Alchemy is both a philosophy and an ancient practice focused on the attempt to change base metals into gold, investigating the preparation of the “elixir of longevity”, and achieving ultimate wisdom. The image above represents an allegory of the alchemy motto “solve et coagula” (separate and join together, or dissolve and coagulate). Literally, solve et coagula means that something must be broken down before it can be built up. One interpretation of this maxim is that the body must be dissolved before the spirit can be built up.

The picture was created by Italian digital artist Corrado Vanelli (website), and illustrates the alchemy maxim not as a joke for charlatans but as a hidden way to discover the meaning of life. Vanelli is a mechanical designer by profession and paints for fun, using Painter, Photoshop and a Wacom tablet. He publishes under the moniker Narcius on CGSociety.

Solve et coagula is a remastered version of Bouguereau’s quintessential 1895 work Le Ravissement de Psyche (The Rapture of Psyche). Below you can compare the two versions. Click the first to visit the gallery where you will find over 80 (!) contemporary variations of the original work. Click the second to view Solve et coagula on CGSiciety.

In 1883, William Bouguereau depicted the primordial goddess of night (Nyx in Greek) in a painting known as La Nuit (Night). The image above shows Nyx in a different shape. It was created by Harold Strickland, publishing as Strict31 on DeviantArt. As an artist, Harold prefers to work with digital inking and coloring, from hand-sketched originals drawn on paper. He mostly draws original characters, except a few fan art pictures from videogames.

In this digital creation, Nyx has become part of the pantheon of modern day gods and heroes, often known as “superheroes.” She gains her powers over darkness and night from the living veil she wears. Unlike Bouguereau’s Nyx, who seems to be fleeing from the day, this Nyx boldly confronts it, while casting her own shadow across the Earth.

Below you can compare the two versions. Click the first to visit the gallery where you will find several more remastered versions of the original painting. Click the second to view Nyx: Veil of Night on DeviantArt.

Time for a little interlude here on Bouguereau Remastered. The pictures above and below are not strictly modernized versions of Bouguereau’s work but rather new uses of them. Australian ladies’ swimwear manufacturer Lisa Blue features a number of classic paintings on their 2011/2012 collection, including two works by William Bouguereau.

Shown above and below left is Bouguereau’s 1889 work Psyche et L’Amour (Psyche and Cupid), below right L’Eveil du Coeur (The Heart’s Awakening) from 1892. Click the paintings to visit the galleries where you will find many more remastered versions. Click the bikini photos to view them larger.

In August 2010, FreakingNews challenged digital artists to photoshop a given picture of a Brazilian girl (see below) any way they wished. The one shown above, by pixjockey, incorporated the little girl in Bouguereau’s famous 1879 painting Au Bord du Ruisseau (At the Edge of the Brook). The image ranked 6th among the 48 contest entries.

Below you can compare the two versions. Click the left image to visit the gallery where you will find several other remastered versions of the original painting. Click the second to view Little Sisters on FreakingNews. The third picture shows the original Brazilian girl.

Many digital artists live in a fantasy world where the inhabitants are barely known to the outside world. Twenty-year old British photoshopper Jamie Flack is one of them. Publishing under the name Silver5 on DeviantArt, he created this beautifully remastered version of Bouguereau’s 1880 painting Temptation. In this contemporary edition, the main characters are Mefísto and Eden, originally imagined by Jamie Flack’s friend Hannah. In Hannahs words:

Mefísto, originally known as Abel, is the first Immortal in The Ouroboros Complex along with his identical twin/self, Cain. Sly and with ulterior motives, Mefísto becomes a Source Nox, a creature capable of spreading disease across the world in return for power, and consequently becomes the most powerful man in the world.

Eden, originally a ‘Dark Voidling’ (a hybrid Immortal of both Nox and Voidic heritage), plays her role in the sequel to The Ouroboros Complex, and has been re-edited to be a human girl, adopted by the main protagonists of the story, Omega and Soluus. Since Eden is a Lux, a creature of Light, she embodies the physical, mental and emotional challenges that Soluus must face up to. Named after the first human woman, Eden represents the beauty of the natural world and is somewhat of a beacon for her family in dark times.

Below you can compare the two versions. Click the first to visit the gallery where you will find several more contemporary versions of Bouguereau’s painting. Click the second to view The Temptation Of Eden on DeviantArt.

Walkers are vehicles from the Star Wars universe that traverse the landscape on mechanical legs. They are used by the Old Republic and the Galactic Empire for ground assault or transport. The AT-AT (short for All Terrain Armored Transport) is a large, four-legged walker introduced in The Empire Strikes Back during the Battle of Hoth. The AT-AT was considered invincible until Luke Skywalker brought one down.

Shown above is a mini version of the AT-AT, incorporated in Bouguereau’s 1898 painting Retour des champs (Returned from the fields). It was created in 2008 by digital artist aards2, for a Star Wars Ren contest on Worth1000. Below you can compare the original work with the remastered version. Click the first to visit the gallery where you will find one more contemporary variation. Click the second to view Pet on Worth1000. The third image shows a “real” AT-AT.

In the Star Wars saga, Padmé Naberrie, better known as Padmé Amidala Skywalker, was determined to fix what wrongs she could in the ailing Republic, serving its Senate and her idyllic home planet of Naboo. Though her career should have precluded it, Padmé nonetheless found time for a secret, forbidden romance with Anakin Skywalker, the Jedi hero of the Clone Wars who would tragically fall to the dark side and become Darth Vader. Padmé was one of the earliest casualties of the Dark Lord, but with the last of her dying strength, she brought a new hope into the galaxy that would eventually redeem Anakin.

In the movies, Padmé Amidala was portrayed by actress Natalie Portman. In the portrait above she has become a stand-in for Bouguereau’s Faneuse (The Haymaker), painted in 1869. The image, created by digital artist OnePixel, was the winner in the second edition of the Star Wars Ren contest on Worth1000, in 2009. Below you can compare the two versions. Click the first to visit the gallery where you will find several more contemporary variations, click the second to view Padmé Bouguereau on Worth1000. The third image shows Natalie Portman as Padmé Amidala.

In August 2010, Worth1000 organized the seventh edition of their RoboRen contest. Digital artists were challenged to “take any work of art and robotize it”. The winner of the contest was Death of a Cyborg by Shorra who used Bouguereau’s 1888 painting Premier Deuil (The First Mourning) to create the dramatic image shown above.

Below you can compare the two versions. Click the first to visit the gallery where you will find several other contemporary versions of the classic painting. Click the second to view Death of a Cyborg on Worth1000.

In the Star Wars universe, Yoda (wiki) is the ancient and revered Jedi Master, who lived his final years hiding on the swamp planet of Dagobah. Nine hundred years old, Yoda had trained Jedi for eight centuries, and was very powerful in the Force. Among his last pupils were the most important (and reckless) Jedi in recent history, Obi-Wan Kenobi and Luke Skywalker.

The portrait shown above was created by digital artist BrunoSousa on Worth1000 in 2009. It was based on Bouguereau’s 1888 work L’Amour au Papillon (Cupid with a Butterfly). Below you can compare the two versions. Click the first to visit the gallery where you will find twenty contemporary versions of the original painting. Click the second to view Yoda on Worth1000. The third image shows the “real” Yoda.

In the next few weeks Bouguereau Remastered is dedicated to the stars of the Star Wars saga. We start the series with this portrait of Leia [wiki]. Princess Leia Organa as an adult is portrayed by actress Carrie Fisher in four of the Star Wars movies. She is the twin sister of Luke Skywalker, and thus the daughter of Darth Vader. Her mother is Padmé Amidala, and her adoptive father is Bail Organa, the head of Alderaan’s royal family. In the end she marries Han Solo, her romantic interest in the original films.

In 2008, Princess Leia was selected by Empire Magazine as one of The 100 Greatest Movie Characters of All Time.

The portrait above was created in 2009 by digital artists Onepixel for the second edition of the Star Wars Ren contest on Worth1000. It is based on Bouguereau’s undated work La Comtesse de Montholon (The Countess de Montholon). Below you can compare the two versions. Click the first to visit the gallery where you will find several other remastered versions of the original painting. Click the second to view Leia on Worth1000. The third image shows actress Carrie Fisher as Princess Leia on Wikipedia. Click for bigger.