Girl with a Pearl Earring parodies are the internet's latest art obsession

For some unknown reason, the internet seems to have developed an obsession with parodying Johannes Vermeer's famous painting "Girl with a Pearl Earring' and honestly, I'm a little obsessed. From original recreations to AI art, the eclectic renditions of the classic portrait are equally mind-boggling as they are utterly fantastic.

With AI art generators rising in popularity, the opportunity for bizarre artwork is seemingly endless, and creatives across the internet have not held back in dreaming up the most weird and wonderful pieces. Regretfully, while I can't offer an explanation for this strange phenomenon, I can however provide a selection of my favourite examples. 

Over the weekend, users on X began sharing their unique versions of the iconic portrait, recreating Vermeer's oil-painted intricacy to create oddly majestic imitations. User sankalp shared their rendition captioned "cat with a pearl earring", using the AI software Midjourney to create a feline version of the girl, which one fan called a "Masterpiece".

For the Nintendo fans out there, user meganroseruiz created a rendition featuring Nintendo's infamous fungi friend Toad, which despite the dualling art styles was a surprisingly endearing homage to the original. However, my favourite of all was a post shared by comedian and artist Oalf Falafel who created "The Pearl With The Girl Earring". With cracked paint textures and reflection detail on the comically oversized pearl, the portrait has a realistic quality, which despite the ridiculous concept is oddly exquisite.

Nothing seems to prove the subjectivity of art more than random internet art trends and for that, I'm thankful. For more bizarre online trends check out Nicki Minaj's AI art trend or take a look at the 'make it more' trend that got weird real quick.