Jeff Koons was always an enfant terrible of contemporary art. This time, by working on the new collection “Masters” with Louis Vuitton he became also an enfant terrible of fashion. Koons is an American artist known for working with popular culture subjects and his reproductions of banal objects—such as balloon animals produced in stainless steel with mirror-finish surfaces. Like this one, which in orange version was sold for $58m.
This time Jeff Koons went further. What do you think about Louis Vuitton rucksack with RUBENS written on it in big gold letters over a reproduction of that gorgeous work Tiger, Lion and the Leopard Hunt, from the collection of Royal Academy of Arts?
OK, Rubens is not a pop icon. But the next bag we see definitely use a masterpiece that was quited many many times in the course of art history:
Koons is famous for turning kitsch images, objects and people into art, and with this cooperation with Louis Vuitton he comes back into his favorite subject. He clearly has an erudite and passionate love of oil painting, for while his bags touting the Mona Lisa and Van Gogh’s Wheat Field With Cypresses may be easy on our brains, he is also bravely educating us by insisting on the glamour of Rubens, Titian and Jean-Honoré Fragonard.
Fragonard, who was famous for his late Rococo manner which was distinguished by remarkable facility, exuberance, and hedonism. Among his most popular works are genre paintings conveying an atmosphere of intimacy and veiled eroticism. Sounds like another favorite subject of Koons.
The elements from the collection called “Masters” costs from $500 for a keyring to $4000 for a bag. The artist took inspiration from his “Gazing Ball” series which was initially developed in 2013 and culls the work of 35 masterpieces such as Monet’s Water Lilies and Klimt’s The Kiss.
Check out our gallery of Jeff Koons’ Louis Vuitton bags and find other colorways by visiting Louis Vuitton’s official website. Would you wear it?
