Bill Murray has been in the public eye since 1977, when he first joined Saturday Night Live. Since then he’s starred in some of the most beloved films in history, like Caddyshack, Ghostbusters, and Groundhog Day. And after four plus decades he’s still going strong. The man is clearly timeless, something one artist has proven in an unusual but awesome way. He put Bill Murray’s face into a series of historical portraits and paintings that show the performer could have been a star in any era.
And he might have made for a convincing general, too.
Eddy Torigoe Pellot
Artist Eddy Torigoe Pellot (whose work we first learned about at Laughing Squid) has created a series of images with Bill Murray’s face superimposed over famous paintings, from historical portraits to famous works.
The collection is as far-ranging as a Napoleon Bonaparte portrait to “Whistler’s Mother.” Somehow they all work. The photos don’t look that out of place. Bill Murray just has one of those timeless faces.
Eddy Torigoe Pellot
Unsurprisingly, the photos proved to be a huge hit with Reddit users. The inspiration behind them is less predictable, though.
Eddy Torigoe Pellot
Pellot told Digg his series started when he saw a portrait of Bill Murray that he thought looked a lot like President George Washington. “I downloaded the Washington portrait and the image I saw of Bill and photoshopped them, and it was startling how well they matched up,” Pellot said.
From there he started seeking out other famous images he could add the actor’s face too. That led to famous images like the Army’s Uncle Sam poster and “American Gothic” by Grant Wood.
Eddy Torigoe Pellot
Eddy Torigoe Pellot
Pellot also found inspiration in portraits of famous painters, including Vincent Van Gogh. Frida Kahlo, and Rembrandt.
Eddy Torigoe Pellot
Eddy Torigoe Pellot
Eddy Torigoe Pellot
There’s also King Murray VIII, Protestant Reformation leader Martin Bill Luther, and the “Laughing Cavalier Bill” from Frans Hals painting.
Eddy Torigoe Pellot
Eddy Torigoe Pellot
Eddy Torigoe Pellot
Pellot’s other pieces are definitely worth checking out at his official site. That includes more of his “Absurd” collections, like his fantastic “Devo Domes” set.
These Bill Murray photos are definitely absurd, too, but they also prove his appeal is timeless.
Header Image: Eddy Torigoe Pellot