Stefan Draschan: People Matching Artworks

Stefan Draschan: People Matching Artworks by Aline SmithsonDecember 24, 2019

©Stefan Draschan

Photographer Stefan Draschan‘s photographs of people examining artworks has been featured on numerous sites, but no matter how many times I encounter the hundreds of art-and-viewer connections, the work still continues to delight. He states,”I’m a voyeur and a hunter. I prefer to look for matches with old masters or old art in general, matches with contemporary art are quite often and too easy for me, i want to make a bridge between the centuries, connect different times.”

“I saw and captured the first match: a guy sitting in front of a Georges Braque in Berlin. Six months later in Munich, I saw a guy who looked like the huge Greek vase behind him, and then in Vienna, I was breathless when I discovered a woman sitting in front of a Vermeer,” says the photographer. “It then became clear that I would systematically look out for more of these coincidences.”

Stefan was delighted to find the same man in front of a C.F. Friedrich painting, in January 2016 & July 2018!

©Stefan Draschan

©Stefan Draschan

The Austrian photographer Stefan Draschan spends his time in both museums and on the street photographing happy coincidences of color, form, pattern and style. He took up photography four years ago and his visual eye creates images that showcase exceptional perceptions of connections between objects, people and works of art. For his series, People Matching Artworks, Draschan captures encounters between museum visitors and the works of art they engage with. A women matching Vermeer, a couple reminiscent of Rembrandt, a punk in front of a Warhol – if he can get the right shot, astounding parallels are revealed. Draschan has developed a particular understanding of the layout of museums all over Europe and has learned how to predict the movements of visitors from artwork to artwork. He is on the hunt for the perfect shot and follows the museum goers until his predicted constellation might appear. The results are breathtaking, bringing a new depth to the relationship between modern life and art history or as Draschan says: “Maybe it is like being in love, I am just happy when something fits.“