The Museum Selfie, arguably the most popular feature of Google’s Arts and Culture app, is the latest thing that we didn’t know we needed. Thanks to it, everyone and their mother now knows what famous painting (or etching or line drawing) they most resemble. We were basically living in the dark until now. After Jan 20, when the feature was made available to Canadian Googlers, Facebook and Instagram feeds were flooded with Mona Lisa lookalikes. Armed with a laptop and cellphone, we took selfies of Toronto celebs using pictures from their own Instagram accounts. Here, seven Toronto notables (including one just-outside-of-the-city celeb) as works of art.
Title: Portrait of a Man. Creator: Santiago Rusiñol, 1895. Collection: Casellas Collection, Museu Nacional d’Art de Catalunya, Barcelona. Likeness: Pretty good! Google really captured Drake’s facial hair, not to mention his smoldering stare.
Title: Untitled. Creator: Djamel Tatah, 2012. Collection: Barjeel Art Foundation, UAE. Likeness: Needs more teeth, but otherwise uncanny.
Title: Astruc, a literary man. Creator: James Abbott McNeill Whistler, 1859. Collection: Freer Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C. Likeness: A bit too beardy. And, wait just a minute... “literary”?
Title: Woman on the beach. Creator: José Cuchy y Arnau, 1897. Collection: Colección Museo de Arte de Puerto Rico. Likeness: They nailed the head tilt and dreamy gaze.
Title: Self portrait in a heavy fur cap. Creator: Rembrandt van Rijn, 1631. Collection: National Gallery of Art, Washington D.C. Likeness: Heavy fur cap, you say? Something like this, perhaps?
Title: Portrait of the cabinet-maker Francesc Vidal i Javellí. Creator: Simó Gómez, 1875. Collection: Museu Nacional d’Art de Catalunya, Barcelona. Likeness: Not bad, but the cabinet-maker needs more man bun.
Title: Portrait of Mr. Blodgett. Creator: Allen Smith Jr., 1840. Collection: Los Angeles County Museum of Art. Likeness: Hairline on point.
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