Detail of Death, birth by esstera on DeviantArt. Click for full image (800px × 1,181px).

This dramatic scene, entitled Death, birth was created by Magdalena Smokrovic from Croatia, publishing as esstera on DeviantArt. It’s a masterful combination of Bouguereau’s 1895 painting Le Ravissement de Psyche (The Rapture of Psyche) and two stock photos. Bouguereau’s original painting depicts the ascension of a mortal girl named Psyche in the arms of her lover Cupid. In Magdalena’s version Psyche is a young girl being rescued from a wild sea.

Below you can see how the image was composed from the different elements. On the left is Bouguereau’s original painting, on the right Magdalena’s Death, birth. The stock photos are shown between them. Click the first image to visit the gallery where you will find over sixty (!) contemporary versions of Bouguereau’s work. Click the others to view them in their original context.

Read more about Cupid and Psyche on Wikipedia