16 of our favourite #ArtRecreation works from the Instagram challenge that’s bringing famous paintings to life

Galleries may be closed and museums are holding virtual tours, but famous paintings all over the world are popping up on the feeds of amateurs and art professionals alike because of a viral challenge that’s been making waves on social media.

Under various hashtags including #artrecreation and #betweenartandquaratine, tens of thousands have been recreating works of fine art, from a hospital version of Da Vinci’s The Last Supper to a toilet roll adaptation of Frida Kahlo’s iconic self-portrait and reviving the age-old practice of the tableau vivant, or living picture, to the digital age.

The challenge seems to have originated from @tussenkunstenquarantaine on Instagram (a reference to Tussen Kunst en Kitsch, a Dutch TV program whose title means between art and kitsch), which has since archived hundreds of submissions of the imitative creations. Museums like LA’s Getty and the Metropolitan Museum of Art have also jumped onto the bandwagon, challenging followers to creatively recreate famous works in their collections with added rules and restrictions, such as limiting the number of props to only three.

Whether you miss the quiet activity of gallery-strolling or want to give a go at creating your own tableau vivant, scroll on to see 20 of our favourite works of isolation art (plus a short journey into art history while you’re at it)!

Guernica (1937) by Pablo Picasso

Portrait of Marc de Villiers (1747) by Jacques Aved 

Vertumnus (1590–1591) by Giuseppe Arcimboldo

The Scream (1893) by Edvard Munch

Mrs. Garner in White (1922) by John Singer Sargent

Virgin (Theotokos) and Child between Saints Theodore and George (sixth or early seventh century) by Unknown

A full-fledged family affair in the kitchen.

Seated Nude (2001) by Jacob Collins

Growing 1 (1988) by Keith Haring

Two Satyrs (1618-1619) by Sir Peter Paul Rubens

Topaz (1989) by Alphonse Mucha

The Knight at the Crossroads (1882) by  Viktor Vasnetsov

Portrait of Maria Frederike van Reede-Athlone (1755-1756) by Jean-Étienne Liotard

Portrait of Stephy Langui (1961) by René Magritte

Self–Portrait with Thorn Necklace and Hummingbird (1940) by Frida Kahlo

The Laundress (1761) by Jean-Baptiste Greuze

Girl With Cat II (1912) by Franz Marc