Introduction: How Artists Really Get Their Ideas

Traditions

SHIVA'S ETERNAL DANCE
How centuries of Hindu history have informed the Shiva Nataraja

THE HUMAN IN THE DIVINE
How Lippi drew upon 1,000 years of depicting the Madonna and Child

CLOSE-UP COPY
How Courbet mirrored Rembrandt's self-portraits

LIGHT EFFECTS
How Whistler looked to the Edo era to light his nocturnal scenes

MIRRORING TRADITION
How Monir merged ancient aesthetics with contemporary expression

Learning Curve

HANDS ON TRAINING
How Verrocchio’s Baptism of Christ had a helping hand from da Vinci

ATMOSPHERIC IMPRESSIONS
How Monet learned to paint the air from Turner

THE HEROIC LABOURER
How Van Gogh made Millet’s The Sower his own

WATCH & LEARN
How Hoschedé-Monet adapted Monet’s en plein air painting to her own style

Creative Exchange

WHAT MIGHT HAVE BEEN BUILT
How Raphael realized Bramante’s grand design for St Peter’s Basilica

PASSING THE TORCH
How Caravaggio’s dramatic use of light inspired generations

A NEW VIEW
How Masanobu Modernized Perspective in the Ukiyo-e Print

SIDE BY SIDE
How painting partners Monet and Renoir borrowed the same scene with different points of view

INSPIRED ADAPTATION
How Cassatt was inspired by Japanese colour block printing

LITTLE CABINET OF STEALS
How Rauschenberg combined found objects and purpose-made art

Influence & Innovation

BODY LANGUAGE
How Michelangelo’s Adam embodied the classical ideal of ancient sculptures

HONOURING TRADITION BY BREAKING THE RULES
How Manet interpreted Renaissance open-air gatherings for modern times

LOOKING THROUGH A DIFFERENT LENS
How Degas’ spatial dynamism was inspired by the nascent age of photography

SHIFTING SENSATIONS
How Steer updated Constable's naturalism

THE MASTER THIEF
How Picasso's Les Demoiselles d’Avignon borrowed from Cézanne

I TAUGHT JACK THAT
How Pollock learnt rhythm and flow from Benton

Meaningful Connections

AN ANCIENT POSE FOR A CONTEMPORARY CELEBRITY
How Reynolds invoked the classical beauty of Leochares’ Apollo Belvedere

A MODEL FOR MARTYRDOM
How Goya reinterpreted an iconic image of sacrifice

THE ATMOSPHERE IN THE ROOM
How Chase mirrored Velázquez’s Las Meninas in his family portrait

REORIENTING THE GAZE
How Sleigh turned Ingres’ Turkish Bath from fantasy to reality

PICTURE WITHIN A PICTURE
How Lichtenstein paid homage to Matisse

CINEMATIC SUGGESTION
How Sherman reimagined the B-movie heroine

HYBRID INFLUENCES
How Shonibare transformed Raeburn’s sombre figure with west African fashion

Transformation

STEALING SWAGGER
How Sargent was inspired by Van Dyck’s portraits to give his sitters style

GROUNDING THE GODDESS
How Modigliani looked to the Old Masters’ depictions of the female form

STEALING A SCHOOLBOY'S PRANK
How Duchamp made his mark on the Mona Lisa

RECOVERY & RECLAMATION
How Stout summoned ancestral authority

RIGHTEOUS RIDER
How Kehinde Wiley modernized the equestrian monument

A PROCESSION FOR OUR TIME
How Dagvasambuu adapted the traditional procession motif

Endnotes
Further Reading
Index
Credits
Acknowledgements & Author Biography