A woman left the internet in shock after she painted over an intricate oil painting, but the results were astonishing.
Irina Zelenina (@irinaliski_), a 32-year-old artist from Berlin, recently took Instagram by storm when she shared a bold and risky artistic move.
Known for blending realism and contemporary art, Irina’s latest work left viewers holding their breath as she covered a stunning painting of a young girl in a black hat with thick, hazy strokes of oil paint in a video that garnered 2,687,204 likes and 84.6 million views.
In a dramatic twist, Irina then peeled back a layer of film, revealing the girl unharmed beneath. The young subject remained pristine, standing against the transformed, abstract background.
“I was very anxious about the girl getting stained under the film and hoped everything would work out, as the film could shift under the paint,” Zelenina told Newsweek.
The internet watched anxiously as she submerged the intricate subject in paint, seemingly obscuring the detailed portrait underneath.
@irinaliski_/@irinaliski_
The painting, aptly titled Movement, was an ambitious project that blended realism with abstract elements. Irina explained that the background itself went through multiple stages.
Realism, an artistic movement in the 19th century, focuses on depicting subjects as they appear in everyday life without embellishment or interpretation.
Originating in France, realism was a response to the romanticized styles of the time. It aimed to portray the ordinary and the real, often highlighting the lives of common people in a straightforward and objective manner. This approach provides a grounded contrast to more abstract forms, which emphasize expression over representation.
“The background was created in several stages,” Zelenina said. “Initially, it was a realistic depiction of the girl against a backdrop of Roman structures with deep shadows. I covered the girl in film for her protection beforehand. Then, using a long ruler, I applied oil paint to the canvas from left to right. A total of ten strokes were made, altering the background into different abstract lines.”
Zelenina spent considerable time finding the perfect image of the girl, turning to fashion house websites before enlisting artificial intelligence for the final version.
“The black hat and canopy are strong compositional elements that emphasize the light, varied fabrics of the clothing. Later, I further refined the image within the painting itself,” she shared.
The inspiration for Movement came after Irina attended a Gerhard Richter exhibition in Berlin with her husband, where she was captivated by a piece called Aunt Marianne.
In total, the painting took two months to complete, with Irina balancing her time between the artwork and caring for her 2-year-old child.
As the final result was revealed, Instagram users flooded her post with comments, expressing their shock, relief, and admiration.
One viewer commented” “Thank God!! I was in utter shock.”
Another echoed the sentiment, saying, “You had me so scared for a moment haha. Beautiful result!”
A third viewer admitted: “Oh, I freaked out for a moment.”
