Keeping Up With The Kardashians since 1434! Art history students reveal unlikely resemblances between showbiz pictures and classic paintings
- Tabloid Art History has amassed more than 73,000 followers across Instagram and Twitter
- Compares pop culture figures such as Kardashians to famous works of art dating back centuries
- Kim and North attending Kanye concert are likened to Charles Beaubrun portrait of former Queen of France
- Beyonce’s reveal of her twins compared with Boticelli’s 1487 Madonna of the Pomegranate
An Instagram account that draws an unlikely link between pop culture favourites such as the Kardashians, Britney Spears and Love Island stars and iconic works of art has become an online sensation.
Tabloid Art History has amassed more than 73,000 followers across Instagram and Twitter by drawing comparisons such as Beyoncé unveiling of her twins with Boticelli’s Madonna of the Pomegranate.
The project was started two years ago by history graduate Elise Bell and English literature graduate Chloe Esslemont, both 22, who studied at Edinburgh University, and aims to make the art world more accessible top everyone.
‘Elitism in art history has affected us all in its own way and the account is, for us, a finger up to the establishment, a way of democratising art history so it becomes less terrifying and out of reach, so more people can have access to it,’ they told The Times.
Kim Kardashian and her daughter North wearing matching silver outfits to a Kanye West concert at Madison Square Gardens in New York in September 2016. Maria Theresa of Spain with Her son, the Dauphin, Louis of France by Charles Beaubrun, dated circa 1663, depicts a former Queen of France who married her cousin King Louis XIV to end war between their two countries. It currently hangs in the Museo del Prado in Madrid
Beyoncé introduced her twins Sir and Rumi to the world for the first time in July 2017, a month after they were born, with this dramatic image shot by photographer Mason Poole. Tabloid art history compared the image with Madonna of the Pomegranate by Sandro Botticelli painted in 1487. It depicts the Virgin Mary surrounded by angels, while her child clutches a fruit that is said to symbolise the suffering of Christ
The idea for the project was originally inspired by a meme of Lindsay Lohan passed out in her car after a night of partying in 2007, which was compared tothe Ecstasy of St Teresa by Gian Lorenzo Bernini.
Because for every pic of Lindsay Lohan falling, there’s a Bernini sculpture begging to be referenced.
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The trio has also drawn comparisons between a snap of Kim Kardashian and her daughter North wearing matching silver sequinned outfits to a Kanye concert in 2016 with a 17th century French Queen and her son.
Maria Theresa of Spain with Her son, the Dauphin, Louis of France by Charles Beaubrun, dated circa 1663, depicted the Spanish princess who married her cousin King Louis XIV of France in 1660 to end the long-standing war between their two countries.
Self-Portrait with Fruit, 1912, is a typical example of Austrian artist Egon Schiele’s self portraits in which he was usually depicted staring directly towards the viewer in a confrontational manner. Tabloid Art History said that a snap of Harry Styles filming in Swanage, Dorset for Christopher Nolan’s Dunkirk in July 2016 was reminiscent of Schiele’s work
In January 2018, the Kardahsian sisters’ latest campaign for Calvin Klein was revealed, showing pregnant Kylie Jenner covering her stomach with a blanket. She didn’t confirm her pregnancy until a month later, when she announced the birth of her baby daughter Stormi on social media. Tabloid Art History likened speculation over Kylie’s pregnancy to discussions on the 1434 Arnolfini Portrait by Netherlandish painter Jan van Eyck. According to art historians, his wife was not pregnant in the painting, but was simply holding up her full skirts
One of the most striking comparisons is former One Direction singer Harry Styles filming Christopher Nolan’s Dunkirk in 2016 and Egon Schiele’s Self Portrait with fruit, painted in 1912.
Before the birth of her daughter Stormi, Kylie Jenner posed for an ad campaign for Calvin Klein with her family while the world feverishly speculated about her pregnancy, which she refused to confirm.
Tabloid Art History revealed the unlikely connection to Jan van Eyck’s portrait of Giovanni Arnolfini and his Wife, painted in 1434.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk and musician Grimes attending the Heavenly Bodies: Fashion & The Catholic Imagination Costume Institute Gala at The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York in May 2018. Tabloid Art History likened the image to The Unequal Marriage, an 1862 painting by Russian artist Vasily Pukirev, which is said to depict the woman the artist loved marrying wealthy older merchant
The Love Island contestants welcoming newcomer Laura Crane (centre) who was introduced to the series in mid-July 2018. Tabloid Art History likened the moment to William Blake’s Oberon, Titania and Puck with Fairies Dancing, painted circa 1786, which depicts the last scene of Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream
According to The National Gallery in London, where the painting by the artist from The Netherlands is currently displayed, his wife is not pregnant in the portrait but was holding up her full-skirted dress in accordance with the fashion of the time.
Meanwhile, Kylie appeared in the Calvin Klein shoot holding a blanket to obscure her rumoured baby bump.
‘We are dissecting Kylie Jenner’s pregnancy in the same way art historians dissected whether Giovanna Cenami is pregnant in the Arnolfini,’ Tabloid Art History pointed out.
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