Try Copying Your Favorite Masterpiece and See What You Learn

Vincent van Gogh, The Starry Night by Alyson Vega. Photo: Alyson Vega

So you want to be an artist? New York Magazine critic Jerry Saltz has 33 rules — plus some exercises. Here’s one: Copy a famous work in any medium. Make it as exact an imitation as you can. This will help you learn another artist’s voice. When he posted this assignment on Instagram, hundreds of his artist followers sent in their delightfully derivative works. Here are a few of our favorites, from a textile take on The Starry Night to a digitally rendered A Bigger Splash.

Clockwise from top left: David Hockney, A Bigger Splash by Arvin Tsai. Photo: Arvin TsaiCezanne, Still Life Skull by Irem Sencok. Photo: Irem SencokHenri Matisse, The Dessert, C.C. Czerwinski. Photo: C.C. CzerwinskiPablo Picasso, Self Portrait by Brandon Jones. Photo: Brandon Jones

Clockwise from top left: David Hockney, A Bigger Splash by Arvin Tsai. Photo: Arvin TsaiCezanne, Still Life Skull by Irem Sencok. Photo: Irem SencokHe... more Clockwise from top left: David Hockney, A Bigger Splash by Arvin Tsai. Photo: Arvin TsaiCezanne, Still Life Skull by Irem Sencok. Photo: Irem SencokHenri Matisse, The Dessert, C.C. Czerwinski. Photo: C.C. CzerwinskiPablo Picasso, Self Portrait by Brandon Jones. Photo: Brandon Jones

Clockwise from top left: Jean-Michel Basquiat, Beat Bop by Ines Moura. Photo: Inês MourãVincent van Gogh, Sunflowers by Melinda Campbell. Photo: Melinda CampbellClaude Monet, Palazzo Dario by Damian Elwes. Photo: Damien ElwesBenjamin Constant, The Palace Guard With Two Leopards by Stephen Shugar. Photo: Stephen Shugar

Clockwise from top left: Jean-Michel Basquiat, Beat Bop by Ines Moura. Photo: Inês MourãVincent van Gogh, Sunflowers by Melinda Campbell. Photo: Mel... more Clockwise from top left: Jean-Michel Basquiat, Beat Bop by Ines Moura. Photo: Inês MourãVincent van Gogh, Sunflowers by Melinda Campbell. Photo: Melinda CampbellClaude Monet, Palazzo Dario by Damian Elwes. Photo: Damien ElwesBenjamin Constant, The Palace Guard With Two Leopards by Stephen Shugar. Photo: Stephen Shugar