution.

But in terms of foreign policy, the couple of Olivares and Philip were completely unable to cope with the tasks. During their reign, they, in fact, ensured that Catalonia and Portugal ceased to have friendly relations with Spain, Andalusia and Palermo openly opposed their rule, and Naples and Milan showed open antipathy. It is worth noting that it was during this period that the Spanish crown lost most of its influence in Europe acquired over the centuries, and was also practically ruined.

In general, in fact, the only thing that unites the would-be king and Mark Zuckenberg is their appearance. After all, Mark at a fairly young age concentrated a lot of power in his hands. However, it was not without mistakes, because today he is actively criticized for his very strange position and huge waste of the company.

9. Michael Cera

Ignacio Zuloaga, a famous painter from Spain, called himself an adherent of the traditional style of painting, and was also a retrograde. After success came to him, he was able to buy a small castle in Castile, where he established his own rules and literally supported the regime of the Civil War, i.e. did his best to resist progress and any change.

Therefore, it is not surprising that his paintings are also saturated with nostalgia for the old Spain that was before. Houses and natural elements reflected the spirit of the time of Spain, and Zuloaga also liked to draw women in traditional, national costumes, peasants and bullfighters. The latter is especially strong, because while Ignacio lived in Seville, he was also a bullfighter for some time.

He departed from his favorite classics only once, when he painted a portrait of Doña Carmen Arconada, where he depicted a woman in a red dress, which is surprisingly similar to the contemporary actor Michael Seru, known for his role in the movie "Scott Pilgrim Against All."

10. Michael Jackson

Many believe that an artist from Holland named Barent Fabricius was in fact a student of the famous Rembrandt, but this has not been established for certain. The only thing that is known for sure is that he was his favorite model and painted many self-portraits. He often painted these pictures, portraying himself as a simple shepherd, and sometimes even as John the Evangelist.

One of the paintings, which was painted in 1650, is called "Self-portrait in a big hat", which not only looks incredibly like a music star after a bunch of plastic surgeries, but also almost one-on-one repeats one of Jackson's images. In addition, his fans know how much Michael loved hats, and therefore the picture, in fact, began to be called "Self-portrait in the image of Michael Jackson."

Read also how the artist Bas Uterwijk created with the help of a neural network, looking at which you are amazed at such ingenuity and creativity.