“Art washes away from the soul the dust of everyday life.” – Pablo Picasso
Roaming local exhibitions and overseas galleries that are adorned with famous art is always a wonderful way to while away the hours. Art can be fun. It can be challenging. It can be beautiful. And sometimes very strange.
But what happens when you return home? You are greeted with blank walls, tattered old posters or rooms without soul.
It’s time to listen to Picasso – let’s wash away the dust of everyday life and use famous art to get a similar look in your own home at a price you can actually afford.
Let’s get inspired.
1. Salvador Dalí’s Geopoliticus Child Watching The Birth Of The New Man
Geopoliticus Child depicts the global power shift from Europe to America and the increased prominence of developing nations like Africa and South America. The ‘new age’ is represented by the timid child in the corner – the ‘Geopoliticus Child’.
The work below, inspired by Dali’s painting is a socio-political statement in its own right, an ideal dinner party conversation starter for the living room or an intellectual piece for a library or office.
PROFOUND: The man breaking out of the shell in ‘Geopoliticus Child Watching The Birth’ represents the new powerful nation – America.
2. Gustav Klimt’s The Kiss
Young people love Klimt’s famous work of art ‘The Kiss’ and you can now get the look on canvas.
This print will make a wonderful addition to a teenager’s room or as a ‘moving out of home’ gift for a young professional or student. Here, the colours speak volumes and suit both classic and contemporary decors.
POPULAR: This Klimt inspired piece ‘Fulfilment’ takes the colours of The Kiss to create a fun, colourful print.
3. Vincent van Gogh’s A Wheatfield With Cypresses
If you love van Gogh’s style then you’ll love ‘Blue Sky Meadow’, featured below. van Gogh’s wheatfield is the view he saw from the window of an asylum he lived in for a year.
This painting includes similar scenery as ‘A Wheatfield With Cypresses’, but the colours are bolder and brighter making the piece more uplifting than the original – a great way to lift the mood of a room.
UPLIFTING: This ‘Blue Sky Meadow’ gives van Gogh’s wheat field subject more cheer.
4. Claude Oscar Monet’s Meadow With Poplars Aka Poplars Near Argenteuil
Monet has inspired many an impressionist artist to reach greater heights. Works in our Impressionist Art collection are no exception.
How relaxed and reflective is the woman in this print? Create calm in your living room by bringing in the green of the great outdoors inside and matching it with a few matching cushions and decorations.
MEADOW LAND: ‘Garden With Poplars’ captures the essence of Monet’s famous impressionist art work.
5. Piet Mondrian’s Composition With Yellow, Blue And Red
Works by Dutch painter Piet Mondrian seem so simple, yet many of his seemingly simple paintings actually feature a rigorous abstraction called Neo-Plasticism. The ‘Composition With Yellow, Blue And Red’ sold this year for $50.6 million.
A little outside your price range? Get the look with this fun, minimalist ‘Composition B’ print, below. This print is ideal for a minimalist setting – think simple elegant decors or bachelor pad.
SO SIMPLE: ‘Composition B’, featured in our Modern Art collection, means Mondrian’s style of artwork is accessible to more people.
6. Pablo Picasso’s Last Laugh
Depicting the ebb and flow of life, this Picasso inspired print will certainly help you wash away the dust of everyday life with its lively mandolin and guitar.
Transform a rumpus room or music room into a colourful, fun space. Finally, you get to have the Last Laugh.
LAUGH AWAY: Get into the swing of things with this colourful, exciting ‘Modern Music’ print.
7. Paul Cézanne’s The Peppermint Bottle
The “father of us all” according to Matisse and Picasso, Cézanne is one of the most influential artists of our time. A French, post impressionist painter, he did not shy away from still life, as seen in The Peppermint Bottle.
This Cézanne-esque print, below, provides elegance to an otherwise simple decor.
ELEGANT: The classic style of Cézanne can be seen in this refined ‘Still Life With Teapot And Bottle’ canvas print.
8. Bridget Riley’s Fall
Riley is an English painter, still with us today, who specialises in Op Art or Optical Art. Op Art is a visual art form that uses optical illusions.
This work ‘Tilt’, available in our black and white Pattern Art collection is based on her style of art, in particular her work ‘Fall’.
Op Art is an exciting way to decorate a modern urban interior – think new apartment or contemporary warehouse.
EDGY: Create a field of visual energy by decorating a room with Bridget Riley’s style of art.
9. Vasily Kandinsky’s Composition 8
If you love expressive abstract style and Russian avant-garde then you will love any Kandinsky or Kandinsky inspired art.
Exciting lines, shapes and colours will simultaneously excite and calm a room. Impossible in theory, but absolutely possible in practice.
AVANT-GARDE: This stunning ‘Different Strokes’ print brings to life this basic, beige decor yet complements it beautifully.
10. Roy Lichtenstein’s Ohhh…Alright…
American artist Roy Lichtenstein became a leading figure in the pop art movement of the 1960s along with Andy Warhol. The work ‘Ohhh…Alright…’ is based on a D. C. Comics publication Secret Hearts #88.
If that’s not intertextual enough for you, this featured print, below, is based on the ‘Ohhh…Alright…’ piece. Oh post modernism, how we love you.
“What exactly is postmodernism, except modernism without the anxiety?” ― Jonathan Lethem
LET IT POP: Enliven a room with this piece of Lichtenstein inspired pop art, aptly named ‘I guess so’.
11. Willem de Kooning’s The Visit
Often considered an Abstract Expressionist, de Kooning’s painting sometimes featured recognisable figures. To mix things up a bit, this ‘Embody’ print, featured below, takes all the magic and colour of de Kooning’s ‘The Visit’ and transforms it into a true abstract painting.
These soft pastels will complement almost any style of decor from Tuscan to Modern.
MAGICAL: It doesn’t take much – simply a work of abstract – to turn a conservative space into an arty retreat.
12. Gerhard Richter’s Cage (1) – (6)
Even though Richter’s abstract art is so good in Cage (1) – (6), he also enjoys dabbling in different styles and forms including photorealism, photographs and glass. But perhaps its this eclectic style that gives all of his art such heart and spirit.
The Richter inspired print ‘Escape’, from our Abstract collection, provides a similar vital spark, giving a minimalist space maximum life.
MAXIMUM LIFE: Update a room by giving it a new energy with this abstract art piece ‘Escape’.
13. Leonid Afremov’s Melody Of The Night
Add an instant dash of romance to a room with this Afremov analogous work of art ‘Autumn Streetscape’. Similar in subject to ‘Melody Of The Night’, the work depicts the charm and beauty of the evening.
All you need to do next is light a few candles, burn some oils and turn on some Barry White. Let love in.
LOVE POTION: There’s no need to fear the dark with this moody ‘Autumn Streetscape’ print in your living room.
14. Andre Kohn’s Red Umbrella
Russian-born American painter Kohn’s obsession with painting umbrellas in the rain has made him a household name in, well, painting umbrellas in the rain. Google Andre Kohn and you will instantly discover why he’s one of the most collected figurative painters on the scene today.
‘The Red Umbrella’, part of our Impressionist collection is inspired by this one-man movement. Add splendour to a reading room or relaxation space with this ‘in the moment’ print.
EXTRAORDINARY: Turn a simple space into a magical escape with ‘The Red Umbrella’ print.
