What Art History Would Look Like If Men And Women Had More Tattoos

Artist Nicolas Amiard is reimagining the pristine bodies of famous paintings.

Featured on huffingtonpost.com

Late last year, scientists verified the age of the world’s oldest tattoos. According to The Smithsonian, they belong to a European Tyrolean Iceman who died and was buried beneath a glacier positioned near the Austrian–Italian border around 3250 B.C. He had a whopping 61 tattoos on his body.

We know that people have been decorating their bodies with ink for centuries. Yet, looking at the famous paintings that serve as a visual record of our history pre-photography, you'd think tattoos were basically nonexistent. In the 17th and 18th centuries, they were far from ubiquitous, but it's a shame artists didn't seek out more tattooed models for their work.

Enter Nicolas Amiard, a contemporary Photoshop master who's behind "The Art of Tattoo," where modern inked designs meet classic paintings.

"I'm French," Amiard said, introducing himself to The Huffington Post over email. "I live in Paris where I'm art director at an advertising agency. As AD, I use Photoshop all day long. That's how I technically realized these images."

He explained that his "Art of Tattoo" series consists of full photo-manipulations.

He had the idea to mix modern tattoos with classical paintings because, in his words, "I like tattoos" and mixing opposed things. He added that, after viewing a collection of paintings, he caught wind of a big tattoo event in Paris in March.

"That's why I thought it was time to [create] this series," he concluded.

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