Street artist Stik takes on Old Masters like Rubens, Gainsborough and Francheschini

The oldest art gallery in the country has asked a Hackney street artist to create his own versions some old masters’ works housed there, including work by Rubens and Gainsborough.

Paintings like Franceschini’s The Guardian Angel have been reinterpreted by Stik and spray-painted in the streets surrounding the Dulwich Picture Gallery, in South London.

Stik who is rapidly gaining international renown for his distinctive stick-men characters as his works start appearing all over London and beyond, spent time in the gallery selecting and sketching works to use as the basis of his reinterpretations.

“His figures are comprised of only 6 lines each with two dots for eyes,” said the project co-ordinator Ingrid Beazley.

“Yet the amount of emotion conveyed through such simple forms is astounding.

“The lack of facial features and other details means that Stik’s approach pares down the classical works at the Gallery to their core emotional and physical components, and in turn this highlights the universal nature of Old Master themes.”