Top 10 Scenes You Didn't Know Were Inspired by Paintings

#10: The White Lotus (2021-)

Echo and Narcissus (1903)

Art and narcissism are key themes throughout the HBO anthology The White Lotus. Their most poignant intersection comes at the climax of the Ratliffs storyline in Season 3. After Tim changes his mind about killing his family to spare them the consequences of his crimes, his son Lochlan accidentally drinks a poisoned piña colada. The shot of him vomiting into a pool echoes a John William Waterhouse painting of the mythical Greek figure Narcissus admiring his reflection in a lake. Beside him is Echo, who perishes over his rejection. Having exposed his family's self-serving behavior by emulating it, Lochy now reveals the horror of his father's selfish gesture of love. Tim thankfully revives his son, but the near-tragedy shows how desperately they needed humbling.

#9: Girl with a Pearl Earring (2003)

Girl with a Pearl Earring (1665)

No-one knows the identity of Johannes Vermeers subject for his masterpiece, or if this Girl with a Pearl Earring even existed. The novel and film adaptation of the same name go beyond speculating on the origins of the painting, purportedly of a household servant of Vermeers. Cinematographer Eduardo Serra extensively referenced the painters distinct framing and color style. Director Peter Webber goes further with his compositional pacing. This obviously comes into perspective in scenes of the fictional Griet sitting for her portraiture. Such attention to detail won the film praise and a cult following as a vivid representation of artistry itself. It still dispels much of the mystery surrounding its subject in a compelling way.

#8: Twin Peaks (1990-91)

Seated Figure (1961)

Figurative painter Francis Bacon was one of David Lynchs favorite artists. His surreally disturbing yet ethereal style obviously influenced the filmmakers work, especially with one of his most iconic sets. Throughout the TV series Twin Peaks, FBI agent Dale Cooper regularly assesses the mysteries in dreams of a red waiting room within a void. The aesthetic and the suited Coopers place in it allude to Bacons Seated Figure. The box outline within the painting would appear in a more obvious recreation of 1953s Portrait of a Man when Cooper first visits the real world in Twin Peaks: The Return. Of course, the initial basis in Bacons vision enhances the already trippy tropes impact on the shows artful atmosphere.

#7: Carrie (1976)

Study of Lady Macbeth (1851)

The climax of Brian De Palmas Carrie is one of the most haunting images in the history of horror cinema. In fact, the visual dates back to a Gustave Moreau piece inspired by Shakespares darkest masterpiece. Study of Lady Macbeth represents the eponymous figure in a ghostly form, surrounded by streams of blood to represent her madness and guilt. Sissy Spacek holds that very same posture as the blood-soaked Carrie White psychically sets her school on fire. Moreover, De Palmas framing is stunningly similar to Moreaus. Alluding to an iconic symbol of remorse adds another heartbreaking layer to Carries explosive vengeance. It also deepens the storys message that womens strife can be a gory business.

#6: The Cell (2000)

Various

The beautification of the grotesque is exemplified by Tarsam Singhs sci-fi horror thriller The Cell. Many extreme art pieces were referenced in the design of a comatose serial killers twisted dream world. H. R. Gigers signature biochemical paintings inspired some of the costume and set designs. Odd Nerdrums 1989 painting Dawn is all but recreated when Special Agent Peter Novak enters this apocalyptic nightmare. And his torture at the climax takes from several paintings of Saint Erasmuss disembowelment, one of which appears toward the end of the movie. These are just a few of the intermedia art allusions that make The Cell a cult classic crossover of elevated craft andexcuse the termvisceral shock.

#5: The Truman Show (1998)

Architecture au clair de lune (1956)

The Belgian surrealist René Magritte questioned reality by disrupting mundane images with abnormal elements. Doesnt that basically sum up the brilliant satirical dramedy The Truman Show? Thus, when Truman Burbank leaves a reality TV show set for the first time in his life, he ascends a staircase modeled after Architecture au clair de lune. Viewers who recognize this can revel in the irony of surrealist art being used as a gateway to reality. Alternatively, it could be playing on Magrittes own philosophy on the fragility of our perceptions. The filmmakers havent even confirmed the deliberate allusion in this set design. Nonetheless, a symbolic reference that esoteric makes this high-minded farces ending all the more satisfying.

#4: Melancholia (2011)

Ophelia (1851-52)

The opening montage in Lars Von Triers Melancholia gives away more than just the apocalyptic ending. Justine floating in a lake with a wedding dress and flowers is easily the films most iconic shot. Its even on the poster. But with its basis in Sir John Everett Millaiss painting of Shakespeares Ophelia, it foreshadows Justines arc. Like Ophelia, she will suffer a breakdown after being abandoned by her love, thus setting up the entire casts demise. Granted, Hamlet couldnt have done much about a rogue planet crashing into Earth. Still, the dreamy preceding visual more elegantly asserts that Melancholia isnt about how the story plays out. Its a meditation on sorrow and mortality that have been inspiring artists long before Shakespeare.

#3: Sátántangó (1994)

Three Figures near a Canal with Windmill (1883)

With fewer than 200 shots across seven hours, Sátántangó shows an epic grasp on the nuances of imagery. The most recurring and potent visual is of destitute villagers wandering along a dirt road. This was also the premise of Three Figures near a Canal with Windmill, an especially dark Vincent Van Gogh that depicts three shadowy figures walking through mud. Some five-and-a-half hours into the black-and-white film, three characters recreate the painting almost exactly. Sátántangós walking sequences epitomize Béla Tarrs masterful impression of the aimlessness of poverty and existence itself. That they bring one of Van Goghs long-lost masterpieces to life deepens their beauty and bleakness in connecting humanity to nature.

#2: Shutter Island (2010)

The Kiss (1907)

The mind-bending tension of Martin Scorseses Shutter Island takes a heartbreaking turn whenever Detective Teddy Daniels remembers his late wife Dolores. The dream of her turning to ash in his arms looks especially like a work of art, because it was. Their embrace and Doloress dress pattern are clearly reflective of Gustav Klimt's The Kiss. This symbolist portrayal of entangled lovers complements the sentimental passion of the otherwise brooding Teddy. It also suggests just how deeply the image of Doloress death in a fire is ingrained in his fragile psyche. No matter what the medium, Scorsese is a master of using his enthusiasm for art to enrich his own.

Before we unveil our top pick, here are a few honorable mentions.

Pan's Labyrinth (2006), Saturn Devouring His Son (c. 1819-23)

The Pale Mans Gruesome Feast Pays Homage to Francisco Goyas Macabre Masterpiece

Django Unchained (2012), The Blue Boy (1779)

Seeing the Thomas Gainsborough Portrait Gave Quentin Tarantino a Colorful Costume Idea

Hannibal (201315), The Great Red Dragon (1805)

William Blakes Haunting Aesthetic Influences Francis Dolarhyde More Vividly Here Than in Previous Red Dragon Adaptations

Nosferatu (2024), Death and the Maiden

A Cinematic Tribute to Renaissance Era Contrasts Between Beauty & Horror Culminates in a Stunning Final Shot

The Lighthouse (2019), Hypnosis (1904)

Sascha Schneiders Bizarre Work Was Recreated in One of Horror Master Robert Eggerss Most Entrancing Scenes

#1: Dreams (1990)

Vincent Van Gogh

What Vincent Van Gogh did for representing nature and humanity on the canvas, Akira Kurosawa did for cinema. He did so more directly with the fifth vignette in the exquisite anthology Dreams. Crows follows an art student as he visits a Van Gogh exhibition at an art gallery, then magically enters the paintings. Among them are Langlois Bridge at Arles, Water Mill at Gennep, and, of course, Wheatfield with Crows. The rich cinematography and innovative special effects bring these masterpieces to life in a way they couldn't have been a century prior. Just because motion pictures are leading the evolution of art doesnt mean they should brush off the still images that still move us.

What are some other still masterpieces that were brought to life by the magic of filmmaking? Paint us a picture in the comments.