A reditt and imgur user who lives in London and goes by the handle “shystone” has posted two series of photomontages in which 18th century pantings are superimposed over Google Street View images of the same scene, creating in each a sort of artistic portal into the past.
One set is of London, with paintings by various artists, the other is of Canaletto’s views of Venice (see my Lines and Colors post on Canaletto).
Shystone is apparently knowledgeable about both art history and the cities involved, and gives a bit of background on each superimposition, allowing you to follow up and research the painting if you wish. The images, if clicked on or dragged to the desktop, are large enough to get a view of the paintings, which look small in my captures above.
[Via The Guardian]
