12 Famous Artworks Recreated Using Surprising Materials

Get ready to dive into the coolest art scene ever. We’re talking about artists who are taking classics to a whole new level using some seriously unexpected stuff—think candy, plastic toys, and even balloons!

Get the scoop on these creative minds who are turning famous artworks into something totally wild. Imagine The Great Wave off Konagawa made out of jellybeans! These offbeat homages will have you seeing art in a whole new light. What will they inspire you to create with your next bag of candy?

I feel like this would be a pretty cool art school assignment.

Related: Alarming Creatures From Medieval Art

British artist Jane Perkins uses oh-so-many bits and bobs to create these stunning portraits. This may be my favorite Girl with a Pearl Earring recreation. I SPY: a brown heart, a yellow woman, a math equation whose answer is 16, and wee little piggy.

Faber Castell recreated Edvard Munch’s The Scream and Van Gogh’s Terrace Cafe at Night using thousands of their actual colored pencils as the medium. source

Here’s another Faber Castell piece. They commissioned artist Chan Hwee Chong to draw pieces including the Van Gogh self portrait in his style, using their pens. Look closely- he uses one spiral line to draw each piece, and has to start over from the beginning if he makes a mistake.

By Kristen Cumings, this redo of Hokusai’s The Great Wave off Konagawa is made entirely of jelly beans. I wonder how many she popped into her mouth as she was making this.

Artist Alon Zaid collaborated with Magimix to make a series of food art portraits of Mona Lisa, The Son of Man by Rene Magritte, The Birth of Venus by Sandro Botticelli and Dora Maar by Pablo Picasso.

Here’s a balloon American Gothic by Airigami (Larry Moss and Kelly Cheatle), and their version of a Chihuly.

Lee Kyu-Hak makes artwork with small pieces of wood wrapped in colorful newsprint. This is his version of Van Gogh’s The Siesta.

Another candy painting! This Marilyn Monroe piece, emulating Andy Warhol’s portraits, is made using Gummy Bears. Artist Johannes Cordes uses about 3 tons of gummy bears a year. Ack.

Such an awesome and impressive undertaking of Escher’s Relativity in Lego. This was the 4th Escher Lego creation by Daniel Shiu and Andrew Lipson.

Like cool art history tidbits? Check out these weird creatures from Medieval art.

This post was updated 11/21/23.